Overview
If your download isn’t working or your games won’t install or load in the EA app, try these troubleshooting steps for PC or Mac.
Troubleshoot download issues
If you need help with your games on console, check these steps for download, loading, and installation issues.
If you're having trouble downloading games, clear your cache using App Recovery to see if that fixes your issue.Need more help? Learn more about clearing your cache.
- 1Launch the EA app on your PC or Mac.
- 2From the main menu bar, go to Help and choose App Recovery.
- 3Select Clear Cache.
- If you’re using a Mac, you might need to enter your password to give EALaunchHelper permission to clear cache. You’ll need to enter the password you use to log into your Mac device, not your EA Account password.
If your download’s stuck at 4 GB on PC, your hard drive might be formatted as FAT32, which can't handle files larger than 4 GB.Learn more about drive formatting and disk management on PC.
Troubleshoot installation issues
Connection issues can cause problems when installing your games.
- Get help with your connection.
- Check if the EA app servers are down.
If you’re having trouble installing your game, try reinstalling the EA app. On PCOn Mac
- 1Close the EA app.
- 2Select the Start menu and use the search bar to find and open the Control Panel.
- 3Under Programs, choose Uninstall a program.
- 4Select the EA app and uninstall it.
- 5Reinstall the EA app, then try installing your game again.
- 1Close the EA app.
- 2Select Finder and choose Applications.
- 3Find the EA app in your Applications list.
- 4Click, hold, and drag the EA app to the Trash.
- 5In the Dock, click and hold the Trash icon and choose Empty Trash.
- 6Reinstall the EA app, then try installing your game again.
- 1Close the EA app.
- 2Right-click the EA app icon on your desktop (or in the EA app directory) and select Run As Administrator.
- 3Reopen the EA app and try installing your game.
- 1Go to C:\Program Files\EA Games and temporarily move the folder for the game to a different place.
- 2Go to C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EA Desktop\EA Desktop.
- 3Right-click on EADesktop.exe.
- 4Choose Run as Administrator.
- 5Start the installation and pause it after 30 seconds.
- 6In C:\Program Files\EA Games, copy the content of the old folder for the game into the new folder for the game.
- 7Resume the installation.
User Access Control (UAC) is a Windows security feature that helps protect your device by preventing applications from gaining Administrator access to your operating system.If you lower your UAC settings, we recommend re-enabling it as soon as you’ve finished troubleshooting.Learn how to adjust the protection level in your User Access Control settings on PC.
If you get a Create Folder Error while you’re trying to install, update, or repair your game, this means there’s a permissions issue. To fix it:If SYSTEM doesn’t have full permissions:
- 1Open Windows File Explorer.
- 2Right-click on the game folder.
- 3On the Security tab, select Advanced.
- 4Make sure that the SYSTEM account has full control of the folder.
- 1Go back to the Security tab.
- 2Select Edit, then choose SYSTEM.
- 3Next to Full control, check Allow.
- 4Select Apply.
Troubleshoot loading issues
If a game isn't loading in the EA app, try repairing your game file.- 1Launch the EA app and go to your Library.
- 2Find the game you want to repair and select the three-dot menu on the game tile.
- 3Choose Repair.
- 4When the game has finished repairing, try launching it again.
The in-game overlay setting can sometimes make your game crash. If your game won’t launch on PC, try turning off the in-game overlay to see if it’s causing your issue.
If your game uses Shift +F1 for the in-game overlay as an input:If in-game overlay was causing your problem, let us know when you submit an error report. Make sure to turn in-game overlay back on once your issue is fixed—you need it for important info, like game invites and messages.
If your game uses Shift +F1 for the in-game overlay as an input:
- 1Select your profile thumbnail in the EA app.
- 2Open Settings and choose Application.
- 3Toggle the In-game overlay button to turn the setting off.
If you can’t launch your game because the EA app says it’s still preparing, try these steps.
- 1Clear the EA app’s cache.
- 2Check for background applications that might limit the EA app’s performance and close them.
- 3Check for Windows and GPU updates.
- 4Check your drivers.
- 5
Troubleshoot on Mac
If you’ve tried the steps above and still need help, here are more steps you can try on Mac.- 1Go to the Apple menu, then choose System Settings.
- 2Choose Privacy & Security.
- 3Choose Full Disk Access.
- 4Toggle on the EA app.
- On macOS Catalina, you might also need to enable full disk access for EABackgroundService.
If you’re using an external drive, check whether the drive is set to read-only. If the drive is formatted as NT file system (NTFS), macOS won’t have write access.To change your drive’s access, follow these steps.
- 1In Finder, choose the external drive.
- 2Press Ctrl + Click or right-click on the external drive, then choose Get Info.
- 3Check the format and write access for the drive.