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The Sims 4 fails to launch, game window created but never renders
Issue: The game will not launch. When starting via EA App or directly via the executable, the process starts, the dock icon shows the loading spinner, and system logs confirm the app creates windows and registers normally with macOS — but no game window ever actually renders on screen. After roughly 10-15 seconds the process silently quits with no crash report generated in Diagnostic Reports, and no error logged by the game itself. Steps already tried (no change in behavior each time): Full clean uninstall and reinstall of the game Removed all custom content/mods (tested with zero mods — same result) Reset in-game graphics settings (deleted options.ini) Ran the app under Rosetta Repaired the game via EA App Confirmed no crash logs are generated in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports Confirmed via log show that the process creates windows and registers with the system, but stops producing activity shortly after with zero logged errors or faults Suspected cause: Based on other reports from players on macOS Tahoe 26.x, this appears to match a known Metal graphics driver rendering incompatibility between the current Sims 4 build and the newest macOS version — the game creates its window but never successfully renders to it.
The Sims 4 will not launch on MacBook Pro M5 (macOS Tahoe 26.3)
Hi, I'm hoping someone can help because I've exhausted all of the normal troubleshooting steps. System Information macbook pro m5 macOS tahoe 26.3 EA App Version 13.754.0.6267 The Sims 4 Version (latest update) Problem When I click Play in the EA App: The EA App minimizes The Sims 4 icon briefly appears in the dock The game never reaches the loading screen or main menu After a few seconds the dock icon disappears No error message is displayed The game launnched successfully once on this same Mac about 2 or 3 weeks ago (I went as far as CAS), but didn't play and since then it has never been able to launch again. Troubleshooting already completed Removed all Mods and Custom Content Confirmed the game is launching with Modded: False Deleted localthumcache.package Repaired the game Completely uninstalled and reinstalled The Sims 4 Completely uninstalled and reinstalled the EA app Renamed the Sims 4 Documents folder so the game created a completely new one Launched with a completely fresh Sims 4 folder Verified documents permissions Restarted the Mac multiple times Tried launchng the game directly from the application instead of using the EA app Booted into Safe Mode and tested there Uninstalled curseforge Confirmed the game is installed on the internal SSD No mods or CC are present anywhere Minecraft and other applications work normally. Crash information The sims crash report consistently shows the game failing during intialization before reaching the main menu Relevant information LoadingScreenActiveFlag: 1 Modded: False Architecture: arm64 Apple Silicon (M5) macOS Metal The stack references Metal/AGXMetal during startup Additional information No apple crash report (.ips/.crash) is generated in DiagnosticReports The game process appears to terminate before it fully starts. Has anyone else experienced this on an M5 Macbook Pro running macOS Tahoe 26.3? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank youGame Window won't go Full Screen
Hi! I haven't had to do this before but I cannot seem to figure out what's wrong on my own. Basically when I went to open my game last night the game screen wouldn't open to full screen (the top bar of my desktop was showing as well as the dock at the bottom). I always play full screen on my laptop and so I'm not sure what the problem is. When I tried to go into Game Options it said that I was in full screen mode and the mouse was acting as if I was as well. Every time I tried to change it or even go into Window Mode to see if that might help, the problem just got worse. I don't know if I'm explaining this very well, sorry. It's just frustrating because everything I've looked up and tried hasn't worked. I don't know if it's a problem with my game or possibly my laptop? It's just a MacBook Air 2020 and Sims is the only game I have on it. Nothing's wrong with the actual game play or save files, just the screen being the wrong size and the pointer... A screenshot of what I mean when I say it's all out of proportion. Usually when I play you can't see the dock or the top bar part at all. And I have to hover the mouse down before I'm able to click on the option I want...my household keeps getting deleted.. saves corrupted???
Hi guys, I’ve been trying to solve this issue all day, and I seriously don’t know what could be causing it. Earlier today, when I was playing the game, I aged up my newborn Sim and held Shift on him to modify him in CAS. However, instead of seeing my whole family, a randomly generated Sim appeared (like I had just started a new game). When I exited Create-a-Sim, the entire household was completely gone. Whenever I hovered my mouse over their lot, it would glitch and get filled in by their neighbors. I tried going into my save file, and I was able to get them back, but it happened again when I entered Manage Worlds. The entire household would just disappear. So, I assumed it was my mods, and I removed my entire Mods folder. This allowed me to use the Shift + CAS cheat with my household still there. After figuring out that the issue was caused by one of my mods, I downloaded the Better Exceptions mod and deleted all of my corrupted mods, ONLY FOR MY GAME TO DELETE MY HOUSEHOLD AGAIN. I’ve been dealing with this for seven hours. Someone please help me!Mac: Save loads normally but Save & Save As always fail (Error 21)
Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help because I've spent the last couple of days troubleshooting this very thoroughly, with the help of ChatGPT, and I've reached the point where I think this needs someone with Sims-specific save expertise. I think this may be an unusual save corruption issue rather than a standard Error 21. I'm on macOS. The problem My main save (around 29 MB) loads perfectly and appears completely normal. I can: Play normally for as long as I want Switch between multiple households Travel between worlds Enter Build/Buy Enter CAS Interact with Sims normally Everything appears to function correctly The only thing that doesn't work is saving. Both Save and Save As immediately produce: Error Code 21 The game failed to save. Error Code: 21 The save has several years of gameplay (it's my primary save and contains almost all of my Sims history), so I'm trying everything possible before giving up on it. How this started My game had been working normally until a series of events happened around the same time. I had recently moved my Mac's data into iCloud as part of setting up my computer again. I then attempted to place a household from the Gallery. After placing it, I discovered that it required the Lovestruckexpansion pack, which I do not own. Shortly afterwards I began experiencing Error 801, along with obvious world corruption, including: missing lots floating apartment objects missing buildings broken world terrain At that point the save was clearly unusable. To recover, I restored my Sims 4 folder from a backup that I had stored on an external hard drive and copied my recovered saves into that installation. After doing that, the world corruption disappeared. The game now loads normally and appears completely healthy. However, ever since recovering the save, it has consistently produced Error 21 every time I attempt to save. What I've tested I've spent quite a bit of time trying to isolate the cause. I've confirmed the following: No mods or custom content installed. Brand new games save normally. The game itself appears to be functioning correctly. The problem only affects this save. Multiple households inside this save all fail to save. Build/Buy works. Create-a-Sim works. Travelling between worlds works. I restored older backup versions of the save (ver0/ver1/ver2), but they all produce the same Error 21. The biggest clue I've found The most interesting thing I've noticed is what happens when I choose Save As. The game immediately throws Error 21. It never creates a new save slot. No new Slot_0000000X.save file appears in the Saves folder. The timestamp on my existing save also never changes. There are no new LastException files created when the error occurs. Because nothing is ever written to disk, it almost seems as though the game is failing before it even begins the save process, rather than failing while writing the save. Things that do NOT appear to be the cause: As part of troubleshooting, I've ruled out quite a few common causes: Mods/CC Game installation General save permissions (new saves work normally) A single household (multiple households fail) The save simply being unreadable (it loads and plays perfectly) My question is has anyone seen Error 21 where: the save loads perfectly, the world appears completely normal, gameplay works indefinitely, but both Save and Save As fail immediately, and Save As never even creates a new save file? I'm particularly interested in whether anyone has seen this after recovering from Error 801 or after placing a Gallery household that required a pack that wasn't installed. I'm also happy to upload a copy of the save if anyone is willing to inspect it. Thank you! FYI, I have backups of the save, so I'm comfortable sharing a copy of it privately if that helps diagnose the problem.Small Businesses Disappearing
I have no mods of any sort but just bought a bunch of packs during the summer sale. I was playing with new businesses and realized that even though I frequently save my game they were just disappearing from the lot completely. I also couldn't move my family into lots. It also happened with a whole new family that I started in his vet business. :( I tried "repairing" the game, and some "tricks" I looked up online but it doesn't seem like anything is working.Most of my DLC won't download
I used to play the sims 4 on PC on steam and purchased a decent amount of DLC on it, however I've recently had to switch to mac and as the sims 4 does not work on steam while on mac so I have had to switch to the EA app. This shouldn't be a problem as my accounts are linked and as an image included shows, the app acknowledges that I have purchased the DLC that I own. However it will not let me download most of that DLC, only letting me download kits not my stuff packs or game packs or expansion packs. I've tried raising this issue before but the recommendations did nothing as they packs that I can't download don't show a install option. This problem is really weird because as I stated before it doesn't affect kits only other DLC which shows that the problem isn't just steam purchases being rejected by the EA app. The DLC I own that is NOT working is: Expansion packs: Growing Together, High School Years, Cottage Living, Snowy Escape, Eco Lifestyle, Discover University, Island Living, Get Famous, Seasons, Cats & Dogs, City Living, Get Together, Get to Work Game packs: Dream Home Decorator, Realm of Magic, Strangerville, Parenthood, Vampires, Dine Out, Spa Day, Outdoor Retreat Stuff Packs: Crystal Creations, Home Chef Hustle, Paranormal Stuff, Nifty Knitting, Tiny Living, My First Pet, Toddler Stuff, Bowling Night, Vintage Glamour, Backyard Stuff, Kids Room, Romantic Garden, Movie Hangout, Spooky Stuff, Cool Kitchen, Perfect Patio, Luxury Party The DLC that I own that is working is: Kits: Storybook Nursery Kit, Rivera Retreat Kit, Cozy Bistro Kit, Castle Estate Kit, Book Nook Kit, Greenhouse Haven Kit, Basement Treasures Kit, Little Campers Kit, Blooming Room Kit, Industrial Loft Kit, Courtyard Oasis Kit, Country Kitchen Kit I have been considering purchasing more DLC recently but have held off out of concern for my current DLC not working and not wanting to spend money when money that I've already spent not allowing me access to the stuff that I own.
Recommended settings MacBook Air M4
As the title suggests, I'm looking for the recommended settings in order to play on my MacBook Air M4. I recently switched to macOS and opening the game I noticed that the Mac started getting a little bit hot. Is it normal? Should I adjust the settings. If so, could you please help me? Thanks in advance.Can’t open game
It started with being unable to open the game, the plumbob just kept spinning so I decided to try out whatever google was saying.. clear cache, removed mods blah blah. ultimately I deleted and redownloaded everything, ran a game and it was fine. Went to put my mods folder in and then I was met with the spinning plumbob of doom again lol. When I say I’ve tried everything I mean I have tried everything, I ended up deleting everything again making sure I had no old corrupt files anywhere, getting an app cleaner and completely restart the process. Now it won’t even open a game, despite deleting everything throughly looking through everything and deleting EA literally fully restart. Even made a new account on the computer and still nothing… please help!! It’s literally just the spinning plumbob like it’ll just go forever how can I figure out what’s wrong with it so I can fix it. I’ve already spent two whole days redownloading everything I’m so frustrated because I have 93 DLC and the past few updates have been so destabilizing I’m so over it😔
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