Although its catalogue of games is not yet at par with that of Steam, Ubisoft’s Uplay has a whole range of high quality games and millions of gamers around the world considers it a very good alternative digital distribution platfrom. The Uplay client itself is generally stable but some users report that the program keeps crashing or freezing on their end.

If you are one of these unfortunate users, worry not as you’ve come to the right blog. This guide will show you the solutions that you can do to fix your Uplay client problems.

What are the reasons why Uplay keeps crashing or freezing

There are two general causes that can lead to Uplay crashing issues: software bugs and hardware malfunction. You need to narrow the factors down in order to know the real cause of your Uplay client problem.

Possible Software causes

Below are the possible software factors that you must consider.

GPU driver is outdated.

One of the most common reasons why Uplay crashes issues happen is a corrupted or unsupported GPU driver. If you’re new to PC gaming, GPU (graphics processing unit) refers to what average users call video or graphics cards. A GPU is essential in PC gaming and if its mini-software called driver is outdated or running an unsupported version, it may cause games and clients like Uplay to crash.

By default, GPUs are built to automatically notify users of new updates so all you have to do is to simply follow the instructions in that notification to update the driver. In case you missed the notifications, you can always access your GPU’s UI in order to update drivers manually.

Video card is not compatible.

Some games are designed to work with a limited set of available GPUs. If your PC is using an unsupported GPU, you may need to replace it if you want to continue playing the game.

Incorrect game configuration.

Some games may not run properly if their settings are not configured properly. For instance, setting on VSync feature, which is a technology that prevents the GPU from firing off too many frame rates beyond the refresh rate of your monitor, may still cause screen tearing issues (screen displays remnants of previous frames) or even crashes with Ghost Recon Breakpoint and other games. The problem is not caused by bad game design or coding but can happen if the game has a fast frame rate which your monitor can’t handle. It can also happen if the game frame rate happens so fast that the monitor can’t keep up with the changes.

In general, games have a built-in system that automatically detects the capability of your machine. We suggest that you leave the default settings as configured by your system automatically to avoid problems.

PS OS not supported or outdated.

Old or outdated Operating Systems may interfere with some games. Make sure that your machine is using the latest OS to prevent unnecessary crashes or freezing issues.

Memory is low.

Another common reason why Uplay client keeps crashing on some computers is low memory or resources. To lessen the chances of Uplay problems, make sure that you close other applications on your computer when gaming. This ensures that your machine has the necessary resources when trying to load or play a game.

Other software maintenance issues.

Other issues with your PC like a bad hard drive or a corrupted cache can negatively impact Uplay client and your games. There are a number of Windows troubleshooting steps that you can try like running Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter or refreshing the cache.

Network errors.

In some cases, Uplay may keep crashing if internet connection is slow or keeps disconnecting. Make sure that you have no internet connection problems by getting help from your Internet Server Provider (ISP) if the problem persists.

Hardware causes

A malfunctioning CPU, incompatible video card, or insufficient memory (RAM) are just some of the common hardware problems that might affect your gaming experience. Typically, the newer, faster, and more powerful your machine is, the less likely you’ll experience performance and crashing problems with Uplay client and its games.

If your Uplay client has been crashing or freezing more frequently even after you’ve considered all software factors, it’s probably high time that you check the hardware side of things.

We suggest that you talk to a friend or professional that can guide you on what particular aspect of your machine you’ll need to improve. Do this if you can’t upgrade your PC.

Troubleshooting Uplay client that keeps crashing

These are the possible solutions that you can try to fix any Uplay issues.

Check for GPU driver updates.
Exact steps to check for driver updates depend on the graphics card you’re using. GPUs usually come with their own program or User Interface (UI). For instance, if you’re using an Nvidia chipset, you’ll want to install GeForce Experience program to conveniently update your Nvidia graphics card.
In case you have an AMD Radeon GPU, there are a couple of options that you can use to update the drivers: via official AMD website, and using the AMD Radeon Settings on your computer.
Double check if GPU is compatible.
If Uplay keeps crashing when playing one game only, it may due to incompatibility. Make sure to check if the said game supports the GPU you’re using.
You can find the game summary in Uplay store to check for supported GPU cards.
Change game settings.
In order to minimize crashing or freezing issues, make sure that you use the default configuration as suggested by the game. Unless you know what you’re doing, try to avoid changing game settings that might affect performance.
Visit the game’s options screen and see if changing an item fixes a crashing problem. If you are not sure how to proceed, you can try a trial and error approach to disable or enable options until the game runs normally.
If nothing still works and Uplay continues to crash, try the rest of the troubleshooting steps below.
Install game and software updates.
Some games may crash if they haven’t been updated. Make sure that you connect to the internet regularly if you only play offline most of the time.
If you play games that require constant internet connection, updating should not be a problem so all you want to do is to ensure that your computer’s Operating System is up to date.
Close other apps or programs running in the background.
Uplay games may crash if your computer is running low on resources. To ensure that this does not happen, try closing other programs or games before running the game again. Follow the steps to know what you need to do:
-Turn off your PC.
-Turn the computer back on.
-Once you are back to Windows, press Ctrl-Alt-Del.
-From the “Close Program” window that opens, the only two items that should appear in this list are Explorer and Systray.
-Open Task Manager.
-Under Processes Tab, close the other programs you don’t need by highlighting the item and clicking on the End Task button at the bottom. Note: Critical Windows applications may not close.
-Once you’ve closed the unnecessary programs, start the game again and see what happens.
Optimize the hard drive.
Hard drives may sometimes encounter issues that can lead to errors in some sectors. Overtime, hard disc drives may become inefficient due to clutter. To see if you can fix things by speeding up the hard drive a bit, try using the Drive Optimizer option.
Here’s how to do that:
-Open the Control Panel.
-Go to System and Security.
-Click on Administrative Tools.
-Select Analyze and then Optimize options on each connected drive.
Delete temporary files.
Sometimes, all it takes to fix a game problem is to clear temporary files. Learn how to do that below.
-Click the Start menu (the Windows logo) in the lower left corner of your screen, then click the Settings icon.
-Click System.
-Click Storage.
-Click Free up space now.
-Wait for the scanning process to be complete.
-Select the files you want to remove, then click Remove files.
-Wait for the cleaning process to be complete.
Check for slow or intermittent internet connection.
Sometimes, Uplay may not work properly if a computer’s internet connection is erratic. Work with your ISP if you think that your internet connection is slow, intermittent, or non-existent.
Delete and reinstall Uplay.
If Uplay is still crashing or freezing after doing all the solutions above, you can delete and re-install it. This can sometimes work for certain errors but also for other issues that can occur because of your computer’s unique software environment.
Troubleshoot your PC hardware.
Some Uplay game issues are simply caused by poor or bad hardware performance. If your computer is generally slow in all things, especially when gaming, it might signal that you have a hardware issue.
The same can be said if your games constantly crashing even after doing all the troubleshooting in this guide.
Get advise from your PC technician or from someone you know that is knowledgeable about computers.

Get help from us.

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How To Fix Uplay Crashing And Freezing Issues