There is a simple version of this and a complete version, and both are below in that order.

Short answer

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

  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Give a method one honest attempt before deciding it does not work.

There are two Last of Us canons running in parallel now — the games and the HBO series — and they diverge. The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of The Last of Us.

Worth knowing alongside this

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of.

What to do instead

Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Stop and reassess after two failed attempts rather than repeating the third.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.

When the usual advice fails

If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. Everything below is framed around the current state of The Last of Us rather than a launch-week impression. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.

Why it works this way

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration.

The practical answer

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. The Last of Us is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look.

Where people go wrong

  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Assuming a guide from an older season still describes the current version.

The Last of Us FAQ

Why do other guides describe this differently?

Most were written for an earlier version and never revisited. Compare the steps against what your build actually shows.

Is there a faster method?

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

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

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.

That is the whole of it — if something here stops matching The Last of Us, the game changed, not the method.