The Sims 3 Store Content Won't Show Up in Game

[puzzlezaddict]

@gamertherapy  Origin still works for most of us.  If you're getting a connection error, that's a separate issue.  Does your computer have wifi?  If so, you could set up your phone as a mobile hotspot (while it's using data, not your home network) and try running Origin there.  You wouldn't need to download anything over the connection—after Origin loads and you open the launcher, you could put Origin in offline mode and switch back your main network.

[Blueacid92]

Hello, i have the same issue, my store content does not stay installed!Will they fix that issue? Because the store content is very important to me and I pay a lot of money for it.

I hope they fix this issue soon...

[puzzlezaddict]

@Blueacid92  I've moved your post to the master thread for the issue with store content not installing.  There's no fix currently available, other than to go back to playing through Origin, which you can download here:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Origin-Client-Web-Technical/Downloading-and-installing-Origin-Windows-and-...

EA is aware of the issue, so hopefully there will be a fix at some point.

[leozabotto]

I'm having the exactly same issue.

As a Sims 3 player since a long time that have spent so much money on Sims 3 Store, I'm very disappointed.

Will EA provide any solution for this? 

This is not fair with us.

[sjrcnj]

I’m having the same problem as you. I tried to revert back to Origin, but I’m getting the same “could not connect to internet” pop-up error. I tried using the link in the pop-up and that doesn’t work either. Seems like EA patched Origin so nobody can re-download it anymore. 

I’m beyond frustrated. I can’t even express my frustration. I can’t continue playing my save files without permanently having all my sims 3 store content replaced. Not to mention over half of my saves are in Riverview because I adore the town. 

EA, please fix this. The Sims 3 community deserves a game we are able to play as effectively as we could on Origin. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@leozabotto and @sjrcnj  This issue has been reported, and given how significant it is and how many people are affected (pretty much everyone), I would guess that it might in fact be fixed as some point.  When that will be, I don't know, but hopefully it'll be somewhat soon.

In the interim, there's no good workaround, unfortunately.  If you only have a few essential store items, it might not be too frustrating to reinstall the content each time you play.  If you own a lot of content, well, maybe just create sims and/or build for a while and keep an eye on this thread.

I'll post an update here if and when there's any new information.

[ifyoucghosts]

just wanted to add that i am having this issue as well, although it won't let me reinstall the content. the ea app has all my expansions and miraculously my usermade cc is all still installed, but when i try to reinstall the store content, no matter what it is or even just one at a time, i get an error message.

[puzzlezaddict]

@ifyoucghosts  Does this still happen if you move or remove the Downloads folder inside the Sims 3 folder?   (This removes all your downloaded Sims3Packs but not any installed content.)  You'd need to download fresh copies of your store items, but that's required anyway.  How about if you remove Downloads and delete the .ebc files in DCCache?  This removes the (now non-working) installed store items from the game.  And if you try this, delete the store worlds from InstalledWorlds as well.

[ifyoucghosts]

i have not tried those methods yet because i have so much store content it really stresses me out to have to redownload it all; i'm worried i won't even remember exactly what it is and that angers me because i paid a lot of real money for all of that stuff.

however, something strange is going on because literally an hour after i wrote that post yesterday, i booted the game up again because i'm stubborn, and all of my store content was installed just fine without me having to do anything. play the game as normal.

just now this morning, the store content is uninstalled again and when i try to reinstall i get an error message. 

.......

[puzzlezaddict]

@ifyoucghosts  As mentioned in the original post, you can't reuse your previous downloads, which means you'll need to remove them from ...The Sims 3 > Downloads before trying to install the fresh copies so the launcher knows which ones to use.  But I understand why that would be an enormous hassle.  If I had a better workaround to offer, I would, but the only one available is to use Origin, and not everyone can anymore.