June 2020 - last edited January 2023
Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Occasionally (10% - 49%)
What is your current game version number? 1.63.134.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All of them
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? See info below
What happens when the bug occurs? The Sims icon is grayed out and can also have a work icon, suggesting he's still at work. Possible consequences of this - The inventory is inaccessible because of this - Sims doesn't go to work/school anymore
What do you expect to see? Sims to properly show at home when he's on the active lot.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Neutral/Not Sure
Introduction
Disclaimer: This is not official information from EA but an explanation that makes most sense to me after dealing with this issue over many years.
This isn't an actual bug as much as a symptom of a bug and has been occurring since the game came out but because of the nature of it, it will reoccur often after once instance is fixed.
What happens is that the Sim is supposed to come back from work or some other interaction but while he does that an error occurs, leaving the Sim in a state he shouldn't be in (grayed out and at work).
How to fix
There's a few things that help but it can happen again. Also a lot of times, even after one of the causes gets fixed, the Sim will still show at work and you'll need to fix him manually.
Current Issues
This is a current list of all known causes, please use the appropriate threads listed for me toos or comments. If unsure you can also this thread or one of the more generic ones. I might move you to the correct thread though.
If you feel you know about a new symptom, create a new thread, describing what you did
Stuck at Class (Uni)
Stuck at Work
Stuck at Odd Job
Grayed out, no other icon
Good Luck
Crin
I don't work or have any association with EA. I give advice to the best of my knowledge and cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your computer/game.
Please only contact me via PM when asked to do so.
Important Threads
July 2020
July 2020
Good Luck
Crin
I don't work or have any association with EA. I give advice to the best of my knowledge and cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your computer/game.
Please only contact me via PM when asked to do so.
Important Threads
July 2020
July 2020
I had a teen who got stuck at a scout meeting. Couldn't "leave early", traveling and moving out didn't work. I was kind of just coping with it, planning to see if aging up fixed it. HOWEVER, I was still able to use the sim's phone, and she got one of those text invites from a club member asking if they should gather (which, since I could no longer have her start club meetings in her "at scout meeting" state, was actually true for once), and on a whim I said sure. The affected sim then auto traveled to the club meeting ground, leaving the rest of the household behind, and...suddenly that seemed to fix it! So, hopefully maybe that might help someone else too? It's kind of tricky, cause you'd just have to wait for an invite, of if you get one, it might be worth accepting just to see if it'll "debug" it for you too. Best of luck!
July 2020
Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? All the time
What is your current game version number? 1.63.134.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All EPs except Cats and Dogs, All Game Packs except Realm of Magic and Vampires, Backyard Stuff, Kids Room Stuff, Romantic Garden Stuff, Cool Kitchen Stuff
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Not sure
What happens when the bug occurs? The Sims icon is grayed out and can also have a work icon, suggesting she's still at work. Possible consequences of this - The inventory is inaccessible because of this - Sims doesn't go to work/school anymore
What do you expect to see? Sims to properly show at home when he's on the active lot.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? After installing Sims 4 Eco Living
Posting this in case any one encounters the same issue as me.
I've tried everything here! I've clicked "leave early", I travelled to a different lot, I moved my family out of their home, I moved my Sim child out of this household and back, I've reinstalled my game, repaired game, reinstalled Origin, I've restored to factory settings, I aged up my Sim (she ended up now stuck at work instead of school), I've used cheats (ResetSim [first name] [last name]), and nothing has worked! My Sim child is still greyed out, unable to go to school, inventory is inaccessible. The weird thing is, while my Sim child is not able to go to school, she is still able to go to her scouting activity. So on a whim I decided to quit her scouting career, and it worked!
Not sure if this solves all problems, but it worked with my game.
All references I've used:
1. https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/OPEN-Sim-stuck-at-work-school-Patch-1-63-133-1-25/m-p/9169565
2. https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-stuck-in-school-state/td-p/5658748
3. https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/Sims-stuck-in-school-state/td-p/5658748
4. https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/READ-FIRST-Troubleshooting-your-Game/td-p/3621199
June 2021
This is a picture of what happens for me! My sim was supposed to be at a soccer game from 6pm-9pm but came home at 7pm. In the job panel it says he's still at the game, and his icon is grayed out, but evidently he is at home. My game version is 1.75.125.1030. This happens about 1-2 times per sim week (so about 1/6 -1/3 of the times that he goes to his soccer practices/games).
November 2021
Good Luck
Crin
I don't work or have any association with EA. I give advice to the best of my knowledge and cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your computer/game.
Please only contact me via PM when asked to do so.
Important Threads
July 2022
I have this issue except my sim appears still at High School. I believe it runs somewhat into another issue I am having: I choose for my sim to Make Friends and instead it sent her home. (This has happened 2/3 times I have done it with the first being successful.) The first time she made a friend; the second sent her home with a normal colored icon; the third time sent her home with the grayed-out icon saying still At High School.
July 2022
Good Luck
Crin
I don't work or have any association with EA. I give advice to the best of my knowledge and cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your computer/game.
Please only contact me via PM when asked to do so.
Important Threads