Grand Theft Auto V features an online version of the game with the title GTA Online where millions of players from all over the world can interact with each other in the game’s huge open world. If you are playing GTA Online on your PC, you may encounter many errors. Here is a complete guide on how to fix one of the most common errors players encounter on PC; “the GTA online session is having trouble syncing important catalogue data with the server” for GTA Online.
Grand Theft Auto V has one of the most engaging and immersive gameplay and the developers have really done justice while crafting its mind-blowing open-world experience. Furthermore, the addition of the Online version of the game has proved to be the cherry on the top and has become a platform where Grand Theft Auto fans from worldwide can interact and play together.
Something About GTA Online
Grand Theft Auto is a brand name in the gaming community which every gamer knows. It is undoubtedly one of the most successful video games ever made. And the release of the online GTA V’s online version has added another layer of popularity to the gaming franchise. Today GTA Online is one of the most played and streamed video gamers by the whole gaming community worldwide.
In GTA Online, GTA players from all over the world can play and compete in various challenges together. Moreover, to keep the game interesting, Rockstar Studios frequently releases DLCs and side story missions for GTA Online.
Errors In GTA Online
If you are playing GTA Online on your PC, then, like any other game, you may face some issues and errors. These errors may be due to several reasons with problems with the internet connectivity, corrupt files, etc. being a few of them. You can mostly find the fixes to these issues and errors online from forums, blogs, and tutorials.
One of the most common errors one may face while playing GTA Online is the “the GTA online session is having trouble syncing important catalogue data with the server” error shown in the picture below. This guide will tell you a complete step-by-step procedure to fix this issue.
Other than these game errors, certain elements inside the gameplay may also be not working correctly sometimes. For example, there is an online stock market with the name BAWSAQ in the game, which might not work. If you are interested in knowing how to fix this issue within the gameplay, you can refer to our guide GTA 5 BAWSAQ Down For Maintenence.
The GTA Online Session Is Having Trouble Syncing-Error Fix
This is one of the most common errors encountered with GTA Online on PC, but don’t worry because we are here to resolve this issue for you. In this guide, we have discussed multiple fixes to this error. You can try them and see which one works for you.
Firewall Fix
Sometimes your Windows Firewall may block your game from properly connecting to the internet. You may have installed some mods or changed the game files, due to which Windows Firewalls start rendering Grand Theft Auto V as potentially dangerous for your PC and disrupting its internet connection.
Windows Firewall prevents untrusted software packages from downloading potentially risky files for your PC. To resolve the issue and bypass this network restriction, you need to follow these steps:
- Go to the “Documents” folder
- Then go to “Rockstar Games” in the documents folder
- You will see two folders with the name “Launcher” and “Social Club” in the folder
- Delete both of these folders
- In the Search bar of Windows, search for “Firewall“
- Open “Firewall and Network protection” from the search
- Click “Advanced Settings” in this window to open the advanced firewall settings
- A window will open showing the various programs. Look up “Grand Theft Auto V” from the list of programs
- Select “Grand Theft Auto V” and delete it from the button on the right side of the window
- After that go to Program Files->Steam->steamapps->common->Grand Theft Auto V->Installers
- Install both of these programs
- Open “Network and Internet settings” from the notification pane of your Windows
- Click on “Change Adapter Options” from the Window that opens
- Select and Right Click on the internet connection to which your PC is connected from the Window that opens
- Click on Properties from the drop-down menu
- From the Properties tab, click on “Internet Protocol Version (TPC/IPv4)“
- An “Internet Protocol Version (TPC/IPv4) Properties” tab will open.
- Set the Preferred DNS server to: 208.67.222.222
- Set the Alternate DNS server to: 208.67.220.220
- Click “OK“
- Disable your connected internet connection by right-clicking on it and then re-enable it.
- Your game will load without any error
Steam Fix
Your GTA Online may be missing some important files or some game files may be corrupted. So you can use the Steam service to automatically go through your GTA Online game files to verify your game files.
Steam will look in your game installation directory for any missing or damaged files and fix all the issues automatically. This process can take some time, so be a little patient. To try this fix, follow these steps:
- Open the Steam app
- Go to the library in the Steam app
- In the left pane of the Window, right-click on “Grand Theft Auto V“
- From the menu that opens, go to Properties
- In the window that opens, go to “Local Files“
- Click “Verify integrity of game cache” in the menu that opens
- It will take some time and if some of your game files are missing or damaged, Steam will fix the issues and most hopefully your game will be up and running completely fine.
This will most probably fix your issue and you will be able to start a GTA Online session without error.
Social Club Fix – Recommended
Selecting an Online Crew and joining the GTA Online session as a crew member can also fix this issue. Joining the game as a Crew Member bypasses the issue in discussion. You may see a warning message, but ignore it and you will successfully be in a GTA Online session.
We highly recommend you to try out this because it is probably the easiest fix to this issue and probably works every time. For this, follow these simple steps:
- While playing Grand Theft Auto in Story Mode, open the pause menu and go to “Social Club“
- Click “Social” in the menu on the right
- In the left pane, you will see “My Crews“, open it and select a crew
- Move back to the pause menu and click “GTA Online“
- Click “Join Crew Members“
- You will see the following warning screen, just ignore it and continue
- Your main issue will be resolved and a new GTA Online game will load as shown below
We hope that using these fix methods you were able to resolve your issue.
News on GTA VI
With GTA V still ruling the gaming world being one of the most selling and most played games across all gaming platforms, Rockstar Games has decided to again come back with a bang, this time with GTA VI. Rockstar Games has already started working on the production of GTA VI and it is anticipated to be released in late 2024 or early 2025.
Conclusion
While playing GTA Online on your PC, you may face a lot of different errors from time to time. These errors may be due to compatibility issues or your problems with internet connectivity. In this guide, we have explained how to fix the GTA online session is having trouble syncing important catalogue data with the server error in GTA Online. We hope that this guide has been helpful for you in resolving the issue.
What do you think of our guide? Do let us know in the comments below.
Now that you are here, why don’t you check out HOW TO SWIM UNDERWATER IN GTA 5
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Ali Subhan is an undergraduate student making waves in Machine Learning. He has built a strong passion for Video Games since the Xbox 360 era, and it is evolving with the new exclusive titles. With over one year with Gamesual, Ali assisted fellow players by offering recommendations and guides for notable titles like GTA V, Evil West, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
