Forum Discussion

15o900's avatar
15o900
Rising Novice
2 months ago

Invalid game license The Sims 4

Hi!

I'm having a frustrating issue with The Sims 4. Every time I try to start the game, I get the message "invalid game license." I've tried a few solutions, but nothing seems to work.

 What I've done:

  • Update Microsoft Visual C++
  • Update graphics drivers
  • Clear the EA App cache
  • Uninstall and reinstall The Sims 4 and the EA App
  • Perform a clean boot

 Can anyone help me?

  • gg1301's avatar
    gg1301
    Seasoned Newcomer

    i'm having the same issue since updating the game yesterday, hope someone can shed some light on this

  • tons of us are having the same problem, this is riduculous. 

    nothing works!

  • 15o900 gg1301  Please make sure the EA App is closed and not running in the Task Manager, not even any related process in the background services list.  Do the same for Steam if you use it.

    Hit Windows key-R, enter %programdata% in the run box, open Electronic Arts > EA Services, and move the License folder to the desktop.  Then try again to play.

    If this doesn't help, please let me know whether a new License folder gets created, and if so, whether there's a new file inside.  I'd also like to know how many files are in the License folder you moved and how many other EA games you have installed.  Try to launch one or two of them as well, if you have any.

    • gg1301's avatar
      gg1301
      Seasoned Newcomer

      i've tried that and still no luck.
      there is no new license folder.
      there were 3 files in the moved license folder (71530.dlf, 1019521.dlf, 1025169.dlf - if that helps)
      i have 3 other EA games installed and they all have the same game license issue when trying to run

    • 15o900's avatar
      15o900
      Rising Novice

      I have already tried this, but there are no files in the EA Services folder. I tried repairing the game, but the folder did not return. I don't have any other games in EA.

  • gg1301  Does it help to run the EA App as an admin?  Right-click the desktop shortcut and select "Run as administrator."

    Do your other EA games work if you restore the License folder?

    Separately, can you play any of these games in a new admin Windows account, with the License folder removed?  Make it local, as in, don't link it to your Microsoft account.

    Finally, what antivirus do you use?

    • 15o900's avatar
      15o900
      Rising Novice

      My account is already an administrator account, and I also run the EA App as an administrator. I use McAfee antivirus.

  • 15o900  Please disable McAfee, temporarily of course, and try again.  As long as you don't do anything else at the same time, your computer should be safe, and you can reenable McAfee when you're done.

    The point of a new admin Windows account is not to test in any admin account, it's to test a new account that didn't exist before now.  The new account's settings and permissions should all be default, which is most of the point of the test.  So please do try it.

    • 15o900's avatar
      15o900
      Rising Novice

      I just switched the Windows user, and unfortunately, it didn't work.

  • 15o900  The EA App had a recent update that may or may not have helped—it did address a related error that happens when offline.  So please do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the App with Revo Uninstaller (the free version is fine), and choose the Intensive scanning method.  I'm not saying this will definitely fix the issue, but it's a reasonable possibility, and it would be best to start fresh after this newest update.

    • 15o900's avatar
      15o900
      Rising Novice

      I just tried that, and it didn't work, so I tried again and it still didn't work. I don't know what else to do to fix it. Do you have any more ideas for me to try? Thank you in advance.

  • 15o900  What country are you in?  Do you use a VPN, and does it help to disable it?  And to make sure, because I didn't see a response either way, did it help to temporarily disable McAfee?  I'mt not saying you shouldn't use it in general, but given how many other steps you've already tried, it's worth confirming that this is unrelated to the issue.  You'd need to repair the game after disabling McAfee and before trying again to play.

    • 15o900's avatar
      15o900
      Rising Novice

      I'm from Brazil, and I don't use a VPN. I already temporarily disabled the old one, but there was no change