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My packs aren’t showing up in game at all
I’m on a Mac, and they’re being showed as owned/downloaded, but they’re not showing up In game. This probably has something to do with my folder is sitting on my desktop, but I’m unsure where it would go. I tried going users->applications but ts4 isn’t showing up as an application ☹️
Error 102 can't get game to work
Hoping you can help... So I was playing on my Mac, using a couple toons I'd gotten via the gallery. One was a new downloaded toon into my game that I'd successfully played with for about an hour on their home lots. Then I took them to the Magical Realm and everything was fine. I sent one toon home and then shortly sent the new toon home. That's when I first got an error message. I didn't take note of what error, just thought it was a simple thing. Then today, I was attempting to play and after clicking to resume the current game, and going to the usual loading screen, this warning came up: "The game failed to load: Error Code: 102:497e7f9:14992c5f. It is recommended that you relaunch the game." So I tried that then got the same message. I went over to this site ( https://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php?topic=29129.0 ) and followed the instructions to delete the caches, repair the game in my EA application, and try again. Same results. I tried multiple times. I also tried loading to a save before the game had crashed but the same results. I don't have any mods. Could you please help me fix what's going on? Thanks!Infinite loading after cas
Hi, I installed the game last week on a mac (M4) but whenever i try to start a sim (new game) the game let me complete the cas but then it goes into infinite loading. I don’t have any cc or mods. What I’ve already tried: uninstalling the game (3 times), adding my video card ( at the beginning it wasn’t recognized but now on the config.log, graphic it says found 1 supported 1), Play offline, update my mac to macOs Tahoe 26.4, Lower the graphic quality in the settings, Delete the saves and cache, Repair the game
Re-installed my sims 4 on Mac and not working
Hi! I’m on Mac and I reinstalled The Sims 4 through the EA app. The game worked before, but after I copied my old Mods folder, my old trays and saves into the new Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder, the game just says “Application Not Responding” and never opens. I already tried reinstalling and I tried removing my mods and tried to open the game and it does not work.
Sims 4 is not loading in new packs I bought.
I have tried troubleshooting every way I know how, but it still won't load the new packs I bought: reloading the game repairing the game in the EA app launcher (with the game closed) uninstalling the entire game then reinstalling the game restarting my computer and doing all the steps above It won't register the new packs I bought after so much troubleshooting, and I genuinely don't know how to fix this. It keeps telling me the "installation complete" for all the packs... But then does not load the new ones I bought (the fairy and royalty expansion packs). I don't use mods or cc, I play almost exclusively with just the base game and the packs. Any advice or other methods would be gladly appreciated :)
Game has been crashing for weeks
I am a pc/Gaming Laptop user. My game began crashing at random times, then when I was in CAS for more than 3 minutes, now it crashes constantly. I have NEVER used any mods, so that isn't it. I have updated my NVIDIA GEForce RTX video drivers, I have unloaded and reloaded the game, I have cleaned every cashe I can find 2-5 times daily. Now the game is crashing about every 30 minutes. When I reloaded it said it did not recognize my video cared, but graphics are great. Please let me know what else I can do. This is my favorite game, I am recovering from a concussion and I really want to play. Thank you! I know you get a lot of hate and frustration. You see us players at our worst because we have jumped through all the hoops and generic responses, but I really hope you can help me.
🛠️ Creating a symlink in macOS to store the Sims 4 folder on an external drive
➡️ This is not to be confused with installing the actual Sims 4 game on an external drive. The game installation location is determined in EA App and there is no need to use a symlink for this. As internal storage gets smaller we're forced to use cloud based solutions to store files and folders or resort to a trusty external drive. Cloud based only storage is not an option for the Sims 4 folder that contains all your saves, Mods, Library items and other user data because the game only looks in one place for your data: Macintosh HD > Users > [your user account] > Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 If there is no Sims 4 folder in that location the game will create a new one. There is no way around this default Sims 4 folder location unfortunately, it is hard coded into the game. Because of this the only option to store the Sims 4 folder on an external drive is to create a symbolic link, otherwise known as a symlink. Creating the symlink is relatively easy provided you understand the concept of what a symlink is and why you are creating it. You should also be familiar with Terminal on your Mac and the security and permission systems in place in whichever version of macOS you are running as these dictate the ability for the game to access the external drive and whether your Mac user account has permission to grant the necessary access. You should also make sure you are using a good quality, fast external drive. You get what you pay for and if you bought a cheap drive, with low quality cables, you will most likely struggle to get the symlink to work because it will be too slow. For help buying an external drive and what to look out for read this guide. I am not going to write step by step instructions here, the post will be far too long. Instead, you can read the detailed and comprehensive guide I wrote several years ago here https://bluebellflora.com/saving-your-sims-4-folder-to-an-external-drive/ If your symlink is not working it is down to user error. It really is that simple. macOS is a Unix based operating system and as such uses Unix commands which are all provided in the above linked guide. This thread is for consolidating all posts related to the Mac symlink process here at Answers HQ. If you're a Windows user read Crinrict's excellent guide here https://crinrict.com/blog/2020/02/moving-windows-documents-folder-to-external-drive-via-symbolic-link.html. What I have provided below are a few of the common issues people face as a result of not entering the commands correctly or having the correct permissions in place. Common issues reported and the solution: Always check your external drive has the correct name in Disk Utility: open Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities) change View to Show All Devices then click on the drive in the left sidebar the Mount Point shows the name of your drive. If there is a number added to the drive name it means the drive has not been properly ejected multiple times Close Disk Utility and eject the drive In Finder click on Go in the menu bar then Go To Folder. Enter /Volumes in the input field and hit return in the /Volumes location, trash the folder(s) that has the same name as the external drive Close Finder, plug the drive back in, open Disk Utility again to check the drive name in the Mount Point. If it matches try to create the symlink In addition to checking the external drive mount point above, the following may also be helpful: Terminal states my access/permission is denied check your Mac user account is an Administrator account and not a Standard account. check that Terminal has access to external drives, also known as Removable Volumes, and your Documents folder. I'm constantly getting "Unable to start... Cannot start because the below file appears to be corrupted" error message make sure the external drive is correctly formatted as either APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If it isn't, reverse the symlink, reformat the drive in Disk Utility and start again. check your Mods actually aren't corrupted by downloading a compatible version from the creator. I keep getting the error message "Unable to start... The Sims 4 is already running" make sure the external drive is correctly plugged in and mounted. check EA App has access to the external drive in System Settings > Privacy & Security. Give it Full Disk Access if necessary. disable iCloud Drive if the symlink folder in Documents is a white page instead of a folder with the little arrow the symlink has broken. Trash it and attempt to recreate the symlink. Check the Mount Point in Disk Utility shows your exact external drive name and doesn’t have a number added to the drive name. If it does this means your drive has not been properly ejected multiple times. To fix it: eject the drive in Finder click on Go in the menu bar then Go To Folder enter /Volumes in the text field and hit Enter/Return in the Finder window that appears you should see a folder, not a drive icon, with the same name as your external drive. Trash it. plug the drive back in, check the mount point in Disk Utility is the exact drive name with no appended numbers, then try to create the symlink again. if the mount point is still showing a number you have problems with your drive. Consider reformatting it, trying different connector cables, or getting a better drive. Terminal tells me No such file or directory did you copy and paste the command from the guide and correctly substitute the name of your external drive? If you didn't copy and paste you may have used the wrong letters in the command. Copy and paste from the guide. Does the folder you are trying to move or create a symlink to exist in the location you are stipulating in the command? Terminal tells me Directory not empty in Step 1 Is there already a folder on the external with the same name as the folder you're moving? i.e. have you already copied over the Electronic Arts folder? If there is already a folder with the same name as the folder you're moving, Terminal will return this result. Terminal tells me File already exists in Step 2 of the guide Did you correctly complete step 1 or is there still an Electronic Arts or Sims 4 folder in your Documents folder? If the folder is still there you have not correctly moved it in Step 1. If you have iCloud Drive enabled to store your Documents folder in the cloud and Optimise Storage enabled, it will cause issues with the symlink. I strongly advise to disable this iCloud feature otherwise you will have issues, especially if you use Mods. As a reminder, creating this symlink is aimed at people storing their Electronic Arts/Sims 4 folder locally. Using iCloud Drive stores your folder in the cloud and locally. For help with iCloud see this thread https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-Mac/READ-FIRST-Saves-CC-Mods-or-Library-items-disappeared/m-p/10242133Packs Deactivated??
I can't play with the packs I paid for. When I open up the game, I don't see any of them, and when I go to look at the marketplace, it says that all of them are deactivated. I can't seem to find out why this is happening, and I have made sure that I have them downloaded. I have tried to repair it as well. I'm just lost on what I can do to fix this.[READ FIRST] Saves, CC/Mods or Library items disappeared? iCloud issues
ISSUE Saves One minute your game is working fine. The next you go to play and the Load Game button has disappeared, there seems to be no way to play an existing save. CC/Mods Newly added CC/Mods do not show up in your game despite being properly installed (for help with installing 3rd party content see here) or CC randomly starts disappearing from your game. Library items Saving Lots, Rooms and Households to your in-game Library doesn't work CAUSE Most likely the internal storage on your Mac is too full and iCloud is pushing any newly added files to your Documents folder in the cloud. This can happen at anytime. You can check the storage level by clicking on the Apple in the top left corner of the menu bar then About This Mac, then the Storage tab. By default, the game stores your Saves, Mods, Tray (where your Library items are saved) and all your user game data in a folder called The Sims 4 in Documents > Electronic Arts. If there is no Sims 4 folder in this location the game will recreate a new one each time it is launched. If you have iCloud Drive enabled and set to store your Desktop & Documents folder in the cloud it may be moving your existing Sims 4 folder to the cloud, hence the need to create a new Sims 4 folder every time you launch the game. You can check the status of various files and folders, and what the little cloud icons mean, here. FIX Firstly, you MUST free up some space on your Mac otherwise doing this is pointless. Empty the Downloads folder, go through your data and see what you no longer need, empty the Bin. If you have large Photos, Music and TV libraries consider storing them on an external drive. Instructions here on how to do this for your Photos library, the principle is the same for the Music and TV apps. Open System Preferences and then your iCloud settings. What you click on can vary by macOS, check Apple's help page here if you can't immediately find where to look. This is where you can choose what gets stored in the cloud. We are only interested in two settings, iCloud Drive and Optimise Mac Storage Click on Options... in the iCloud Drive setting and make sure Desktop & Documents Folders is unchecked. Scroll down to the bottom of this Apple help page to understand what happens to your data when you turn off the setting. Back at the iCloud settings window, Uncheck Optimise Mac Storage below the list of apps using iCloud. This means that your Mac will stop pushing files to the cloud when the internal storage is getting full. For more info on this setting read this help page. Once you have successfully stopped iCloud from moving the contents of your Documents folder to the cloud you need to move the Sims 4 folder back into the default location - Macintosh HD > Users > [User] > Documents > Electronic Arts Apple explain here what the status of the little cloud icons mean. If you're feeling brave you could consider creating a symlink and storing your Sims 4 folder on an external drive. Or maybe change your EA App Games Library location to an external Drive.Buggy mirrors in sims 4 on Mac!!
Heyyy, I just wanted to play some sims and build some townhouses :) but every time I place mirrors all is getting laggy, even in build mode and also in play mode... Have anyone else experienced this? If so what do I do? Can it get fixed? Thanks for reading <3 hope someone can help :)
Game crashing or not loading especially after updating? Post here.
If your game is crashing or not launching after recently updating it please try the two most basic and fundamental steps to resolve it before posting: Repair the game in EA App Test a new clean game. Don't just cherry pick a few files and folders you think you should remove, such as just the Mods folder, or a few random Mods, or any old cache file, or a couple of screenshots, test a completely new, clean, vanilla game. Full instructions here - [INSTRUCTIONS] How to troubleshoot and test a broken game | EA Forums - 11864548 If your game successfully launches with a new Sims 4 folder you then need to figure out what is causing the crashing/failure to load. Again, instructions are in this link - [INSTRUCTIONS] How to troubleshoot and test a broken game | EA Forums - 11864548 . Only you can do that and it can take some time. if the cause is Mods head over to the Mods forum for further help - The Sims 4 Mods & Custom Content | EA Forums if the cause is one or more particular save files, upload them to a file sharing site and post the link here (tag me) or PM me and I can test in my game If your game will not load after repairing it AND testing a completely clean Sims 4 folder please uninstall and reinstall the game through EA App then test, still using the clean Sims 4 folder the game created from the previous step. If you're still having an issue post here with the specs of your Mac. You can find these in Apple > About This Mac: model, e.g. M4 MacBook Pro year, e.g. 2024 macOS version, e.g. Sequoia 15.3.2 (yes, the FULL version is important, with all numbers) memory, e.g. 64GB storage available, e.g. 1.5 TB of 2TB. This info can be found in System Settings > General > About or More Info... in the About This Mac window. Please also post a screenshot showing the contents of the new Sims 4 folder in Finder: make sure the files are in list order in Finder with Dates and Size clearly visible. make sure all files and folders in the TS4 folder are showing, don't cut off the screenshot have the path bar clearly showing in the screenshot: with the Finder window open and selected click on View > Show Path Bar in the menu bar at the top of your desktop. The screenshot should look something like this: Make sure to add a full description of what exactly is happening and what you have tried to fix it in your post. Be constructive to help us help you 🙂 The following are a few examples of short replies that are not constructive: "my game won't work" "my game has broken and I hate EA" "my game only works without Mods and I'm refusing to remove my Mods" "fix it" "my sister's friend's brother's aunty has the same computer and her game works" "I've tried EVERYTHING and NOTHING works"
First-person camera randomly stabilized
When using the Sims 4 first-person camera (Shift + Tab), the camera no longer tilts or sways at all. It stays perfectly level and stabilized during every animation (walking, standing, interacting, turning, etc.) Previously, there was subtle camera tilt/sway that followed the Sim’s movement, which made first-person feel fluid. Now the camera feels completely locked, as if all camera interpolation or tilt has been disabled. First person itself still works, but the camera no longer responds to any animation with tilt or sway. I was wondering why that is and how to get it back to being chaotic and unstable?Unrecognised Video Card Error - fix for Mac
This is a common error message which does not impact the game. You can easily fix this yourself by following these instructions: Right click on the Sims 4 base game, wherever you have it installed (Applications folder by default) and select Show package contents Navigate to Contents > Resources Right click on the GraphicsCards.sgr file and select Copy Open the ConfigOverride folder in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4. Right click in the folder and select Paste item. Open the GraphicsCards.sgr file you have pasted into the ConfigOverride folder. If prompted to choose an Application in Finder, choose TextEdit. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the file to the Apple bit and paste the following lines: vendor "Apple" 0x106B card 0x0000 "Apple M4" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M4 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M4 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M3" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M3 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M3 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M2" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M2 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M2 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M1" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M1 Max" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple M1 Pro" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh $cardLevelUber card 0x0000 "Apple A12Z" $cardLevelUber $resolutionHigh end Close the GraphicsCards.sgr file, saving if prompted (you shouldn’t be) I have written a more detailed article here. Updated October 2025
Unable to start: The Sims 4 is already running - Mac only
If you're experiencing this error message it doesn't mean your game is already running, the actual message itself is incorrect. It means The Sims 4 cannot access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to load your user data when you attempt to launch the game. This is essentially a permissions issue which can be resolved based on your setup: - If you have just installed or reinstalled the game - If you have iCloud Drive enabled and it is syncing your Desktop & Documents folders - If you have recently updated your Mac or the game - If you have moved your Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to an external drive and created a symlink in your Documents folder ______________________________________________________________ If you have just installed or reinstalled the game: You would have been prompted to allow The Sims 4 permission to access the Documents folder, this is security built into macOS. This is so it can access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder in your Documents folder, if one already exists, or create a new one if it doesn't exist. If you clicked Don't Allow when prompted the game cannot read and write to the Documents folder, resulting in the error message. Fix - Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders (you will need to use an Mac Administrator account to access this) and enable access to the Documents folder by clicking the toggle on: If you do not see this option open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access (you will need to use a Mac Administrator account to access this). Click the + in the bottom left corner, below the list of apps. A Finder window will open to the Applications folder. Navigate to where your game is installed, by default this is Applications > EA Games, click on it and then click Open. It will now be added to the Full Disk Access list. Make sure it is toggled on. Whilst giving the game Full Disk Access isn't ideal, and shouldn't be necessary, it is a quick and easy solution to fixing the error message and the game is signed and notarised by Apple. ______________________________________________________________ If you have iCloud Drive enabled and it is syncing your Desktop & Documents folders: This is a really common cause of this error message and is as a result of your Mac storage being full resulting in iCloud pushing the entire Documents folder to the cloud. The game cannot see the Documents folder and its contents because it is not local on your machine, therefore it cannot access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to load user data at launch. Fix - Open System Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > Drive and disable the Desktop & Documents folders syncing. Be aware of the effect this will have if you use multiple Apple devices to access these folders: ______________________________________________________________ If you have recently updated your Mac or the game: Sometimes permissions can go awry after updating the OS or you have been prompted to change settings after updating and inadvertently clicked the wrong thing. Fix - check all of the applicable settings in the instructions above ______________________________________________________________ If you have moved your Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder to an external drive and created a symlink in your Documents folder: There can be multiple reasons for the error message when a symlink has been set up but they are all caused by the game not being able to access the Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 folder: your external drive is not plugged in and properly mounted. Check the drive is plugged in and showing in Finder/on your Desktop. your symlink is broken. This can be checked by looking at the symlinked folder in your Documents folder. If the icon is a white file and not a folder it is broken. Trash it and recreate the symlink in Terminal. If you have further issues refer to the dedicated symlink thread opening post. the game does not have access to Removable Volumes (external drives) in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders. You would have been prompted to give permission when launching the game for the first time after successfully creating the symlink and maybe denied it. Give the game access: you have iCloud Drive syncing your Desktop & Documents folders to the cloud which does not work well with the symlink. Disable it (see above for further instruction). your external drive has not been ejected properly multiple times resulting in the OS changing the mount point. Check Disk Utility and rectify, see the dedicated symlink thread opening post for further instruction. ______________________________________________________________ If you're still stuck a really quick and easy way to resolve this is to create a new Administrator account on your Mac and play the game in that account. When you first launch the game in that account you will be prompted to give all the necessary permissions for the game to access the Documents folder - make sure you allow it 😊
Sims 4 freezing a few minutes after loading
I’m having a serious issue where my game freezes a few minutes after loading a save. What happens is The game loads normally and I can play for a short time but after a few minutes, time stops progressing and interactions stops working and I cant click on anything Ive already tried to remove my mods and add them back one by one to see what the problem was and I cleared my cache and tested a new save and i've reinstalled and repaired the game through the EA app please help me because I can't think of anything else to do
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