Hey debralou2002,
Sorry to hear about the frustration that the deactivated packs bug has caused. Especially since you'd already owned those packs and accessed them just fine before the update interfered with that experience.
Just wanted to pop in to let you know that what you and other Simmers experienced with those deactivated packs was noted by the studio and has since been addressed in the latest patch, so it should be resolved now!
And to quickly provide some context on why the previous workaround pushed players to access the Marketplace, it wasn't for the sake of repurchasing content, but to access the screen where pack management now lives. From there, you'd just need to select the packs you own but can't access, then click 'confirm' to reactivate them.
Hope that clears things up a bit!
Regarding the missing buttons in EA App, could you please upload a picture of what you're seeing? The repair game option should appear after clicking 'Manage' or the three dots when you hover over The Sims 4's card in your Library section.