"Please insert the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game Disc" Error message

The message "Please insert the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game Disc" appears when players are unable to authenticate their game license or when there's a discrepancy between Microsoft accounts.

Check the Xbox Live Status for potential outages or limited access. Check the official Xbox Support Twitter for updates on network outages.

The suggestions below are listed in order of what we've noticed solves common licensing issues the most. Start from the top and work your way through the list, depending on your platform.

 

ALL VERSIONS

 

UPDATE OR REINSTALL GAMING SERVICES

A Gaming Services update may be missing or corrupted. To manually update or reinstall Gaming Services, follow the instructions from this article:

• Microsoft Store - Cannot install or update Gaming Services

 

POOR WIFI OR NO INTERNET CONNECTION OR OFFLINE MODE

You must be connected to the internet in order to proceed with the installation & authentication. 

Make sure the Steam client is not set to offline mode. Restart online services. 

If you're using Wi-Fi, switch to an LTE or wired connection. This will help ensure that you are on a stable internet connection throughout the download and installation process.

MICROSOFT STORE & GAME PASS VERSION

SIGN IN WITH YOUR MICROSOFT ACCOUNT

To sync your settings and purchases across all your devices, sign in with your Microsoft account.

• Learn how to sign in with your Microsoft account on your Windows 11 device
• Learn how to sign in with your Microsoft account on your Windows 10 device

 

RESTART YOUR DEVICE

As basic as this is, a simple restart can set many things right.

 

MAKE SURE WINDOWS IS UP TO DATE

1. Press the Start button on the taskbar, type settings, and then select Settings.
2. On Windows 10, select Update & Security. On Windows 11, select Windows Update.
3. On the Windows Update page, select Check for updates to see if any updates are available for your device.
4. Once the updates have downloaded, select Install now to start the installation.
5. Following installation, we recommend that you restart your device so that the latest updates can take effect.

For more info, go to Windows Update

SYNCHRONIZE TIME SETTINGS

• Go back to Start, then select Settings > Time & Language.
• Select Date & Time and toggle the “Set time automatically setting" and “Set time zone automatically” to ON.
• Click on Synchronize your clock to synchronize your system's clock with an Internet time server.
• Then click Region, double-check that your country or region is correctly set up (for example if you live in Canada, make sure that the region isn’t automatically set to the USA or vice-versa)

INSTALL THE XBOX APP

• On your Windows device, select Search on the taskbar, type Xbox, and then select it from the list. If the app isn’t installed, you can get it for free from the Microsoft Store.

>> Get the Xbox app for Windows

MAKE SURE BOTH THE XBOX AND GAMING SERVICES APPS ARE UP TO DATE

1. Press the Start button on the taskbar, type store, and open the Microsoft Store app.
2. Select Library.
3. Under Updates & downloads, check if there are any updates available for the Xbox app or Gaming Services app. If an update is available, select Update.

MAKE SURE YOU'RE SIGNED IN TO THE XBOX APP AND THE STORE WITH THE SAME ACCOUNT

To make sure your permissions for the game can be validated, be sure to sign in to both the Store and the Xbox app using the account that was used to purchase Microsoft Flight Simulator.

For help with signing in, go to: Sign in to Xbox

 

REPAIR THE APP

A simple solution is to repair or reset the app. To learn how to do so, follow the instructions from our dedicated article:

• Microsoft Store version - How to repair or remove and do a clean install of Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Game Pass - How to repair or uninstall Microsoft Flight Simulator

RUN MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR AS ADMINISTRATOR

To do so, type "Flight simulator" in the Windows search bar then select "Run as administrator" in the menu.

 

THE KEY IS INVALID

If you purchased your key from a grey market retailer, it is possible they sent you the code inside the Boxed Version edition without sending you the discs or they sold a promotional code that has now expired. Please contact your retailer for an exchange or a refund. 

 

RETAIL BOX VERSION

 

INSERT DISC ONE TO LAUNCH THE RETAIL BOX VERSION OR CREATE AN ISO FILE

If you own the Retail Boxed version, insert Disc 1.

Disc 1 needs to be inserted at all times to check the status of your activation. 

If you don't have a disc reader on your computer, you will need to create an ISO file of Microsoft Flight Simulator Disk so that you don’t need to have the physical disk inserted every time you want to start Microsoft Flight Simulator.