MSFS 2020 live weather not working? Check online data, weather presets, account connectivity, add-ons and server faults in the right order.
Live weather in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 usually stops working because Online Functionality is disabled, the Live weather preset was not selected, the simulator lost its connection to Microsoft’s services, or an add-on is interfering. Re-enable online data, reselect Live weather, restart the simulator, then test with an empty Community folder.
How do I restore live weather in MSFS 2020?
Work through the weather setting, online connection and add-ons in that order; reinstalling the simulator should not be the first response.
- Select Live weather, not just live time. On the World Map, open Flight Conditions and choose the Live weather option. Live time only changes the clock and does not activate live atmospheric data. Our explanation of how live weather, live time and weather presets differ covers these controls in more detail.
- Check Online Functionality. Open
Options > General Options > Dataand make sure Online Functionality is enabled. Also check that any data-usage limit has not been reached. - Confirm that your account is online. A flight can load while the connection supplying live services has failed. Check the simulator’s online status and ensure the PC or console has a working internet connection and the correct system date and time.
- Fully restart MSFS 2020. Return to the desktop on PC. On Xbox, quit the simulator rather than leaving it suspended through Quick Resume. A stale live-service session can survive returning to the main menu.
- Test in an unrestricted Free Flight. Use a default aircraft and choose an airport where the reported wind or weather is distinctive. Training missions, challenges and some hosted sessions can lock the conditions, making the weather selector unavailable.
- Remove weather-related add-ons. On PC, move the contents of the Community folder somewhere temporary and test again. Start with weather presets, environment modifications and utilities that inject or alter atmospheric data, then restore packages in small groups.
- Rule out network interference. Temporarily disable a VPN or proxy, confirm the simulator is permitted through the firewall, and restart the router if other online features are also failing. If live traffic has disappeared as well, use our online-service and connection checks for live traffic; many of the same settings support both systems.
What does the live weather symptom tell me?
The failure pattern usually identifies whether the problem is a setting, a stale connection or simply a limitation in how weather is depicted.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Best next step |
|---|---|---|
| Clear skies and calm wind everywhere | A preset is active, Online Functionality is off, or live data failed to connect | Reselect Live weather, check Data settings and restart the simulator |
| Live weather option is greyed out | The activity or multiplayer session controls the conditions | Test a normal Free Flight from the World Map |
| Weather worked on the first flight but not the next | The live-service session became stale | Quit MSFS 2020 completely and relaunch it |
| Weather exists but differs from an airport report | Forecast blending, update delay or local transition | Compare pressure and surface wind before treating it as a failure |
| Clouds appear but the weather radar is blank | There may be no precipitation, or that aircraft’s radar has limited functionality | Check outside conditions and compare with a default aircraft |
| Several live features fail together | Account, network or Microsoft service problem | Check connectivity and wait if the fault is service-side |
Why does live weather not exactly match the METAR?
Live weather can be working even when Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 does not reproduce every part of an airport observation exactly. The simulator blends wider atmospheric model data with airport observations, and the sources can update at different times.
Check several indicators rather than judging from the cloud picture alone: surface wind, altimeter pressure, visibility, precipitation and temperature. A delayed wind change or a cloud layer transitioning near the airport does not necessarily mean live weather is disabled.
Weather radar is also an unreliable test by itself. It normally represents precipitation rather than every visible cloud, and radar capability varies between default and add-on aircraft.
Should I clear the rolling cache or reinstall MSFS 2020?
Usually, no: the rolling cache primarily supports streamed scenery and is not the database from which live weather is loaded.
Clear or rebuild it only when weather trouble accompanies broader streaming, scenery or flight-loading problems. If flights themselves are hanging, follow the checks for cache, add-on and online-service loading faults.
A full reinstall rarely fixes a weather-service outage or account connection failure. Test an empty Community folder, verify the game files through the platform’s repair facility, and confirm that other online functions work before considering that step.