Re: [Patch 1.117 on] When Loading Household, Game Returns to World Select Screen

Please try a Game Repair + folder refresh (see https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2014/09/resetting-the-game-to-factory-settings-without-reinstalling/). Let me know if that works.

I've done those two steps and it's still giving me the same errors. I've even removed my saves, tray files and mods folder. Now it's completely empty and the game still does the same thing :/

I can't figure out which mods here are causing the game to crash. I've tried deleting the entire mods folder leaving nothing in it, I've tried uninstalling the game and removing everything, I've also tried repairing the game more than 20 times without anything in it, I've also removed all the save files, tray files, cache files until there's barely anything left and the game keeps crashing.

Please help me, because now I'm at a complete loss here. If someone could point out which mods are causing the problems, then I'll just delete them but it seems to be an EA problem in my honest opinion ever since the latest patch messed up the game completely :/

Thank you

I am having the same issue. I did everything as was instructed. You are not alone. It also happened to me after the last update. At this point, I think I've given up on playing this game. 

08/31, 2025 @ 1851:  I have attempted to complete Game Repairs & what I think is are "Folder Refreshes" on 2 separate computers. 
I have completed 2 App Recoveries and 2 Restarts...
I have updated the Scripts and Mods based to last Mass Update 8/19, 25.

None of these has rectified the issue; I do believe this is an EA Issue with about 87% assurance.

Having the exact same issues trying to load into my game today. First getting kicked back to select world, and now fifteen minutes staring at the loading screen with no sign of it stopping. 

I don’t have a fix, but I hope it’s at least some comfort to know you’re not alone with these issues.

Experiencing the same. Honestly never seen a bug like this. I don’t think EA has officially recognized it but a lot of gamers have the same complaint after this August update. 

I wish we could go back to the CD ROM days 🥴

This whole update is infuriating. I wish I knew a way to bi-pass ever doing any of the updates, but I haven't figured out a way to do that yet playing on PC. I had to uninstall all of my mods and reinstall them. Come to find out 1 specific mod was the problem. The Private Practice mod won't work at all. I don't understand why EA and Sims creators won't listen to their fans and players!!! I've been playing for over 20 years and usually resort to going back to play Sims 2. That will forever be the best game. Sims 4 turned out to be a disappointing joke. 

Allibob09​ That mod was listed broken in Broken/Updated Mods & CC. Mod creators know that EA is not responsible for fixing mods.

Fluttershy444​ Please see the lists in Broken/Updated Mods & CC. They cover mods that cause these issues.

SimsburtonPost​ There's no evidence that this is a game issue. The only reports are from people who have or did have mods. And in my week of mod testing I just did, testing dozens of non-updated mods a day (and some updated ones), I had no issues with cleared-as-compatible mods or properly updated mods in either an old or a fresh save. The only times the game wouldn't load entirely or partially were with particular broken mods. Broken/Updated Mods & CC is a result of testing, and many mods passed testing and aren't listed broken there (I didn't do further testing on function in gameplay to mark most of those "cleared").

A folder refresh is done by renaming or removing the user folder. Do this to make sure you're actually in the right folder, not a duplicate: https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2018/07/how-to-find-your-user-folder/ It's a common issue caused not by player error but by other software.

I have to after 2 days of going thru it

I have been playing Sims 4 from the very start and all the ones that came before (console games too).  I can’t get a single household to load with or without mods/cc and with repairs, deleting cache and everything else recommended.  I think it’s done and I’m moving on too.  I’m so sad - I spent so much money on this game.  I have all but the most recent packs and the dust one (looks miserable).  The Sims has been my stress relief and my happy place for over 20 years.  I have started Inzoi now and don’t expect to come back at this point as EA doesn’t care to offer us a good product and constantly puts out buggy content to people who have spent over $1,000 if you have bought all the packs as I have.  The game is always broken, but now it’s completely ruined, it seems.  😢

I’m having this same issue even after removing the entire mods folder. Can load some saves but not my favourite ones. If mods aren’t even enabled when I’m trying to load these saves I don’t understand how it can be a mods issue. 
At this point I’m just gonna stick it out and wait how ever many decades it takes for them to leave this game alone and stop patching it so I can play my game in peace without having malware constantly forced on me. 

grrrlonfire​ Brenna_Love​ Did you previously have All Worlds Are Residential or anything similar that you used in those saves? Some mods cause issues when you remove them. This one didn't used to, but I'm looking into reports that it might now. (Also, it was already broken from previous patches.)

In addition, if it's only previously played households you can't get into but you can get into ones you never touched, you might need something like Milestone Fixes (to fix having removed playmat CC, for example), a "save as" to fix removed careers, or putting back in recipe mods or deleting food using Build/Buy mode. 

Nope, I don’t have that mod. Never used it.

I did have custom infant cc so I downloaded Milestone Fixes and that seems to have solved the problem of my not being able to load into the game at all, which happened when I removed the entire mods folder to figure out why I couldn’t load into the magic realm, but after leaving that mod in and taking out everything else out I’m still having an issue where I can’t load into the magic realm. 

grrrlonfire​ Check the "known issues" in Previously Broken mods and CC . Beyond that, you might need to just 50-50 to find mods that aren't compatible with that world.

I've been having a similar problem where my game will freeze or just repeatedly send me back to select a world Ive tried running better exceptions on it where I deleted it all which didn't work the only way I've been able to "fix" it is my going into game settings on the load screen and turning script mods off and keeping normal mods/cc on it allows me to play without any problems the only bummer is I can't use any script mods now I tried removing the script mods in sections before doing this but it didn't help and turning them off completely is the only way I've been able to play

so far i found out the careers scripts mods are broken, the realistic reactions mod, KS mods, and the lumpinou mods are broken

sammybl96​ You'll find these in Broken/Updated Mods & CC , including many updates. Note that many career and other script mods did NOT break and are cleared as compatible with the patch. You can subscribe to that thread for update notifications. The current one is always pinned in this forum and is a big time saver!

arecny​ Have you used the lists in Broken/Updated Mods & CC? Lots of script mods are updated or were NOT broken.

You've tried a lot of things so far. This is what I'd recommend trying next:

Try launching the game "Offline"

• Shut down Sims 4
• Open EA App
• Click the Menu (3 horizontal lines) in the top-left corner → Go Offline
• Confirm
• Repair your game
• Launch Sims 4
• If you did this with Mods, try it again with no Mods whatsoever (cut+paste your Mods folder to your Desktop or Documents folder — anywhere you'll remember)

If the game loads fine offline, the problem is likely patch/server-related. You can play offline until EA releases a fix. If the game still gets stuck loading or freezes, try the following:

STEP 1:

Before trying anything else, make a backup of important files:

• Copy+paste the following folders to a safe location (your Desktop or Documents for example):
  • saves (all your households and lots)
  • Tray (downloaded/created sims and lots)
  • Mods (your mods/custom content)
  • Screenshots (if you want to keep them)
• You can copy+paste your "The Sims 4" folder itself to your Desktop folder if you want to be extra safe

STEP 2:

• Shut down Sims 4
• Open EA App
• Go to Menu → Help → App Recovery → Clear Cache
• Wait for it to finish
• Repair your game
• Launch Sims 4
• If you did this with Mods, try it again with no Mods whatsoever

If Step 2 didn't work, try:

STEP 3: (Unlikely to be the fix but worth a try since it's quick and easy)

• Navigate to Documents → Electronic Arts → The Sims 4
• Find the file "Options.ini"
• Rename it to "Options_backup.ini"
• Repair your game
• Launch Sims 4 (the game will make a new Options.ini)
• If you did this with Mods, try it again with no Mods whatsoever

If Step 3 didn't work, try:

STEP 4:

• Shut down Sims 4
• Go to Documents → Electronic Arts
• Right-click on your "The Sims 4" folder and rename it to "The Sims 4 Backup"
• Repair your game
• Launch Sims 4 — the game will create a completely new Sims 4 folder with no saves, mods, or settings
• See if the game loads and runs normally

If the game runs fine with the fresh folder, you know something in your old folder (save, mod, cache, etc.) was the problem. You can then start copy+pasting your Saves, then Tray, and then Mods into the new "The Sims 4" folder one at a time, then repairing/launching each time, to figure out what caused the issue.

If the game still has the problem even with a fresh folder, you can just delete the new folder called "The Sims 4" and rename your "The Sims 4 Backup" folder back to "The Sims 4" — all your old data will be restored.

If Step 4 didn't work, try:

STEP 5:

• Uninstall Sims 4 from the EA App
• Manually delete these leftover folders:
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 4 (or your install location)
  • C:\ProgramData\EA Desktop
  • C:\Users(YourUser)\AppData\Local\EA Desktop
  • C:\Users(YourUser)\AppData\Local\The Sims 4
  • C:\Users(YourUser)\AppData\Roaming\The Sims 4
• Restart your computer
• Reinstall Sims 4 via EA App
• Grab a snack, de-stress & watch a movie
• Repair your game
• Launch Sims 4

If Step 4 & 5 didn't work, it's most likely an EA bug and the game itself is the problem (yay...). Playing in Offline mode usually bypasses these bugs unless it’s in the core game code itself.

Let me know if you have questions and if any of these work <3

yess. my game however was still broken even after i removed what was in that list. these were def some of the additional ones. def a theme for what ones are broken; memories, traits, career, moods mods. i just went one by one for the script ones lolol

sammybl96​ Yep, there's definitely a theme! If there were specific ones that aren't on Broken/Updated Mods & CC at the moment (i updated it yesterday), AND they aren't 18+ mods (think, safe for 13-year-olds) -- those CANNOT be mentioned here AT ALL -- please let me know. I'm merging this into the main thread for the issue.