Sims 4 Mods Not Showing Up? 9 Fixes in Order (2026)

The 9 fixes for Sims 4 mods not showing up, in order

Start at fix 1 and stop when your mods appear. Before you move any files, take one backup: close the game, open Documents, then Electronic Arts, and copy the whole The Sims 4 folder to your desktop. That copy holds your saves, households, and Mods folder. Never delete the whole Sims 4 folder without it.

Fix 1: Turn mods back on in Game Options

The Sims 4 has two switches for player-made content, and both live in the same place. If either is off, the game loads as if your Mods folder were empty, and no file change will fix that.

1. Launch The Sims 4 and open Game Options from the menu.
2. Select the Other tab.
3. Tick Enable Custom Content and Mods.
4. If you use script mods, tick Script Mods Allowed as well.
5. Select Apply Changes.
6. Exit and relaunch the game. On startup, a pop-up lists every mod the game found, so you can see at once whether your files are being read.

Fix 2: Just updated? Your mods were switched off on purpose

Every game update turns mods off. EA says this is deliberate: it does not screen or support mods, so a file that was fine before a patch could cause problems after it. The latest update, patch 1.129 on October 27, 2026, did the same thing.

Repeat fix 1, then restart. One warning matters: do not save while mods are off, because saving then can strip custom content out of your saved households. Test first, and save once your mods work again. EA explains the switch-off on its mods and game updates help page; the fuller routine follows these fixes.

Fix 3: Put the files in the one folder the game reads

The game reads mods from exactly one place, and it is not the install folder. Files dropped next to the game program, in Program Files or a Steam library, are invisible to it.

1. Open Documents.
2. Open Electronic Arts, then The Sims 4, then Mods.
3. Your .package and .ts4script files belong here.

No Mods folder? Launch the game once and it creates its user folders. EA says you can also create the Mods folder yourself inside The Sims 4 folder.

Fix 4: Unzip the download

The game cannot read inside an archive. A mod that arrives as a .zip or .rar file does nothing until you extract it, which is why a fresh download so often looks vanished.

1. Find the downloaded file in your Downloads folder.
2. If it ends in .zip or .rar, extract it first. EA’s install guide starts with this step.
3. Move the .package files, and the .ts4script file if the mod has one, into the Mods folder.
4. Delete the archive if you copied it into Mods by mistake.

Fix 5: Check how deep your files are buried

The game only scans so deep. Custom content in .package files can sit up to five subfolders deep inside Mods, counted by the game’s resource.cfg file. Script mods are stricter: the game looks for .ts4script files only in the Mods folder itself, or one subfolder down.

1. Open the Mods folder and find the mod that is missing.
2. Count the folders between Mods and the file.
3. If a .ts4script file sits two or more folders deep, move it up. A folder named after the mod, directly inside Mods, is the safe pattern.
4. Keep every file of one mod together. Splitting a mod’s package and script files across folders breaks it.

Fix 6: Delete the localthumbcache file

This one is a community standard, not an EA step. The Sims 4 keeps a thumbnail cache named localthumbcache.package, and a stale copy can make new or moved content display wrong or look missing.

1. Close the game fully.
2. Open Documents, then Electronic Arts, then The Sims 4. The cache file sits here, one level above the Mods folder.
3. Delete localthumbcache.package.
4. Relaunch. The game rebuilds the file on its own, so deleting it is safe.

Fix 7: Check that resource.cfg is still there

Inside the Mods folder sits a small text file named resource.cfg. The game creates it, and it tells the game how deep to read your subfolders. Without it, the game stops loading mods properly.

Look inside Mods. If resource.cfg is missing, do not download one from a random site, and do not edit the file. Launch the game once instead: running it normally recreates the file. Then quit and check again.

Fix 8: Make sure the game reads the same Documents folder you do

On Windows, OneDrive can quietly redirect your Documents folder. Then there are two Electronic Arts folders on your PC: one under your local Documents, and one under OneDrive, then Documents. The game reads one of them, and it may not be the one you keep filling.

1. Launch the game, change one small setting, such as the volume, and close the game.
2. Search your PC for Options.ini and find the copy that was just modified.
3. The The Sims 4 folder next to that file is the one the game is using. Put your mods in its Mods folder.

EA’s own forums give the same advice for the install-folder version of this trap: content placed in Program Files never loads. Move your files into the folder the game actually reads.

Fix 9: Update or remove the one outdated mod

If most of your mods show up and a few do not, one file is probably built for an older patch. EA is plain about it: a mod may need to be fully reinstalled to work with the latest patch, and creators need time after each update.

1. Go to the creator’s own page for the missing mod. That page is the only place that can confirm a version works with patch 1.129.
2. Download the updated version if there is one.
3. Delete the old files first, then add the new ones. Keeping both copies causes its own errors.
4. No update yet? Move the mod out of the Mods folder until its creator posts one.

Seeing error code 110? EA lists it as the code that usually appears after an update, caused by outdated mods. Codes 102, 123, 125, 127, 129 and 131 point at the game’s script instead, so suspect a script mod. And only download from the creator’s own page: EA does not screen mods, and re-uploaded bundles spread old, broken files.

The safe routine after every Sims 4 update

Patches land about once a month, and each one switches your mods off again. This routine, built on EA’s post-update steps, keeps a patch from costing you a save.

1. Let the game update, then launch it once with mods still off and load a save.
2. Play a few minutes to confirm the game works. Your custom content will be missing in this test. That is expected.
3. Exit without saving. Choose Exit Game, not Save and Exit, so nothing is written while your content is switched off.
4. Update your script mods from their creators’ pages, delete localthumbcache.package, then repeat fix 1 and restart.

Still not showing? Find the bad file with the 50/50 method

If the fixes above leave you with crashes or a folder where nothing loads, one bad file is the likely cause. The 50/50 method is the hunt EA’s mod guidance points to, and the community standard for big folders.

1. Move everything out of the Mods folder to a holding folder on your desktop.
2. Test the empty game. If the problem is gone, a mod caused it.
3. Put back half of your files, delete localthumbcache.package, and launch again.
4. If the problem returns, the bad file is in that half. If not, it is in the half still outside.
5. Keep halving the guilty half, testing after each round, until one file is left.
6. Check its creator page for an update, or delete it. EA also suggests telling the creator, with your game version, shown at the lower left of the main menu.

Different problem? If the game itself will not load at all, our guide to why your Sims 4 game won’t load covers the launch side. Our Minecraft not launching fixes use the same method for a different game.

Sims 4 mods questions

Why are my Sims 4 mods not showing up after an update?

Because the game turns them off. EA disables mods with every update, to limit the damage an outdated file can do. Open Game Options, select Other, tick Enable Custom Content and Mods and Script Mods Allowed, apply, and restart. A mod its creator has not updated for the new patch may still fail, so check fix 9.

Why does my CC show up while my script mods do nothing?

The two kinds of content have separate switches and separate rules. Script mods need Script Mods Allowed ticked too, and a .ts4script file only loads from the Mods folder itself, or one subfolder deep. A script file buried deeper, or the second switch left off, gives exactly this symptom: clothes and furniture appear, menus do not.

What does Sims 4 error code 110 mean?

EA lists error code 110 as the one that usually appears after a game update, caused by outdated mods. Update the mod from its creator’s page, or remove it. Codes 102, 123, 125, 127, 129 and 131 point to a problem with the game’s script, so check your script mods first.

How many subfolders deep can Sims 4 mods go?

Custom content in .package files can sit up to five subfolders deep, under the game’s default resource.cfg. Script mods in .ts4script files can only sit in the Mods folder itself, or one subfolder deep. One folder per mod, named after it, keeps both kinds easy to find and safe.

Can I use mods in The Sims 4 on PS5 or Xbox?

No. EA confirms mods and custom content are PC and Mac only, and cannot be downloaded on PlayStation or Xbox. If your mods vanished on a computer, work through the fixes above. On console there is nothing to switch on.

I saved while mods were off and my CC is gone. Can I get it back?

Saving while mods are disabled can remove custom content from that saved game, which is why the post-update routine says to exit without saving. Re-enable your mods first. Then load an earlier save if you have one, or restore your backed-up Sims 4 folder. The files themselves are usually still in your Mods folder.