How To Fix Madden 21 Won't Download Or Slow Download

Some Madden 21 players have reported to us that their game won’t download of that the download speed have become too slow. If you are having a similar or the same issue, you’ll find this troubleshooting guide helpful.

What are the reasons why Madden 21 has download issues?

If Madden 21 is not downloading, or if it suffers from frustratingly slow downloads and taking forever to install, it’s likely caused by one of the things below:

Random game bug.

Some new games may develop unanticipated bugs. Download problems are common nowadays especially that games are becoming more sophisticated and their sizes have ballooned to several tens of GBs.

Slow or intermittent local internet connection.

At other times, issues with a user’s home internet may be the sole reason why some games may have failed downloads. Make sure that your home network is working properly and your download speed is fast enough to allow decent downloads speeds.

Depending on your platform, game version, and download speed, entire download time may vary. If you are playing Madden 21 on Steam for example, you can expect that the initial download file size can take up to 38 GBs, excluding additional contents that you may also have to install after the main game.

If you have a limited download speed, or if your connection bandwidth during time of download is very low, such a huge download can take forever to finish.

Server issues.

At other times, game servers hosting the installer files may go down due to outages or maintenance. Make sure that you check for any server issues that might affect game downloads if none of the first two causes have been identified.

How to fix Madden 21 won’t download or slow download issues?

There are three important things that you can do to fix Madden NFL 21 download issues. Let’s see each of them below.

Fix #1: Restart the download.

Popular games like the Madden franchise may suffer from poor download performance initially during the first few days after release due to server overcapacity. Sometimes, download issues though can be caused by random bugs in a PC, console or network. Fortunately, some of these types of bugs can be fixed easily by simply turning off and turning back on your file download.

If you are trying to play the Madden 21 Steam version, you can try to stop and restart the download by closing the Steam application itself. Using the Task Manager program (CTRL+ALT+DEL), find the Steam applications and make sure to close them. Then, simply reopen the Steam client and run the download again.

For PS4 players, you can do these steps to restart the download:

Go to Notifications.
Select Downloads.
Press X to select either Pause.
Run the download again.

If you’re on an Xbox One, follow these steps:

Go to Games & Apps.
Choose the Queue and then on Madden 21 press the three lines button on your controller.
Choose Pause installation.
Wait for a few seconds before restarting the download.

Fix #2: Check for server problems.

In some cases, the main reason why Madden 21 may not download, or that the download time is taking too long can be server issues. Make sure that you check the server status by going to the official EA website to check for any on-going server issues with Madden NFL 21.

Fix #3: Troubleshoot your home connection.

If there are no known server problems affecting game downloads, it’s probably because the main reason for your issue is your own home internet connection. Let’s see some of the things that you can do to fix possible local network troubles.

Power cycle the router.

Routers may sometimes become unresponsive or sluggish, especially if they are left running for a long time. To fix possible temporary issues with the router, you can restart your own by unplugging it from the power source. Then, wait for 30 seconds before turning it back on.

Once the lights on the router have become stable, try redownloading Madden 21 to see if it working.

Verify home internet download speed.

If you have slow download speed at home, 38 GBs can take you several hours to download and install. If you want to know how long it would take you to download a game of this size, you can use third party websites to give you a download speed calculation.

If necessary, try to download the game during times when no one is using your connection such as during the night.

Check for intermittent connection issues.

If download speed is not an issue but the game is still taking forever to finish the download, another possible culprit for it may be intermittent connection problem. This means that your home internet connection may be constantly dropping.

If you noticed that your devices are regularly being disconnected from wifi, or your internet connection seems to be disconnecting at random when using other devices, you may have an intermittent connection problem. This can be caused by an error in your router, a physical line connection trouble, or something else that only your Internet Service Provider can fix.

Since troubleshooting an intermittent connection problem is harder than, say, slow connection problem, we recommend that you involve your ISP in trying to fix it.

Check for low bandwidth.

Another least known cause why game downloads may not perform as expected can be low bandwidth. This can happen if too many devices are using the internet connection at the same time. Activities such as downloading of huge files, streaming HD content on Netflix, or online gaming on PC or console can be bandwidth hogs.

If your home internet connection is limited and there are multiple devices are using the internet when you try to download Madden 21, the overall download speed may be affected.

To check, try to disconnect other devices from your network temporarily to see if that will improve the performance.

Another workaround: Try wired connection

If your PC or console is using wifi, try to see if you can improve the situation by connecting it directly to the router using an ethernet cable.

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