Everything you need to play LS Lifestyle v0.1.0.0 (beta): how to install it, every control, what each phone app does, what needs an account, and what to do when something goes wrong. The same guide ships with the mod as README_HELP.txt.
This is a beta. Things will break now and then. When they do, the Troubleshooting section tells you which log files help us fix it, and the Contact page tells you where to send them.
Install
The mod (everyone)
- Download the mod zip (the file is called HS25_Lifestyle_Mod.zip). Don't unpack it.
- Put the zip in your Farming Simulator 25 mods folder: Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\mods
- Start the game, load or start a savegame, and tick LS Lifestyle in the mod list.
- Keep the zip name as it is. Renaming it makes the game treat it as a different mod in your savegames.
Lifestyle Link (optional, for the online features)
Farming Simulator mods can't go online by themselves. Lifestyle Link is a small free Windows program that runs next to the game and does it for them: social apps, messages with other players, real weather, videos from the website, and more. It is a separate download, not part of the mod zip.
- Download LifestyleLink.exe and put it in a folder of its own (for example Documents\LifestyleLink).
- Double-click it. Its window opens as a page in your web browser (it lives at http://127.0.0.1:47321 on your own PC). Windows may say "Windows protected your PC" because the program isn't signed: click More info, then Run anyway.
- Press Sign in on the website. Sign in (or make an account with email or Discord) and press Connect on the page that opens.
- In the game, turn on Live data (Lifestyle Link): phone Settings, or the Link tile in the Control Center.
- Leave Lifestyle Link running while you play. You can close its browser page; it keeps running until you press Stop. "Start with Windows" starts it quietly when you log in.
You only need an account on the website for the online features. Everything else works without one.
First launch
- Load your savegame. Press Esc (the pause key) or Left Alt + O: the phone comes up instead of the pause menu.
- The lock screen unlocks by itself (the Face ID look). If it asks, click or press A. You can change the lock screen in phone Settings (Swipe, Face ID, Fingerprint, PIN, Password or None).
- Some apps send you a welcome email in Lifemail the first time you open them. That's normal and it's all in-game; nothing is sent anywhere.
- Want the game's normal pause menu (to save, quit or change options)? Open the Classic menu app on the phone, or turn off Phone replaces the pause menu in the Lifestyle settings (Left Alt + C).
- To put the phone away press Esc again (at the home screen), or Left Alt + O.
Controls
Every key here can be changed in the game's Options > Controls (look for the LS Lifestyle / Lifestyle entries). Controller buttons are named for an Xbox-style pad; "View" is the small Back/View button and "Menu" is Start. The "+" means hold the first button, then press the second.
Everywhere in the game
| What | Keyboard / mouse | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Open or put away the phone | Esc (pause key) or Left Alt + O | Start (pause) or RB + View |
| Lifestyle menu (settings, needs, body, tattoos, pets, help) | Left Alt + M | LB + View |
| Lifestyle settings | Left Alt + C | LB + Menu |
| Phone camera on / off | Left Alt + K | Camera app on the phone |
| Screenshot (goes to Photos) | Left Alt + S | Control Center tile |
| Screen record on / off | Left Alt + R | Control Center tile |
| Eat | Left Alt + B | (none by default) |
| Drink (free at your farmhouse) | Left Alt + V | (none by default) |
| Pets: menu | Left Alt + P | LB + Y |
| Pets: call (whistle) | Left Alt + J | LB + X |
| Pets: stay / follow | Left Alt + X | LB + B |
| Pets: fetch | Left Alt + F | LB + A |
| Pets: feed | Left Alt + G | (none by default) |
| Pets: pet | Left Alt + E | (none by default) |
| Pets: clean up mess | Left Alt + Q | (none by default) |
On the phone
| What | Keyboard / mouse | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Open an app, press a button | Left click | A |
| Move around | Mouse (arrow keys also move the highlight) | Left stick or D-pad |
| Scroll a list | Mouse wheel, or drag | Left stick or D-pad |
| Back (closes the keyboard first; on the home screen it puts the phone away) | Esc | B |
| Next / previous home screen page | Drag the page, mouse wheel, or the dots | RB / LB |
| Control Center | Click the home bar (the line at the bottom of the phone): once = compact, double-click = big. Or click the right end of the status bar | Y: compact, again: big, again: close |
| Notification Center | Click the left end of the status bar | X |
| Dismiss a notification or a banner | Drag it sideways (banners: drag up) | B closes the panel |
| Customise the Control Center | Hold a tile | (mouse only) |
| Rearrange the home screen | Hold an app icon for half a second until the icons wiggle, then drag it (to another page, or into the dock: max 4). Press Done (top right) or Esc to finish; Reset puts the default layout back | (mouse only) |
| Messages: pin, mark read, delete | Hold or swipe a conversation | (mouse only) |
| Type | The on-screen keyboard, or just type on your real keyboard. Enter sends, Backspace deletes | On-screen keyboard |
| Emoji | The smiley key left of the space bar | Same |
| Answer an incoming call | Enter, even with the phone in your pocket (Backspace declines), or the green button | Open the phone: A answers, B declines |
The camera
| What | Keyboard / mouse | Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Take a photo / start or stop a video | Left click | LB + RB |
| Photo / video | 1 / 2 | RB + right stick click (photo, video, selfie) |
| Selfie on / off | 3 | RB + right stick click |
| Turn the phone sideways | Right click | LB + left stick click |
| Flash: off / on / auto | Middle click or F | RB + left stick click |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel | |
| Effects (warm, cool, vintage, VHS ...) | [ and ] | LB + right stick click |
| Put the camera away (back to the phone) | Esc or Left Alt + K | Start |
Phone games
Arrow keys or WASD steer, Space or Enter is the action button; on a controller the left stick and A. The phone's Back closes the game.
The phone apps
Apps marked (online) need Lifestyle Link running and signed in to a website account. Everything else works offline, in single player and multiplayer.
Social
- FarmGram (online): photo posts, likes, comments, stories that last 24 hours, Reels (videos, full screen, one after another), follow people, profiles. "Neighbours" also shows the game's own made-up neighbours offline.
- Farmbook (online): posts with photos, reactions, comments, shares, groups, pages, pokes, notifications and your profile (picture, cover photo, Intro).
- Messenger (online): chat with your friends on LS Lifestyle. Add a friend with their phone number (it looks like TYLE-0155; yours is in Farmbook's Menu and on the website).
- Farmchat (online): snaps that disappear. Take a snap with the camera, add text and stickers, set a timer and send it to friends or your story. Snaps taken while Link is offline wait in a queue and go when it's back; chats can't be sent offline.
- Messages: texts from the game's neighbours, contract offers, your pets and services work offline. Texts and photos to real players go through the website (online). If Link is off, the app says so and nothing is marked as sent.
- HayThere: a dating app with made-up adult locals: swipe, match and chat. Matches reply with simple lines offline; with an AI set up in Lifestyle Link (or by the server) they really chat back. Keep it clean: crude messages get you unmatched.
- Lifemail: your phone's email ([email protected]). Receipts, sign-ups and job confirmations from the game arrive offline. Mail to other players is online. It isn't real email; addresses only exist inside the game and the website.
- Ranks (online): leaderboards for money, land, Munchie Rush and the phone games.
Camera and media
- Camera: hold the phone up and take photos, videos (a run of frames played back as a clip) and selfies, with effects and flash. Photos are saved in Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\modSettings\HS25_Lifestyle_Mod\photos.
- Photos: everything you shot, plus screenshots. Set a photo as wallpaper or a contact picture, post it, or open it in Edits. With Lifestyle Link running, new pictures from your Screenshots and Downloads folders show up here too.
- Edits: a photo and clip editor: crop, rotate, filters, light, text, stickers and frames; trim, speed and reverse clips. It saves a new copy; the original stays.
- Stories: FarmGram > your circle (or "+ Your story"). Layout, filters, text, drawing, stickers (game time, temperature, your farm) and a song. Posting a story is online.
- LS Music (Tunes): a full music player: mixes, search, playlists, liked songs, shuffle and repeat. Add your own songs: put .ogg files named "Artist - Title.ogg" in modSettings\HS25_Lifestyle_Mod\music.
- LSTube: videos on the phone, with full screen. Plays the mod's videos, your camera clips and .ogv files you put in modSettings\HS25_Lifestyle_Mod\videos. The Online tab (through Lifestyle Link) downloads classic cartoons and TV from the Internet Archive. Videos download first, then play; the game can't stream.
- Wardrobe TV: a TV on the wall behind your character in the wardrobe. With Lifestyle Link it plays the website's LS TV channel first (short videos the admins approved; you can upload your own at /tv). The house channels need Hashy's house TV mod. Mute and volume are in the Lifestyle settings (Wardrobe TV).
- Books: a reading app with novels, classics, comics, magazines and read-along kids' books. Font size, light / sepia / dark pages, and it remembers your place.
Money, weather, health
- LS Bank: your farm money like a banking app: balance, accounts, spending, activity, your card and the farm loan with a credit score. Everything is your real farm money.
- FarmCard and QuickHay: the credit card and the quick loan of the same bank. Loans use the game's own loan.
- Weather: the weather of the map you play (the game's forecast). With Lifestyle Link it also shows the real weather, alerts and radar for your real place (US only: the data comes from the US National Weather Service).
- Health: steps, distance, active minutes and calories from your real walking in the game, sleep, driving time, your daily needs, badges and the game's farm statistics. Calories are estimated and the heart rate is simulated; both say so.
- Needs: hunger, thirst and energy. Eat (Left Alt + B) and drink (Left Alt + V); dial 3663 on the phone for a pizza.
Farm and game
- Map, Market, Prices, Vehicles, Workers, Animals, Production, Calendar, Finances: the game's own pages, made for the phone.
- Contracts: open contracts with their reward; accept from the phone. Big contracts can ring your phone.
- Shop and Build: the game's shop and construction screens. The phone comes back when you close them (setting: "Back to the phone after a page").
- Classic menu: the game's normal pause menu (save, quit, options).
- Character: the game's wardrobe, with extra tabs for Body (sliders), Tattoos and Pets.
- Pets: adopt, name and look after a pet. Bowls, beds and a mud wallow are in the shop.
- LS AI: a farm assistant that reads your game (prices, weather, what to plant). With an AI key in Lifestyle Link it becomes a real AI that knows your farm.
- Clock, Calculator, Farm Daily (news from your farm; real headlines with Link), Scanner, Snake, Munchie Rush, Flappy Crow, Barn Ops, Car Lot, 2048, Tic-Tac-Toe, Memory.
- Phone: a keypad with some secret numbers: 0 is the operator (it tells you the others), 7387 calls your pets, 3663 orders a pizza (it really feeds you and costs money), 1234 starts Munchie Rush.
- Settings: wallpaper, brightness, volume, ringtones, Do Not Disturb, lock screen, Phone look (Fresh or Classic), animations, autocorrect and more.
- Admin: only appears for server staff.
What needs an account
| Works offline (no Link, no account) | Needs Lifestyle Link + a website account |
|---|---|
| Camera, Photos, Edits, LS Music, LSTube (local videos), Books | FarmGram, Farmbook, Messenger, Farmchat, Reels, Stories |
| LS Bank, FarmCard, QuickHay, Finances, Health, Needs, Pets | Messages and Lifemail to other players, photos in messages |
| Weather for your map, Map and the game pages, Contracts, Shop | Real weather, alerts and radar, farm news headlines |
| Messages from neighbours, Lifemail from the game, HayThere | Phone calls with real voice, Ranks, the online vehicle dealer |
| Phone games, Clock, Calculator, Scanner, Settings | LSTube Online, the LS TV channel on the wardrobe TV, web wallpapers |
LS AI answers questions about your farm from the game itself, offline. For a real AI (in LS AI and in HayThere chats) it needs an AI key: your own in Lifestyle Link, or one the server owner set up.
Multiplayer
- Everyone needs the mod. In multiplayer only the host needs Lifestyle Link: the other players' online apps work through the host's Link. Each player still gets their own account, decided by the game, so nobody can post as someone else.
- Players without their own Lifestyle Link can read, like, comment, chat and call, but pictures and videos need Lifestyle Link on your own PC (the game can't send image files over its network).
- Real voice on calls needs Lifestyle Link on both PCs. Without it, use the game's voice chat.
- Selling on the online dealer works in single player or for the host only.
- Text from other players is checked by the filter on your phone and again on the server.
Privacy and the rules
- Your photos stay on your PC until you post or send them.
- What you post on FarmGram, Farmbook, stories or reels can be seen by other players (or only friends, if you choose). Messages and snaps go only to the people you send them to. The website's admins can see reported content.
- Lifestyle Link keeps your settings and any AI key on your PC (%APPDATA%\LifestyleLink), never in the game folder.
- Full details: Privacy Policy, Terms and Community Guidelines.
The chat filter
Everything you write to other players goes through a filter, on your phone and again on the server:
- Mild swears are masked (f***) and sent.
- Explicit words and slurs are not sent, and count as a strike. Three strikes in 24 hours = a 24 hour timeout.
- Severe things (threats, telling someone to hurt themselves, sexual talk about children, posting a phone number, home address or IP address) are not sent, are flagged urgently to the staff, and give an immediate 24 hour timeout.
- Farm words like grass, cocktail, Essex or oilseed rape are fine.
Reports, timeouts and bans
- Use Report on any post, comment, profile or chat that breaks the rules. The staff see it on their admin panel. You can also block people.
- Staff can warn you, put you in a timeout (you can read but not post), suspend or ban your account. A warning or timeout pops up on your phone with the reason.
- Think a decision was wrong? Write to us through the Contact page.
Troubleshooting
The phone doesn't open
- Press Left Alt + O. If that works but Esc doesn't, another mod is using the pause key; the phone tries to work around it and writes what happened to the log.
- Check that Phone replaces the pause menu is on in the Lifestyle settings (Left Alt + C).
- Close every other menu first: the phone doesn't open over another game screen.
- If the controller does nothing on the phone, the phone may have opened in its fallback mode (mouse and keyboard only). Close and open it again; send us your log.txt if it keeps happening.
Lifestyle Link says offline, or the social apps say "Sign in to Lifestyle Link"
- Is LifestyleLink.exe running? Open http://127.0.0.1:47321 in your browser to see its window.
- Is it signed in? Its window shows "connected" next to the server.
- Is Live data (Lifestyle Link) on in the phone's Settings?
- Is the website up? Open https://mylifestylemod.com.
- Firewalls or antivirus can block the program. Allow LifestyleLink.exe.
No pictures in multiplayer
That's expected for players without their own Lifestyle Link: pictures can't travel through the game's network. Run Lifestyle Link on your own PC and sign in.
Videos don't play
- The game only plays .ogv (Theora) videos. Convert others with ffmpeg: ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libtheora -q:v 7 -c:a libvorbis output.ogv
- Videos from the website and reels need Lifestyle Link to download them first. Give it a minute.
- The house channels on the wardrobe TV need Hashy's house TV mod.
The game runs slowly
- Turn off Animations in the phone's Settings, or switch Phone look to Classic.
- Close the phone while you drive or work; videos and the camera are the heaviest things it does.
- Screen recording takes a screenshot several times a second: keep it short.
Where the logs are
- Game log: Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\log.txt (lines with "LS Lifestyle", "Lifestyle Mod" or "CharacterPresets" are ours). It's rewritten every time the game starts, so copy it right after the problem, before you start the game again.
- Lifestyle Link log: %APPDATA%\LifestyleLink\lifestylelink.log (paste that into the Explorer address bar). It's rewritten every time Link starts.
- The mod's saved data: Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\modSettings\HS25_Lifestyle_Mod
FAQ
Do I have to use Lifestyle Link?
No. The phone, camera, music, books, bank, weather for your map, health, needs, pets and games all work without it. Link is only for things that need the internet.
Is it free?
Yes. No ads, nothing to buy.
Does it change base-game files?
No. It's a normal mod; take it out of the mods folder and your game is as it was. Savegames keep working, just without the mod's extras.
Is it safe to run LifestyleLink.exe?
It only talks to the LS Lifestyle website, the weather and news sources you switch on, and the AI service you choose. Windows warns about it because it isn't code-signed.
Can I use it without the website?
Yes, offline. Online features need a free account on https://mylifestylemod.com.
Is the data real?
Bank, health, needs, weather and farm pages use your real game data. The heart rate is simulated, calories are estimated, and HayThere's people are made up. Nothing is made up and passed off as real.
Is this made by GIANTS, Meta or anyone else?
No. LS Lifestyle is a fan-made mod by Hashy. Farmbook, FarmGram, Messenger and the other app names are our own, not connected with any real company.
Support
- First check Troubleshooting and the FAQ.
- Then reach us through the Contact page. Tell us what you did, what you expected, and what happened, and attach your log.txt (and lifestylelink.log if it's about online features).
- To report a player or a post, use Report in the app: that's the fastest way to the moderators.
LS Lifestyle by Hashy. Not affiliated with GIANTS Software.