This phenomenon particularly arose in late 2014 and 2017 and was considered one of the greatest bugs in the game. This error message is triggered because of various reasons and is usually fixed without any major technical solution. Take a look at the workarounds listed below:
Solution 1: Repairing Sims 4
Before we start looking for other irregularities in the game, we should check if there are any bad configurations or corrupt files in your game structure. Games constantly update every once in a while to improve bugs or to add new features. It is possible that while updating the game modules, some of them didn’t get installed correctly or have missing files. We will try repairing the game so all of this can be fixed by the client itself.
Solution 2: Disabling Antivirus Software
The reason why this error might occur again and again is that of interference from Antivirus software installed on your computer. There are several options that protect your computer by also monitoring different applications running and the kind of resources they are using. In this solution, you have to explore yourself and see if there are any settings in your antivirus which might be providing these services. Furthermore, you should add Sims 4 as an exception to prevent all of these problems from happening.
If you are unable to still fix the problem, you can disable the antivirus completely. Restart your computer after disabling and see if you can access the sites without any problem.
Solution 3: Checking Third-party Programs and already Running instances
It is of no surprise that third-party applications always compete for resources on your system and may cause Sims 4 to act unnaturally and cause unexpected errors. Furthermore, it was also seen that there was already an instance of Sims 4 running in the background. If a program is already running, it may not be possible for another instance of it.
Solution 4: Power Cycling your Computer
Power cycling is an act of turning off a computer completely off and then on again. Reasons for power cycling include having an electronic device reinitialize its set of configurations parameters or recover from an unresponsive state or module. It is also used to reset all the network configurations as they are all lost when you turn the laptop completely off. In case of a PC, shut it down completely, disconnect all modules and take out the main power cable. Now after waiting for the required time, plug everything back in and check if this solved the problem.
Solution 5: Running in Compatibility Mode
Another thing which we can try before indulging in other technical workarounds is running Sims in compatibility mode for other versions of Windows. There have been numerous reports that launching the game in compatibility mode fixed the problem instantly. The compatibility mode launches the game with settings and configurations for an earlier version of the operating system instead of the latest one installed on your computer.
Solution 6: Checking Mods in Sims 4
Another thing which you should check is the mods you use in your game. Mods are in reality single files that modify the behavior of the game by overriding some stock settings and functionality. They are not developed by the game developers. Instead, they are developed by individuals or game enthusiasts.
Solution 7: Creating a new Administrator User Account
Another thing we can try is creating a new user account. This is a known problem in Windows where a user accounts get corrupt or due to some modules getting damaged, some functions in the user profile fail to work as expected. You can check out our guide on how to make a new user account and transfer all the existing data to it. Before transferring any data, make sure that Sims 4 is working perfectly in the new user account. If it is, only then transfers the data and delete your old profile. It is recommended to back up your important data before executing this solution.
Solution 8: Prompting for a Download
Another trick we can try is to prompt Origin to install Sims 4 on your computer again. This will force Origin to reevaluate all the files and initialize the download progress. We will cleverly trick Origin to think that the entire file has been downloaded so it will start the game and treat it like it was just installed. The location might be a little different depending on where you initially installed the game. Here a folder named ‘Sims 4’ will be located. Copy the entire folder to any temporary location such as D:\Temp.
Solution 9: Reinstalling Origin
Origin is an online gaming, digital distribution, and digital rights management platform developed by Electronic Arts that allows users to purchase games on the internet for PC and mobile platforms, and download them with the Origin client. You must be using this to play Sims 4 on your computer.
Tip: If you are still facing problems, try launching the application in ‘Offline’ mode and see if this does the trick. You can also try clearing the cache.
Solution 10: Clean Booting your Computer
If all the above solutions don’t work, we can try Clean Booting. This boot allows your PC to turn on with a minimal set of drivers and programs. Only the essential ones are enabled while all the other services are disabled. If the error doesn’t occur in this mode, you should enable the processes back on only with small chunks and check if the error returns. If it doesn’t, you can turn on another chunk and check. This way you will be able to diagnose which process is causing the problem.
Fix: Error Code 12 on Sims 3Fix: There was an Error during Startup on Sims 3Fix: Sims 4 Error Code 102Fix: Sims 4 Mods not Working
