There is a simple version of this and a complete version, and both are below in that order.

Short answer

In most cases the straightforward approach works. The exceptions are specific and listed below.

The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of GTA 5. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

The practical answer

It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have.

Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here.

What to do instead

GTA 5 is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Keep a save or backup from before you start — it costs nothing and occasionally saves an evening.
  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.

Why it works this way

The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Everything below is framed around the current state of GTA 5 rather than a launch-week impression. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over.

Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

When the usual advice fails

The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

Worth knowing alongside this

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

Where people go wrong

  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Downloading a helper tool for something the game already does in its own menu.
  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.

GTA V FAQ

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

Why do people disagree about this?

Mostly because they are describing different versions. Version drift explains the majority of contradictory advice about GTA 5.

What is the short answer?

It is the paragraph near the top. Everything after it exists for the cases where that paragraph does not quite fit.

Is there a faster method?

Sometimes, at the cost of reliability. Where that trade exists it is described rather than recommended blindly.

Anything that shifts with the next GTA 5 update will show up as a changed number, not a changed approach.