FIFA 21 Black Screen, Connection Issues, Poor FPS, Crashes and Their Fixes

FIFA 21 is here and the game does come with some crashes and errors in its day one build. How can you fix them?

FIFA 21 is out now on PC and consoles, marking yet another year that the franchise hasn’t missed. Even though we can’t wait to get our hands on the brand new gameplay and graphics, FIFA 21 does come with its occasional crashes and bugs. If you are experiencing issues with FIFA 21 too perhaps you can find some easy fixes in our list below.

FIFA 21 Crashes at Startup

The first thing you can try is whitelisting FIFA 21 from your firewall and anti-virus and check if the crashes stop. If the issue persists then try running the game on windowed mode. To do that, you can either rename the game’s shortcut target to -w, hit Alt+Enter when the game boots up, or edit the .ini file to run on windowed mode.

Crashes at startup could also be related to the GPU drivers being outdated. Check whether or not you have any pending updates. Install them and then try launching the game. Try running the game with Administrator rights too.

Can’t Connect Online

If you can’t get FIFA 21 to connect online, Electronic Arts suggests a few ways to make it possible. First, flush your DNS through the Command Console with the line ipconfig/flushdns. Close any background programs and run the game as an administrator. Check if that works.

If it doesn’t then, you can try rebooting your PC and your internet connection as residue from closed programs could be refraining FIFA 21 from connecting.

Reinstall Error

Players are reporting that an issue asking them to reinstall the game. To get over this issue, you simply need to install both x86 and x64 Visual C++ Redistributables or delete and reinstall them if necessary. After the procedure is done, check if the game is running as expected.

Error Connecting to FUT

A stable connection to FIFA Ultimate Team is a classic issue for the franchise each year. To get rid of this issue you’ll need to chck your connection and restart it if needed. Some players have found that playing in Seasons and then going back to FUT solves the problem.

In addition, you can try to change your EA account password. Last but not least, try removing and recreating your sqyad in the companion application and then try running FUT again.

Low FPS / Performance

If FIFA 21 runs super slow for you, you have to check your GPU settings and your CPU/RAM usage. First, check if your GPU has any updated pending and install them. If this doesn’t solve the issue close any unnecessary programs and browser tabs since they can speed down your game when the CPU and RAM usage is higher than normal.

Moreover, you can play around with the graphics settings within FIFA 21 and see which options make your game run smoother. For instance, VSync sometimes causes the game to stutter ut fixes some other issues. See which options work best for you.

Game Unplayable After Update

Many players have reported that FIFA 21 becomes unplayable after the introduction of the latest update. There are two ways to fix the issue and one is more painful than the other.

First, try verifying your game files if you are playing the game on Steam. The issue is, anyways, mostly affecting the Steam version of the game. Try running the game.

If this doesn’t work, your next step is to redownload the game. We know it’s a shot to the heart but it’s your best bet in getting FIFA 21 to work.

Black Screen After Launch

A general issue that could have a couple of different reasons for it to be happening. The first is security. Make sure you have whitelisted the game on your anti-virus and firewall. If this didn’t work then it most possibly will be your default resolution causing the game to show a black screen. Try running FIFA 21 on windowed mode and see if the issue is solved. If it is, you can switch back to full screen or set it to borderless for a smoother experience.

10 Hour Demo not Updating in Full Game

Electronic Arts have provided fans with a way to manually add their 10 hour progress into the game. Here it is:

  1. Visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/p/FIFA-21-Xbox-One/9N4DNRXMJ381 and sign in with your Microsoft/Xbox account that has an active EA Play Console subscription and has pre-ordered or pre-installed FIFA 21.
  2. Scroll down and click on the “Free Trial with EA Play” button.
    • You may be taken to the EA Play subscription page. If so, navigate back to the FIFA 21 Xbox One page – The button should have updated to “Install on my devices” if your subscription is active.
  3. On the FIFA 21 Xbox One product page, click on the ellipses (…) button next to the “Install on my devices” button and click on “Free Trial”.

These are all the fixes for crashes and errors we could gather for FIFA 21 on PC for now. If you are experiencing more issues, you should wait until the next patch which will be available soon or open a ticket with Electronic Arts’ support for a personalized solution.

Always looking for a deep story, empathetic characters, and a great soundtrack in video games. Hardcore game hoarder and a strong believer that one day Xbox will win the console war.