Unable to sign into Sims 3 Launcher

[kirbyloehr]

I can't sign into the Sims 3! I used to be able to sign into the launcher no problem but now when i try to sign in it says my email doesnt exist and is "null" ive tried just about everything and its driving me crazy.  i have a lot of stuff from the exchange that ive downloaded with my simpoints that i paid for and now i cant even access it because of this. someone please help!! Ive had this game for years and now i dont even want to buy an expansion pack because i dont think itll ever show up

[puzzlezaddict]

@kirbyloehr  First of all, you don't need to sign into the launcher to download or install content from the Sims 3 Store.  Just go to the store site, sign in there, and download from your purchase history.  You can install from the launcher without being signed in; however, it's sometimes necessary to close the launcher and reopen it.

For the launcher login issue itself, try clearing Safari's cache.  If that doesn't help, does your email address or password have a nonstandard character, for example a symbol or accent?  You might not want to change the email associated with your EA account, but the password can be changed easily enough.

If that doesn't help, please let me know what domain (e.g. gmail.com) hosts your email address.

[kirbyloehr]

Hi thank you I tried to clear the cache form my chrome, so do you think i should download safari?  I am playing on a mac and I know there are always issues with the mac and this game.  Also when i try to download my content it gives me an error.  my email does have an underscore in it, and i use aol which i know is a bit outdated. i have also reset my password about 3 times and it didnt do anything and i tried to make it as simple as possible.  thank you so much for your help!

[kirbyloehr]

@kirbyloehr I tried changing my email but it says the page is unable to be reached. i tried downloading safari and it didn't work. i tried clearing the cache and the search history and that didn't work. and when i try to download my content from the exchange it gives me an error message. i am so upset by this

[puzzlezaddict]

@kirbyloehr  On a Mac, Safari is part of the OS, so I'm not sure why you'd have needed to download anything.  The Sims 3 launcher borrows the resources of a browser to perform some functions: in Windows, it's Internet Explorer, and we think it's Safari in macOS because that's the one browser guaranteed to be present.  The point is to clear the cached data the launcher is using in case something about that data is corrupt.

Regardless, one thing you can try now is downloading content into a new user account on your Mac.  Make it an admin account; the username should contain only letters and numbers, no special characters.  The idea is to see whether you can install content in the new account.  But while still in the old account, you'll need to move the Sims 3.app and the Sims 3 Packs folder from Users > your username > Applications to the main Applications folder.  You can simply drag and drop; no need to uninstall and reinstall.

In the new account, sign into Origin and repair the game: open your game library, right-click on the Sims 3 icon, and select Repair.  Then try to download one item and see whether it works.

If you do want to change your the address associated with your Origin account, you should be able to do so on ea.com.  If one browser doesn't work, try another one.

[andecker08]

I've had this problem for the last few months as well. If I try to log in at the launcher, it says my email address is null. I can open the game, but when it loads the neighborhood screen it tries to connect and stops there forever Connecting. I have to force it to quit. Clearing history and cache in Safari didn't help.

[puzzlezaddict]

@andecker08  Open Applications > Utilities, launch Keychain Access, and search for Sims.  Delete any entries you find with Sims3 in them.  This should stop the game from trying and failing to connect at the Main Menu, at least.

You can test the launcher as well, although I'm not sure whether the above will help with that.  If your email address has a special character in it, I mean other than the @ before the domain name, that might be why the launcher is rejecting it; it could also be the domain itself.  If you're willing, you could try changing the email associated with your EA account, but that's a lot of trouble to go through considering you don't actually need to sign into the launcher to play or download content.

[pieray]

I have the same issues, (and no, the launcher is also not working) but I can't download any special content without being logged in?

[puzzlezaddict]

@pieray  Does your computer run Windows or macOS?  Does it help to move the entire Sims 3 folder ou of Documents > Electronic Arts and allow the game to create a new one?  This will also remove all your saves and other user content, but that's fine, it'll still be intact in the folder you've moved and can be restored later.