Latest Sims 4 Patch: Current Version, Changes, and Mod Prep

This page is kept current so you can check one place after every Sims 4 update: which patch is out right now, what changed, and what to do with your mods before and after patch day.

What the September 22 update changed

According to EA's official notes, the September 22 update (PC 1.128.90.1030, Mac 1.128.90.1230, console 2.39) shipped more than 95 fixes, with the focus on crashes, stability, and how Sims behave on their own:

• Autonomy. Sims now face each other during conversations, use bathroom sinks instead of kitchen sinks, and no longer wake up on low energy to do unrelated tasks.
• Relationships. Romantic satisfaction now decays slowly rather than sharply, family dynamics were rebalanced, and married couples no longer revert to “Partners” when entering Create a Sim.
• Saving. “Save and Exit” no longer creates a stray save file instead of a versioned one, and restoring an autosave then saving no longer overwrites the wrong slot.
• Crashes. Fixes across Create a Sim, Build Mode transitions, path-finding, and pools. On Mac, EA fixed a rare rendering crash during long play sessions.
• New free content. Eight Build Mode items and ten Create-a-Sim items for children and toddlers.

EA also reported that its top automated crash report came from a conflict with outdated mod files, and recommended updating custom content before patching.

If your mods started misbehaving after an earlier update, our August 2026 write-up covers what players reported then. Our March 2026 article stays up as a historical record of that earlier patch.

Checklist before any patch

1. Back up your Mods folder. Copy the whole Mods folder (Documents → Electronic Arts → The Sims 4 → Mods) somewhere safe, such as your Desktop or an external drive. This is the single most useful thing you can do.
2. Back up your saves too. Copy the saves folder from the same place. Sims 4 Mod Fixer can copy it to a location you choose from the Tools page, or you can drag it yourself.
3. Write down where your key mods came from. Script mods such as MC Command Center and Better Exceptions are usually the first to need updates. Knowing the creator's page saves time on patch day.
4. Decide whether to delay the update. If you have a large mod folder, waiting a day or two for creators to release updates is reasonable. In the EA app you can turn off automatic game updates until you are ready.
5. Run a scan now, while things work. A Health Report taken before the patch gives you a known-good starting point to compare against afterwards.

Checklist after any patch

1. Turn mods back on. Every update switches off custom content and script mods. Game Options → Other → enable both boxes, then restart the game. Sims 4 Mod Fixer's Health Report checks this and can turn them back on for you, keeping a backup of your settings file.
2. Clear the cache. Delete localthumbcache.package and the contents of the cache folder in your Sims 4 folder. The game rebuilds them on launch.
3. Update the big script mods first. MC Command Center, Better Exceptions, and UI mods are the usual first breakages. Get updates from the original creator's page.
4. Check the community trackers. The Scarlet's Realm mod list and the broken-and-updated mods threads on the EA Forums track which mods creators have already fixed.
5. Test with and without mods. See the next section.

Is it the game, or is it a mod?

Patches can introduce their own bugs, and mods can break at the same time. A quick way to tell them apart:

For the full method, including how to read crash logs and how to do a 50/50 test by hand, see the Sims 4 mod troubleshooting guide.

What Sims 4 Mod Fixer can check before and after a patch

Sims 4 Mod Fixer checks your mods against the game version you have installed rather than a fixed list of "known broken" mods, so it does not need a new release for every EA update. Here is how it helps around patch day:

• Script mods: it checks each .ts4script against the game version you have installed and flags likely mismatches with the evidence behind each finding. A flag means "likely needs an update from its creator", not "definitely broken". Some results may need review when one mod depends on another, so check the creator's page before removing anything.
• Tuning mods: it flags .package overrides that no longer match your current game version.
• Game settings: it detects when a patch has switched off mods or script mods and can turn them back on for you.
• Crash logs: it reads lastException files (including the extra detail Better Exceptions adds) and MC Command Center's exception log, and points to the mod most likely responsible.
• Duplicates and conflicts: it finds duplicate files and mods that override the same game resources.
• Guided 50/50: when a scan cannot prove the cause, its guided 50/50 tool tracks the rounds for you instead of you renaming folders.
• For problems that appear only after the game launches, use the guided 50/50 tool and check the creator's page for updates.

Official sources

• EA: The Sims 4 update, September 22, 2026
• EA: The Sims 4 update, August 25, 2026
• Sims 4 mod troubleshooting guide (evergreen, on this site)
• After the August 2026 update and after the March 2026 update (historical articles)

Sims 4 Mod Fixer is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Electronic Arts or Maxis.