Sims 3 Registration Code Invalid, Need Help!

[puzzlezaddict]

@mississippi42315  Do you still have the game installed on your old computer?  If so, you might have a file with your email address inside the Sims 3 game folder in Documents.  Go into Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Downloads, and look for a file labeled [your email address].bin: that's the email associated with your store account.

If you don't remember the password, to to Origin's login page, enter the email, and click "I forgot my password."  You should get a password reset email right away.

Even if you don't have the file with your email address, you can try entering each of your known addresses in Origin and trying to reset the password.  Any address associated with a real account, Origin or Sims 3 store, should get the password reset email.

[mississippi42315]

@puzzlezaddict It is still installed on my old computer, but I can't seem to locate the file you mentioned. I appreciate the help anyways, so thank you for trying and I understand if it's kind of a lost cause at this point.

[mississippi42315]

@mississippi42315 I'm actually happy to report that I figured it out. I went through thesims3.com like you said and eventually found what I had to do, so thank you!

[SLCOW]

Good evening 

I have purchased sims 3 second hand for my daughter and the serial wont reg. Please can you help

Thanks Ian

[puzzlezaddict]

@SLCOW  A serial code that's already been used can't be registered a second time.  So unfortunately, there's no way for you to add it to your daughter's account.

[lilpilauld]

hi I recently decided that i wanted to give sims 3 another go i went on Origin and and downloaded it and the only pack that it said i had was ambitions which is not true, I’ve lost all my serial codes as i have not played the game in a long while. To make things even more complicated I played majority of my sims on a pc which i no longer have * to if anyone could help me please do i really don’t want to have to purchase all the games again 

[puzzlezaddict]

@lilpilauld  You'll need to contact EA customer support to get this sorted out.  A support rep can look into what happened to your other packs.  Is it possible that you have multiple accoounts, and your Sims 3 content is split between them?  If you ever registered your packs on the old site (thesims3.com or store.thesims3.com), those packs would be tied to the email you used there, even if you never logged into Origin with that email.  But again, support can help sort it out, and even merge your accounts if you do in fact have more than one.

https://help.ea.com/en/contact-us/

[roberta591]

@lilpilauld   When TS3 was released in 2009 pack codes were stored in the registry on the computer the game was installed on. When Windows 10 and IOS announced it would no longer support the DRM of SecuROM, TS3 was patched to use the DRM of Origin which is much like Steam. Prior to Origin it was the responsibility of the purchaser to retain the pamphlet with the activation code. The bad news is without the old computer and no pamphlets or email that has the codes you are probably going to be at the mercy of EA support. The good news is that the prices are lower now. Before Origin the activation of packs was very loose. Now with Origin - one code one owner. I have several Games for Windows that got orphaned when Microsoft shut down Games for Windows. This is the one thing I feared would happen when a distributor now longer will support the DRM the game was published with. I was able to recover some games by buying the console versions (and/or Steam version) but I don't know how long that will last. I'm on my second Xbox one s - seems there is a motherboard problem that has component failure. I don't know what to tell you. I feel your pain being a long time PC gamer. I have several Xbox 360 games that are orphaned and no other source. Old games are going the way of Betamax.

[MaddyGoodrick]

I've been registering all my old sims 3 expansion pack discs, as I bought a new laptop and want to be able to transfer the game to play on it. All have been fine, except for the Late Night EP. The provided code  in the disc case says it's invalid when I try to register. This code has only ever been used by me to install to my original laptop (which worked, it wasn't invalid when installing). The EA online help chat said that they can't do anything, but the retailer has to fix this. Since I purchased it almost 10 years ago in 2010 (when it first came out), not only do I no longer have the receipt, I also purchased it from a store that doesn't even sell the sims 3 any more - so the retailer will be no help.

Does anyone know of anything else I can try? The code did work originally when installed, just not now when registering. I'd really like to avoid buying it all over again.

[puzzlezaddict]

@MaddyGoodrick  Please make sure you're not mistaking a one for the letter i, or a zero for the letter o, etc., or vice versa.  It's not always obvious which is which.

If that's not the problem, is it possible you registered Late Night on the old Sims 3 Store site?  The site and Origin share information, so any code registered in one place would read as already used by the other.  In this case, you could get the old account with LN on it merged with your current one, provided you could prove the old account was yours.

If this isn't the issue either, you can try contacting support again.  Sometimes you find a support rep who understands the situation and wants to help.  It would also be useful if you could provide a photo of the Late Night disc, case, and insert with the code showing, as proof of ownership; you could upload it directly to a live chat session.