Mass Effect 3 Demo: Sorry it appears the EA Servers are currently down...

[Gabacarin]

I really like the game and I was willing to buy it for pc.  Gave up after trying to test the demo.

Same problem here...

[darkpoetcc]

I'm hoping to get to play it to see if I like it.  But I do not buy games unless I can test them out myself, or if I have already played them (GOG.com).  Newer games look great, but that doesn't translate into great gameplay, uniqueness or a good storyline.  

We shall see if they respond...It does not look hopeful, I have had three chats with them, and the issue has yet to be resolved.

[MasterZoen]

It's very simple to get this demo to run. Just remove your computer from the whatever internet you have once the demo has downloaded. Several people have mentioned disabling wifi and one person mentioned disabling the NIC. If you plug a cable into your computer to access internet, then unplug it. Same with any USB adapters. If you use built-in wifi, then disconnect from the wireless network. Once you've done this the demo runs fine. Simple.

[darkpoetcc]

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@MasterZoen wrote:

It's very simple to get this demo to run. Just remove your computer from the whatever internet you have once the demo has downloaded. Several people have mentioned disabling wifi and one person mentioned disabling the NIC. If you plug a cable into your computer to access internet, then unplug it. Same with any USB adapters. If you use built-in wifi, then disconnect from the wireless network. Once you've done this the demo runs fine. Simple.

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Thanks for the tip; it does appear to work.  It is quite appreciated.  

However, I still have some major disagreement with EA concerning the overall problem here.  What you are effectively saying is that EA should not have to fix their poorly designed code relating to this issue, and their customers should have to resort to workarounds to save them the trouble of doing their jobs as developers and support staff?  Sorry, but I cannot agree.  While your suggestion may work, there is a bigger issue:  The fact that EA has not addressed the problem, and even their support staff do not have instructions to help affected users.  I had multiple chats with their support staff; none of them had the suggestion you just provided.

I write software for a living.  The worst thing I can think of as a developer is to write my applications in such a way that users have to resort to hacks, workarounds, third-party software or spoofing tools in order to bypass my poorly designed system.  Worse than that, the fact that there is some loophole that allows users to bypass this feature is also indicative of poor design.  This type of "workaround" should have been caught in the QA phase of the release it was built in to, and summarily fixed.  Even for a demo product, this should be considered unacceptable to any developer or development manager worth their salt.

To the point, EA should either remove the product from their Demos catalog (since the software as it comes is technically broken), or else patch the software to not attempt the connection in the first place.  They should address the issue, not ignore it.  Anything else is poor customer service, and the fact that people would have to put that much effort into a product that is in their catalog is indicative of a lack of concern for their customer base.

[MasterZoen]

"What you are effectively saying is that..."

You're putting words in my mouth, friend. I've never said that EA shouldn't fix the demo, only that it was simple to get the demo to work, as is.

The problem with the demo is that it was originally intended to demonstrate all the new features of ME3, primarily the Multiplayer. So, EA setup a MP server specifically for the demo, months before the games release date, and would put patch updates for MP on this server. After the game was released, EA took down the demo MP server. After all, those things cost money to maintain. Unfortunately, the demo attempts to automatically access this server when connected to the internet so it can get the latest patch, and closes when it can't.

The only reason I understand this work around, is because of how many other demos and even full games from various game companies in the last 20 years functionally did the same thing, and this workaround would "fix" most of them.

[I-MANNA-I]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNocJB_QG7k&feature=youtu.be 

[I-MANNA-I]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNocJB_QG7k&feature=youtu.be

[Greenmother1]

I have been having the exact same issue. I also checked the ports, my connection, everything the help page says to try. I have sent in my report and no response. I have been using orgin to download games since they and EA started working together. I have no problems with any other games bought n downloaded through orgin. I also was thinking of setting myself up with the Orgin Access. But unless this issue gets fixed soon I will not be doing so. I also will be going out and buying MA3 and when I'm done will be trading it for some thing else in my yahoo.group for gamer. I refuse to spend money on an item that doesn't even work. So I'll be spending my dough some where else. 

[MasterZoen]

I'm tired of hearing people complain about this. It's obvious that no one reads any of the responses, and whinging about a pre-release demo not being able to access pre-release multi-player demo servers years after the game released is banal. Those servers were removed when the game launched. You will not be able to access them. Ever.

If you want to demo the single-player game, DISCONNECT FROM THE INTERNET BEFORE LAUNCHING THE DEMO.

[julicas76]

thanks worked for me