Learn how to fix the problem if you can’t receive whispers in ESO.

For the longest time, I hadn’t been able to receive whispers in ESO. When other players tried to whisper me, they’d receive an error message indicating that my account “didn’t exist.” Obviously, this wasn’t the case. The Elder Scrolls Online was charging my credit card for monthly subscription fees after all, so my account most definitely existed. By the Nine, I had the VISA bills to prove it!

Unfortunately, the problem didn’t clear up on its own. After guildies contacted me for the fourth or fifth time in Chat, explaining that they couldn’t send me whispers and that my account didn’t exist, I started to get worried and began to question my own reality.

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Can’t Receive Whispers In ESO

After taking a deep breath, I started to look deeper into the situation. The problem had to be easy to clear up, right? I like to think that I’m a reasonably intelligent guy, so I tried the following:

• Checked my in-game status by clicking “G” and making sure that the “Online” green light was brightly lit next to my name (check),
• Logged out and back in to my account (didn’t do a thing),
• Quit the game client and relaunched (nada),
• Restarted my PC and DSL modem (act of desperation),
• Yelled and pounded my fist on the desk (still no whispers, but I scared the scrib jelly out of the dog and kids).

The Apostrophe Is The Problem

Just about the time I was ready to give up, other players started discussing the issue in Chat. A fellow guildy opined that character names with apostrophes were causing the problem. You see, when I first created my ESO character I used one of my Skyrim aliases, and named my Templar with an apostrophe right in the middle. Why? I don’t know… guess I thought it made the name look more exotic somehow. As it turns out, using ‘ was a big mistake.

Here’s What You Need To Do

If you find yourself in a similar bind and can’t receive whispers in ESO, check your character name. If you have a ‘ in there, you’ll need to contact Support. All right, I know what you’re thinking — Support will just give you the runaround, ignoring your problem or making things worse. Seriously though, ESO isn’t Comcast, and their support team is awesome. They cleared up the problem faster than a hungry Wamasu chasing down its next meal.

Here’s how it went down…

First off, I submitted a Support Ticket:

Hey guys,

Players in-game have been telling me that they can’t whisper me. They report that “my account can’t be found.” As you can imagine, the problem hinders me from interacting with players in my Guilds and in Zone (it’s also somewhat embarrassing — having to defend my in-game existence and all).

Some people in Chat were reporting the same issue. Allegedly, the problem is the result of an apostrophe in a player’s Account Name. I have a ‘ in mine.

Is there any truth to this that you’re aware of? If so, is there anything that can be done?

I appreciate any help, insight, or advice you can give me.

Thank you kindly,

Shane Scarbrough

For the Pact!

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Within 24 hours, ESO Support answered my ticket, and made it possible to change my character name:

Hello Shane,

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online customer support team. My name is Bert and I’ll be assisting you today. First of all I wish to apologize for the delay in getting back to you. I’m sorry to hear you’re experiencing issues with your character’s name.

In general we will not change character names unless that name is in violation of our Code of Conduct. In your case however it’s avoiding you to communicate with other players, due to the special characters in the name. Therefore I created an option for a name change for your character. On the next log in, you’ll be prompted to change the character’s name.

I hope to have resolved your issue, but please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Warm Regards,

Bert
The Elder Scrolls Online Team

Problem Solved

Sure enough, the next time I fired up the game client and logged into my account, I was prompted to change my character name. I immediately ditched the apostrophe and things have been working great ever since. Guildies can whisper me, and I’m having a much easier time interacting with other players in Chat.

Final Thoughts

Support never went into the reason why the ‘ causes problems, and  I really didn’t expect an explanation. Computer coding is a tricky business after all, and I suppose the problem is due to some freaky bug. Regardless, if you can’t receive whispers in ESO, and you have an apostrophe in your character name, make sure to contact Support. Based on my first hand experience, they’ll get things cleared up for you right away.