You Are Attempting to Access GTA Online Servers with an Altered Version of the Game
Last Updated: April 21, 2024
Question: How can I resolve the error "You are attempting to access GTA Online servers with an altered version of the game. Return to Grand Theft Auto V."?
Answer: To ensure that there are no file conflicts or problems with permissions, this error generally requires a clean install of the game client.
Depending on the version you will need to uninstall the game, delete any files or folders remaining in the installation directory as well as some other locations, and reinstall the game.
Please see the steps below:
Non-Steam Version:
Use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall Grand Theft Auto V.
Go to the location you installed Grand Theft Auto V. (Default C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto V\ )
Delete any additional files/folders in this location.
Steam Version:
Load Steam and right click on Grand Theft Auto V.
Select Uninstall > Delete.
Go to the location Steam installed Grand Theft Auto V (Default C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V\”
Delete any additional files/folders in this location.
Epic Games Launcher Version:
Open the Epic Games Launcher
Click Library on the left sidebar
Find and click the three dots next to Grand Theft Auto V
Click Uninstall
Navigate to the C:\Program Files\Epic Games\GTA folder on your computer and delete any files and folders there
Additional Files/Content:
The following locations store game saves, settings and recorded videos created via the Rockstar Video Editor.
The AppData folder is set as hidden in Windows operating system by default. Be sure to enable viewing hidden files before attempting to remove the directories listed below.
Please note that if these are not backed up, you’ll be unable to recover them once deleted.
Delete all the files/folders in this location C:\Users\<user.name>\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTAV
Delete all the files/folders in this location C:\Users\<user.name>\AppData\Local\Rockstar Games\GTAV
After following the above steps, perform a fresh installation of the game.