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How Do You Turn Off Free Mode on GTA Online?

Hi friend! I‘m Claude, your virtual gaming assistant here to help explain how to disable or tailor the free mode experience in GTA Online. While free mode serves as the core open world multiplayer environment, I understand the desire to avoid other players or disable certain features at times.

The short answer is you can‘t fully turn off free mode itself since that serves as the foundation for GTA Online. However, there are plenty of ways to customize, avoid, or disable specific components of free mode based on your preferences.

Throughout this guide, I‘ll provide insider tips and detailed walkthroughs to help you take control over your free mode experience. Whether you want to grind businesses in peace, roleplay with a community, or simply escape from stress, my goal is to make playing GTA Online fun on your own terms.

Let‘s get started!

What Exactly is Free Mode in GTA Online?

I want to provide some quick background first for context.

Free mode refers to the open world environment of GTA Online that you inhabit whenever not engaged in structured gameplay like missions, heists, or races.

Instead of forcing you along linear paths, free mode lets you control the pace and choose your own adventures.

Here are some of the key features available to you in free mode:

  • Freely explore Los Santos and Blaine County alongside other players
  • Participate in spontaneous Freemode Events like King of the Castle or Criminal Damage
  • Interact with random players through voice chat, text, gestures, and more
  • Visit and manage properties like apartments, businesses, garages, and yachts
  • Customize vehicles with extensive mods and paint jobs
  • Go shopping for clothes, weapons, tools, vehicle upgrades, and other gear
  • Hunt down bounties or misbehave to earn a bounty on your own head
  • Meet up and prepare with crew members for structured Jobs
  • Take part in ambient challenges like longest wheelie or organized car meets
  • Much more dynamic open world gameplay…

For many, the unpredictable nature of free mode creates enjoyable emergent moments. But others find the chaos frustrating or distracting.

The great news is that you have options to tailor the experience to your needs…

Now let‘s explore all the ways to turn off or modify certain elements of free mode gameplay!

Temporarily Disabling Free Mode

My first tip is that you can effectively turn off free mode temporarily by loading into instances of structured gameplay.

Here are some activities that will transition you out of free mode lobbies into private sessions:

  • Story Missions – Replay classic missions or take on new ones from characters like Gerald or Simeon.

  • Heists – Team up to complete intricate multi-part Heists along with prep missions.

  • Races – Participate in standard lap races or diverse Open Wheel races.

  • Adversary Modes – Compete in team-based modes ranging from Deadline to Every Bullet Counts.

  • Survival – Battle against escalating waves of enemies alongside other players.

  • Arena War – Enter the violent, madcap world of the Arena across multiple modes.

  • Contact Missions – Quick cooperative missions requested via your in-game phone.

  • Jobs – Additional work like security contracts or payphone assassination missions.

Once activities end, you‘ll be transitioned back into a free mode session. But you can chain together instances back-to-back by immediately launching something new.

So while free mode can‘t be disabled entirely, you can avoid it for extended periods by sticking to structured content. Perfect if you need a break from the chaos!

Hiding Annoying Freemode Event Notifications

Here‘s a quality of life tip for managing disruptive notifications in free mode.

Freemode Events randomly occur on a set schedule, prompting all players to join dynamic challenges like Criminal Damage or Penned In.

I totally understand if you find the frequent popups distracting or annoying.

Thankfully, you can disable notifications for Freemode Events entirely:

  1. Open the Interaction Menu by holding the Touchpad on PS4/PS5 or View button on Xbox One/Series X|S.

  2. Navigate to the Hide Options menu.

  3. Select Events from the list.

  4. Choose to hide all events or just specific ones.

This keeps events flowing in the background, but your HUD and notifications will remain clear. Other players in your session will still see prompts as normal.

So if you want to keep participating while avoiding clutter on your screen, this is an easy fix!

Forcing Solo Public Sessions

Now this is a great trick to experience free mode gameplay in your own private server.

Playing solo in a public session retains all the normal functionality while avoiding other players. It‘s perfect for grinding businesses in peace or staging crew sessions.

The process differs slightly for console vs PC. Let‘s break it down:

On PlayStation 4/5:

  1. Go to Settings -> Network -> Set Up Internet Connection

  2. Select your current network connection.

  3. Choose ‘Custom‘ instead of ‘Easy‘ and manually enter the following DNS settings:

    • Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8

    • Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4

  4. Test the connection and save settings.

On Xbox One/Series X|S:

  1. Navigate to Settings -> Network Settings.

  2. Highlight your current network.

  3. Select Advanced Settings.

  4. Choose DNS settings and enter:

    • Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8

    • Secondary DNS: 8.8.4.4

On PC:

  1. Open Task Manager while connected in a session.

  2. Suspend the GTAV process for about 10 seconds.

  3. Resume the process and you should return alone!

MTU Method:

  1. Go to your console network settings.

  2. Select "Set Up Connection" or "Configure Network.

  3. Highlight your current connection.

  4. Pick custom settings instead of automatic.

  5. Change the MTU to 600-800 instead of 1500.

I‘d test out each method since reliability varies. But once working, you can grind GTA Online businesses or explore in total peace!

Roleplaying in GTA Online With Mods and Servers

Now this next tip is currently only available on PC, but it enables an entirely new way to enjoy free mode.

Using third party tools like FiveM or RageMP, you can access highly modded and customized roleplaying servers.

Unlike normal GTA Online, roleplaying servers let you:

  • Join communities organized around special themes, topics, mods, and civil cultures.
  • Roleplay jobs and scenarios ranging from police officer to civilian to gang member.
  • Participate in community events like car shows, concerts, banquets, and storylines.
  • Explore game modes and content tailored specifically to the server.
  • Avoid griefers thanks to proactive moderation and banning.

While Rockstar doesn‘t officially support mods, roleplaying servers provide a unique way to shape your free mode experience.

It‘s like enjoying an entirely different game built atop GTA Online!

Switching Between Free Aim and Aim Assist

This next tip is for those looking for a challenge.

By default, GTA Online uses aim assist in free mode to help you hit targets easier. But veteran players often prefer free aim for satisfying gunplay.

Here‘s how to disable aim assist and switch to free aim:

  1. Visit Story Mode Settings -> Controls -> Targeting Mode.

  2. Change from Assisted Aiming to Free Aiming.

  3. Enter GTA Online – settings will persist.

  4. Now free mode won‘t have any aim assist or auto aim to help you.

Be warned – free aim significantly increases the difficulty of gunfights. I‘d only recommend it once you have experience under your belt.

When ready to go back, just flip the setting in Story Mode before launching Online again.

So consider free aim if you want hardcore gunplay or a level battlefield in PvP.

Viable Solo Activities in Free Mode

While designed as a multiplayer experience, there are still plenty of activities you can enjoy solo in free mode sessions:

  • Business Supply and Sell Missions – Manage illicit businesses like gunrunning solo.

  • Vehicle Warehouse Sourcing – Source and export high-end vehicles for big profits.

  • Special Cargo – Retrieve rare contraband crates and build up stockpiles.

  • Biker Businesses – Produce and sell products like weapons or drugs.

  • Nightclub Management – Promote your underground venue and keep popularity up.

  • Property Management – Maintain and upgrade business properties and apartments.

  • Time Trials – Race against the clock in designated vehicles.

  • Movie Stunts – Pull off specific jumps and tricks.

  • Collectibles – Find hidden playing cards, action figures, and more.

  • And much more! Like Flight School, treasure hunts, bounties, ambient challenges etc.

While easier and more profitable with a crew, you can absolutely grind businesses at your own pace solo if desired.

And Import/Export is a favorite for solo money making!

How Do Freemode Lobbies Actually Work?

Let‘s discuss some of the matchmaking specifics around free mode lobbies so you understand how they operate:

  • When first joining GTA Online, you‘ll often load into a fresh new public session.

  • Over time, random players migrate in and out – so each lobby retains a dynamic mix.

  • Friends playing together will attempt to join your session for easy meetups.

  • Randoms can also join via matchmaking to fill empty slots.

  • Switching sessions via the Online menu drops you into a brand new lobby.

  • Relaunching GTA Online typically starts you in a fresh public session as well.

  • Some activities temporarily place you in private sessions.

So thanks to constant shuffling of players, each free mode session has a random blend of friends, crew, and total strangers.

For control over who joins, private and solo public sessions are the way to go.

Avoiding Griefers and Bad Apples

At this point, I have to address an unfortunate reality of public free mode lobbies – you‘ll encounter unsavory random players looking to ruin the experience.

Here are some pro tips to avoid griefers and hostile randoms:

  • Use solo public or private sessions to dodge most griefers entirely.

  • Appear offline if you want to prevent friends joining randomly.

  • Don‘t retaliate or escalate if provoked – find a new session instead.

  • Monitor the expanded radar for hostile red player blips.

  • Enable passive mode temporarily if being spawn killed.

  • Jump sessions at the first sign of a bad lobby.

  • Report toxic players to Rockstar at the end of your session.

  • Grind businesses and money in total peace using Invite Only sessions.

The key is learning to identify bad situations early and not hesitate to find a new lobby.

With time and experience, you‘ll become a pro at dodging griefers and keeping your fun intact!

Trying GTA Online Free as a Standalone Game

Recently, Rockstar released GTA Online as a free standalone game – no copy of GTA V required!

Here are the key details on this offer:

  • Originally released in March 2022 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles.

  • Downloaded directly from PlayStation/Xbox stores – account login required.

  • Free for the first 3 months, then standard edition costs $19.99 USD.

  • PS5 owners who already had GTA Online get the first month free.

  • Requires an active PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription to play.

So for new or returning players on latest gen consoles, this provides easy access to everything GTA Online offers!

Well suited for those solely interested in multiplayer.

What Does GTA+ Subscription Offer Members?

Alongside the standalone version, Rockstar introduced an optional subscription service called GTA+ for $5.99 a month.

It provides various rotating perks like:

  • Up to $500,000 deposited as bonus GTA$ each month.

  • Free access to select vehicles like the Armored Paragon R.

  • Member-only discounts and pricing on vehicles, properties, and gear.

  • Additional GTA$ perks when purchasing Shark Cards.

  • Special upgrades for items like the Agency Armory.

  • Exclusive vehicle paints, liveries, and customization options.

  • Free clothing and accessories each month.

GTA+ is intended to enrich the experience for engaged players willing to pay a premium. Definitely not essential, but might be worth it for die-hard fans.

Cross-Generation and Crossplay Guide

Let‘s quickly discuss how gameplay works across console generations and platforms:

  • PS4 and Xbox One feature the original GTA Online edition.

  • PS5 and Xbox Series X|S include an enhanced edition with 4K resolution, faster loading, and exclusive content.

  • You can migrate your character and progress to new consoles via the upgrade path.

  • However, each platform generation remains isolated – no crossplay between old and new consoles.

  • The PC ecosystem is also completely separate with no crossplay enabled currently.

So while your character can transfer between generations, you remain segmented on one platform‘s network.

Console players on the same generation family can still connect for multiplayer.

And that covers the most essential tips on controlling your free mode experience in GTA Online! Let me know if you need any other tips or have questions.

I‘m always happy to help fellow players maximize their enjoyment. Whether you prefer chaos or calm, freedom or structure, there‘s a place for everyone in GTA Online‘s massive sandbox.

Stay tuned for more insider guides soon!

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Michael

Michael Reddy is a tech enthusiast, entertainment buff, and avid traveler who loves exploring Linux and sharing unique insights with readers.