Download Stuck on Preparing

[puzzlezaddict]

@Bummer_Bunny  I've merged your post with a longer thread for this issue.  You can try the suggestion of using Origin on page one; Origin itself doesn't have to be usable to download content in the background.  But if that doesn't work, and I'm seeing mixed reports lately, then there's unfortunately nothing else you can do except to wait for EA to fix it.

[Bummer_Bunny]

@puzzlezaddict  Is there a way to download Origin onto Windows or is it only available for Mac now?

[puzzlezaddict]

@Bummer_Bunny  This link should still work:

https://www.dm.origin.com/download

[arianagrxndee]

I'm trying to download the sims 3 university paradise expansion pack but its stuck on preparing, all my other expansion packs downloaded fine

I've tried to repair the app and sims 3 and i've also force quit the app and opened it again, none of it is working

PLZZZZ HELP!

[puzzlezaddict]

@arianagrxndee  I've merged your post with a longer thread for this issue.  You can try the Origin-related workaround described on the first page; there's a download link for Origin in the post immediately above yours.  But I'm not sure it still works for anyone, and if it doesn't help you, the only thing you can do is wait for EA to fix it, unfortunately.  Keep an eye on this thread for updates.

[Simg34]

I am having the same issue, trying to re-instal the Sims 3 on my new PC and for some reason the last 3 EP won't instal and are stuck on "preparing" (University, Island Paradise and Into the Future).

I've tried everything on the help page to no avail, I've tried using Origin but it won't download the missing EPs, and the IT support contact is useless (I've so far had 3 different people answering me, none of them actually answered my questions and now they've stopped responding to me at all.

I'm not sure what else to try, and for some reason I doubt EA is interested in actually fixing this.

[jarol001]

I'm having this exact same issue, except the EPs affected are Showtime and Movie Stuff.

This is a brand-new PC that I just purchased, so everything is being installed for the very first time. The base game and all my other EPs installed without a problem. These two do exactly what OP described: I get about 15-20 minutes of 'preparing' status, then I'm told the download encountered a problem.

In case it matters, these are EPs that I already owned, and AFAIK they made the transfer from Origin to EA App just fine on my old PC.

If there's still an officially sanctioned way to reinstall origin for PC, as someone suggested, I can't find it.

[puzzlezaddict]

@jarol001  Try this link:

https://www.dm.origin.com/download

[Asilee]

I finally figured it out. I had to reinstall Origin to get the Into the Future to install. Go figure.

[puzzlezaddict · Accepted solution]

Update 2:  For anyone currently seeing this issue—some packs installing but others not—please create an EA App error report, as described here:

https://help.ea.com/en/help/ea/ea-app/run-ea-error-report/

and post the report ID in this thread along with a list of packs that won't download properly.

If you can't install any packs, please use this thread, and post an error report ID there instead:

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports-Technical-Issues/Sims-3-DLC-download-error-quot-Something-went...

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Update:  Origin can no longer be installed in Windows, so the original workaround (now under a spoiler) no longer applies.  That means there is no viable workaround for this issue.

This has been reported to EA, and hopefully it'll be fixed soon, but I don't know when.  I will keep updating this thread with more information.

A few players have reported that different packs get stuck reinstalling each time.  If that applies to you, it's worth saving the game's current program files under a different name and reinstalling—this should hopefully give you at least one copy of each pack you own.  First, open the EA App, select Sims 3, then Manage > View properties, and you'll see the install location.  This is for Sims 4, but you get the idea:

Close the EA App and kill the EABackgroundService in the Task Manager.  Open that file path and rename the Sims 3 folder.  Then restart your computer, open the App, and download Sims 3 again.  If everything installs correctly, you can delete the old Sims 3 folder you renamed.  You'll need to shut down the App and the background service again.

If one or more packs don't install correctly, close the App and kill the background service, then copy the folders for those packs from the old Sims 3 folder you renamed to the new one.  (Pack folders are labeled by pack type and release order, e.g. Seasons was the eighth expansion, so its folder is EP08.)  Open the App and try again to download those packs.  The App should verify their presence and finalize the install rather than redownloading the content.  When you're done, you can delete the old Sims 3 folder.

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Spoiler

@the_ultimate_jed  Please clear the EA App's cache:

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/clear-cache-to-fix-problems-with-your-games/

and restart your computer.

If this doesn't help, you're seeing the same EA App issue that a lot of other Sims 3 players have: one or two packs don't download properly while the others do.  There's probably nothing you can do about it from the user side, although a few players seem to be able to install Origin and get it to download the missing pack(s).  Origin isn't actually usable—it just gives you a prompt to update to the EA App—but a missing pack might download in the background while you're staring at that prompt.

https://www.dm.origin.com/download

If you do try this, make sure to leave automatic game updates enabled in Origin.

Other than that, all you can do is wait for EA to fix the issue.  It's been reported, so that should happen eventually, but I don't know when that will be.