When EA announced the release of Origin back in 2011, it was to the dismay of the gaming community. It was yet another DRM that gamers were required to install. However, thanks to constant steady improvements and the release of popular exclusives like Apex Legends, gamers are more welcoming of it these days.
Nevertheless, it still has issues. One of the most common is the Unable to Connect to EA Servers error. This can be deflating, especially when you want to play a game of Battlefield 2042 with your buddies. But fret not; we’re here to explore a few fixes for this error message, so you don’t have to let your team down.
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What Causes the Unable to Connect EA Servers Error?
This error usually occurs when you try to launch a game from Origin or while you’re playing a game online. From Origin, the full error message reads: Unable to connect to EA servers at this time. Please check your network connection or try again later. See their official site for additional information.
If you’re trying to access online assets from an EA or Origin-launched game, it will display a shortened version of the above message.
There are a couple of reasons why this message appears, and they all involve EA’s servers in some capacity. Your game or Origin may be displaying this error message because:
- You may not have a steady internet connection
- Your computer may not be able to access Origin or the game’s servers
- The game’s servers may be down
- There may be issues with your account
This guide will explore all these causes and provide a solution for each.
How To Fix Unable to Connect to EA Servers Error Message
Since this is an error that largely relates to your PC’s (or gaming console’s) ability to connect Origin’s (or your game’s) server, most of the fixes will be related to your internet connection. Nevertheless, here are a few fixes for the Unable to Connect to EA Servers message:
Restart the Game
When encountering server errors mid-game, the first thing you should do is restart the game in question. Your game may have run into a network-related bug or crashed during a match. The best way to fix this is by closing the game and relaunching it from Origin’s interface.
Make Sure That Origin Is Online
Sometimes, when Origin loses internet connectivity, it automatically goes offline. To play online games, you’ll need to ensure that the Origin platform is online. To check if Origin is online, you’ll need to close your game (if it’s opened) and open the Origin interface.
If Origin is offline, it will display a message expressing so when you click on any option on the left navigation pane.
Going back online requires a simple click on the Go Online button. However, you may encounter an error when doing this. If so, you’ll need to restart the Origin application.
Restart the Origin Application
Again, when the Origin application encounters an error during gameplay, it may lose internet connectivity which causes it to go offline. Sometimes, you can’t restore its online mode using the Origin interface. Restarting the Origin program may fix this, assuming that you have a stable internet connection.
When you close the Origin application, ensure that it’s not running in the background. Close it from your task tray by right-clicking on the icon and clicking on the Quit Origin option. Once you’re certain that Origin is closed, you can run it again
Note: If you want to ensure that Origin is closed, you can use Windows Task Manager to check if the application is running in the background. Before relaunching the Origin application, you must ensure that you’ve first closed Origin.
Restart Your PC
This solution seems obvious; however, many users take it for granted. Before you tinker with your computer or get too technical, you should always restart your PC after encountering an error.
Rebooting your PC releases resources that the Windows operating system may erroneously hold. It will also push through changes, clear the cache and alter the registration. If you’re having network issues, they may be caused by a driver update.
You can reboot your computer by selecting the restart option from the Start menu item. Alternatively, you can choose the shutdown option and manually switch your computer back on once it’s off. The quickest way to access the Windows Shut Down menu from Windows 10 is:
- Show the desktop (Winkey + D)
- Use the close command (Alt+F4)
The Windows shutdown menu should appear, and you can either choose the Shutdown or Restart option from the drop-down bar. Once you’ve selected your choice, you can click on the OK button. These steps will initiate the Shutdown or Restart procedure on your PC.
Run Origin With Administrator Privileges
Origin may be struggling to configure its files or access certain resources because it doesn’t have administrator settings. It may cause it to malfunction. However, this issue can be easily solved by granting administrator privileges. To do this:
- Close Origin
- Open the Windows Start Menu
- Search for Origin through your list of programs
- Right-click on it
- Hover over the More menu item
- Select Run as administrator
Note: If you encounter a User Account Control dialog, click on the Yes button.
Once you complete the above steps, check Origin or run the game in question and check if you’re still getting the Unable to Connect to EA servers
Check if Origin Servers Are Down
The issue may not be on your end. Origin (or your game’s servers) may be down. To ascertain if Origin’s servers are up and running, you can check Origin’s page on DownDetector. You can analyze the reported outages in the last 24 hours. If there are many reports and complaints captured in the last 24 hours, there may be a company-wide server outage, and EA is probably aware.
Alternatively, if you have a Twitter account, you can visit Origin’s official Twitter account. It has regular updates and news. If there are any known issues with Origin’s servers, Origin/EA will most likely share them on their Twitter feed. Furthermore, you can contact Origin’s support staff on Twitter.
Since most games have their own servers (especially for consoles), the server connection error may not necessarily be Origin’s fault. The actual game server you’re trying to connect to may be down. However, it’s important to note that many of these servers may be owned by Origin. Nevertheless, you’ll need to check the server status for the specific game.
For instance, you can check out the Apex Legends server status website to ascertain if its game servers are up. You’ll need to search the internet for your respective game’s server status website. Again, in some cases, you’ll be able to follow them on social media and get up-to-date news on the current quality of their servers.
Check Your Internet’s Stability
The common culprit for server issues is an unsteady internet connection. In fact, you may be unknowingly totally disconnected from the internet. Nevertheless, you can test for both cases by running a ping command:
- Open the Windows Start Menu
- Type CMD and hit the enter key
- Input the following command into the terminal screen:
ping www.origin.com
- Hit the Enter key
Once you’ve followed the above steps, wait for the terminal to display the results of the ping command. You can use these results to assess the stability of your internet connection. A high ping with an above 0% packet loss indicates that your internet/network connection may be unstable. Generally, your ping should not reach above 100ms.
Nevertheless, a high ping isn’t a malady but a symptom of another issue. Thus, to fix a high ping, you’ll first need to pinpoint why you’re experiencing it and then apply a solution.
Some steps to lowering your ping include:
- Using a different access point or internet connection (use a wired connection instead of a wireless connection)
- Troubleshooting your router
- Pausing or stopping all updates and downloads (especially from sources such as Windows Updates, downloaders, torrent and P2P clients, and web-browsers)
- Flushing the DNS
- Reducing the number of devices connecting to your network
- Updating your network device drivers
- Contacting your internet service provider
- Temporarily disabling your Firewall and/or antivirus
- Changing your DNS
Note: If you can’t connect to the internet completely, you can find solutions for this in our how-to-fix unidentified network and no internet access guide. For more internet troubleshooting tips and tricks, make sure to visit the Internet section of our site.
Conclusion
If you discover that your EA server-related woes are the result of a downed server, all that’s left to do is wait. Why not use a different game manager or DRM system to play for the time being.
For instance, Steam has tons of multiplayer games waiting to be discovered. Or, if you feel that you can’t wait and none of the techniques in this guide worked for you, you can try contacting EA/Origin and reporting the error.
Nevertheless, we hope that you’ve found this guide to be helpful. Which solution worked for you. Please leave a comment down below.
