Re: Product code won’t work for MacOS on launch

Putting the code into that format works I can try to get a screenshot to post when I get the MacBook back, it’s my girlfriends I got it for her for her bday and one of the main reasons she wanted it was for Sims 3 so it’s just annoying as all hell that I can’t get it to work lol

@r34rdon_821  Alright, let me know when you can grab some screenshots.  If this is in fact some new error, I can ask one of the EA community managers to look into it, but he'll want to see exactly where in the process the problem occurs, and what it looks like.

This is where it asks for the registration code and when it’s typed in it won’t go away you push done then it pops back up again

@r34rdon_821  I'm still curious exactly when in the process the box in that screenshot pops up, as in, when you try to open the launcher, or when the launcher is open and you press play, etc.  It shouldn't be there at all; I've never seen it in all the times I've installed TS3 in macOS (or in Windows for that matter).

At any rate, are you pressing play through Origin?  And are you using a legacy version of Origin instead of the current one?  (This has helped with a few recent Origin issues in macOS, but this problem could be a potential side effect of using a legacy version.)

If you haven't tried it already, launch the game without any Origin involvement.  Make sure Origin isn't running—cmd-option-esc will bring up a list of open apps, and you can force quit from there.  Then open Applications > The Sims 3, and double-click on the Seasons icon.

If you still get the popup asking for the code, please create a new admin account on the Mac and try launching the game from there, again without Origin being involved.

I’ve tried through original Origin and through Origin Legacy and neither work. It happens upon launch you start up the game through Origin then when the screen pops up where it has a play button and shows your downloads and stuff I press play. After that starts up it shows the sims logo in the background as if the game is loading up then it asks for the code like in the screenshot 

How do I start up the game without Origin? 

@r34rdon_821  Thanks for the info.  You can launch the game directly by opening Applications, then The Sims 3, and then double-clicking on the icon for Seasons.  Make sure Origin isn't running in the background first.  (As I mentioned, cmd-option-esc will bring up a list of running apps, and you can quit Origin from there if it's listed.)

Still doesn’t work even without Origin open, still asks for the code and shows that prompt.

@r34rdon_821  Try creating a new admin account on the Mac and launching the game through there.  Here's how:

• Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, and select System Preferences
• Click Users & Groups, which (for me at least) is in the bottom row, second from the left
• Click the lock icon in the lower left corner of the window, and enter the admin password on the current account
• Immediately above the lock, and below Login Options, click the + sign
• In the popup window, enter the new account info.  Be sure to select Administrator as the type of account (from the dropdown menu at the top); a Standard account won't have the correct privileges
• Restart the computer, and login to the new admin account
• Don't open Origin, just go directly to Applications > The Sims 3, and launch the game from there

If this doesn't work, let me know, and we can try a clean uninstall and reinstall of the game.

I will do that but I have completely erased the game and reinstalled it, so that doesn’t work. Support already had me do that.

@mbarcar237  Thanks for letting me know how the troubleshooting went, even if it didn't work.  It's definitely a macOS issue, but it's not universal.  I did half a dozen test installs into a fully updated Mojave over the weekend, with various combinations of approaches, and I couldn't reproduce.

Having said that, I do have a couple more ideas, if you want to keep working on this.  First, do you have an antivirus/firewall running?  If so, try disabling it.  And if you have some sort of cleaner app on your Mac, definitely get rid of it.  Aside from its potential effects on Origin and Sims games, it's just a bad idea overall.  Those apps often delete essential system files along with the junk they claim to clean up.

Please also check whether your system is set to allow apps from approved third parties, and whether it blocks anything after you get the invalid code message.  Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, select System Preferences, then Security & Privacy; this is where you'd get a message about a blocked app or download.  Please also allow downloads from "App Store and identified developers."

If none of this helps, let me know, and I'll forward your information.  For the sake of being thorough, it would help to have your full specs, as described here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Sims-3-Mac-Help-Guides-and-Troubleshooting/m-p/4756624#M2878

@mbarcar237  Sims 3 won't run on Catalina, the newest OS (which is still in beta), but it runs fine on a fully updated Mojave.  Do you have Catalina?  If so, then there's nothing you can do to get the game running.  Sims 3 is 32-bit, Catalina doesn't support any 32-bit apps.  So unless EA puts in the work to make the game 64-bit, which is unlikely, there won't be any way to run it in Catalina.

As before, I'd still like to know the full specs of your computer.

The original poster of this thread reported having Mojave though, so we've been troubleshooting with that in mind.

Origin not being compatible with all versions of macOS is a separate issue.  The symptoms are pretty obvious too: Origin won't connect or load a game library.  Still, if you'd like to test, I can write out instructions for installing and launching Sims 3 without any Origin involvement.  You would of course need it to download the game, but it wouldn't manage your install.

@mbarcar237  Just to confirm, you have the issue where after the game launches, you're asked for a product code a second time, and entering it doesn't do anything?  There are other issues with your particular model of processor and graphics card, usually resulting in an unknown error message.  But if you've fixed those issues, then yes, the game should launch properly in Mojave.