Friends are vital components of a mesmerizing gaming journey. The entire console war depends on friends. Although performance stats, exclusive games, and hardware matter a lot, users will opt for the console the majority of their friends use. If your friends use the PlayStation 5, there’s hardly any way you’ll go for an Xbox. The reason for this is the lack of cross-play features. So, you’ll be missing out while your friends enjoy gaming together.
The PlayStation 5 is Sony’s latest gaming console that is currently ruling the market. With all sorts of amazing games and features, the PS5 is the best gaming console out there, giving tough competition to the Xbox. However, users complain about some issues every now and then, which is very common amongst console users.
Recently, we have been receiving complaints about the PS5 Friends list not showing up. There could be multiple reasons why this is happening. Maybe your friends’ list isn’t showing up because your server is down. Another reason for this issue could be an out-of-date console. At times, internet issues can also cause issues with the friend list. If you’re facing this issue, there’s nothing to worry about.
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PS5 Friend List Features
The PS5 friends list is a great feature that allows users to interact with each other. It makes gaming with your friends so much easier and makes the entire gaming experience wonderful. The following are some cool features of the PS5 friend’s list.
Avatar or Profile Picture
You can select an avatar to represent yourself to friends. Other than that, your close friends can also be allowed to see your profile picture.
Online ID and Real name
Usually, you can only display another player’s online ID. However, once you become close friends with a player, you can also see their real name. The friend’s list really keeps a check on privacy.
Online Status
The online status feature allows you to see if your friends are online and available for gaming or not. Likewise, if a friend is offline, you’ll be able to see when he/she was last online.
A verified tick symbol appears with users that have been verified by PlayStation.
You will also find a PlayStation Plus symbol if a player has PS Plus. This allows you to enjoy cool features with them and play online games.
Current Game and Console or Device
The PS5 friend’s list also shows you the games your friends are playing. Moreover, you’ll also be able to see which console they are using.
How to View Your Friends List on PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 has brought a revolution in the way things work. On this console, Sony has gotten rid of the old UI and developed a brand new one for the PS5, making things so much better. However, if you were used to the old UI, things could get tricky for you.
The new UI offers a very upgraded and futuristic look. Liking the new look depends on your personal preference. However, it will take some time to get used to the new layouts and advanced features.
The following are some simple steps to view your friend’s list on the PS5:
- Using your Dualsense controller, press on the PS button.
- Navigate through the control center on your console.
- Find your way to the Game base.
- Now tap the R1 button.
And there you go; you should have the friends list right in front of you. By entering the game base for the first time, you will be able to view your parties and also anyone who has texted you previously.
By pressing the R1 button or clicking the friend’s button manually, you’ll be able to see the list of friends who are online. You’ll also be able to see what game they’re playing, the console they are using, and also the party they are in.
By selecting the “view all parties” option, you can view the entire Game Base. In the game base, you’ll be able to check up on your friend requests. You can also search for new friends and send requests to other users. Other than that, you can create your own party with your desired friends in the game base.
The new Friends List also provides certain privileges to close friends. For example, close friends will be able to view each other’s profile pictures along with their real names. Moreover, they’ll also be able to view your profile picture, which is normally represented by avatars for other users.
If you want to view what your friends are currently playing, you can use the current game and console/device feature. You’ll also be able to see the online status of your friend or when they were last online.
The friend’s list is all fun and games until the game base disappears. If this happens, you won’t be able to view your friends’ lists. Now you may be wondering why the game base isn’t showing up. This may be due to some glitches that cause malfunctions of certain programs. Glitches like these may also interfere with your control center menu. Other reasons might be internet problems and faulty servers.
Whatever it is, we’ll have to tackle the issue. Here, we have compiled seven fixes to take down your problem from any angle possible. So without further ado, let’s get started.
7 Fixes for PS5 Friends List Not Showing
It’s very common on the PS5 to see your friends list missing. I myself faced issues with my friend’s list. I had my PlayStation 5 restarted. I also restarted the internet to see if things would work. Surprisingly, after booting up, the console was normally displaying my friends list.
We came up with the following fixes to help bring your game database and friends list back online. All the fixes aim to tackle the problem from different angles, and hopefully, at least one of them will work for you. So go on and head into it.
Restart Your PS5
At times, certain glitches can affect your control center or your UI. For example, this may cause problems in getting to the game base and accessing your friends’ list. At times, this issue can be resolved simply by restarting your console.
The following are the steps to restart your PS5 safely from the system:
- Press the PS button.
- Find your way to the power icon.
- Choose the “restart PS5” option.
Once your PlayStation 5 restarts properly, press the PS button and make sure you have a proper internet connection established. Your control center should normally be working, and you should be able to view your game data along with your friends’ list.
Check PSN Network Status
At times, your friends’ list may not be viewed due to server issues. Therefore, it is important to check your PSN Network status before assuming anything else. Down servers will cause issues in loading the game base and friends list.
Below are the simple steps to check your PSN network status:
- First, find your way to the settings.
- In the settings, select Network.
- Click on the option “View PlayStation Network Status.”
Allow the console to take its time in displaying the results. If all the services have been marked green, it means the servers are all up and working perfectly. On the other hand, if there are yellow or red marks present, your server is probably down or faulty. You’ll have to wait for the servers to be back up now. Once the servers are back up and running, you should be able to view your friends’ lists.
Update your PS5
Every time some new product comes out, it has a certain shortcoming. With time, certain updates can roll in to fix any such issues. For example, the PlayStation 5 is still at the beginning of its reign and will contain certain glitches. However, with time, Sony will be rolling out updates to fix all the issues. Therefore, sometimes the best solution to such an issue is to update your console.
The following are the steps to update your PlayStation 5:
- First, find your way to your console’s settings.
- Then, scroll down and find the System tab.
- Click on System Software.
- Now go ahead and enter the System Software and Update Settings.
- Select the option saying, “Update Using the Internet.”
- Go ahead and install the update. Then, wait for the installation process to complete.
Once the update has been installed, your PS5 should restart. The issue should be resolved now after powering on. If not, check out the next fix to see if things work for you.
Re-login to your PlayStation Network Account
If all the steps above have failed this far, you can try re-logging into your account. Go ahead and delete your account from your console. Once done, log back in to see if this fixes your issue.
Follow the steps below to re-login to your PlayStation Network account:
- First, navigate your way to the settings.
- Select the User and Account option.
- Go ahead and scroll down to the desired user.
- You’ll see a delete icon. Go ahead and click on it.
- Complete the deletion process.
- Once deleted, press the Add user option.
- Now login to your PSN account with the correct credentials.
After completing these steps, you should be able to view your friends’ lists. Of course, there’s nothing to worry about if the issue persists, as we have some fixes left in the bag that may come in handy.
Check your internet connection.
An unstable and slow network connection may also be responsible for the issue you are facing. If you want to confirm your internet status, you can perform a speed test on any website or application. If there is a problem with your internet connection, try rebooting your network router.
Unplug the router cable or just simply switch it off from the power off button and let it be for 5 seconds. Now switch the device back on to see if the network problem is resolved. You can check the status by running a speed test again. If you still experience connection problems, you can contact your service provider to see if they can help fix them.
Change DNS Settings
At times, your ISP’s own default DNS may be experiencing some issues, which may be the reason for your network malfunction. It is suggested to use Google’s DNS to fix this problem, as it is more stable and reliable compared to others.
Go through the steps below to change your DNS settings:
- Using your PlayStation 5, navigate your way to the settings.
- Now select the Network tab.
- On Inside Network, press on Internet Connection Setup.
- Once done, choose the Use Wi-Fi option and then click on Custom.
- Now find your IP address and set it to automatic. Also, choose the Do Not Specify option beneath the DHCP Host Name segment.
- Now go ahead and press the Manual option for your DNS settings. Once done, enter the following inside:
- Primary DNS – 8.8.8.8
- Secondary DNS – 8.8.4.4
- At last, set the MTU Settings value to 1456. After that, hit Do Not Use for the proxy server.
Now that you have changed your DNS settings, go back to your game base to see if you can view your friends’ list. If not, there’s only one thing you can do next.
Report Your Problem to PlayStation Network
If your PSN profiles fail to load regardless of applying all the fixes mentioned so far, there might be some other concerning problem with your account. To gain awareness of the issue, visit the official PlayStation website.
Contact customer support for any assistance regarding the issue. To speed up the troubleshooting process, please provide the model of your PlayStation along with your PSN account details.
The customer care team should soon get in touch with you to help resolve any issue you are facing.
Some Final Words
Nothing beats playing games on the big screen with your friends in the comfort of your own home. However, with the friend list not showing up, users can become quite frustrated as they won’t be able to interact with friends through their consoles. The PS5 has been quite buggy ever since its release, but a few updates have made things much better.
However, the console is still far from perfect and has a lot of stability and new features to develop. The friend’s list issue has been quite prominent amongst users, and we have provided you with all the possible fixes to help get rid of your problem.
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