Origin’s servers serve millions of players every day offering them a reliable platform to enjoy they favorite games.
But each server has its limitations in terms of the number of players it can host simultaneously. That’s why server outages are so frequent whenever a new game is released.
Everybody’s rushing in to join the fun and the servers become overwhelmed. That’s why gamers receive all sorts of errors informing them the servers are unavailable. Of course, when this happens, they’re not able to load their games.
Speaking of which, that’s exactly the topic of this guide. If you’re gaming on Origin and you got an error message that says the servers are temporarily unavailable, this guide will come in handy.
Why is Origin temporarily unavailable? Origin may be temporarily unavailable following server outages, or because your computer was unable to connect to the servers within a given time frame.
Usually, this error reads as follows:
Origin servers temporarily unavailable. Apologies for the inconvenience, we’re currently unable to retrieve your list of games. Please reload and try again.
Fix Origin Servers Temporarily Unavailable
1. Check Your Connection
If your Internet connection is not stable or fast enough and Origin’s servers are having trouble receiving requests from your device or sending back the response, all sorts of server errors might show up on the screen.
Ensure you’ve got a good connection by using a cable connection if possible. If using a cable connection does not work for you, try changing the Wi-Fi channel and check if you notice any improvements.
Make sure you’ve got enough bandwidth to connect to the Origin servers. If bandwidth issues are common on your home network, you can also disconnect other devices using the connection to free up some bandwidth.
2. Wait it Out if it’s a Known Issue
Most of the time, if you get an error that says Origin’s servers are temporarily unavailable, the problem is actually on EA’s side. And you can’t really do much about it other than wait for EA to fix the problem.
If this is a known issue, the only thing you can do is wait until the Origin servers are back up and running again.
You can check the Origin service status from time to time to see if there’s any news about the servers.
Origin server outages are usually fixed anywhere from half an hour to three or four hours in the worst case scenario. Check the service every 30 minutes.
3. Clear the Cache
Some users confirmed that clearing the cache helped them to iron out the Origin server errors they encountered.
By clearing the cache, you delete all the temporary files stored on your device after hours of gameplay.
For step-by-step instructions on how to clear your Origin cache depending on your OS, see Clear cache to fix problems with your games.
If that did not work for you, go to the next solution.
4. Update Your Mac
If you’re getting the error ‘Origin Servers Temporarily Unavailable’ on your MacBook, try installing the latest software update.
A lot of people on Mac said that updating to the next software update fixed the problem for them. Of course, this method only works if the error message was triggered by outdated macOS versions, not because of known server outages.
5. Use a Different Gaming Platform
Meanwhile, until EA manages to fix the server issues, you can temporarily switch to another platform such as Steam, uPlay, GOG, the Epic Games Store or any other platform of your choice.
Additional workarounds worth trying
Some users confirmed the following workarounds did the trick for them however strange they may seem:
- Reset your Origin password — it seems that creating a new password might solve the problem.
- Right-click on the desktop game icon and choose to run it as an admin — launching the game from the desktop rather than the Origin app worked for some gamers.
We hope something helps.