I am facing the same problem. EA support is alerted, they're trying to fix it but no timeline is given. There is no alternative solution that has been mentioned so far on what if they can't fix it when I sent my latest enquiry.
I've been back and forth via email with EA Help and they stopped monitoring my email address because I asked for either a refund on all of my expansions or a time frame for this update/fix they keep saying will come out. I've tried everything I can find except for rebuying The Sims 3 because I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REBUY A GAME I'VE OWNED FOR YEARS JUST TO PLAY THE PRODUCTS I'VE ALREADY OWN TO BEGIN WITH. No one should have to put more money into the game in order to play it after having the base game and the expansions for years.
Case - #154350678
Hi everyone so i had the same problem as you guys i couldnt install ANY dlcs for Sims 3, i spent 2 days talking with the customer service and they wouldnt do anything except they told me that they knew about the problem, to check this topic and to wait.
So, what i did is i purchased the base game again through EA and with that i was able to download all the dlcs, and when it was finished i just asked for a refund directly on EA Great Game Guarantee since the customer service told me they couldnt refund me even if i know they can. They refunded me and i can play normally even if technically they refunded me and removed the sims 3 base game that i bought, it is working !
Also after all of this i was just sooo mad i left a 0 star reviews for my customer service experience and told them why and all. I recommend all of you to do the same because i really dont think we will have help, for EA it is much more advantageous for them to not solve the problem probably because they thought we would just buy the sims 4 or buy the 3 all over again.
I simply refuse to rebuy a game I own. EA should fix their things so I can play what I have bought. Simple as that.
I am tired of all this. This is a massive scam ... I own all the DLC and cannot play the game that costed me back in the day plenty of money.
EA cases are telling me the same everytime. De-install, re-install ... Like I never did that in the past weeks ...
@EA get your bussines straight.
I also did not like that it came to this, but I rebought the base game. At least the refund is processed fast and efficiently (mine was approved next day although money could take up to 10 days to refund). I haven't seen any players here reporting that refund was declined so I don't consider this really "re buying the game", just an annoying workaround at this point. The issue started for me about 2 weeks ago but when I realized issue has been around since EA app replaced Origin back in Nov 2022, I accepted there is no will to fix this despite our follow-ups and logical arguments. At least there is this work around and we can play our Sims 3 games once again......
Report ID: 6150eb14-00dc-408e-aea9-c5754090266f
Cannot download The Sims 3 Island Paradise
For the last week + I had not been able to download anything but the base game, even though I own all of the major expansions except the most recent and all but 5 of the DLCs, I read about the EA play workaround and used that to get all of my missing content except for Island Paradise, which seems to be the hold out and throwing the same "Preparing > Error" loop that I was getting for all EPs until I used the workaround.
@76d259af889edc07 wrote:Hi everyone so i had the same problem as you guys i couldnt install ANY dlcs for Sims 3, i spent 2 days talking with the customer service and they wouldnt do anything except they told me that they knew about the problem, to check this topic and to wait.
So, what i did is i purchased the base game again through EA and with that i was able to download all the dlcs, and when it was finished i just asked for a refund directly on EA Great Game Guarantee since the customer service told me they couldnt refund me even if i know they can. They refunded me and i can play normally even if technically they refunded me and removed the sims 3 base game that i bought, it is working !
Also after all of this i was just sooo mad i left a 0 star reviews for my customer service experience and told them why and all. I recommend all of you to do the same because i really dont think we will have help, for EA it is much more advantageous for them to not solve the problem probably because they thought we would just buy the sims 4 or buy the 3 all over again.
If you don't mind, can you please explain how exactly you did this?? Did you uninstall the Sims 3 and delete all its files before buying and installing another copy? Did you launch the game and then request the refund after? Having the same problem with no DLCs downloading and have tried EVERYTHING!
I didn't uninstall. I clicked on manage on the sims 3 base game that had downloaded and then purchase game. As soon as I completed the purchase, all expansion packs started downloading. I then contacted help via live chat and requested refund explaining the reason. I even pasted this thread to the agent but really no more questions asked. I had even taken screenshot with my sims 3 original game key to prove I already owned it but it was not needed.
I bought a cheap key (1$), entered in the EA app and it worked, too!
I had the same error where the Sims 3 base game downloaded perfectly, but then when the EA app tried to download the DLC, I got the "Something went wrong" message. I tried uninstalling the base game and reinstalling it, clearing the cache, and nothing worked! I then bought a cheap key for the base game, and after I redeemed the key, all the DLC successfully installed!
So if you are having the error where the DLC will not install, buy the base game and have it refunded like previous individuals did, or buy a cheap key for $1 or so.
Where did people buy the cheap key?
Instant Gaming i think ?
One year and still problems with download a game from 13 years ago.
Thanks EA !
#BringBackOriginPlease
Bought a cheap key and the DLCs are now downloading. * you, EA, for making us buy a game we already own!!!
You bought the game (sims 3) or an add on ?
@MecQuiJoueAuxSim wrote:You bought the game (sims 3) or an add on ?
The Sims 3. I bought the Starter Pack on accident instead of just the base game, but it worked. Just requested a refund last night after launching the game with all of my DLCs downloaded successfully.
Since this "work around" seems to work, for the most part, EA should be giving a coupon for a free copy of Sims 3 to everyone who has submitted a ticket for this problem. It would save people the hassle of requesting a refund & save them the bother of issuing all of the refunds. EA obviously doesn't have any interest in fixing this because it's been an ongoing issue for almost a year & all we've heard from them is crickets.
I can't even get the live chat to work.. (screenshot) Does anyone know how I can contact them? Preferably not over e-mail, because I've had bad experiences with that 😕
You get a new member to answer your e-mail each time with the same questions you answered 10 e-mails ago.
@SomuchJoy94 wrote:I can't even get the live chat to work.. (screenshot) Does anyone know how I can contact them? Preferably not over e-mail, because I've had bad experiences with that 😕
You get a new member to answer your e-mail each time with the same questions you answered 10 e-mails ago.
You can request a refund here without having to chat anyone: https://www.ea.com/great-game-guarantee
It's become worse for me, i cant download sims 3 anymore.
Thanks EA i lose 1,23€ and a game i bought years before
Update : Can play to Sims 3 but cant play VIP - University and Generation
My only 3 add-on
Still wasting 1,23€ for a new key, thanks ☹️
