Guide:Troubleshooting Launcher and Login Issues

This page is a compilation of common Star Citizen Launcher/Login problems that users might face. Search below for your problem, or if you need more help you can chat with other users at the official community helpdesk. This guide was originally based on a now defunct community document found here but has since been updated and expanded with information from CIG's knowledge base and information from the community at /r/StarCitizen's Discord server. This guide is intended for Windows only, but may have information that applies to Star Citizen on other operating systems.

General Tips/Before You Begin

Ensure your launcher the latest version. You can do so by checking that the version number in the lower right-hand corner is up to date.
If you have already downloaded the game, make sure that your game files have been verified. This is accomplished by clicking the "Settings" menu in the upper right-hand corner and then clicking "Verify."
Ensure Windows is fully up to date.
Ensure your graphics drivers are fully up to date.
Ensure the RSI Launcher and StarCitizen executables are both listed as exceptions in any antivirus or firewall software.
Ensure your CPU supports AVX technology. All x86 CPUs since Intel's Second Generation Core (Sandy Bridge) and AMD's Bulldozer FX CPUs support AVX. Processors older than this cannot run Star Citizen.
Ensure your system meets CIG's minimum specifications.
Ensure you have installed all necessary prerequisites.

Forgot Password, But Cannot Reset

This will happen because the RSI site still has the user logged in, and thus, you can not select "you forgot your password" since you are already logged in. To verify, go to the RSI website and find GREEN “/” slash in the top right next to a MY RSI menu item. Click that, then SIGN OUT. (note: the “/” slash turns RED). After signing out, click the MY RSI menu item again, and there will be a functional “Forgot Password” link that you can use.

Can’t Login to Game: Account Not Activated

Ensure you are using the correct login information by going to your account security page and double checking your Login ID. Alternatively, make sure to activate your account with the email sent by [/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection [email protected]]

Where/How to Install

Star Citizen must be installed to an internal (i.e., not connected via USB or similar) NTFS-formatted solid state drive (SSD) in order to perform well. Some external drives can meet the required performance necessary to run the game, but the Launcher will not allow you to install it to them.

Can I install it to the Desktop or My Documents?

You cannot install Star Citizen to your My Documents folder, your Downloads folder, your Desktop, nor your C:\Users\MyUserName directory. It will not run.

Can I install to an external device?

The RSI Launcher will not allow you to install Star Citizen to an external device. Workarounds for this do exist, but most external drives cannot perform to the level required by Star Citizen. While it may be possible for a USB-C or Thunderbolt-3 compatible drive to run the game, it is not officially supported and is not recommended.

Can I install to a hard disk drive (HDD)?

No. While the game can be installed on a HDD, and it is technically possible to do so and launch the game, doing so will not result in playable performance. At best framerates will be severely limited, and at worst core functionalities - such as transit in cities - will not function.

Is the drive NTFS-formatted?

Your system drive as a Windows user will always be NTFS formatted. Star Citizen must be installed to a drive using NTFS. Non-NTFS formats have problems both installing and running the game. It is possible to re-format a drive, but you must back-up your drive data beforehand as it will be erased. To find out which format your drive is: ► 1. Open up File Explorer, click on "This PC" under the "Desktop" group in the left pane. ► 2. Right-click on the drive you installed/want to install Star Citizen. ► 3. Select "Properties". The drive's format will be displayed next to the label, "File system:".

How much space is left on that drive?

As of version 3.18.2, Star Citizen is approximately 85GB. For your drive's performance, it is recommended to keep some space unoccupied. If you have less than 32GB of RAM, you will also need to keep 32GB free on your fastest drive in order to manually create a pagefile.

Download Does Not Start

Ensure that RSILauncher.exe is whitelisted in any antivirus or firewall software or web blocker you may have.
In your launcher's Settings panel in the top right of the launcher, change your download speed limit to below your advertised connection speed and limit your concurrent downloads to 5.

Update Button Instantly Resets

When the update button resets instantly/isn't working properly, manually create the subfolders under the library folder “StarCitizen\LIVE” ( You can find the library folder in the launcher: “Settings”->”Library Folder”). For example, if your library folder is “C:\Program Files\Roberts Space Industries”, create the folders: “C:\Program Files\Roberts Space Industries\StarCitizen\LIVE”.

No Launch/Update Button

If you open your launcher to find your Play/Update button is not present, log out of the launcher and log back in. This issue occurs whenever your PC's IP address changes, which can be frequent. If this does not work, reset the launcher using Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R.

Constant Launcher Crash

Any one of the following may cause the Launcher to Crash. Try each of the following, one at a time.

Delete "C:\Users\XXXX\AppData\Local\Star Citizen"
Delete the "C:\Program Files\Roberts Space Industries\StarCitizen\Public\USER" folder.
Delete "C:\Roberts Space Industries\StarCitizen\Public\Bin64" folder and then use the Launcher’s VERIFY button before you click launch.
Verify that you have at least version 4.5 of the Microsoft .Net Framework located at "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64"

Launcher Closes Itself/Crashes Mid-download

If you are using an internal NTFS-formatted drive, try the following steps.

Use a wired connection. If a direct line is not possible, powerline adapters are an acceptable substitute. WiFi is susceptible to interference and instability that can be eliminated via a wired connection.
In the launcher Settings pane, reduce your "Concurrent Downloads" to 5 and reduce "Download Speed Limit" to lower than your advertised download speed. Note that the Launcher uses megabytes (MB) while your ISP likely advertises in megabits (Mb), so you will have to divide your advertised speed by 8 to get your speed in MB/s.
Reboot your router, modem, and PC.
Sometimes your ISP may throttle your connection for whatever reason. For this reason, using a VPN can solve this issue. Any VPN should work.

Installer Error Red Window Error

If you are experiencing an issue which causes a red error window to appear with the title "Installer Error":

Ensure you have followed the General Tips section of this guide.
Ensure User Access Control is not interfering by running the Launcher as Administrator.
Close all unnecessary software.
Unplug all unnecessary peripherals.
Ensure you have followed the Where/How To Install section of this guide.
Try installing using a VPN.

If none of the above have worked, check that you are not attempting to install to a Samsung SSD on Windows 11. Some Samsung drives will not install Star Citizen, specifically when using Windows 11. Workarounds do exist for this problem, but are too involved to detail here. Please visit the helpdesk or the discord server linked at the top of this guide.

Sign In Failed - "code:error"

This issue may appear when you've input your Username and Password correctly, but the 2 Factor Authentication has failed.

To work around this issue, please do the following steps:

Manually type in your login ID and password once more to ensure that there was not a typo or other issue when entering the credentials before.
Fully exit the RSI Launcher and ensure the process has been ended in the Windows Task Manager.
Go to the RSI Website on your web browser.
Click the Account link in the top right of the page and select Sign Out.
Open a Private or Incognito browser window.
Login to the RSI website through the Private/Incognito browser window. Do not close this window!
Once you have logged into your account via the RSI website, re-open the RSI Launcher.
Attempt to login via the RSI Launcher again.
You can also click on the Welcome Hub link in the launcher, and attempt to sign in there.
If you've failed to log in too many times, you will need to wait 30 minutes or more before you can log in again.

Stuck On Splash Screen

If you are getting stuck at the Star Citizen splash screen, try the following steps:

Ensure you have followed the General Tips section of this guide.
Force the game to use the correct resolution
Disable nVidia 3D vision and GSync

Easy Anti-Cheat Error "Failed To Initialise Game Launcher"

If you get this error when trying to launch the game, double check your EasyAntiCheat logs. These logs can be accessed by following the following steps:

Press Windows+R or otherwise open Windows Run
Copy/paste one of the following:

%appdata%\EasyAntiCheat\anticheatlauncher.log OR %appdata%\EasyAntiCheat\service.log

You are looking for the following error: [Windows] [EAC Launcher] [Err!] [] Failed to open file stream for 'C:\Users\Helpdesk\AppData\Roaming\EasyAntiCheat\GameLauncher\BrutalType-Bold.ttf', no previous file exists on disk.

This means you are missing some font files and should uninstall and reinstall the RSI Launcher.

None Of This Worked! What Now?

If your issue has not appeared here, or the steps provided here have not helped, you can chat with other users at the official community helpdesk or you can get help from other users in the community at /r/StarCitizen's Discord server.