There’s no shortage of video calling apps right now, and Houseparty has made a name for itself among the top players. Presumably, Fortnite maker Epic Games, which bought Houseparty, pushed it. However, I think the integration of a feature that allows people to play games with their friends in real time during a video call could be the distinguishing factor. While this is a great feature, the only problem is that you need to allow the Houseparty app to access your contacts. And some users are complaining that the Houseparty app is not syncing or even connecting to their contacts.
So I tinkered with Houseparty on my system and found a handful of working solutions that will get you back to calling and gaming with your friends in no time.
Let’s start.
1. Restart the App
It may be a bug specific to certain systems or installations. So, you should close the app and then restart it to check if you can view the contacts from now on. Create a new room and test if you can add people to play games with your friends. If not, let’s continue with the other solutions.
2. Check Connection
These are the basics to consider. It shouldn’t take long. If contacts are synced but not working, or you can’t connect and invite, check your Wi-Fi connection or try mobile internet. Video calls can consume a lot of bandwidth, so I wouldn’t recommend using mobile data. Check your mobile data status; maybe you’re out of data and you didn’t notice. Finally, check Downdetector to make sure the site isn’t down. It’s happened before.
3. Permissions and Access
Houseparty needs a lot of phone permissions to work properly. You won’t be able to see your friends on it and invite them to your party unless you let them access your contacts.
Here are the steps for Android users to assign the appropriate permissions. Open Settings and go to Apps > Manage apps and here search for Houseparty app and open it. The location may be slightly different for you depending on the make and model of your smartphone. Tap on app permissions and make sure Contacts is allowed here along with other options like microphone for audio and camera for video.
Here are the steps for iPhone and iPad users. Open Settings and tap House Party. Make sure the Contacts permission is enabled here. Don’t see the option yet?
Open the Houseparty app and tap the ‘+’ icon to select Link Contacts, then tap Allow on the popup. Then you can tap Add New Friend to start adding your friends in your phonebook. They should sync now.
4. Phonebook and Facebook to Sync Contacts
Your smartphone’s phonebook isn’t the only way to add and sync contacts on Houseparty. You can also add friends from your Facebook account. If you created the Houseparty account using your Facebook account, you should already see your contacts. If not, try syncing your phone book.
Also, if you used an email id to sign in and cannot sync or add contacts, add your social media (Facebook) account to sync contacts. Either of the two options should work, otherwise you’ll have to double-check the access permissions.
5. A Friend Left Out
What happens here is that you invite six of your friends to your room and only five of them attend. This friend either cannot join the party or cannot play the game after joining the party. This is a bug and future app updates should hopefully take care of this.
For now, you can resend an invitation. If that doesn’t work, create a new room and send everyone a new invite. Sounds boring but it’s the only option right now.
If it’s a contact sync issue, remove your friend and then add them again.
To unfriend someone on Houseparty, tap My Friends, then the three-dot menu next to the person’s name and select Unfriend.
After that you can add your friend from contacts again like you did before and that should fix the issue.
None of my friends are on Houseparty because they’re all busy playing PUBG and Call of Duty Mobile, so I’ve included a video above for you.
House Warming Party
Take off your party hat and get ready to play with your friends and family members. The pandemic is in full swing and from the looks of it, I don’t think it will go away anytime soon. Use this time to work on new skill sets, workout at home, learn to cook or try out a new dance move, and use Houseparty to play casual but insanely fun games with everyone you know.
Hopefully contacts are now synced on Houseparty and friends can connect to the app. If you found another way to fix this error, do share with us in the comments below. And hey, if you haven’t followed yet, don’t forget to follow us on our social media channels. You will find the links in the footer section.
Next: While Houseparty is a great video calling app, you should also check out Duo, which offers more engagement and stability. Check out our in-depth comparison below.
