Microsoft Flight Simulator stuck on a loading screen? Here's a potential fix

Microsoft Flight Simulator has received glowing reviews pretty much all round, which would be great, if you could actually play it. If your copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator is stuck on a loading screen with a blue bar that’s not going anywhere, there may be some hope for you. Many players have found success with the following technique.

Fix Microsoft Flight Simulator stuck on a loading screen

If you’re stuck on a loading screen with Microsoft Flight Simulator, your first move should be attempting to launch the game as administrator. Make sure you’ve closed the game down fully (Alt + F4 if you can’t find a way out from the loading screen), then do not launch the Xbox Gamepass App. Use your Windows search bar to find Microsoft Flight Simulator, then right click on it and select “Run as administrator.” Try this several times in a row (at least 5) to see if it works. For many folks, all you need to do is restart the game a few times to get it to download properly. Basically you need to get lucky with your connection to Microsoft’s servers. Don’t just sit on the frozen loading screen, keep restarting until it works.

Try restarting or running as admin. This usually fixes the issue. Thanks!

— Microsoft Flight Simulator (@MSFSofficial) August 18, 2020

If that doesn’t work, you’re going to need to uninstall and reinstall the game, then try launching as administrator. The problem seems to arrive as part of the massive 100GB download the game performs when you first install it. Most folks recommend making sure you leave the game maximised and running on your computer. If you tab out of the game and start doing other things, it slows the download rate drastically.

Unfortunately, while this technique has helped many folks stuck on a loading screen in Microsoft Flight Simulator, it won’t work for everyone. The PC version of gamepass is temperamental, but hopefully you can get Microsoft Flight Simulator running in the end. For more useful Microsoft Flight Simulator advice, check out our list of the best joysticks and controllers for the game.

Henry Stenhouse

Associate Editor

Henry Stenhouse serves an eternal punishment as the Associate Editor of AllGamers. He spent his younger life studying the laws of physics, even going so far as to complete a PhD in the subject before video games stole his soul. Confess your love of Super Smash Bros. via email at henry@moonrock.biz, or catch him on Twitter.