Launcher stuck in update loop

DigiAngel · March 17

I've been seeing "Unable to load skin". Now the launcher updates, restarts, unable to load skin, update, restarts....etc. Help. I've deleted the Launcher and folder and resinstalled, no luck.

Darkmage1337 · March 17

My ESO Launcher is also stuck in an Update-Loop.
The blue bar fills up and the app instantly closes.

ZOS_Phoenix · March 17

@DigiAngel
@Darkmage1337

Just to confirm, per this support article, did you also reset the ProgramData folder? If not, please follow the rest of the steps in the article and let us know if they help.

ZOS_Icy · March 17

Greetings,

This thread has been moved to the PC Technical Support section, as it is better suited there.

The Elder Scrolls Online Team

DigiAngel · March 17

Yes...I've deleted the entire Launcher directory, reinstalled; same thing. Uninstalled via add/remove programs, deleted any leftovers from the launcher, reinstalled, same thing.

ZOS_Phoenix · March 17

@DigiAngel

In that case, please open a ticket with our support team here so that they can take a closer look.

xyphrum · March 17

I have the same problem and multiple people in my discord having the same issue. Seems like a problem on their end.

Darkmage1337 · March 17

ZOS_Phoenix wrote: »

@DigiAngel
@Darkmage1337

Just to confirm, per this support article, did you also reset the ProgramData folder? If not, please follow the rest of the steps in the article and let us know if they help.

Step 2 of that article is impossible to execute because the Repair button does not appear and is therefore unselectable.

Lord_Hev · March 17

I was having this issue as well, I did not do any of your steps, I just right-clicked > "run as administrator" and it seemingly worked, but the launcher looks larger then normal. I haven't tried closing and re-opening it, but I am able to log-in.

Lord_Hev · March 17

Also before this issue today, I would very regularly get that "unable to load skin" error. Not sure how related it is to this, I usually would just spam-click the launcher to brute force my way through it and it would work lol.

DigiAngel · March 17

No fix yet...running as admin did nothing.

xyphrum · March 17

This log line may indicate what is wrong:

03/17/2025 20:50:38 CONSOLE - [ANALYTICS] trackEvent {"event":"WebGetError","errorCode":404,"errorCodeEx":0,"url":"https://patcher.elderscrollsonline.com/products/CNL_Launcher/public/Bethesda.net_Launcher/release/24e65b25a221d057365a178354f3faa82d29acfc/f5e166b27ebac1caa675df88e75fbae15c8d3f78/catalog.json","remoteAddress":"96.16.53.155:443"}

Cosmo_Nova · March 17

Chiming in to say that my launcher was also stuck in an update loop. I did not have the 'Unable to load skin' error that OP is showing, but it did keep saying 'Updating...' and then 'Shutting down...' before closing abruptly.

After restarting my PC the launcher was able to update successfully and is running normally. I'm on PC/NA and playing through Steam.

This seems to be a sudden problem affecting multiple players simultaneously, there is also currently a Reddit thread on r/elderscrollsonline bringing up the issue.

WySoSirius · March 17

Also have the update > shut down bug loop . Tried everything

DigiAngel · March 17

Ticket 250317-003529...FWIW the game runs just fine via the executable, without the launcher for now.

Threemoons · March 17

DigiAngel wrote: »

Ticket 250317-003529...FWIW the game runs just fine via the executable, without the launcher for now.

Thanks, may try this. I too am in the Update Loop from Hell. PC/NA.

EDIT: I used Task Manager to kill the install. Relaunched launcher and this time I got a popup from Norton asking me if I wanted Something to Do Something and I let it. Updated instantly.

Launching game now...got in and can play.

So yeah, something wonky on the Zenimax side, but do try maybe turning off firewall/antivirus and/or using task manager to kill any hanging processes before retrying.

aklossner · March 18

Here's how I got past the ESO launcher problem.

At 5pm PDT 3/17/25 I uninstalled and reinstalled the game (130GB, sigh). It still didn't work, but I have a suspicion that this was necessary for what comes next:

I ran the launcher and got the now-infamous "Updating" / "Shutting down".
Then I looked in directory
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online\Launcher
at the text file host.developer.03.17.2025.log. (Your file's numbers will be different if you run it on a day that's not St Patrick's Day.)
The last two lines in this file were:

03/17/2025 18:05:41 DEBUG - Restart executable - C:\Users\andrew\AppData\Local\Temp\76809b23244d57663434ac40622941948553a566\9cc55b330b39b64f90e8b1581863dece.exe
03/17/2025 18:05:41 DEBUG - Restart arguments - /steam true --debug --debugdir={ModuleDirectory} --perday --append --debugfileid=selfupdate --wfselfupdate

I opened a command shell and did:
cd \Users\andrew\AppData\Local\Temp\76809b23244d57663434ac40622941948553a566
9cc55b330b39b64f90e8b1581863dece /steam true --debug --debugdir={ModuleDirectory} --perday --append --debugfileid=selfupdate --wfselfupdate

This brought up a small window labeled "Launcher". It had a progress bar that never progressed. I then tried running the launcher from Steam again, and it failed again. But when I dismissed it, I had the ESO launcher running and downloading about 100GB of data. When done, I was able to play the game.

SikRockstarr · March 18

aklossner wrote: »

Here's how I got past the ESO launcher problem.

At 5pm PDT 3/17/25 I uninstalled and reinstalled the game (130GB, sigh). It still didn't work, but I have a suspicion that this was necessary for what comes next:

I ran the launcher and got the now-infamous "Updating" / "Shutting down".
Then I looked in directory
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online\Launcher
at the text file host.developer.03.17.2025.log. (Your file's numbers will be different if you run it on a day that's not St Patrick's Day.)
The last two lines in this file were:

03/17/2025 18:05:41 DEBUG - Restart executable - C:\Users\andrew\AppData\Local\Temp\76809b23244d57663434ac40622941948553a566\9cc55b330b39b64f90e8b1581863dece.exe
03/17/2025 18:05:41 DEBUG - Restart arguments - /steam true --debug --debugdir={ModuleDirectory} --perday --append --debugfileid=selfupdate --wfselfupdate

I opened a command shell and did:
cd \Users\andrew\AppData\Local\Temp\76809b23244d57663434ac40622941948553a566
9cc55b330b39b64f90e8b1581863dece /steam true --debug --debugdir={ModuleDirectory} --perday --append --debugfileid=selfupdate --wfselfupdate

This brought up a small window labeled "Launcher". It had a progress bar that never progressed. I then tried running the launcher from Steam again, and it failed again. But when I dismissed it, I had the ESO launcher running and downloading about 100GB of data. When done, I was able to play the game.

Was having the same issue, and this worked for me. I actually didn't have to reinstall either. I tried everything after the reinstall part you mentioned before actually uninstalling/reinstalling.

Pulled up the command prompt, put in my file path like you mentioned, download bar came up, pulled up the launcher, dismissed, and then the ESO launcher was up and running. It didn't start downloading immediately, and so I did a repair and it works fine now.

Also worth noting, I'm not playing through Steam.

DigiAngel · March 18

FWIW this morning after trying again, the update completed. I still see Unable to load skin though.

S_Northman · March 18

DigiAngel wrote: »

I've been seeing "Unable to load skin". Now the launcher updates, restarts, unable to load skin, update, restarts....etc. Help. I've deleted the Launcher and folder and resinstalled, no luck.

Same problem on the EU server, since the 45 update.
For me it is happening when launching the game through Steam.
Not a systematic error.
Generally it works after 3 ou 4 retries, the launcher starts.
Also sometimes, closing and re-opening the Steam client helps.

S_Northman · March 18

I made a bug report in-game, for the 'load skin' error: 250318-000493

DigiAngel · March 18

Aye...after successful Launcher update I still have the Unable to load skin, but like everyone else the Launcher will start after 3 or 4 tries.

DuckFayth · March 20

I also have the infinite launcher loop.
I tried opening the launcher 10+ times and it continues to fail.
I am unable to try the "repair files" part of that help article listed above as I would need the launcher to actually remain open.
I followed the other directions I reset the ProgramData file following the directions from the link provided earlier, and that did not work.

My host.developer file indicates I did finish the update successfully, but when it queues up the restart it doesn't show the Bethesda.net_launcher.exe actually launching or attempting to launch. Running it as administrator does not help, it creates the same boot loop. I confirmed my antivirus isn't blocking it. I show no application error logs in my event viewer. My only thoughts are that maybe the temp directory file isn't properly moved to the main directory to launch?

I wanted to leave a reinstall attempt till last, so I did. I deleted Bethesda.net_launcher.exe from my file folder and reinstalled the launcher from the eso website. I matched up the install folders and the launcher queue'd up a 32GB update, once it finished that update, the launcher now launches as expected.

NaRcOmAgE · March 21

Finally resolved:

Not getting the 'skin' error, but same updating / shutting issues everyone is describing. Tried everything mentioned, including a full uninstall and reinstall (that's 2 days of my life I'm never getting back...). Finally worked it out:

For any Windows 11 users still having problems:

Search for 'Virus & threat protection'.
Under 'Virus & threat protection settings', click 'Manage settings'
Toggle 'Real-time protection' to OFF
Launch ESO from your usual shortcut.
Launcher runs and updates without issue, full game then loads.
TURN REAL-TIME PROTECTION back ON

Wish I'd worked that out earlier as I've now wasted days re-installing and also lost all add-ons and settings in ESO.

francesinhalover · March 22

NaRcOmAgE wrote: »

Finally resolved:

Not getting the 'skin' error, but same updating / shutting issues everyone is describing. Tried everything mentioned, including a full uninstall and reinstall (that's 2 days of my life I'm never getting back...). Finally worked it out:

For any Windows 11 users still having problems:

Search for 'Virus & threat protection'.
Under 'Virus & threat protection settings', click 'Manage settings'
Toggle 'Real-time protection' to OFF
Launch ESO from your usual shortcut.
Launcher runs and updates without issue, full game then loads.
TURN REAL-TIME PROTECTION back ON

Wish I'd worked that out earlier as I've now wasted days re-installing and also lost all add-ons and settings in ESO.

does not work for me.

S_Northman · March 23

NaRcOmAgE wrote: »

Finally resolved:

Not getting the 'skin' error, but same updating / shutting issues everyone is describing.

The launcher issue and the skin error are different things.
The skin bug appeared after the last update before game update 45.
The launcher issue appeared after the launcher update following the game update 45.

(I always turn off W11 real time protection before before the first connection after a patch update. It helps).

Stefirex · March 25

I fixed my Updating then "Shutting Down" message by downloading the installer from my account page and running it to install over the game. It updated the game without doing a full install and works fine now.

Jestertoo · April 7

I had same issue. I fixed it by downloading the launcher from the website and reinstalling.

S_Northman · April 8

Using the downloaded installer didn't work for me, I had the same error 'unable to load skin' when trying to run the installer!!!
See here
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/675705/unable-to-reinstall-the-game-after-unable-to-load-skin-bug

I needed about 60 retries to finally been able to finish the installation.

The game runs well, but I have still the random bug 'unable to load skin' when running the launcher. Sometimes about 20 retries are needed.
I never had this bug before, it seems it started a few weeks ago after the last patch before game update 45, update 45, and maybe W11 24H2 update.

Then for me none of these 5 solutions works.
https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/#en/answer/66127
It have nothing to do with Steam, the bug occurs also for players not using Steam, or when launching the launcher directly from the game installation file (without Steam)
Neither administrator mode, windows defender exception and so on have any effect.

There is a discussion here that make the assumption that it could be due to processor high speed, especially with Intel Core i9.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/306130/discussions/0/4342113141665069864/?ctp=2
As you can see, some players are even unable to install the game.

The fact that both the launcher and the downloaded installer fail immediately at start seems related to a server connection that these 2 exe are trying to join. They are able to do it ranndomly.

I don't have any other problem with any other game.

I think that a solution is to be researched in the launcher coding, especially in the initial server connexion.

I send a ticket 250406-002860 but got net answer yet.

For those for which the reinstallation of the game worked, it should be useful to know if you still have sometimes the error when starting the launcher (randomly), and which Windows version / processor you have.
I never had this error in quite ten years with my old computer W10 / core i7.
Neither in the beginning with my new computeur W11/ core i9
I'm suspecting some recent change (either in the launcher, the server, or W11 24H2.