Fix: Fallout 76 Friends List Not Working Glitch

There’s an annoying Fallout 76 bug that prevents affected users from adding friends to their sessions. This has the potential to be super game-breaking for some, considering the fact that the game was marketed around the ability to play it co-op from start to finish. As it turns out, players that are suffering from this problem will appear offline inside the game when their friends are trying to send them an invite.

What is causing the Fallout 76 Friends List Not Working Glitch?

Bethesda had to deal with a lot of game-breaking glitches in the first month following the launch, so you can imagine why this one wasn’t actually a priority.

We investigated this particular issue by looking at various user reports and the repair strategies that they used to get the issue resolved.  As it turns out, there are multiple common scenarios that might trigger this particular problem (some of them are issues that are well within your control):

If you are prevented from playing Fallout 76 with your friends, this article will provide you with some methods that will help you get around this major inconvenience. Down below, you’ll discover several workarounds that other users in a similar situation have used to get the issue resolved.

For the best results, follow the methods below in the order that they are presented as we ordered them by efficiency and severity. You should eventually encounter a fix that resolves the problem in your particular scenario.

Method 1: Joining/Inviting from the main menu

If you’re looking for a quick fix that will allow you to jump into your friend’s games, one solution would be to try and join the session from the Social tab in the Main menu of the game. This approach has been effective for a lot of PC users that have been unable to join any sessions from the In-game menu.

So, to utilize this fix, simply exit your game session and return to the Main Menu. Once you get there, go to the Social tab, then move over to the Friend list (right corner) and join the existing session.

Use the Friends or Team tab to find the session that you’re trying to join, then double-click on the session to join.

If this method isn’t applicable to your particular scenario, move over to the next method below.

Method 2: The random guy method

One awkward but effective fixed that has been used successfully by a lot of users is to convince a third party player to add you and your friend to their friend list and then add the both of you to a group. After that, you will be able to add your friend to your friend list.

This might sound a little complicated, but it’s really simple if you can get past the awkwardness. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Walk around the map and find a random guy that hasn’t added either you and your friend to his friend list yet.
   Note: It’s very important that he didn’t add you to their friend list before. Otherwise, his friend list might glitch out also.
2. Explain your situation and ask him to add both of you to his friend list and then to his team.
3. Once both of you are on the same team, you will be able to add each other again (to the Friend List).
4. Create a session and invite your friend (or vice versa).

Note: This method is also effective in those cases where you accidentally blocked your friend or he ended up blocking you.

If you’re still having problems with your Friend’s List in Fallout 76, move down to the next method below.

Method 3: Power cycling your console (PlayStation 4 & Xbox One)

Several affected users have reported that the issue was resolved after they power cycled their consoles.  This step is a little different depending on your console of choice, but we created two separate guides. Follow the guidelines applicable to that console on which you’re encountering the issue on:

Power Cycling on Xbox One

1. Press and hold the Xbox button on the front of the console for 10 seconds.
2. Once the lights go off, unplug the console’s power cable from your power supply and wait for 10 seconds or more.
3. Plug the power cable back in and start the console again by pressing the Xbox button again.
4. Start Fallout 76 and see if the issue has been resolved.

Power Cycling on PlayStation

1. Press the PS button on your controller to bring up the available Power options.
2. Select the Turn Off the PS4 option. Do NOT enter into Rest Mode.
3. Wait until the light goes out completely, then unplug the power cable and wait 10 seconds or more.
4. Plug the power cable back on and press the PS button again to start it up.
5. Run Fallout 76 again and see if the Friend List issue has been resolved.

If you’re still encountering an issue with your Friend’s List, move over to the next method below.

Method 4: Adding your friend to Favorites or Custom List (Playstation & Xbox One Only)

Another fairly popular fix for console players is to add their friends to a Custom List (PS4) or to Favorites (Xbox One).  Naturally, this workaround is only applicable to console players and the steps will be different depending on the platform on which you’re encountering the issue on.

With this in mind, follow the guidelines applicable to your console:

Adding your friend’s Gamertag to the Favorites List (Xbox One)

1. Press the Xbox button on your controller.
2. Make your way to the Profile section (left of the application tile).
3. Select your friend’s profile, then choose to Add to Favorites.
4. Restart Fallout 76 and see if the issue has been resolved.

Adding your friend to a Custom List (PlayStation 4)

1. On your Dashboard, select the Friends section from the function screen.
2. Choose Custom List, then select Create List.
3. Enter a name for your custom list, then select the friend that you’re trying to add.
4. Choose to Create list, then restart Fallout 76 and see if your friend has become visible.

Method 5: Ensuring that NAT is opened 

Most network connectivity issues are somehow related to your Network Address Translation (NAT). This is essentially a metric that will determine how easy it is for you to connect with other players. As you can imagine, the status of your NAT can also affect the ability to join and invite friends in Fallout 76.

There are a lot of ways to ensure that that the NAT is opened on your PC/console. But most of these require some manual work. Because of this, we are going to focus on a universal fix that will ensure that your NAT is open regardless of your platform or ISP – enabling Universal Plug and Play (UPnP).

When you enable UPnP, you’re essentially allowing your applications and games to forward ports automatically, so you don’t have to create them manually. Even better, UPnP is enabled at the router level, so the instructions below can be followed regardless of the platform that you’re encountering the issue on:

Note: Keep in mind that both you and the friends that you’re trying to play with need to ensure that they have UPnP enabled.

1. Make sure your computer/console is connected to your router. Then, open your Internet web browser, type 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 and press Enter to open the settings page of your router/modem.
   Note: If these generic router addresses don’t work, search online for specific steps on how to access your router settings.
2. Once you get to the login page, insert your credentials to move forward. With most manufacturers, the default username is “admin” and the default password is either “admin” or “1234”.

   

   Note: If the default credentials are different in your case, search for specific steps accord to your router model.

3. Inside your router settings, look for the Advanced settings.  Then, go to the NAT Forwarding tab and look for a UPnP submenu. once you find it, make sure that it’s enabled.

   

   Note: These instructions were performed from a TP-Link router, so your screens might look different depending on your router/modem manufacturer. However, you should be able to enable the UPnP feature from the NAT Forwarding menu.

4. Once you’ve enabled UPnP, restart both your router and the console/PC to force open the necessary ports.
5. Open Fallout 76 and see if you’re still experiencing the Friend List glitch.

If the same problem is still occurring or UPnP is not supported by your router, move over to the next method below.

Method 6: Forwarding the required ports manually

If you’re working with an old router/modem that doesn’t know how to do UPnP, you’ll need to open some ports manually. Keep in mind that this method should only be followed if Method 2 was not applicable. It will end up accomplishing the same thing (opening NAT) but the steps will be done manually.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open your browser and insert your router/modem IP address. Try the two defaults: 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.1.1.
   Note: If the default IP addresses don’t work, press Windows key + R, type “cmd” and press Enter.  Inside the Command Prompt window, type “ipconfig” and press Enter to get an overview of your network connection. Then, scroll down to Default Gateway. That’s the address of your router/modem.

   

2. At the login page of your router, use the default values to log in:
   Username: admin
   Password: admin or 1234
   Note: These are applicable with most router/modem manufacturers, but in case they don’t work for you, search online for the default login credentials of your networking device.
3. Once you’re inside your router/modem settings, go to the advanced menu and look for an option called NAT Forwarding or Forwarding.
   

   

4. Next, you need to open the ports required by Fallout 76 manually:
   TCP: 80
   TCP: 443
   UDP: 3000-3010
   

   

5. Once the required ports have been opened, restart both your router and your Console/Pc and see if the issue has been resolved by opening Fallout 76 and inviting/getting invited by a friend.

If the issue is still occurring, move down to the next method below.

Method 7: Unblocking your friend from your List (PC only)

We’ve noticed quite a few of occurrences where the reason why a player would not appear in another Friend List is that one of them was actually blocked by the other. This might have happened by accident or the result of a bug (yes, there was a bug that will end up blocking some of your friends in Fallout 76)

However, there is a Reddit thread full of people that have successfully managed to get around this issue by installing a different Game on Steam and removed your friend from the Block list. Most affected users have done this with Legends – a small game that will install in a matter of minutes.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open your Steam client and download Legends (or a different game that is lightweight and has a multiplayer component).
2. Launch the game and go to your friend list. You don’t have to start a New Game or anything.
3. Go to the Blocked section and unblock your friend.
4. Exit the game and open Fallout 76. Your blocked friend should become available inside the Friend List again.