itslitz 🎃

I saw some folks talking about this issue recently so I wanted to pass this solution along. @fiftymilehighclub is the one who told me how to do this. Applies to windows machines using the EA app.

Log in to the EA app.

Click on the 3 dashes located in the top left of the EA app, and select Go Offline.

Next, in file explorer, navigate to the bin folder (usually located in Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 4\Game\Bin).

Lastly, launch the game by clicking on the TS4_x64 application file (has the sims 4 icon).

Tips:

The EA app may give you a popup that this didn't work. Ignore it.

You can verify that the game has actually launched by checking in task manager. The game may take a while to load depending on the number of mods you have installed.

Edit* - periodically I receive a notification that my game has disconnected from the Internet while playing. But I just ignore this and continue playing.  It’s a little annoying because it does minimize the game, and I have to pop it back open to continue playing, but it isn’t the end of the world. 

Why do this?

I haven't wanted to go through the process of updating my mods folder so this allows me to wait. The only drawbacks, as far as I can tell, is that the gallery isn't available in offline mode, and I have to sign back in the EA app every time I restart my computer (I didn't have to do this before).