FIXED: Battlefield 6 Crashing / EA AntiCheat erro on first launch but not second

[WhatTheFoxtrot]

After a full day of troubleshooting, here’s what actually fixed Battlefield 6 crashing on first launch but not the second launch then crashign in game.

(if you launch it and it says EA error something or another on the game launcher, then you relaunch and it works for a while, here you go.)

If you installed Battlefield 6 through Steam, EA AntiCheat is probably pointing to the wrong folder (C:) instead of your actual Steam library drive (like G: or D:). That mismatch between Steam and EA’s path registration breaks the anti-cheat service and causes all of those errors.

Why this happens
EA AntiCheat registers a Windows service called EAAntiCheatService during install. That service’s executable path is stored in the Windows registry here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EAAntiCheatService

For Steam users who install games on another drive, the installer still writes:
C:\Program Files\EA\AC\eaanticheat.gameservice.exe

That’s wrong if your Battlefield 6 folder is actually on another drive. Because of that, EA AntiCheat can’t start and Battlefield 6 crashes or fails to launch.

The Full Fix (Step-by-Step)

Uninstall the broken EA AntiCheat service
• Press Windows + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
• Find EA AntiCheat Service → note the name exactly (EAAntiCheatService).
• Close that window.
• Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
sc stop "EAAntiCheatService"
sc delete "EAAntiCheatService"
(If you see “The specified service does not exist,” that’s fine — move to the next step.)

Remove leftover registry entries
• Press Windows + R, type regedit, press Enter.
• Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
• Delete the entire folder named EAAntiCheatService.
• (Optional) Leave the folder EAAntiCheat — it’s just configuration data.
• Close the Registry Editor and reboot your PC.

Reinstall EA AntiCheat from your correct Steam folder
Find your actual game folder: In Steam → right-click Battlefield 6 → Manage → Browse local files.
For me, it’s located at:
G:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Battlefield 6\EAAntiCheat\

In that folder, right-click EAAntiCheat.Installer.exe → Run as Administrator.
• Select Battlefield 6 (or manually browse to Battlefield6.exe inside the main game folder).
• Click Install.
• Wait until you see:
ServiceInstall success
CertificateInstall success
Install success
• Reboot again.

Verify the service is now pointing to the correct path
• Press Windows + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
• Find EA AntiCheat Service → Right-click → Properties.
• Look at Path to executable — it should now say something like:
G:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Battlefield 6\EAAntiCheat\EA AntiCheat.GameService.exe
(If it shows your correct Steam library drive, you’re good.)

If it still says:
C:\Program Files\EA\AC\eaanticheat.gameservice.exe
then open Regedit again, go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EAAntiCheatService
and manually fix the ImagePath value to:
"G:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Battlefield 6\EAAntiCheat\EA AntiCheat.GameService.exe"
(Keep the quotes — they’re required because of the space in the filename.)
Close Regedit and reboot again.

Launch the game
Now start Battlefield 6 from Steam. You should briefly see “EA AntiCheat initializing...” and the game should launch without any crashes or errors.

Why this works
EA AntiCheat sometimes doesn’t detect non-default Steam library drives. The installer registers its Windows service on C:\ by default, even if your game files are elsewhere. By deleting the old service and reinstalling from your actual Steam path, Windows rebuilds the correct service registration, allowing EA AntiCheat to initialize properly.

Bonus Tips
• Always run EAAntiCheat.Installer.exe as Administrator.
• After fixing it, verify game files in Steam.
• Disable overlays (EA App, Steam, Discord, GeForce Experience) if crashes persist.
• If you’re on Windows 11 24H2, temporarily turn off Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection under Windows Security → Device Security → Core Isolation, since it conflicts with some anti-cheat drivers.

TL;DR
If Battlefield 6 crashes on startup or says “invalid game directory,” EA AntiCheat is probably registered to the wrong drive. Uninstall the service, delete its registry key, reinstall EA AntiCheat manually from your correct Steam library path, and reboot.

[sarmat,q8]

where is it stored?

[SwAzI_ZA]

Thanks for this, but if I do the above, once I run battlefield6 it reverts to the default anticheat folder again in program files, any advice?

[NoSkiIIAllLuck]

and has anyone checked if this works?

[dodje]

i did all, but path changed to "C:\Program Files\EA\AC\eaanticheat.gameservice.exe" after start game from steam

[Langolini]

While I think this could fix the issue I have since my event manager points to an invalid image path for the AntiCheat I still have the problem that even manually reinstalling the Anticheat it never installs into the actual games directory but into C:\Program\Files\EA\AC\eaanticheat.gameservice.exe and that is aside realizing, that the installer in the games directory seems to be an older version since it didn't have Battlefield 6 in the drop down menu. So I had to download an actual up to date version from EA but that didn't help either.

Am I missing something? Seems to be the only problem keeping me from playing the game. Followed your instructions to the T twice but with no success so far.
Would also be great to finally get an EA employee to look into the problem. They haven't really said anything to this matter.

[ivy]

Fix works!
However it does reset the AC path though it hasn't been a big issue. It did cause 1 crash midgamr when I didn't update it.

[Reinevan]

Originally posted by Langolini:

While I think this could fix the issue I have since my event manager points to an invalid image path for the AntiCheat I still have the problem that even manually reinstalling the Anticheat it never installs into the actual games directory but into C:\Program\Files\EA\AC\eaanticheat.gameservice.exe and that is aside realizing, that the installer in the games directory seems to be an older version since it didn't have Battlefield 6 in the drop down menu. So I had to download an actual up to date version from EA but that didn't help either.

Am I missing something? Seems to be the only problem keeping me from playing the game. Followed your instructions to the T twice but with no success so far.
Would also be great to finally get an EA employee to look into the problem. They haven't really said anything to this matter.

Same here. This piece of code (I mean anticheat) installs into C disk anyway, No matter what I do.
Have you found any solution mate?

[Tablazer]

can you find a way to play offline with just buying the game on steam too?

[leafinthebreeze]

I'm having the same problem. The pathway resets itself and keeps going into the C:/Program Files/EA/AC?eaanticheat.gameservice.exe. What is interesting, is that the anticheat installer in both the program files and the actual game location are both outdated ones that don't have BF 6 as an option. Only the manual download from EA's website has the updated installer.

[Legolas24]

I tried everything for two hours and finally found these instructions and now things are working.

I had to edit the registry settings manually to update the install location since I installed it on my a seperate SSD drive (E:).

Thank you for sharing this solution!

[Lammatrexee]

there is no battlefield 6 in my dropdown menu when opening the Eaanticheat installer

[smokerob79]

Originally posted by SeaPotato:

can you find a way to play offline with just buying the game on steam too?

never.....server authentication before you even get to a menu......never going to happen

[sebio835]

Same probleme here. The path is overwritten at game launch

[wingdog]

got anticheat working but not the game.
splash screen is now working (green progress bar) but nothing more.
battlafield6.exe is in the processes but only 100MB RAM used and zombied.

[wingdog]

after checking game files (steam client) I've got EAanticheat default settings and it's not working now even at splash screen.
so if you are able to play after fixing Ea Javelin service as topicstarter mentioned above you shouldn't use "check file intergrity" option.
EA are stu*id mo*ons