Ideas

Seasoned Novice

4 days ago

Status:

Under Investigation

Photos turn Black (Patch 1.120.140/2.26)

When loading into my game from my last save from last night (January 12), all my photos across the save are there. Now when I try to save today after the update, upon logging back into the game all the photos have turned black! I had to load back to the previous save from last night to get my photos back. But now I can no longer play/ save the game!! The photo system is completely broken. I don't know what code they put into this new update, but I cannot play anymore without the pictures turning black after saving. Please help fix it, I don't know what else to do other than ask for help. I tried making a new save, but photos still turn black.

I've no mods/cc installed. The update today mentioned "fixes" with photo system items like graduation photos, celebrity photos, memorial photos, but I have a feeling somewhere within that coding something has gone wrong for existing photos.

EDIT: Paintings are affected too. They turn white.

Edit By crinrict: Adjusted Title

Note by crinrict

More info from Maxis on the issue:

Photos turn Black (Patch 1.120.140/2.26) | EA Forums - 13095325

Please use this thread for paintings:

Painting by reference Turns white (Patch 1.120.140/2.26) | EA Forums - 13096441

Note by crinrict

Thanks for all that have provided info. Seeing that Maxis is on top of this, I will personally stop testing on this. Thanks to everyone that sent me saves.

For a possible workaround by jacknifelee please see this post (apologies if someone else posted this earlier, I haven't had time to read the whole thread):

Photos turn Black (Patch 1.120.140/2.26) | EA Forums - 13095325

Also a note for the next upcoming fix. Since black photos are a symptom of a bug and not a bug itself, the issue can have many causes and each needs to be fixed separately. The only safe thing you can do is keep backups of your save game and/or upload rooms with your photos to your library or gallery.

This is true for the upcoming patch when they fix another instance. Do not throw your backups away. Keep them safe. You can also keep the files in the screenshot folder in a safe place and then restore them from there if necessary:

https://sims4.crinrict.com/eng/2025/04/custom-photos-in-game-fix-for-black-photos/ (it's a bit of a tedious method and unfortunately doesn't work for console)

You can also find a mini tutorial here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mini-tutorial-148326243 to restore them from a backup. I haven't personally tested this though.

226 Comments

T0RN_x
Seasoned Veteran
4 days ago
Yeesss! Same here!!!
mehphy
Seasoned Novice
4 days ago
So good to know it's not just me!!! It's terribly disappointing. I'm not going to play my favorite save until they hopefully patch it soon. :(
T0RN_x
Seasoned Veteran
4 days ago
I didn't have any problems before the patch and used the “Save as...” method, then saved again to make sure all the images were saved, but nothing works anymore :/
mehphy
Seasoned Novice
4 days ago
Yes exactly. I tested so many methods. Different saves, New 'Save as' & saving again. As saddening as it is, if more people experience it maybe they will patch it sooner. 😢
mehphy
Seasoned Novice
4 days ago
I have a question if you don't mind! After testing more, I realize the photos across all households in the save turn black if you happened to enter build mode, save, then exit. Did you happen to use build mode during your gameplay when your photos turned black? I believe that may be the root of the problem!
T0RN_x
Seasoned Veteran
4 days ago
I looked at my game save with Sims 4 Studio before saving the patch and then saved the game after applying the patch. In Sims 4 Studios, I can see that images that were previously saved are missing, and the file size was smaller because the images are gone.
mehphy
Seasoned Novice
4 days ago
I see. And I am also wrong in my guess about the Build Buy mode causing the problem. Testing more again myself, the photos still turn black even when I don't enter build/buy then save/ exit. Thank you for your reply! I'll just have to wait and see if the sims team will help fix this.
DeeliciousSims
Seasoned Hotshot
4 days ago
I've done a lot of testing in new and old saves since the update and none of the photos are turning black. I wonder what's causing it for you.
If I read correctly, you played after the patch, saved, and then your photos were black when you reloaded?
mehphy
Seasoned Novice
4 days ago
Hello, yes that's exactly what's happening. And it does it across all saves no matter what year I created them in. I really am not sure what the root cause is either, but I feel like I've tried everything. It makes me very nervous that perhaps I'm one of very few this is happening to with no solution 😢
DeeliciousSims
Seasoned Hotshot
4 days ago
That's so annoying as I was going to play my saves again because I thought they fixed it. Where are your photos located? Are they displayed, in the household inventory? I'm trying to think about everything that could cause it. Ik you said you didn't have any mods installed, but they didn't disable them for us this time just incase that's it.