ME2 "Unable to Authorize the listed DLC" Steam/Origin

[FirebirdCatron]

Hi,

This is a distress beacon and I promise it’s not a Geth, Collector, or Reaper trap – please send help! I can’t get the DLC for Mass Effect 2 to work.

I purchased all the DLC – the Cerberus Network DLC Bundle came with the Digital Deluxe Edition of Mass Effect 2 (Invoice#: 3033671897919227240 through Steam) and I purchased the Mass Effect 2 DLC Bundle (Order#: 1005093392339 through Origin).

I redeemed the Product Codes from Steam using the ‘Redeem Product Code’ option on myaccount.ea.com. I downloaded the game through Origin, downloaded the DLCs through Origin. I launched the game and was invited to join the Cerberus Network. I typed in my EA username and password and it said that the username and password did not match and I know that they definitely did because I had just used the exact same username and password to successfully login to EA.com and redeem the product codes. So I hit the ‘email me my password’ option and it said that “Communication with the mass effect 2 server was interrupted or timed out.” I get this error message regardless of the internet network I use (I’ve tried 4 different networks). I launched the game anyway, imported my ME1 character and got down to saving the galaxy… only, after about an hour it was clear that the DLCs were not working.

Fix 1 - I hit the forums and some users said that you had to change firewall settings, so I gave Steam, Origin, and ME2 exceptions in the Windows Defender. No luck, I got the same errors and the DLC was still not working. I have no other antivirus software installed on my PC. 

Fix 2 - Some users said you had to repair the game by going to the Game Library in Origin then right click on ME2 then click Repair. Now it says, "Cannot authorized listed DLC." At least it's recognizing there is DLC installed now... but when I try to log in to the Cerberus Network I get the same errors as before and the DLC is still not working.

I decided to try my luck with Steam. I uninstalled ME2, deleted all game files (in Program Files and Documents), and reinstalled ME2 through steam. I ran the game once, to the menu so that it could make directory files then exited. I downloaded the DLCs to the new ME2 file from https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/download-dlc-for-classic-origin-games/#masseffect and ran the installers then fired up the game again. This time I had an additional error. First a dialogue box opens that says, “Unable to authorize the listed DLC” and it prompts you to log in to the Cerberus Network you used to purchase the DLC. So I try to use my username and password as I did for Origin and got the same errors as before: “Username and Password don’t match” and “communications…interrupted or timed out.”

I’m just sad and tired and sorry I’m too dumb to figure this out.

[holger1405 · Accepted solution]

@FirebirdCatron 

Try to change the EA password to something without special characters > test. 

[holger1405]

@FirebirdCatron 

Is your username or your password including special characters?

Are you on a private network or a public (university) network?

[FirebirdCatron]

@holger1405 

Wow! I didn't really expect anyone to respond - thank you!

Yes, my password does have special characters and I am on a private network.

[holger1405 · Accepted solution]

@FirebirdCatron 

Try to change the EA password to something without special characters > test. 

[FirebirdCatron]

@holger1405 

Oh my gosh-golly-gumdrops! It worked. You are the best, most awesome, most wonderful human in the galaxy.

I spent DAYS trying to figure this out. You have made my day, my week, my month and possibly my whole year. 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

[holger1405]

@FirebirdCatron 

NP. You are welcome!

Have fun gaming!

[AplateOfwa_ustm]

I have been havingg the same issues as above, with the notable exception that I DO NOT have any special characters in my PW.

Just the standard minimum one capital letter, and number that EA insists is mandatory in the pw. 

I have DL the game in steam.

Activated the Codes in Origin

DL'd the DLC in Origin that I have access to, including seeing that Cerberus Network is Installed properly.

The only "DLC" that seems to be active is the freaking blood dragon armour. Nothing else is working, I followed every step I could find, I made sure that the game is properly installed on Steam, got the verification on Origin. But this freaking Cerberus Network stuff has me completely flummoxed. I went to that page that was linked for the free stuff, but it still hasn't activated. And the Network STILL says there is incompatibility between my pw and email address. When like I said above, there is no special character. Just the minimum requirements for the EA password to pass muster on Origin and the website.

Im close to just calling it and doing a vanilla playthrough but I feel cheated and like I wasted a ton of money on these games over the years.

[holger1405]

@AplateOfwa_ustm 

Do you use any Mods?

Any special characters in the E-Mail? (apart from the @ of course.)

Make sure your the game is recognizing any letter you actually type, sometimes it is not recognizing keyboard input of certain keys.

You also could tray to change your EA password to something short for testing purpose.

If it works with the shorter password it would rule out a account issue.

[AplateOfwa_ustm]

Apparently my original pw was at least 1 character too long for Cerberus Log in.

This is actually frustrating and the pure silliness baffles the mind. Thanks for the pw change suggestion to something shorter. 

Im going to bang my head against a wall now.

[holger1405]

@AplateOfwa_ustm 

Well, it is a 10 years old game.

Such things almost never get fixed, I assume developers are just afraid to break the login process completely.

If you use two factor authentication your account security should not by affected.