How to install and manage Packs in The Sims 4

Installing The Sims 4 Packs on PC and Mac

Before installing any additional content for The Sims 4, make sure the Base Game is installed and updated. Read our guide to installing The Sims 4 Base Game.Digital Packs should install automatically after buying them. If they don't, here's how to manually install them.

Digital purchase on the EA app

1
Launch the EA app.
2
If prompted, log in using your EA Account info.
3
Open your Library and click on The Sims 4.
4
Click Add-ons to see which packs you currently own.
5
If you own a Pack and it hasn’t automatically installed, click the Download icon.

An image showing where the Download button is to install a Sims 4 Pack on the EA App.

Installing a product code purchase for the EA app

1
Launch the EA app.
2
If prompted, log in using your EA Account info.
3
Open your Library.
4
Click Redeem Code.
5
Enter the product code, click Next, and then Confirm.
6
Click Download with the EA app.

Need a little more help redeeming your code? Read our guide to redeeming codes for more info.

The EA app has replaced Origin as the main platform for downloading and launching The Sims 4 for both Mac and PC. Mac users need to use macOS Catalina or later to run the EA app. Check out our macOS guide to learn more about upgrading your macOS.

If you bought a Pack on disk (PC only)

1
Insert the game disk into your disk drive and follow the on-screen instructions.
2
When prompted, enter the product code that was included with the installation disk.
3
Once you’ve redeemed the pack, you can view it on The Sims 4 game details page in the Library tab.
4
After the installation is complete, select The Sims 4, then Play to launch the game.

How to check if a Sims 4 Pack is installed

1
Open your EA app Library.
2
Click on The Sims 4 game tile.
3
Select Manage.
4
Choose Manage add-ons.
5
In the pop-up, a list of your owned add-ons will appear. Installed add-ons and In-game content are ones you own and already have installed. Downloadable add-ons are ones you own but haven’t installed yet.
6
Click the Download icon for any add-ons not yet installed.

The Sims 4 Pack selection

Pack selection is a feature that lets you customize which Packs you want installed. This is helpful for storytelling and your gameplay experience, as well as freeing up resources without needing to uninstall Packs you’re not currently using. Pack selection is available on all platforms: PC, Mac, and console. Here’s how to load or unload Packs from your game:

1
Open the Main Menu and choose Pack Selection.
2
Select or deselect the Packs you want to load or unload to your game.
3
Select the checkmark button to confirm your choices.

When you disable a Pack, any Pack-specific content, such as hair, clothing, traits, and objects, is removed from your saved game.

Removing Packs can impact existing save files, so it’s best to use this feature when creating a new save to avoid losing any content or progress.We recommend disabling all Mods before unloading or reloading any Packs. Read our article on how to disable Mods. Always make sure your save files are backed up. For help with this, check out our guide.

Loading a save file with missing Packs

You’ll know a save file is missing Packs by the following indicators.

When you try to load the save file, you’ll get a warning before you play that Packs or content are missing.
If you open the Pack Selection menu, any Packs that don’t have a check beside them are currently not loaded.
On PC, any save files with missing content will show if the Packs needed to play are loaded through the Required Packs icons.

When loading a save file with missing Packs (if you’ve unloaded some Packs since you last played this save), you’ll get the following options in a pop-up before you load the game.

A menu showing the Pack Selection options. Here all Packs are listed with a checkbox to show which are loaded into the game.

Play Save with Missing ContentChoosing this option means you’ll continue to play this save, but Items like clothing, objects, Worlds, and gameplay features from unloaded Packs will be unavailable. If you load and play, then save again, this can lead to issues with this save file. Play a New Copied SaveThis option is only available on PC. Choosing this lets you play a new version of this save file with missing content. In your save folder, you’ll see this labeled with copy_ in the name. Items like clothing, objects, Worlds, and gameplay features from unloaded Packs will be unavailable. Playing with a copy of the original save file ensures your original save file remains unchanged without any issues. Add Missing ContentChoosing this option will bring you to the Pack Selection menu to reload the missing Packs. The Packs that are missing will be pre-selected. Select the checkmark button to confirm your choices.

The Unloaded Content options: Play Save with Missing Content, Play a New Copied Save, and Add Missing Content.

If your Sims were living in a Pack-specific world that you’ve unloaded from your game, your Household will still be available in the Manage Households menu. From here, you can move them into a new Lot or merge them with another Household.Note: any Create a Sim Items or Traits that are Pack-specific will be removed unless you reload that Pack into your game.

How to install packs in The Sims 4

Overview

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