link sub account to an EA account

[markyluv]

I remember when computer games used to be so much easier! Please help....

Background: I have a PS4 with a master account (mine) and I have created two sub accounts for my boys who are 10 and 7 years old. I did this to follow Sony rules and protect them from any unwanted chat/messages etc. I keep the master account wallet empty so they can't "accidentally" buy anything and my master account requires a password before any purchases can be made. A week ago I reactivated my PS Plus subscription (using my master account obviously) so that my kids can play games online using our PS4.

Problem: My eldest boy has just received FIFA17 as a gift and when he tried to play it in his sub account it complains about connecting to the EA servers. First it said that he didn't meet minimum requirements, then when I cancel that message it says "You will not be able to use online features in FIFA17 unless you create an EA Account Go to any online area of the title to try again". I failed to find any way within FIFA17 to create an EA Account for him but then I remembered that his other new game (PvZ Garden Warfare 2) is by EA and that he'd never played online. I started up that game in his sub account and I was instructed to create an EA Account for him which I did. It logged into the PvZ servers and all was successful. Whenever I return to FIFA17 in his sub account I get the same error messages as before. How do I link his new EA Account whilst playing FIFA17 in his sub account?

More Info: If I start up FIFA17 in my master account it logs in to the servers without problem and I get asked to accept the terms and conditions (which I haven't accepted for fear of assigning the game to my master account and blocking out his sub account).

Thanks in advance for any help, Mark

[markyluv · Accepted solution]

Accepted Answer: A child using a sub account must be at least 13 years old to connect to EA's FIFA servers.

This age restriction is lower for Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare 2 because my child can play that online in his original sub account where he is a 10-year old.   

Additional Info:

After an hour on the phone to EA support and then an hour on the phone to Sony support no one could tell me why my son's sub account wouldn't connect to the EA servers in FIFA16 or FIFA17.

After finding an old post about FIFA16 buried in the EA forums I discovered it's because he's under 13 years old (he's 10). I created another sub account setting his age to 14 and that works without problem.

Message to EA : Don't throw up generic/ambiguous error messages that don't tell us the actual problem. Oh and train your support staff better so they know that Plants v Zombies GW2 can be played by a 10 year old but for FIFA16 and FIFA17 you have to be at least 13 years old!!

Regards,

Mark

[markyluv]

Some additional info in case it helps...

His SEN Account and EA Account have the same email address (which is the also the email address I specified when setting up the sub account). His SEN and EA Accounts have a slightly different username because his SEN Account Name was unavailable for an EA Account.

[markyluv · Accepted solution]

Accepted Answer: A child using a sub account must be at least 13 years old to connect to EA's FIFA servers.

This age restriction is lower for Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare 2 because my child can play that online in his original sub account where he is a 10-year old.   

Additional Info:

After an hour on the phone to EA support and then an hour on the phone to Sony support no one could tell me why my son's sub account wouldn't connect to the EA servers in FIFA16 or FIFA17.

After finding an old post about FIFA16 buried in the EA forums I discovered it's because he's under 13 years old (he's 10). I created another sub account setting his age to 14 and that works without problem.

Message to EA : Don't throw up generic/ambiguous error messages that don't tell us the actual problem. Oh and train your support staff better so they know that Plants v Zombies GW2 can be played by a 10 year old but for FIFA16 and FIFA17 you have to be at least 13 years old!!

Regards,

Mark

[Elrabo9000]

why do sub accounts exist

[Reed462]

So you can control your kids accounts.