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Letiyy01's avatar
Letiyy01
Seasoned Newcomer
5 months ago

Invalid Game License - The Sims 4

Hello

I am experiencing the "Invalid License" error when trying to launch The Sims 4. I've tried several solutions, but the issue persists. Here are the steps I've already taken:

  • Updated Microsoft Visual C++.
  • Updated my system drivers.
  • Uninstalled and reinstalled both The Sims 4 and the EA App.
  • Performed a clean boot on Windows.
  • Ran the EA App as an administrator.
  • Checked the Electronic Arts > EA Services folder, but it is empty.

Despite these efforts, the error still occurs. I'd appreciate any advice or additional solutions to resolve this issue. Thank you for your help!

crashing
ea app

6 Replies

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  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    5 months ago

    Letiyy01  What antivirus do you use?

    Separately, have you ever claimed any Sims 4 content through Steam or Epic?  Do you live in a different country than the one where you originally bought or claimed Sims 4 from EA?

    This error is becoming alarmingly common, and the system troubleshooting hasn't helped anyone yet as far as I know, so I'm wondering whether there's a hidden account issue.

    Another test, if you're interested, would be to borrow a friend's account and test it on your machine.  Since the game is free, it's simple enough to add it.  I'd suggest doing a clean uninstall of Sims 4 and the EA App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine) before using the new account.  Rename the Sims 4 folder in Documents > Electronic Arts to something that doesn't include "Sims 4" so that Revo doesn't flag it for deletion.

  • shorty943p's avatar
    shorty943p
    Seasoned Veteran
    5 months ago

    This EC:204 problem was resolved with an update to the EA App about 18 hours ago.

    The app should update automaticly so next you want to play you can launch the game in offline mode again.

     

    All good, and a thank you to the team who got onto this so fast.

  • Moskikat's avatar
    Moskikat
    New Adventurer
    4 days ago

    Not true, because I've just updated my EA app and the EC:204 still shows up. App version 13.396.0.5909

  • shorty943p's avatar
    shorty943p
    Seasoned Veteran
    3 days ago

    Oh? It rears its head again?,   How odd, I was only online just yesterday with no trouble at all.

    Although I am at odd with how easily they seem to have wrecked the updates for sims 2 to play on later model PC's so easily.

    They took an old game that was running pefectly and somehow managed to break it.

  • Moskikat's avatar
    Moskikat
    New Adventurer
    2 days ago

    this EC:204 is around since 2023 and still annoys me so much, because it forces me to update the game even tho I don't want to (for whatever reason).
    this was my most recent post about it
    https://forums.ea.com/discussions/ea-app-technical-issues-en/ea-app-error-code-ec204-again/7545401
    I received no support at all