Apex Legends: How to stop crashes on PC, PS4 and Xbox One

If, like many Apex Legends players, you are loving the game but hating the crashes, then these troubleshooting tips are especially for you – and should (hopefully) prevent your game from closing down at the worst possible moments.

Respawn Entertainment have been pretty upfront about the technical issues which have plagued the game since its launch on February 4, although it must be said the servers and gameplay itself have been relatively issue-free.

The same cannot be said for crashes however, which have been a constant problem for many players on both PC and console, even after two updates to try to fix the issues.

In a post on February 20, Respawn detailed an exhaustive list of all the steps you can take to try to avoid crashing as much as possible.

• More: Apex Legends: How to claim Free Twitch Prime content – Pathfinder skin and Apex Packs

Stop Apex Legends crashing on PC

There are a lot of potential places for your PC experience to go wrong, and as such there are A LOT of troubleshooting methods.

Firstly, ensure that both your operating system and graphics drivers are up to date – this is crucial. Also, ensure that you meet the minimum PC requirements to run the game.

Origin is EA’s client for PC gaming.

PC Troubleshooting for Apex Legends Crashes

• Try lowering the graphical settings within your in-game settings menu
• Right-click on desktop shortcut icon and run “troubleshoot compatibility” before launching.
• Repair the game in Origin. Within the Origin client right-click on Apex Legends and select “repair.”
• Switch from Full Screen to Windowed mode or Borderless from in the in-game settings
• Close programs and overlays running in the background like Discord overlay, TeamSpeak, Origin in-game and FPS counter, Asus GPU Tweak II, MSI afterburner, EVGA Precision, Shadowplay, Aura for ASUS, RivaTuner OSD, RivaTuner statistics, GeForce Experience, Radeon ReLive, Voicemeeter, FRAPS, OBS studio.
• There might be some type of program running in the background or installed on your PC that is causing a conflict with Origin. By performing a clean boot, you close down all unnecessary programs needed to boot up your PC. Once you boot it up launch the game immediately. 
• Roll back your GPU drivers. We know updating them to the latest version is ideal, but we’re seeing drivers 417.71 & 417.35 stop crashing for players. Use the Advanced and then ‘Clean Installation’ options.
• Limit FPS via the games’ command line: Gear/settings icon, Game Properties, Advanced Launch Options, add +fps_max 90 (or monitor max), Save.
• Turn off G-Sync (NVIDIA) or Freesync (AMD)
• Adjust Ambient Occlusion in NVIDIA control panel (Manage 3D Settings)
• Adjust or disable all forms of Vsync for your monitor
• Downclock GPU to default settings
• Try uninstalling GeForce Experience (NVIDIA)
• Increase your GPU and Windows power setting to Max. Open up “NVIDIA Control Panel” -> from the NVIDIA Control Panel, select the “Manage3D settings” from the left column -> click on the Power management mode drop down box and select “Prefer Maximum Performance”.
• Try reducing Texture Streaming from the in-game settings
• Reducing VRAM usage from 8GB to 6GB (streaming texture option)
• Reinstall the game to the internal hard drive (C:) and unplug external hard drives that aren’t being used
• Add Windows Defender Firewall exceptions: (Control PanelSystem and SecurityWindows Defender FirewallAllowed Apps). Make sure to add and check both boxes for Origin’s Launcher program. How programs and anti-virus programs can conflict with Origin.
• Right-click the speaker Icon in your system tray (bottom left of Windows) then choose Sound > Playback and disable any output device not in use (don’t forget to right click show all disconnected / deactivated devices).
• If you are encountering the “illegal instruction” error message, please report the issue to Easy Anti-cheat using the form here: https://www.easy.ac/en-us/support/apexlegends/contact/tech/
• Toggling your language may help. Right-click the game panel in Origin, choose Game Properties, then Advanced Launch Options. Change the game language (“Polish” helps some folks), save the game and update. Once this completes try swapping back to your language and check again?
• Allow Windows to manage your PageFile size
• Ensure that Origin, the game and your PageFile are all on C:
• Disable fullscreen optimisations
• Allow the EasyAntiCheat Service to restart if it fails
• Go to origin->game library->right click on apex ->Game properties->advanced->and put in Command line arguments: +fps_max 100
  • You can try setting it lower too (90, 80, etc.)

The Nvidia GeForce drivers download page…

Download latest Nvidia drivers

While crashes are relatively infrequent, one particular source of them may have been fixed. Nvidia have released to the GeForce Game Ready WHQL driver, (version 419.35). Specifically this addresses the “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG” crash.

“Our newest Game Ready Driver introduces optimizations and updates for Apex Legends, Devil May Cry 5, and Tom Clancy’s The Division II, giving you the best possible experience from the second you start playing.“

The latest Nvidia drivers can be downloaded through the GeForce experience app. This software will automatically detect your hardware and if there any driver updates. From there it’s as simple as clicking a few buttons to initiate the installation.

Alternatively, you can download them from the Nvidia website directly. Once you know your graphics card model (you can check this in the DirectX diagnostic tool or device manager) you can start the process. Here’s the step by step instructions:

1. Go to Nvidia website and navigate to the drivers tab
2. Select your model of graphics card using the drop-down boxes and download the latest drivers
3. Run the installer (the downloaded file). The installation process will automatically install the latest drivers while overwriting the old ones
4. In the event of issues, use system restore to go back to the point previous to installation

Stop Apex Legends crashing on Xbox One

• Perform a power cycle: https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/console/power-cycle-console
• Clear the MAC Address: From the Xbox dashboard select Settings>All Settings>Network>Network Settings>Advanced Settings>Alternate MAC address>Clear, then restart your Xbox.
• Deleted the local saved data. From My Games & Apps>Highlight Apex Legends>Press Start>Manage Game>Deleted Saved Data
• Unplug any devices attached to the USB slot
• Reinstall the game (if it is on an external hard drive try installing it on the internal drive)

Stop Apex Legends crashing on PS4

• Check to make sure you have the latest software update: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/get-help/ps4-system-software/
• Touch the power button on the front of the PS4 for at least 7 seconds (until the system beeps twice). Turn it back on after 1 minute. Launch the game.
• Turn off Convert Incoming Voice to Chat Text in the game’s settings. (https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Game-Keeps-Crashing-PS4/m-p/7439480/highlight/true#M5263)… any devices inserted into the USB slot
• Restore the license for the game: https://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps4/settings/license.html
• Try reinstalling the game. If you’re using an external hard drive, consider installing it on the internal to see if you have any improved results.