This comes up often enough in GTA Online that it deserves a straight answer rather than a thread to scroll through.

Short answer

The direct answer is above the fold; the reasoning underneath is there for when the direct answer does not fit your situation.

The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Worth knowing alongside this

Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have.

It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of GTA Online.

Why it works this way

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Expect one number in every guide to be out of date; the method is what matters.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.

What to do instead

There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

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. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep.

The practical answer

There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of.

A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. GTA Online is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look.

When the usual advice fails

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

Where people go wrong

  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.

GTA Online FAQ

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

Is there a faster method?

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

Why do people disagree about this?

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

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

Bookmark it if you like, but honestly, once you have done it once you will not need to come back.