🛠️ 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/10242133[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.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
🛠️ Opening the Sims 4 cheat console on Mac
There always seems to be some confusion over how to open the cheat console on a Mac because Mac users normally substitute the CMD key for the CTRL key in everyday Mac usage (CMD + C, CMD + V for copying and pasting for example). In Sims 4 however this is not the case. To open the cheat console when playing the game in macOS you use CTRL, Shift and C. It has always been this combination in Sims 4, never the CMD key. There are a few, limited exceptions to this which are dependant on Mac configuration and NOT the game controls: if the modifier keys have been changed from the default setting in System Preferences/Settings > Keyboard. Apple help page here. If other 3rd party apps installed on the Mac interfere with the default keyboard settings such as video or screen capture software. if the Input Source in System Preferences > Keyboard has been changed from the default language settings. broken CTRL key(s) System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts for changing modifier keys: Windows users, see this thread [READ FIRST] Cheat console doesn't openGame screen glitches when I load into other lots. NVIDIA GPU
Product: The Sims 4 Platform:Mac Which language are you playing the game in? English How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%) What is your current game version number? Idk What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Most of everything but no kits. Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Going to a community lot What happens when the bug occurs? The screen glitches different colors. What do you expect to see? Not a rave light show on my computer Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Yes Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes Please describe the patch or change you made. This only started happening after the latest update When I load onto other lots outside of my household the screen glitches different colors and weird streaks. This only happened after the last patch update. Edit - edited title to reflect status (Bluebellflora)
MY GAME HAS DELETED
hi so i downloaded the sims4 on my mac book a months back, built such nice houses and families i really don't wanna lose as i spent weeks working on them ahaha. Anyways my mac started lagging a lot (i assume because of the game) so i deleted it from my computer via origin to get it running normally and then re-downloaded it. However upon going back on the game just now it seems all my progress is gone and i'm just back to the beginning tutorial part! Does anyone know anyway i can get my world and progress back, as i have no clue what to do
Sims 4 does not launch in macOS Sierra
After the November 12 update, I cannot get Sims 4 to launch on my Mac. Specs: MacBook Pro 14,3 (15-inch, 2017) macOS Sierra (version 10.12.6) 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-7820HQ) 16 GB RAM 2133 MHz LPDDR3 Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB AMD Radeon Pro 560 4096 MB 512 GB SSD; 67.5 GB available With a clean game folder or otherwise fresh options.ini in place, the right half of my screen would go dark, and the left half would show an enlarged version of what the right half of the desktop would normally look like. With options.ini set to open the game in windowed mode, the TS4 window hung on a white screen indefinitely. In either case, the computer did not respond to cmd-optn-esc, and if I tried to tab or click on something else, it eventually restarted itself. When I once left my laptop alone for 12 minutes, it was still frozen trying to load TS4, and I had to hold down the power button to shut down. I tried these troubleshooting steps, none of which worked: Removing the Sims 4 game folder from Documents\Electronic Arts Running the Origin reset tool Doing a clean uninstall/reinstall of Origin Disabling Origin in-game both globally and for TS4 Turning off every single accessible option in Origin (various notifications, web helper, etc.) Launching while the laptop was not connected to the internet Editing options.ini to match the settings from when TS4 worked last week Resetting NVRAM via key command during startup (not convinced it worked) Resetting NVRAM via Terminal command Forcing the laptop to only use the AMD card via energy settings (thanks to @Bluebellflora for this and the NVRAM suggestions) Installing into a new admin user account that had never seen the game I also booted into safe mode, which produced this fun error: That was probably just because the Metal driver didn't load in safe mode, but still not what I wanted to see. Every time I checked, the game did spawn a clean folder, but the Origin last played date never updated to reflect my attempts to load the game. For what it's worth, my graphics card itself is likely not defective: This Mac is Bootcamped, the game loaded normally in Windows, and GPU-Z says the card performed as expected.
