Apollo Doesn’t See Your USB Saves? The Complete Checklist

ByAdmin

Apollo only lists saves that sit in the exact folders it scans, in the state it expects. When a save “doesn’t show up,” run this checklist top to bottom — the first two items fix most cases.

1. Is the Save in the Right Folder?

  • PS4 decrypted saves (the kind you downloaded or want to patch): /PS4/APOLLO/ on the USB root.
  • PS4 encrypted saves (copied from a console’s save-data export): /PS4/SAVEDATA/<account-id>/ — the account-ID subfolder must be present and named correctly.
  • PS3 saves: PS3/SAVEDATA/ on a FAT32 drive.
  • Watch for double nesting (PS4/APOLLO/APOLLO/…) after unzipping — one level too deep is invisible to Apollo. Full map: USB folder paths.

2. Is It the Right Kind of Save?

Apollo’s patch/re-sign lists work on decrypted saves. An encrypted save dropped into the APOLLO folder won’t behave like a decrypted one. If you copied a save from your own console and want to edit it, first decrypt/export it with Apollo itself (select the HDD save and export it), then work on the exported copy.

3. Drive and Format Checks

  • PS4: USB must be exFAT or FAT32. PS3: FAT32 only.
  • Memory-card files must use formats Apollo recognises — PS2 saves .psu/.max/.xps/.cbs/.psv/.sps, PS1 saves .mcs/.psx/.ps1/.mcb/.psv/.pda, VMC images .vmc/.mcd/.mcr and friends.
  • Try the other USB port; some hubs and extension cables drop devices.

4. Account and Scanning Rules

  • HDD saves are scanned against the current User ID — sign into the profile that owns the saves.
  • On PS3, if Apollo detects the wrong account, an owners.xml override at /dev_hdd0/game/NP0APOLLO/USRDIR/ can correct detection. More in account-ID mismatch fixes.
  • On Vita, PSP-format saves appear under the PSP/Adrenaline views, not the Vita list — check you’re in the right section of the app.

5. Last Resorts

Update Apollo to the current build from the download page (folder handling improved across the 2.x line), and test with one known-good save exported fresh from your own console. If Apollo sees that one, your original file — not the app — is the problem.

Related Guides

Download Apollo · USB folder paths · Re-sign PS4 saves · All troubleshooting

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