Can't get past login screen, but ID and login are working.

[John (Tyra)]

Just bought FF14 on steam today (Starter + Endwalker). Installed just fine. But when I run it (from Steam), I get the FF14 login screen, then I log in, and then I can't get past that screen. The login page accepts my Square Enix ID and password correctly. After entering the correct info, the request for login goes blank, but the rest of the main page stays unchanged and does nothing. It just sits there. Forever. No errors, no messages, and no option to do anything.

I can't get past that login page after entering the correct ID/PW. Its not crashed, and the UI is not frozen. And my login is definitely working fine. If I test using an invalid ID or PW, it rejects it, and gives an error message asking for the correct one (as expected). And when I put in the correct ID/PW, the page accepts them just fine, then clears the part of the page that requested the login, and just sits there. No error, no message, just nothing else on the page changes.

I did a Steam check of all files, and it did not help. I have also uninstalled completely and reinstalled FF14, and again no change. I always get to the login page, successfully login, and then I am stuck on that main page with nothing happening, and nothing I can do to proceed. Any ideas???

The only thing odd about my situation is that I had an old inactive FF14 “Service Account” on the Mog pages from 2013. And since I could not figure a way to enter my new license codes in that Service Account, I created a Service Account #2, and entered my codes there. Is it possible Steam is trying to access my Service Account 1 which has been inactive since 2013? How would I tell Steam to use Service Account 2? Might that be the source of the problem?

Help!!! :-) I sent a message to customer support, but I just got the vanilla response that servers are busy, and that must explain any problem. But I don’t that that is the issue. Any ideas, oh great and wonderful experts??? :-) I can’t wait to play!!!!

[SamboNZ]

I have this exact problem right now too - including an old inactive FF14 account from way back in the day, so my main account that I always use is Service Account #2.
I just now purchased FFXIV on Steam (not to use the key that come with the Steam version, but to log in with my existing SE credentials in the launcher) and I'm subbed, I can log in perfectly to the Mogstation page, but the Steam version launcher says I don't have an active sub or I'm trying to log in with an incorrect platform.

The steam store page says: "The PAL version of FINAL FANTASY® XIV Online Starter Edition will require a European & other Regions Square Enix Account to play."
My account info on the Mog Station correctly also says: "Your registered region: Europe & Other Regions", so it's not that there's a version mismatch.

Why can't I log into FFXIV Steam with my usual SE account details? It's just loading the usual launcher right? It should accept my credentials?

(Once again - I KNOW that I can't use the key provided by Steam - I am not trying to merge accounts or anything - I am simply trying to log into FFXIV with my existing SE account but using the Steam version of the client.)

[Thaun_]

Hey, it shouldn't matter which service account you use, but if you use Steam, you need to have a sub on the Steam version of your service account to login.

Otherwise, if you have other service accounts that are not steam (and has a sub), you need to launch it without steam (directly by launching the ffxivboot64.exe) or remove the -issteam launch argument using SteamEdit program.

[SamboNZ]

Update: Just to test my account status etc, I uninstalled the Steam version of FFXIV, and downloaded the SE installer.
I was able to successfully log into the non-Steam FFXIV launcher and begin installation.
I immediately cancelled this installation, uninstalled the SE version launcher, and reinstalled the Steam launcher.

Note at this point the full game is not installed, as you're required to pass thru login before it will even download the client as you know.

Anyhow, I now have a different experience:
Now when I launch via Steam, I get presented with the actual "white background" normal launcher (rather than a dark screen asking if I already have a SE account or not, which is what was happening prior to me installing the SE launcher above), so I got excited!

I entered my credentials, and OTC.. and...

"This service account does not have a valid FINAL FANTASY XIV license for this platform or your subscription has expired.
To register a license, please visit the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Mog Station"

😡

[SamboNZ]

Originally posted by Thaun_:

Hey, it shouldn't matter which service account you use, but if you use Steam, you need to have a sub on the Steam version of your service account to login.

Otherwise, if you have other service accounts that are not steam (and has a sub), you need to launch it without steam (directly by launching the ffxivboot64.exe) or remove the -issteam launch argument using SteamEdit program.

OMG THANK YOU!
I downloaded Steamedit (never used it before) and removed the "-issteam" launch argument, and I'm now logged in via Steam and the launcher is updating!

Seriously - thank you SO MUCH Thaun_ 🙏

[Kai]

Originally posted by John (Tyra):

The only thing odd about my situation is that I had an old inactive FF14 “Service Account” on the Mog pages from 2013. And since I could not figure a way to enter my new license codes in that Service Account, I created a Service Account #2, and entered my codes there. Is it possible Steam is trying to access my Service Account 1 which has been inactive since 2013? How would I tell Steam to use Service Account 2? Might that be the source of the problem?

Did Steam sell copies of FF14 in 2013? Probably not right?

When did FFXIV come to Steam?
February 14, 2014
A week after launch, the game received a ten-hour maintenance and fresh patches, and all players were compensated with a week of free play time. A Steam version of the client was released on February 14, 2014.

There ya go, Service Account #1 was a non-steam game. You 'bought' a new copy of the game for Steam, which enabled a new platform. If it's a separate service account, I think technically your character data is still shared since there is no option anywhere when logging in to 'choose' a service account.

Reactivating a inactive account:
https://support.na.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?id=5382&la=1&kid=68091&ret=faq

What you would do with inactive accounts from older time, is logging into mogstation and then 'pay' subscription to activate it on that service account #, then since you need the latest expansion, you would need to purchase the endwalker expansion via Square Enix store which gives you a key to activate on Mogstation within Service account #1.

In the Service Account Dashboard from the moment you log in, you should be able to see the options given. I don't think the Registration code for 'Item Code' may work if upgrading a old inactive account to Endwalker.

https://support.na.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?id=5382&la=1&kid=67233&ret=faq

Will I be able to play multiple versions of the game with a single service account?

Yes, you can play the Windows(Steam), PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, and Mac versions of the game with the same service account. Each platform will require the same base game and expansions registered in order to be able to access all of the same content.

*Note that you cannot register the Windows and Steam versions on the same service account.
*If you wish to play simultaneously on the Windows(Steam), PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, and Mac versions of the game, you must register each version to a different service account.

It looks like making a separate service account allows you to login on both of them separately, but since you login under the same username and password, I wonder how it would handle that?

[Kai]

Yeah looks like you gotta use a new service account which means new characters:

Can I purchase FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn as a gift on Steam?

It is possible to purchase FINAL FANTASY XIV Online as a gift on Steam. However, purchasing it as a gift will send the recipient a registration code that matches the region of the Steam account it was purchased on. Because of this, purchasing FINAL FANTASY XIV for friends who reside in different regions will give them a registration code they cannot use. Please only purchase this title as a gift if the recipient resides in the same region as the Steam account making the purchase.

Please also confirm if the intended recipient has previously registered FINAL FANTASY XIV on Windows or Steam. If the intended recipient has previous registrations for the Windows version of FINAL FANTASY XIV on an existing service account, the received Steam registration code will not be valid for the account. Unless they are planning on starting a new service account and new characters, please instead purchase the Windows version of the game for them from a different retailer.

So now is the biggest mystery:

If you own Service Account #1 and #2, and log in with a Username/Pw, it will use a service account that you activated via mogstation where you choose 'Use this service account'. This means you cannot play on Windows and Steam with two service accounts under 1 Username, because the 'toggle' to switch the service account is on the mogstation!

[SamboNZ]

Originally posted by John (Tyra):

The only thing odd about my situation is that I had an old inactive FF14 “Service Account” on the Mog pages from 2013. And since I could not figure a way to enter my new license codes in that Service Account, I created a Service Account #2, and entered my codes there. Is it possible Steam is trying to access my Service Account 1 which has been inactive since 2013? How would I tell Steam to use Service Account 2? Might that be the source of the problem?

I can confirm that it doesn't matter if you're playing on Service Account #2. All my characters are under Service Account 2 in the Mogstation (I have an old inactive Service Account on #1) and I'm able to log in fine using the Steam client - it appears to automatically select the active Service Account (#2 in my case).

What made it all work for me was removing the "-issteam" launch argument using SteamEdit, and now I can launch FFXIV in Steam, log in with my Mogstation non-Steam SE credentials, and play (including all Steam features such as online presence, overlay, hours played, etc).