How to Fix Escape from Tarkov Group Not Working?

There are plenty of battle simulator video games available in the market that resemble World War scenarios. But when it comes to the pretty much hardcore and realistic first-person shooter military combat titles, Escape from Tarkov leads the way ahead due to its overall visuals with a story-driven gaming experience. Though this title is quite optimized as developers chose to work with the PC platform only, it seems that several players are facing multiple issues at times. Meanwhile, the Escape from Tarkov Group Not Working issue is one of them.

The intense and massive structure of this game has gained millions of fans but the online multiplayer connectivity issue as well as the in-game group matchmaking issue become a common thing recently. As the ‘Group Not Working’ error persists for so many players, it usually hinders the overall gaming experience where team-based matches are crucial. Preventing players from joining other friends in the matchmaking group leads to frustration and nothing else.

What is Group Matchmaking In Tarkov?

The Group Matchmaking process in Escape from Tarkov is a built-in feature that allows players to join a group with four teammates to enter into a match. Here the group leader (host) can invite other friends or players with their ID to join the group or accept the invitation request to join a group hosted by another player. Additionally, the group leader can also choose in-game maps, server regions for the raid, and more. Having teammates in an online multiplayer session will help in winning matches with cooperation and covering each other in crucial combat.

In short, group matchmaking can increase the chances of survival of you and your teammates to mostly get success in combat encounters. However, group matchmaking can have a few setbacks such as trust issues, disputes with the decisions, friendly fire, not giving enough support during close combats, and more. One thing we should mention is that Escape from Tarkov doesn’t include any penalties for friendly fire which can lead teammates to betray anyone at any time.

However, if the four of you are well-known people or friends then you shouldn’t have such conflicts during the gameplay sessions such as killing your allies. Having a good group of teammates will also help in sharing the loot items quite easily without any form of greed or disputes. Group matchmaking can also make the overall gaming experience more enjoyable as well as challenging because multiple opponents can be aggressive enough to encounter.

Why is Group Matchmaking Not Working in Tarkov?

Well, the Group Matchmaking Not Working error in Escape From Tarkov can occur due to multiple potential reasons which will lead to group joining issues at times. Such as the in-game server region settings, internet connectivity conflicts, an outdated game patch version, corrupted game files, game server downtime, active player queue timed out, temporary conflicts with the game, cache issues with the game, and more. All of these aspects can apply to several players. But there is nothing to worry about because this issue can be resolved at your end.

How to Fix Escape from Tarkov Group Not Working?

Fortunately, here we’ve shared with you some workarounds that should come in handy. Make sure to follow all troubleshooting methods until the problem has been fixed. So, without further ado, let’s jump into it.

1. Reconnect the Group

First of all, you should disconnect and reconnect the group matchmaking to refresh any kind of potential networking glitches up to some extent.

• Leave and exit the group matchmaking session.
• Then re-invite the teammates to create a new group. (if you’re a group leader)
• Try entering the matchmaking again as a group.

2. Relaunch the Game

It’s also recommended to relaunch the game which will help in fixing the game running experience, especially with the matchmaking in most cases. Relaunching the game will clear the temporary glitches or cache data issues up to some extent.

• Close the Escape From Tarkov game.
• Then close the Battlestate Games Launcher.
• Now, wait for a few moments to ensure all tasks are closed.
• Then relaunch Escape from Tarkov and try joining a group matchmaking again.

3. Restart the PC

We’ll also recommend you to manually restart your system which will clear temporary system glitches or cache data issues. Sometimes rebooting the system can fix even a minor issue with the program running.

• Open the Start menu > Click on the Power icon.
• Click on Restart.

4. Check Your Internet Connection

The chances are high that somehow your internet connection is having issues with the game servers. Any kind of slow or unstable internet connection can trouble you a lot with server connectivity errors. If you’re using a Wi-Fi network then try switching it to a wired network or vice versa. Sometimes issues with the IP address or lower data bandwidth can also cause several glitches or network congestion during peak hours. It’s suggested to contact your service provider and ask for technical assistance.

5. Clear Cache of Escape from Tarkov

Well, it’s also recommended to clear the temporary cache data of Escape from Tarkov manually to clean potential glitches with the group matchmaking. You can follow the steps below to do so:

• Head over to the Escape from Tarkov game installation directory on your PC.
• Open the Cache folder > Press the Ctrl+A keys to select all files.
• After selecting, Delete all files from the folder.
• Once done, relaunch Escape from Tarkov.
• Finally, try joining the group matchmaking again.

6. Update Escape from Tarkov

An outdated game patch version may lead to incompatibility issues with the program running on the PC as well as server connectivity glitches in most scenarios. It’s suggested to follow the steps below to install the latest patch version.

• Open the Battlestate Games Launcher.
• Go to the Escape from Tarkov page.
• Now, click on the arrow icon under your profile.
• Click on Check for updates.
• If an update is available, download and install it.
• Once done, close the launcher, and run the game again.

7. Run the Integrity Check for the Game

You might also need to verify the game files on the PC by following the steps below. Verifying the game files might help in fixing multiple conflicts with matchmaking and even game launching up to some extent.

• Open the Battlestate Games Launcher.
• Go to the Escape from Tarkov page.
• Now, click on the arrow icon under your profile.
• Select Integrity Check > Wait for the repair to complete.
• Once done, close & relaunch the game.

8. Switch the In-Game Server Region

Several reports claim that switching the in-game server region in the Escape from Tarkov game has fixed the group matchmaking error. You can check the following steps to resolve this issue.

• Run Escape from Tarkov from the launcher.
• Go to the main menu > Click on Change Server.
• Select a different server from the list (choose the nearest one).
• Then try matchmaking with your group again.

Note: You can try multiple server regions to check which one works best for you.

9. Use Alt+F4 to Initiate Group Matchmaking

Some of the Escape from Tarkov players are also claiming to use the Alt+F4 keys to initiate the group matchmaking process several times. This specific method has fixed the issue for a couple of players so you can also try it out.

Please Note: Do keep in mind that the group leader (host) shouldn’t perform this process. Only the other group members can perform this method.

• Press the Alt+F4 keys to close the game client for a moment.
• Next, restart the game and rejoin the group matchmaking again.
• Then the group leader should try initiating the matchmaking again.

10. Try Switching Between PMC and SCAV

Try changing between the PMC (Private Military Company) and SCAV (Scavenger) characters in the game which will help in resetting the group matchmaking process. Several players have found this trick helpful. So, you should also try it.

• Launch Escape from Tarkov on the PC.
• Go to the main menu > Select your SCAV character.
• Try joining the matchmake > Go back to the main menu.
• Then select your PMC character.
• Next, try joining a group matchmaking session again.

11. Deleting the CefCache Folder

Multiple reports claim that deleting the CefCache folder from the main Battlestate Games directory and deleting the Temp folder in the UserAppDataLocalBattleState Games can help in resolving the group matchmaking error. You should check out the following steps to do so:

• Navigate to the main BattleState Game directory.
• Locate and open the BSGLauncher folder.
• Search and Delete the CefCache folder.
• Go to UserAppDataLocalBattleState Games location.
• Delete the Temp folder manually.
• Once done, launch the game, and verify the game files.
• Then reboot the PC to apply changes.

12. Wait for the Matchmaking Queue

You should also keep waiting for at least 30-40 minutes after getting kicked out of the server. Then you can try joining the matchmaking queue again. As multiple players have found this trick useful, you should try it a couple of times before skipping to the next workaround. Sometimes server queue congestion can lead to such issues and there is nothing to do at your end except wait for a while.

13. Check the Server Status

Another thing you’ll need to do is check out the server status manually whether the game services are operational enough or not. So, if the group matchmaking error persists then check for the Escape from Tarkov service status. You might also need to follow the official @tarkov Twitter account to get notifications regarding server downtimes or upcoming updates. It’s also worth mentioning to visit the third-party DownDetector Escape from Tarkov Status webpage to check for the server reports.

In case, you’re also experiencing the same issue that means there is an issue with the server outage. Therefore, you’ll need to wait for a couple of hours and then try joining the server later again.

14. Contact Escape from Tarkov Support

Last but not least, you should have to contact Escape from Tarkov Support to get better assistance on it. You can also submit a support ticket for the same issue so that the developers can investigate it further. To do so, check the following steps:

• Visit the official Escape From Tarkov support website.
• Now, search for the specific issue in the search field.
• As you’re still getting the same issue, submit a support ticket.
• Explain all the issues that you’re experiencing and wait for a response.

That’s it, guys. We hope this guide was useful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.