GTA 5
Tutorial Grand Theft Auto V
How to switch characters in GTA V
Story Mode keeps Michael, Franklin, and Trevor on the map at the same time. Hold Down on the D-pad, or Left Alt on the keyboard, until the wheel of faces sits in the corner. Point at the one you want and release: the camera leaves whoever you were driving and puts you wherever the other one happens to be.
Hold Down, or hold Left Alt
In Story Mode you keep the switch button held until a wheel of faces appears in the lower right. On PlayStation and Xbox that button is Down on the D-pad. Stay on it, push the right stick toward Michael on the left, Franklin on top, or Trevor on the right, and only then let go of Down. The camera climbs off whoever you were playing, crosses Los Santos or Blaine County, and lands on that character in the middle of whatever he was doing when you left him.
On a keyboard the same wheel is Left Alt. Hold it, slide the mouse or the arrow keys onto a face, and release Alt. A pad on the PC build still uses Down on the D-pad, so you do not need to reach for Alt if a controller is already in your hands.
When you already know you want the next available protagonist and you are in free roam, a double tap on Down, or a double tap on Alt, moves you without waiting for the wheel to fill in.
Grey portraits and the radio wheel
The three faces arrive with the story. After the North Yankton prologue you control Franklin in Los Santos, and Michael only appears on the wheel once Complications is done. Trevor joins after Mr. Philips. For a stretch after that heist Michael and Franklin stay locked, and they come back with Friends Reunited. Even then, switching to Michael can dump you straight into Fame or Shame before you get free roam with him. Later, Bury the Hatchet takes Michael off the board until Fresh Meat.
A wanted level blocks the switch in free roam. Lose the stars, then hold Down or Alt again. Most missions also lock you to the protagonist the job named, unless the game itself puts an instruction on screen to swap for a gunner seat or a sniper nest. Finish that beat, or cancel the mission from the pause menu, before you expect the wheel to work on the open map.
If holding Down opens the radio instead of faces, you are standing on a mission corona. Drive away from the glowing marker until the hold brings the wheel back.
The Online avatar
GTA Online uses the avatar you made on the Rockstar account. From Story Mode, the bottom face on the character wheel loads that session. Michael, Franklin, and Trevor stay in Story Mode when you pick their portraits.
If you already created another Online character and you want to play that one, pause, open the Online tab, and choose Swap Character or Manage Characters, depending on the build. The game leaves the current session and shows the character select screen. Pick the other avatar there. That menu does not load a Story Mode file.
