Re: [Resolved] We Could Not Activate Mass Effect 3 2012 Edition Error

one further reply the second tech out of 5 said they removed and replaced the entitlements on my account.  the case number was/is 146880923 for someones review.  its been marked as closed no fix which is a garbage excuse.  

@Dj-Xenoc 

• Make sure EA app and Steam are closed.
• Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
• Type or copy and paste "%ProgramData%\Electronic Arts\EA Services" (without the quotes) into the new Window > ENTER
• Move the "License" folder to your desktop.
• Test.

I moved the licence file and it hangs at preparing for about 10-15 min then says download error

@Dj-Xenoc 

But you don't get the error messages from your OP anymore?

Did you restated your PC?

no the download still hangs at preparing the defaults to a generic we are having issues downloading.  i have done countless clean boots app cache clears un and reinstalling the ea app

@Dj-Xenoc Hey, With the changes being made to your account, can you please run through the following steps as outlined and see if this helps? I need to pass along this to the team since changes to your account were made with support.

First, uninstall the game if installed

Uninstall the EA App/Steam

Delete Windows Temp Files

• First, make sure you close as many programs as you can
• Press the Windows key + R, go into the file explorer
• Type in %temp%, and hit Enter
• Delete everything it allows you to delete
• Reboot the PC

Optional Registry clean-up

• install CCleaner (it's free) from here
• Run Registry cleaner
• Click review selected issues
• Do you want to back up? No
• Click fix all selected issues

Once completed, reinstall the Steam/EA App and then reinstall the game as normal and let me know if you get the same error.

Terminating the EA Launcher and then renaming the "License" folder to "License.old" did the trick for me. Mass Effect 3 now started and I was able to resume the game where I left off a while back.

This worked for me, thank you!

This solution fixed my issue, thank you! I got this issue after I moved to a different country and changed a timezone on my PC. When I returned timezone to my hometown's timezone - I could play but it wasn't comfortable to change my timezone every time I want to play.

• Make sure EA app and Steam are closed.
• Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
• Type or copy and paste "%ProgramData%\Electronic Arts\EA Services" (without the quotes) into the new Window > ENTER
• Move the "License" folder to your desktop.
• Test.

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@BorschSpirit wrote:

This solution fixed my issue, thank you! I got this issue after I moved to a different country and changed a timezone on my PC. When I returned timezone to my hometown's timezone - I could play but it wasn't comfortable to change my timezone every time I want to play.

• Make sure EA app and Steam are closed.
• Press the Windows key and "R" at the same time.
• Type or copy and paste "%ProgramData%\Electronic Arts\EA Services" (without the quotes) into the new Window > ENTER
• Move the "License" folder to your desktop.
• Test.

---

These steps actually fix a few issues and the team is working on this as it is not just affecting ME but other games as well. Glad that it worked out for you.

So how long has it been, two months now and not a single official word about a possible solution to this. This shouldnt take this long if this issue would be taken seriously . I just want to play the game i payed for, why does it have to be so hard?

I ended up finding a simple workaround on the Steam community page that let me play again. It's definitely not an ideal solution--and EA still really needs to fix this. If you bought on Steam, it should work on Steam. But I hope this helps folks who still haven't had any luck. If it does, I hope it isn't used as an excuse to ease up on fixing the problem.

1. Back up your campaign files, if you have any. Multiplayer progress is stored on your account so that isn't lost.
2. Uninstall from Steam.
3. Install via the EA Launcher. You'll want to make sure you have all the DLC if you plan on playing multiplayer.

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@N3791 wrote:

I ended up finding a simple workaround on the Steam community page that let me play again. It's definitely not an ideal solution--and EA still really needs to fix this. If you bought on Steam, it should work on Steam. But I hope this helps folks who still haven't had any luck. If it does, I hope it isn't used as an excuse to ease up on fixing the problem.

1. Back up your campaign files, if you have any. Multiplayer progress is stored on your account so that isn't lost.
2. Uninstall from Steam.
3. Install via the EA Launcher. You'll want to make sure you have all the DLC if you plan on playing multiplayer.

---

Wow, that did it! I can't believe I didn't try this. I tried LAUNCHING from EA App, but not uninstalling and reinstalling from the EA App. Thanks for posting!

Welp, here I am, MONTHS later, and the problem has resurfaced out of the blue after having already solved it TWICE. Literally, I launched the game earlier today and it was fine. Tried to launch again a few minutes ago, and all of a sudden the exact same error messages are showing up. I have changed nothing about my laptop or my accounts in the last few hours, let alone the last few YEARS. I can think of 0 things that might have changed on my end to cause this problem to start again, and now I come back here to see that there's still been no concrete resolution to whatever is going on here. I have to say, I'm pretty livid. Finding it difficult to believe that any team anywhere is "working on this" at all. Sure would be nice if somebody who was actually part of this mysterious "team" would give any explanation at all whatsoever to tell us why we're unable to play a game we paid for ages ago, and what is ACTUALLY being done about it. This is so absurd. 

I'm sorry to sound so abrasive, and I'm sure nobody on this forum actually has any power to do anything beyond "send info along to the team," but this is just crazy. 

Has anyone been successful in requesting refund from Steam? I purchased this game with a bundle with Mass Effect 2 on May, 27th, spent 2-3 weeks playing ME2, then waited a couple of weeks hoping a solution would come here and voilá! it's non-refundable since it's been more than 2 weeks. Who cares that the game doesn't work, like, at all. They won't be fixing it either, of course, because it's not their game to fix. What a wonderful position. And obviously it's not EA's game to refund since the purchase was made elsewhere and it looks like they aren't fixing it, either.

I already asked for the refund twice in the past two months, both times declined in a matter of minutes, it looks like they weren't even reading the lengthy explanation of the problem I gave them to this very topic where the only "official" info we're give is "the people up top are working on it".

So. Has anyone been successful in getting a refund or at least getting their attention instead of automatic declines?

@Khanoran 

Did you tried to uninstalling from Steam and instal via EA app?

@EA_ShepardI purchased it on Steam during the latest promotion to complete my Mass Effect (1-3) collection there.

@ChiNaneTKal When you look up the game in the EA App Store, what option does it have for you?