Community ManagerHey danoact,
To give a bit more context, "ban evading" is more specifically using a new account to get around a prior violation. If, for example, your account was banned for an inappropriate name, and you created a new account with the same name or substituting one letter, that would be ban evading and the new account would be subject to closure as well.
We absolutely understand people may have multiple accounts, which typically only becomes an issue in Apex if used for smurfing, or if the new account is used to continue the same behavior as the prior account - back to the ban evasion.
When it comes to a cheating or game enhancement ban, it's best to submit an appeal if you believe that action was taken in error, as you've mentioned already. I'd definitely suggest taking a look through any programs you may have on your system that could trigger the anticheat as well - while we aren't able to provide a list of every program, I'd check through the link above and make sure you don't have anything like that running in the background, even if it was for a different game.
Reason being, if you do create a new account to play without clearing up the original account ban (via appeal) or correcting the reason the ban was triggered, it's likely the new account would be actioned for continuing that behavior, not just because you made a new account. The distinction is key there.
Thank you for actually taking the time to explain this. Honestly, this is probably the most human response I’ve had since the ban happened, which is why I’m hoping you might be able to give me some guidance.
I’ve now appealed the ban 3 times and every appeal has been denied. I understand from the replies that they say each appeal is manually reviewed and I understand they can’t give away anti cheat detection methods or evidence. The problem is I still have absolutely no idea what actually caused the ban.
This is where I’m really stuck with what you said about checking programs on my PC and making sure whatever triggered it isn’t still there. I completely understand that advice, but how am I supposed to correct the reason for the ban when after 3 appeals I haven’t even been given a general idea of what caused it? I’m not asking EA to tell me how their anti cheat works. Even knowing whether this was related to software running on my PC, hardware, gameplay, account activity or something else would give me somewhere to start.
The only thing I could think of was that I had Cronus Zen software installed on my PC. I explained this in my appeals. I’m an MnK player on PC and the Zen was never used with Apex. I used it on my PS4 as a controller converter so I could use an Xbox controller on Black Ops Zombies. I’ve now removed the Zen software and anything else I could think of that might possibly interfere with anti cheat.
Something else that confuses me is the timing of the ban. From what I remember, the last time I actually played Apex would have been around August 20th to the 22nd. My penalty history says I was banned on August 27th. So I had been inactive for several days when the ban was actually applied. I didn’t get banned while I was playing or immediately after a session, I came back to the game and found my account already banned. I don’t know if that timing is relevant, but I feel like it’s something that should be looked at.
I also mentioned that on August 29, before I even knew I was banned, I had to reset my EA password because my old password wasn’t working. I don’t know if that was anything more than me forgetting my password, but I asked if my login or device history could be checked as well.
What’s frustrating is none of those things have really been addressed. The replies just tell me the ban was reviewed and will remain in place. I know you’re saying a trained person reviews them, but from my side the responses feel like a pre-filled one click reply because I never get an answer to any of the actual questions I’m asking.
I’ve been playing on this account since 2022, I’ve put a lot of hours into Apex and spent a lot of money on the account. More importantly I genuinely believe I have been falsely flagged for cheating. I’m not trying to find a way around the ban or continue whatever supposedly caused it. I’m trying to figure out what happened so I can fix it and hopefully get my account back.
At this point I really don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. If there is any advice you can give me, or any way to get this looked at beyond submitting the same appeal again, I would genuinely appreciate the help.
Community ManagerHey danoact,
The only thing I could think of was that I had Cronus Zen software installed on my PC.
Just based on what you've mentioned, this does strike me as a pretty likely factor. Whether it was the reason I wouldn't know, but that's what I'd probably lean towards if it was running in the background - even if you were using it for another game.
It would be worth noting that whether it was this program or some other, removing them after the fact wouldn't do much for an account that had already been actioned with a detection of those program(s). It would just help avoid that on a future account. The appeals are more a means for our ToS team to double-check whether the initial action was accurate according to our records, rather than a "whoops won't happen again" type of situation. In legitimate bans of that nature, the "damage" has already been done, so to speak.
As far as the timing goes, not all bans are immediate. Some are, while others may require additional investigation or be part of a larger "ban wave" that collects a number of similar accounts/detections before actioning them at once. So there's not really too much to be read into a ban taking place after the fact, while you weren't in-game.
Password resets can be prompted for other reasons, but if you have reason to suspect someone else may have accessed the account, try checking the trusted devices here for any signs of access from another location. Note that's not necessarily a "get out of jail free" card as someone handing their account over to be boosted or simply using a VPN would show similar, for example, but if you're seeing access you don't recognize, that could be reason to contact the support team with a normal ticket, rather than the ToS team via appeal. They'd have an account recovery process to go through to help make sure things are secure.
Ultimately, you're more than welcome to submit another appeal to have this reviewed again, unless it reaches a point where the ToS team has mentioned they won't be reviewing the issue further and appeals are no longer offered. There wouldn't be an alternate way to appeal though, as this all goes back to what the ToS team is able to verify on their end.
EA_Mako
Yeah honestly, based on what you’ve said, I’m starting to think that must have been what happened.
I can’t remember for certain if Cronus Zen Studio was actually running when I had Apex open, but I do have the Steam icon and Cronus icon right next to each other on my desktop, so if it was running there’s a good chance I opened it by accident or just forgot to close it from using it for something else.
If that is what caused the detection, then it was genuinely a complete accident. I never used it with Apex and I wasn’t trying to get any kind of advantage, but from what you’re saying I understand that a “whoops, won’t happen again” situation doesn’t really change anything once the detection has already happened.
I’ve appealed 4 times now and the answers have basically all been the same, so I think the ToS team have made their decision pretty clear. I’ve explained that if the Cronus software was running it would have been accidental, but I guess at this point the damage is already done.
I have removed Cronus Zen Studio and anything else I thought could possibly interfere with anti cheat, so I’m confident my PC is clean now.
The last thing I really want to make sure of is what you mentioned about future accounts. You said removing those programs would help avoid the same thing happening on a future account.
If my account itself is banned, but I’m not hardware banned or otherwise restricted from playing Apex completely, am I allowed under EA’s rules to make a new account and start fresh now that I’ve removed everything?
I’m not asking how to get around the original ban or bypass anything. I just want to know whether starting again on a clean account is actually allowed, because the last thing I want to do is make another account and accidentally break another rule.
Community ManagerCommunity Manager
