The Sims 3 Pets missing from my game library [ Edited ]

[xboxbabe70]

2019 and I'm experiencing this issue and more! The game is showing as purchased and installed under expansion packs in origin client but not in my library. The expansion is also no longer showing up in the launcher there for I cannot play it!  Spoke with EA support who couldn't tell me why this was happening, she just said wait to see if it shows back up after i decided to re download it which did not work. Also she apparently sent me a code for the exp to my email without telling me which also didn't work as it said it was already redeemed?Have tried everything on the forum related to this issue and no fix yet. Very frustrating.

[EA_Lanna · Accepted solution]

Hi @xboxbabe70,

I can see you've gotten in touch with the EA Help team and received the correct advice since making this thread. 

If you still wish to to purchase and play The Sims 3 Pets pack, we would advise using trusted retailers to protect yourself and your purchase. This EA Help article has compiled a list of trusted retailers for EA products for more information on that front. 

[puzzlezaddict]

@xboxbabe70  I split your comment into its own thread, because the other thread is several years old, and things have changed since then.

It sounds like Pets is showing exactly as it should in Origin—it no longer gets its own entry in your game library.  But the fact that it's not listed in the launcher is of course an issue.  Occasionally, the issue clears up on its own, perhaps after rebooting the computer a couple of times.  But since you're likely past that, you can try clearing Origin's cache, and if that doesn't work, uninstalling and reinstalling Origin "the hard way."  This wouldn't affect your TS3 install.

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

https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/origin/origin/manually-uninstalling-origin/

If these steps don't help, the next recommendation is to contact EA customer support, as your code may have been deactivated.  Sometimes this is a mistake; other times, it's due to EA belatedly identifying a bad code, usually bought from an unauthorized third-party seller.  The support rep you talked to should have been able to tell you whether this was what happened in your case, but either that didn't happen, or your code was fine.  (I wonder if the code you were provided was your original one, which is why you couldn't register it a second time.)

One more thing you can do is uninstall the game and clean your computer's registry with a tool like Piriform's CCleaner (free download).  Then redownloading might help.  If it doesn't, though, please post back, and I'll forward your information to someone from EA.  Hopefully then you'll get a better answer, though it might take a couple of days.  You're absolutely right that this shouldn't be nearly this difficult to resolve.

[xboxbabe70]

@puzzlezaddict The thread might be years old but the issue hasn't changed. Personally I think starting a new thread will just make it more confusing for people looking for answers, I've already seen several threads on the same issue just with slightly different titles. Now as far as the exp not showing up under the game library I brought it up because the EA support person I talked to said it should be listed there. I have also tried all the suggestions in your post with no luck. As for my code EA support confirm that the code I bought was verified and valid on my account, yet they still sent me a completely new code that said it was already redeemed, so Im at a loss. In the meantime I will keep trying to see if I can figure things out if not will try and contact support back after the weekend.

[puzzlezaddict]

@xboxbabe70   Origin issues have been around for years, but Origin itself has been through so many different patches that troubleshooting is completely different than it was in 2013.  Plus, the problem with cancelled codes didn't appear until 20 months ago.  So the procedure to try to fix missing content has changed a lot over the years.

Also, the way my content shows up in my account is that only the TS3 base game is listed in my Origin library.  I click on the icon, then scroll down and select More > Expansion Packs (or Stuff Packs), and each pack is listed as already installed, downloadable, or buyable.  This has been the configuration for some time, and packs have to be downloaded and installed separately once the base game is in place.

Anyway, if uninstalling Origin and the game, cleaning your computer's registry, and redownloading hasn't fixed the issue, I'll forward this as soon as I can get in contact with someone from EA.  Like I said, it might take a couple of days to get a response, but I'll update you when I have anything more to offer.

[xboxbabe70]

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@xboxbabe70   Origin issues have been around for years, but Origin itself has been through so many different patches that troubleshooting is completely different than it was in 2013.  Plus, the problem with cancelled codes didn't appear until 20 months ago.  So the procedure to try to fix missing content has changed a lot over the years.

Also, the way my content shows up in my account is that only the TS3 base game is listed in my Origin library.  I click on the icon, then scroll down and select More > Expansion Packs (or Stuff Packs), and each pack is listed as already installed, downloadable, or buyable.  This has been the configuration for some time, and packs have to be downloaded and installed separately once the base game is in place.

Anyway, if uninstalling Origin and the game, cleaning your computer's registry, and redownloading hasn't fixed the issue, I'll forward this as soon as I can get in contact with someone from EA.  Like I said, it might take a couple of days to get a response, but I'll update you when I have anything more to offer.

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True, but because I am having the same old issue that 's been going on for years even after all the updates and patches to the origin client, that just tells me that there is something more going on, and that  past solutions that worked years ago might work for me which is why I post in older threads. Right now from what I've read I'm assuming my code was disabled since it was bought from a third party seller, but when I mentioned that to the EA CS she said there was nothing wrong with my code or my account, so idk. Like I posted on another thread this morning the code could very well be legal, if it was purchased on sale on steam and resold for more on ebay for example.

[puzzlezaddict]

@xboxbabe70  The issue with bad codes is not that they come from third-party sellers, but that the codes themselves were originally stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtianed.  Every so often, we get a bunch of reports of players who bought from Ebay or G2A or some other sketchy source losing access to their packs.  Our best guess is that EA periodically does an inventory and cancels codes for which it was never paid, regardless of where those codes were ultimately purchased.

This doesn't mean that EA cuts off access to any code not bought through Origin.  There are a number of authorized third-party sellers, including Steam, that buy directly from EA; their codes should never cause issues.  All of my codes are from Steam, and I haven't run into any trouble, although these days I play through Steam, so Origin doesn't come into the picture.  It is certainly true that some legit codes can get mistakenly flagged as well, but EA CS should be able to look into the issue and lift any block that was improperly imposed.

Since all the other troubleshooting steps didn't work for you, I'll forward this thread to one of the community managers.  Hopefully you'll get an answer soon enough.

[xboxbabe70]

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@xboxbabe70  The issue with bad codes is not that they come from third-party sellers, but that the codes themselves were originally stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtianed.  Every so often, we get a bunch of reports of players who bought from Ebay or G2A or some other sketchy source losing access to their packs.  Our best guess is that EA periodically does an inventory and cancels codes for which it was never paid, regardless of where those codes were ultimately purchased.

This doesn't mean that EA cuts off access to any code not bought through Origin.  There are a number of authorized third-party sellers, including Steam, that buy directly from EA; their codes should never cause issues.  All of my codes are from Steam, and I haven't run into any trouble, although these days I play through Steam, so Origin doesn't come into the picture.  It is certainly true that some legit codes can get mistakenly flagged as well, but EA CS should be able to look into the issue and lift any block that was improperly imposed.

Since all the other troubleshooting steps didn't work for you, I'll forward this thread to one of the community managers.  Hopefully you'll get an answer soon enough.

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I took these screenshots just a bit ago, I'm assuming my code for pets wasn't disabled or revoked or it still wouldn't show up in origin correct?? I'm wondering if it's just easier to make a new EA or origin account buy the games  again from ORIGIN this time and play them on steam like I originally did! 

[xboxbabe70]

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@puzzlezaddict wrote:

@xboxbabe70  The issue with bad codes is not that they come from third-party sellers, but that the codes themselves were originally stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtianed.  Every so often, we get a bunch of reports of players who bought from Ebay or G2A or some other sketchy source losing access to their packs.  Our best guess is that EA periodically does an inventory and cancels codes for which it was never paid, regardless of where those codes were ultimately purchased.

This doesn't mean that EA cuts off access to any code not bought through Origin.  There are a number of authorized third-party sellers, including Steam, that buy directly from EA; their codes should never cause issues.  All of my codes are from Steam, and I haven't run into any trouble, although these days I play through Steam, so Origin doesn't come into the picture.  It is certainly true that some legit codes can get mistakenly flagged as well, but EA CS should be able to look into the issue and lift any block that was improperly imposed.

Since all the other troubleshooting steps didn't work for you, I'll forward this thread to one of the community managers.  Hopefully you'll get an answer soon enough.

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@puzzlezaddict  Just got a hold of EA CS and without confirming that the code was or wasn't disabled on my account, or stolen, or otherwise fraudulently obtained, the CS offered to remove it from my account so that I can repurchase the expansion, which they did.  Personally I think it's dishonest for EA's to disable/remove a game without any proof that the codes/keys were actually stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtained, luckily I called my bank right after talking with EA and bank refunded my money, now I'm debating whether it's better to repurchase the games on origin or steam?

[xboxbabe70]

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learnold94 wrote:

After waiting 2 hours for a live chat, for them to then tell me I was no longer connected, I thought I might have better luck asking for help here, as current waiting times are 1110 minutes.... 

I bought the sims 3, generations and showtime on steam as they were recently having a sale. I already had the sims 3 on disc so had some custom content I wanted to download. I tried installing them through the game launcher, and though they said they were installed, they weren't installed in the game. I then tried downloading them through the in-game store and these also said they had installed when they were nowhere to be found. I tried downloading new store items as well, and these didn't work either. Does anyone know how to get this to work?

Not massively happy with EA right now, what with the game problems and the lack of support in the live chat. If I had known that steam games would have this problem, I wouldn't have bought them, but it was not stated anywhere. If anyone could help 

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No reply to this post after 6 years? Anyways, I am concern that perhaps the problem might be within origin client and/or the sims 3 launcher, and I would like to know if I would have better luck purchasing and/or playing the sims 3 thru steam or thru origin? BUT, I'm afraid that if I purchase/play thru steam that I can't buy or play any extra worlds or contents from the sims 3 store and play it off steam. if anyone has an answer to this question I would appreciate it! Thank you!

[puzzlezaddict]

@xboxbabe70  I've merged this latest post into your existing thread, since it's all about the same topic.  Please don't necro old threads, even if the underlying question is the same.

I've forwarded your original issue to an EA community manager, since it's not something I can address.  But for your more recent questions, there are two things I can say.  First, when you switch from an Origin install to one from Steam, or vice versa, your store content needs to be redownloaded and reinstalled.  There's something about how the games are installed differently that causes already downloaded store files to stop working, whether you transfer the .ebc bundles from DCCache or the downloaded packs.

However, the content itself works just fine.  I mentioned earlier that I now play via Steam.  I have installed some store content, including a couple of premium items, and everything works in-game.  I also installed Riverview, although I haven't played there yet since switching over.  But a number of people on the official forums do play in store worlds on Steam installs, and none of them have reported any issues beyond the annoyance of having to redownload and reinstall.

As to your other question, I personally much prefer my Steam install to the Origin/Windows version.  (The Origin/mac version presents entirely different issues.)  There is no mandatory Origin tie-in—after the first time I launched the game, I've never had to open Steam or be online to play.  There is also no pack selector, meaning no "feature" that loses track of your preferred packs between play sessions and sometimes blocks you from using a pack for no apparent reason.  If it's installed via Steam, it works.  The only players I know of who've chosen to switch to Origin from Steam are those that bought packs through both platforms and didn't want to lose some of their content.

Anyway, you can ask around on the official forums if you want; players are always happy to share their opinions.  Here's a recent thread you may find interesting:

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/953185/which-do-you-use-to-run-your-sims-3-game