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In 2023, things were turned upside down for many Sims 3 players when EA released EA Desktop. Not only have many people had trouble with this new app, Sims 3 worldbuilders are no longer able to use Create a World effectively, because EIG (Edit in Game) was crippled.
An alternative to EA App is to switch to Steam. However, that would mean rebuying everything again, which is simply not doable in this economy. A better alternative is to downgrade to patch level 1.67, which frees players from having to use either Origin, EA App or any other third party app. If you’re interested in this option, read this handy guide to learn how.
What You Need to Know Before Making the Jump:
You will need to get your hands on hard copies of the base game disc, EPs and SPs. If you already have them, you’re in the best position to do this. If not, you’ll have to borrow or buy used copies from somewhere, like eBay (see warning below if you go this route).
Some Caveats
- When you go back down to 1.67, you won’t be able to pick and choose which packs you’d like to run in the launcher. This is no biggie if you have a computer that can run anything, but if you have a computer that is still struggling to play the game with all the works, you’ll have to decide which packs to install.
- If you try eBay or some other third party reseller, just know that there’s an error you might come across with hard copies, called the Cyclic Redundancy Check. With this error, the game won’t be able to be installed until you’re able to fix it. You may be able to troubleshoot it by gently cleaning the disc but more often than not it’s just a bad copy. Rather than tear your hair out over it, it’s just best to alert the seller to the problem and simply ask for a refund.
- If you are a Create a World user, you will have to download and install the 1.67 version of CAW instead of 1.69. If you accidentally install 1.69, you will get an error message.
How to Install
- Grab some coffee and put on your favorite TV show, podcast or music. This will take awhile.
- Clean uninstall Origin, EA App and your entire Sims 3 game. Do not reinstall Origin or EA App, because you don’t need them anymore to play The Sims 3, not even for online features like SimPort or even downloading stuff from the Sims 3 store. (Isn’t that great?)
- Install the base game disc to the Sims 3, but make absolutely sure NOT to allow EADM–or Electronic Arts Download Manager. EADM was the earlier version of Origin, and if you install that, it’ll upgrade to Origin and you’ll be back where you started!
- Run the game to make sure everything is okay.
- Download and install the Super Patcher for version 1.67. If you don’t install, what’ll happen is that every single time you install a new EP or SP, the Sims 3 launcher will ask you to patch the game.
- Install each EP and SP one at a time, using this install order as a guide. You don’t have to install it in this order, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Whenever a window asks you to install EADM or Origin, make sure not to tick the box or they’ll install and you’ll have to start the entire process of uninstalling and reinstalling everything.
- If you get a window warning you that your EP or SP is newer than the game and needs Origin, ignore the warning. Your game will still work.
- Once you’ve installed everything, run the game to see if everything is running okay.
If you have your game up and running successfully, congratulations–you’re now officially back down to patch level 1.67. And if, after all of this, it turns out that EA put out a patch that resolves all the issues for your Sims 3 game, remember:
Your game is officially yours to play as many times as you want–offline or on–and not tied to a third party client that can make a mess of things in the future!