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I've lost all my progress, what do I do?

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Forza Support Team
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This article is meant to provide troubleshooting to attempt to recover an older or lost save for players. Sometimes this is not possible and the player will need to delete their old save and make a new save so they can continue playing the game, in these cases our support agents can return the inventory (Cars, Credits, Vanity items, Wheel Spins) we can identify from your last save

 

Commonly reported issues:

  • I have an invalid profile error message.
    • Try the troubleshooting in this article starting from Step 1.
    • Please submit a ticket once you have completed the steps for your device and have played on the new save and unlocked online mode.
  • I want to start my game over from scratch.
    • Try the troubleshooting in this article starting from Step 3.
  • I can’t load my save at all
    • Try the troubleshooting in this article starting from Step 1.
    • Please submit a ticket once you have completed the steps for your device and have played on the new save and unlocked online mode.

 

Important Notes Before Starting Troubleshooting:

  • Never cancel your sync. If you cancel while the game is syncing you risk having your data corrupted and overwritten.
  • If you are given a message asking to choose between two saves usually you’ll want to pick the older date.

 

Cloud Gaming notes

  • The steps from this article cannot be fully completed on Cloud gaming services such as Xbox Cloud or GeForce Now.
  • If you are experiencing save errors you will need to attempt troubleshooting using an Xbox console or a PC you have administrator privileges on.

1. Forza Horizon profile is no longer available with an error code or an Invalid Profile.

PC Windows Version

  • If possible try to load your save on a different device. (A different PC or Xbox)
  • Power Cycle your Device
    • Fully close the game. (more info on how to do this here).
    • Restart your device (On PC find the power button in the UI then select Restart.)
    • Ensure your PC’s internet connection is functioning correctly.
    • Start the game.
    • After pressing A or ENTER on the welcome screen, wait for the sync to complete. This could take a long time, but it is essential to be patient.
  • Sign out then back into your account in the following applications
    • Xbox App
    • Xbox Game Bar
    • Microsoft Store
  • Please try to manually update the game and any DLC using the Microsoft Store.
  • Perform a UWP Reset Application
    • Windows>Settings>Applications>title>Advanced Options>Reset
  • Perform a Windows Store reset
    • Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog.
    • Type WSReset.exe, and click/tap on OK.
    • The WSReset tool resets the Windows Store without changing account settings or deleting installed apps.
    • A command prompt will now open without any message. After about 30 seconds, the command prompt will automatically close, and the Microsoft Store app will open.

  • Restart Xbox services

    • Type "SERVICES" in the Windows search bar and open the system program

    • Navigate down the list to find the "Xbox Live Network Service"

    • right-click on this and select START or RESTART

    • Find "Xbox Live Game Save" in the list and right-click on this and select START or RESTART

    • Find "Xbox Live Auth Manager" in the list and right-click on this and select START or RESTART

  • Use a local administrator account
  • Delete the local save file on your PC (Windows Store Only)
      • Forza Horizon 4, if you know your way around your PC, you can try deleting the \AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.SunriseBaseGame_8wekyb3d8bbwe\SystemAppData\wgs folder on your local hard drive.
      • Forza Horizon 5, you can try deleting the \AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.624F8B84B80_8wekyb3d8bbwe\SystemAppData\wgs folder on your local hard drive. After doing so, please reboot the computer and then restart the game. You should then be able to sync and play again.
  • Update Xbox app
    • Open the Microsoft Store app > go to Library > check if the Xbox app is updated.
  • Update Windows
    • Check if your Windows has the latest updates installed. Press the Windows button > Settings > Update & Security > Windows update.
  • Restart gaming services
    • Type SERVICES in the Windows search bar and open the program.
    • Scroll down in SERVICES, until you find Gaming Services, Xbox Live Network Service, Xbox Live Game Save and Xbox Live Auth Manager.
    • Once you find them, please right-click on each one, and select Start or Restart.
  • Use the gaming services repair tool
    • Download the Gaming Services Repair Tool and run a quick test to ensure that your Gaming Services are working fine: Gaming Services Repair Tool for PC | Xbox Support
    • Restart your PC, then try again to launch the game.

 

PC Steam Version

  • Power Cycle your Device
    • Fully close the game. (more info on how to do this here).
    • Restart your device (On PC find the power button in the UI then select Restart.)
    • Ensure your PC’s internet connection is functioning correctly.
    • Start the game.
    • After pressing A or ENTER on the welcome screen, wait for the sync to complete. This could take a long time, but it is essential to be patient.
  • Sign out then back into your account in the following application
    • Xbox App
    • Xbox Game Bar
    • Microsoft Store
  • Open as Administrator
    • Before launching the game, please open Steam as Administrator (Right-click on the Steam shortcut and select Run as administrator).
  • Verify Steam Cloud is enabled
    • Check if Steam cloud is enabled (Steam > Settings > Cloud), launch the game again through the Steam launcher and test if it works
  • Please try to manually update the game
    • Select Library and verify there are no pending updates
    • Find the game on your game list and check if there are any updates
  • Reset your copy of Forza on Steam
    • Right click Forza from your games list
    • Select Properties from the context menu
    • From the Properties menu select Local Files
    • Click 'Verify Integrity of Local Game Files...'
  • Use a local administrator account

Xbox Console

  • If possible, try to load your save on a different device. (A different PC or Xbox)
  • Make sure the console has the most up to date OS version installed.
  • Please try manually updating the game and any DLC using the Store/Games & Apps.
  • Remove the Game from Quick Resume
    • Fully close the game
    • Navigate to the Xbox Dashboard
    • Press Xbox Button on controller to open the guide
    • Select My Games & Apps
    • Select More Options
    • Select Remove from Quick Resume
    • Launch the game
  • Power cycle your device
    • Fully close the game. (more info on how to do this here).
    • Restart your device
    • On Xbox you can hold down the Xbox button then select Restart Console
    • Ensure your Xbox’s internet connection is functioning correctly.
    • Start the game.
    • After pressing A or ENTER on the welcome screen, wait for the sync to complete. This could take a long time, but it is essential to be patient.
  • Try pressing and holding the power button on your console until it turns off, unplug it from the power supply for 10 minutes, plug it back in and see if it continues.
  • Resync your save to the cloud
    • Go to Manage Game > Saved Data > your profile > Delete from console.
      • Do not select Delete from Everywhere as this will delete ALL of your data.
    • Relaunch the game and let it sync to the cloud.
  • Reset your console by going to the system's settings, console info, reset console and choose the option "Reset and keep my games & apps"
  • Uninstall then reinstall the game and any DLC.
  • Uninstall the game. After the game is uninstalled, uninstall a couple different games/apps or install some games/apps so that when you reinstall the game, it's installed to a different part of the HDD.

2. Report a Problem

If Step 1 does not work, and you are still getting an invalid save error message or are unable to recover your save you will unfortunately need to delete your current save in order to get back into gameplay.

 

Please move to step 3 for instructions on how to delete your save and submit a ticket with Forza Support so we can assist further.

 

In addition to deleting your save and your ticket with the Forza Support team we also ask that you submit feedback to Xbox and Windows about this issue.

3. Delete your Forza Horizon save from everywhere

*Please note that this will wipe your save from everywhere, and you will be starting fresh. There is no way to recover your old save.

Please follow these steps based on your device: You do not need to do both devices if you have an Xbox; it's easier to do it there.

How to delete your Forza Horizon save from everywhere on Xbox

  1. On Home, select My games and apps.
  2. Highlight the game, press the Menu button ​​ ​​on your controller, and then select Manage game.
  3. In the menu on the left of the screen, scroll down to Saved Data, highlight the saved data for your Gamertag on the right and press the A button on your controller.
  4. You'll be prompted to confirm the deletion of this game save data: (You need to select Delete Everywhere for this to work)

*Delete from the console - removes the local copy of this save. You can get it from the cloud the next time you play.

*Delete everywhere - removes your saved data from this console, the cloud, and all other consoles you play on.

*Cancel - leaves your data intact.

How to delete your Forza Horizon save from everywhere on a PC

  1. Make sure your PC Offline Permissions is set to ON
    • Open the Microsoft store.
    • Click on your profile image and then click settings.
    • Make sure your Offline Permissions is set to ON
  2. Start the game, wait for the start screen.
    • Start screen is the first screen that has the menu options for start game, accessibility, and/or option settings.
  3. Disconnect your PC from the internet.
  4. Go to your Windows 10 Settings --> Storage --> Apps & games -->Forza -->Advanced Options -->Select the "Reset" button.
  5. Start playing for a few minutes to create a new local save
  6. Connect back to the internet.
    • If you are prompted to pick a save, you only need to select "LOCAL" for this time. Moving forward, you will want to select "Cloud."

How to delete your Forza Horizon save on Steam

  1. In Steam > Settings > Cloud, disable Steam cloud sync. We don't want Steam to restore the files we're about to delete
  2. Exit Steam completely
  3. Go to the following location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata
  4. You should see a folder with a name made up of many numbers. That's your Steam ID and holds all the saved data associated with your Steam account. Go into that folder.
  5. Find the folder named with your game code. That's the App ID for your game. Go into that folder, then go into the "remote" folder.
    • Forza Horizon 5 - 1551360
    • Forza Horizon 4 - 1293830
  6. When you See the UserData.sav folder (Many numbers will follow it), delete it.
  7. Once you're done with everything, you can open Steam back up 
    uninstall and reinstall the DLC packs, and try opening them again. If everything works, you can re-enable Steam Cloud Sync.

Please submit a ticket once you have completed the steps for your device and have played on the new save and unlocked online mode.

One of our Support Agents will be able to verify that you've completed the steps successfully and will be able to assist further. If the steps were not done successfully, we will let you know to try again. Unfortunately, we will not be able to help further if the steps have not been completed correctly. We will not be able to return any lost progress or return your old save. We will produce a 1:1 match to your inventory for Forza Horizon players.

Unfortunately, we will NOT be able to return any Forzathon Points, Skill Points, Level, Experience, Tokens, or Progress.

Lost Saved Data Ticket

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