2026 has brought some huge quality-of-life updates to Rainbow Six Siege, from reworked map lanes to new crossplay matchmaking options that let you squad up with players no matter what device they use. But if you’re new to the game, or haven’t logged in for a few seasons, you might have noticed the friend menu looks a little different than it used to. Whether you’re trying to link up with real-life friends who play on a different platform or add a random teammate who popped off in your last ranked match, knowing how to add people on Rainbow Six Siege saves you tons of time and helps you build a consistent squad to climb ranks with. I’ve been playing Siege since its early days, and I’ve tested every step of this guide on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X to make sure it works for the 2026 Season 23 build.
How to Add People on Rainbow Six Siege Across All Platforms in 2026
First, it’s important to note that all friend requests for Siege run through Ubisoft Connect, even if you’re playing on a console or through Steam. That means you don’t add someone via their PSN ID or Xbox Gamertag directly anymore, as of the 2026 crossplay overhaul. You’ll need their exact Ubisoft account name, including the 3 to 5 digit number suffix attached to most accounts if the username was already taken. For PC players playing through Steam, you can still link your Steam friends list to Ubisoft Connect to send requests in one click, but this feature is turned off by default for new accounts in 2026 to reduce spam requests.
The process varies a little depending on your device, but the core steps for crossplay friend adds are the same for all platforms:
For players who want to add someone you just matched with, you don’t need to look up their username. You can open the post-match scoreboard, hover over their name, and select "Send friend request" directly from that menu to skip the search step entirely. This is perfect for adding random teammates who played well, or even opponents you had a fun match against. Just keep in mind that if they have crossplay requests turned off, you won’t see this option.
Common 2026 Friend Request Errors and Fast Fixes
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into issues sending or receiving friend requests in the 2026 build. I’ve helped dozens of community members fix these issues over the last few months, so these solutions are all tested and proven to work.
The most common issue is requests not showing up at all for the other person. 9 times out of 10, this is because of privacy settings that block incoming crossplay friend requests. Ubisoft turned this setting on by default for all accounts in 2026 to cut down on toxic spam requests from angry opponents, so most players don’t even realize it’s enabled. To fix this, have the other person go to their Ubisoft Connect settings, select "Privacy", then toggle "Allow crossplay friend requests" to on. They can also choose to only allow requests from people they’ve matched with, if they don’t want to get random requests from strangers.
Another common issue is getting a "user not found" error when you search for a username. This almost always happens because you’re missing the number suffix at the end of their Ubisoft ID, or you have a typo in the name. Ubisoft made these suffixes mandatory for all new accounts in 2025, so anyone who made their account after that point will have one. If you don’t know their suffix, ask them to send you their full ID via text or Discord, instead of guessing. You can find your own full Ubisoft ID in the top right corner of the Ubisoft Connect overlay if you need to share it with others.
Finally, if you’re playing on a minor account (for players under 16), you won’t be able to send or receive crossplay friend requests at all by default. This is part of Ubisoft’s 2026 child safety update, and you’ll need a parent or guardian to adjust your account privacy settings via the main Ubisoft website to enable this feature. I ran into this last month when my 14-year-old cousin tried to add me to his squad, and it only took 2 minutes for his mom to adjust the setting on her phone.
Simple Tips to Manage Your R6 Siege Friends List in 2026
Once you start adding a lot of teammates, your friends list can get messy fast, especially if you add random players after good matches. The 2026 update added a few new features to make managing your list easier, so you don’t have to scroll through hundreds of names to find your regular squad.
You can sort your friends list into custom groups now, like "Ranked Squad", "Casual Friends", and "Scrim Teammates", so you can find the right people for the game mode you want to play in seconds. To make a group, just go to the Friends tab, select "Create Group", name it, and drag and drop friends into the list. You can even send a mass invite to everyone in a group with one click, which saves so much time when you’re trying to get a 5-stack together for ranked.
You should also take advantage of the new "Favorite Friend" feature added in 2026. If you star a friend, they’ll show up at the top of your friends list at all times, even if they’re offline. This is perfect for your 2 or 3 main teammates that you play with most often. If you run into a toxic player who spams you with requests or insults after matches, you can block them directly from their profile, and blocked players won’t be able to match with you in lobbies or send you any requests ever again, per the 2026 update’s enhanced toxicity protections.
One small thing to keep in mind: you can only have 300 friends on your Ubisoft Connect account for Siege, so if you hit that limit, you’ll need to remove people you don’t play with anymore to add new teammates. I usually go through my list once a season and remove anyone I haven’t played with in 6 months to free up space.
What to Do After Adding Friends on R6 Siege
Once your friend request is accepted, you don’t have to just jump into casual matches right away. The 2026 update added a ton of squad-specific features that make playing with friends way more fun than playing solo.
First, you can create a custom squad preset for your regular team. This saves all your operator preferences, map bans, and even voice chat settings so you don’t have to adjust them every time you queue up. You can also share match replays directly with friends in your list now, without having to leave the game or upload the clip to a third-party site. This is perfect for reviewing mistakes after a tough ranked loss, or showing off a crazy ace you got last match.
If you want to practice without risking your rank, you can create a custom private lobby and invite your friends to scrim, practice site retakes, or just mess around with operator combos you don’t get to use in regular matches. The 2026 custom lobbies now support up to 10 players, so you can even host small tournaments with your friends list if you want.
Don’t forget to adjust your squad voice settings too. The new 2026 voice priority feature automatically lowers the volume of in-game sound effects when someone in your squad is talking, so you don’t have to yell over explosion sounds to hear callouts. You can turn this on in the audio settings menu, and adjust how much the game volume lowers to fit your preference.
Playing Rainbow Six Siege with a consistent squad is way more fun than playing solo, and it’s way easier to climb ranks when you’re playing with people you trust and communicate well with. Now that you know how to add people on Rainbow Six Siege for the 2026 build, you can start building your perfect squad, fix any request errors that pop up, and take advantage of all the new squad features added this year. Don’t be afraid to add good random teammates after matches either – some of my best squadmates are people I met in random casual lobbies a few seasons back.
