There’s nothing better than dropping into Kings Canyon or World’s Edge with a solid squad, but if your friends play on different devices than you, you might be stuck wondering how do you add friends on Apex Legends cross platform. I ran into this exact issue a couple of years back when I switched from PS5 to PC, and spent nearly half an hour fumbling through menus before I figured out I was searching for my friend’s PSN ID instead of their EA account name. This guide walks you through every step of the process, fixes the most common errors, and gives you tips to keep your cross platform squad running smoothly for every match.
Step-by-Step Process to Add Cross Platform Friends on Apex Legends
Before you send any friend requests, there are a few quick pre-checks you need to run to avoid wasted time:
- Confirm crossplay is enabled in your Apex Legends settings under the "Gameplay" tab
- Ask your friend for their exact EA public ID (not their platform-specific gamertag)
- Make sure both of you have your EA account privacy settings set to allow friend requests
Once you’ve got those sorted, the process is straightforward. Open your in-game friends list by clicking the friend icon in the top right corner of the main menu. Select the "Find Friend" option, and type in your friend’s full EA ID. You have to search for their EA ID, not their platform username – this is the number one mistake most new crossplay players make. Once their profile pops up, click "Send Friend Request", and wait for them to accept. Crossplay is turned on by default for most players, but it's worth double-checking if you can't find each other, especially if you’ve adjusted your settings in the past to avoid cross platform lobbies.
Common Issues You Might Face When Adding Cross Platform Apex Friends
Even if you follow the steps perfectly, you might run into a few snags. The most common issue is getting a "user not found" error when you type in their ID. Double-check for special characters like underscores, periods, or numbers that are easy to mix up – EA IDs are not case sensitive, but special characters have to match exactly. Another frequent problem is sent requests never showing up in your friend’s inbox. This usually happens if their EA account is set to private, or if they have friend requests turned off for users outside their platform. They can adjust this setting by logging into their EA account on the official website, under the privacy tab.
If you still can’t get requests to go through, check your EA account block list if you're 100% sure you typed the ID correctly and still can't send a request – it’s easy to accidentally block someone during a random match and forget about it later. Requests can also take 2-3 minutes to show up if either of you has a spotty internet connection, so wait a few minutes before resending to avoid spamming them.
Tips to Make Cross Platform Apex Sessions Run Smoothly After Adding Friends
Once your friend request is accepted, there are a few small tweaks you can make to avoid headaches during your play sessions. First, adjust your party privacy settings if you don’t want random players joining your squad. You can adjust party privacy right from the friends list menu by clicking the three dots next to your party name – set it to "invite only" to keep your squad limited to people you know. If you run into voice chat issues, you don’t have to rely on Apex’s in-game chat. Most platforms have their own party chat systems that work across cross play groups, or you can use a third-party voice app if you prefer.
If you play on multiple devices yourself, turning on cross progression means you won't have to re-add your friends every time you switch platforms. Your entire friends list will sync across every device you use to log into your EA account. One thing to note: if you’re a controller player queuing with a mouse and keyboard player, your lobbies will match against the highest input type in your party. You can turn off crossplay if you prefer to only play with other users on your platform, but you'll have a harder time finding matches faster, especially during off-peak hours.
What to Do If You Still Can't Add Cross Platform Friends on Apex Legends
If you’ve gone through all the steps above and still can’t connect with your friend, there are a few last-resort fixes to try. First, close and restart Apex Legends completely. Small temporary glitches often break friend request functionality, and a quick restart fixes 90% of these issues. Next, check the official EA server status page to make sure there are no ongoing outages for friend services or cross play. If servers are down, you’ll just have to wait until they’re back up to send requests.
If the servers are working, make sure both you and your friend have the latest game update installed. Outdated game versions can’t connect to the latest cross play servers, so you’ll get errors if one of you hasn’t updated. If none of these work, try adding each other directly through the EA app or EA website instead of the in-game menu. This bypasses most in-game glitches, and the friend will automatically show up in your Apex friends list once the request is accepted. If you’re a younger player with parental controls enabled on your account, double-check that cross play friend requests are allowed in your account’s family settings, as restrictions here will block all cross platform requests by default.
Squadting up with friends across different devices makes Apex Legends way more fun, and once you know how do you add friends on Apex Legends cross platform, the process takes less than a minute. I now play with a group of 7 friends across Switch, Xbox, PS5 and PC every weekend, and we haven’t had a major issue with our friends list since we figured out these steps. If you run into a rare issue that isn’t covered here, you can always reach out to EA support for help, but these steps will fix nearly every cross platform friend request problem you’ll run into.