How to fix ‘Failed to join lobby’ error in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 thrives on multiplayer gameplay, but your fight for Super Earth may have been thwarted by the “Failed to join lobby” error. If that is the case, we have the fix you need.

The success of Helldivers 2 appears to have caught devs Arrowhead Games a bit off guard and there are some teething problems with the title, particularly around multiplayer. However, while there are issues, there is also a simple workaround that will enable you to continue the fight.

What causes the “Failed to join lobby” error in Helldivers 2

The “Failed to join lobby” error in Helldivers 2 is caused by temporary server overload due to Helldivers 2’s popularity. The surge of players eager to join the fight for the Super Earth can be overwhelming at times, causing matchmaking issues and crashes.

How to fix “Failed to join lobby” error in Helldivers 2

There is no known way to truly fix the “Failed to join lobby” error in Helldivers 2 at the moment, but there is a workaround that enables you to play with friends and other players.

The “Failed to join lobby” error is related to the Quickplay issue and occurs because a stable connection with the server cannot be created. As a temporary fix, you can prioritize playing with friends to avoid the game’s matchmaking systems or find players looking to team up through Helldivers 2 communities online. You need your Friend Code for this approach, which you can get by following these steps:

• Open the pause menu.
• Ensure your Crossplay setting is set to On in the Options tab.
• Navigate to the Social tab.
• Generate a friend code by hitting Triangle on PlayStation, TAB on keyboard, or Y if using an Xbox controller.
• Share your Friend Code with players you want to group up with.

To add players using a Friend Code, enter the eight-digit code into the search function at the top of the Social tab in the pause menu. Once you’ve added friends, you can easily join their lobby or invite them to join your squad.

Alternatively, there are other fixes that can temporarily solve the “Failed to join lobby error in Helldivers 2.

1. Restart the game: A simple fix for some players is to close and relaunch Helldivers 2. This can sometimes refresh your connection and allow you to join a lobby.
2. Disable crossplay: Though disabling crossplay will decrease the number of players in the matchmaking pool, it’s been working as a fix for the “Failed to join lobby” error in Helldivers 2.
3. Delete user_settings.config on PC: Navigate to “user\AppData\Roaming\Arrowhead\Helldivers2” on your PC and delete the user_settings.config file in there.
4. Change your system language on PS5: If your system language is set to anything other than English, you might be receiving the “failed to join lobby” or unable to join game” error.
5. Hard/factory reset your PS5: Since PS5 users can’t tinker around with their system files, performing a hard reset will be the only way to thoroughly troubleshoot your system.
6. Change your DNS and disable IPv6: While discussing the failed to join lobby error on the Helldivers 2 Reddit, some players reported that they could fix the error by changing their DNS servers. While swapping out your DNS servers, make sure that your IPv6 configurations are turned off as well.
7. Try the “Quickplay” Option in Automatons: Some players report success using Quickplay specifically in the Automatons sector of the Galactic War table. This might help you find a lobby that isn’t already full.
8. Go Solo and use the SOS Beacon: If the above solutions fail, you can play the mission solo and then use the SOS Beacon Stratagem (Up, Down, Right, Up) to call for backup. This prioritizes your mission in Quickplay, encouraging other players to join your fight.

Until Helldivers 2 gets its servers back to decent shape, players are likely to encounter similar errors. The friends list not working and friend requests not working are two of the most widely spread outages that affect players. Even the crossplay might stop working, but luckily there are temporary fixes for all.