Splatoon 3 launched on Nintendo Switch on Friday, September 9th.

This article explains, with images, causes and solutions for when you can’t join or play with friends in Splatoon 3.

Cause/Issue (1): Not having each other added

In order to play with friends on Splat 3, you need to have them as a friend on your Nintendo account.

Go to My Page on the Switch Home screen and go to “Add Friend” to send a friend request or accept your friend’s request to become a friend.

Cause/Issue (2): Tutorial incomplete/You haven’t reached the rank you need to play

In order to play online with a friend in Splatoon 3, you have to complete the tutorial where you play a single game of Turf War. Head to the lobby and complete the tutorial.

Keep in mind, Anarchy Battle can’t be played with a friend until you reach Rank 10.

Salmon Run can’t be played with friends unless the training tutorial is completed.

In Salmon Run, you can skip the training by pressing the B button after the first part. If you want to get to playing with friends as soon as possible, feel free to skip the training.

Cause/Issue (3): Your online status is set to private

If you are not seeing your friends on your friends list, check to see if you and your friends’ online statuses are set to display.
You can go about that as follows.

My Page > User Settings > Friend Functions | Friend Settings > Display online status to:

Make sure it is set to “All Friends” or alternatively, you can designate your friend as “Best Friend” and set the setting to “Best Friends.”

Cause/Issue (4): Check your internet status

An Internet connection is required to play with friends online.

Check to make sure your Internet connection is good. Select “System Settings” from the Home screen.

Under “Internet” you can see the status of your Internet connection.
If you aren’t connected, check and confirm your Wi-Fi and Internet settings.

Cause/Issue (5): Restart the game/Switch console

If you still can’t play with friends after trying steps 1 through 3, try restarting the game or Switch console.
You should try restarting at least once for any game error.

Quite often, people who changed their settings but still cannot play have found that after restarting, their settings have been updated and they can play again.

To “Close the software” you can press the Home button → X button.
To restart the Switch, press and hold the power button at the top of the Switch → Power Options → Restart → Press the same button 3 times to start.

[Splatoon 3] How to voice chat with friends on the official app or other service

Splatoon 3 does not have a standard voice chat function in the game itself, so users must use the chat function on the Nintendo Switch Online application, or use an external service such as Discord for voice chat.

[Splatoon 3] How to voice chat with friends on the official app or other service.

[Splatoon 3] Communication error, how to fix it, connection issues.

This section goes into some causes and solutions for communication errors.Test the communication speed on the Switch.How to test the connection with the Switch.

[Splatoon 3] Communication error, how to fix it, connection issues, possible penalties and other issues.