Here is how to avoid losing characters in GTA Online

Note: When the Rockstar Cloud Services are unavailable, you are given the option to still play online on disc-based content (rather than R* Cloud content). You are asked to confirm before entering Multiplayer whether you would like to play on a temporary character, without the ability to save. If you confirm this option, please note that none of your old characters will be available for that play session, and the temporary character you create will not be saved. If you want to make sure the characters you create are saved, you should not proceed into GTA Online when the R* Cloud Servers are unavailable. Even if the services come back up while you are playing on a temporary character, that character will not save -- you would need to return to Single Player and re-enter GTA Online to load your non-temporary characters and resume playing with the ability to save progress.

Note: When exiting GTA Online, please pause the game and choose to return to Single Player. This will trigger a save and ensure that progress since the last auto-save is recorded. If you purchase items and immediately power the console off or exit through console system menus, those items may not be saved.

Sourcehttp://support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200435267-Loss-of-characters-rank-items-apartments-and-or-in-game-money-in-GTA-Online

This should help if you are still losing characters.

@jimmyfenix: thank god I did this last night before getting off

I always exit by returning to single player after i lost my first character. I hope this post gives some clarity to the people who've been uncertain as to why it has happened.

thank god i did this before I got off.... How do we know when the rockstar cloud severs are down???

There's now a notification that'll pop up I think on the bottom left; it'll also pop up when they're back on again. Also, trying to take a picture with your phone's camera is a good way to find out whether the servers are running or not.

@yummylee: I still somehow managed to lose my character so this sucks

I lost my level 20 Character. I know it's early in the multiplayer life of this game, but I'm so bummed out, I don't really want to play anymore.

I've lost my levels (and money) three times, and am now back at level 5 with about $7k. I made sure to save and quit to Single player more than once for the last two times.

Which is funny, because 1-5 saved flawlessly.

I'm pretty sad right now.

@capum15: @mozzle: under what circumstances did you lose your character? Did you load in and it was just gone? Cause that happened to me once, but when I came back later (after restarting everything) it was back.

So if you give us some more specific information we might be able to help you more. I'm not saying you'll get yours back, but maybe we can help others.

Just so you know...this is not how you stop your chars from being lost. It is server side. If the server does not let your game load, like if your game is stuck in sky view, your char can vanish.

This is only so you dont lose things that you buy before your last save. You would think that it would just auto save after you buy anything. But anyways....It is still a big issue. As it is...i would not suggest playing until it gets sorted out.

@fetchfox: My character didn't disappear so much as just reverted. All I did was quit out back to single player a few times while playing, thinking it would save, but each time I had to restart the game (infinite load, console freeze, got stuck on a menu where button presses did nothing), I was back at level 5.

I just don't think it ever wanted to save. Oh well, I'll probably still play with friends but I've given up on saving up money for a house for now.

Really wish you could just have a multiplayer hard save.

Boy am I glad the single player campaign was plenty for me. This whole thing sounds like a real nightmare.

@capum15: Hm, yeah I haven't heard that one before. I hope it gets better for everyone soon. If we constantly lose progress we'll eventually end up hating the game.

That doesn't work either. I did that earlier this morning and came back later. I lost my level 17 character and about 170k. Hopefully it just might be a server issue but I didn't get that message. If I did lose my character I am not touching it again till all this gets sorted out. With all that said I was having a blast up until this morning.

Yeah their servers are just plain messed up. Ten minutes ago my character existed on the social club, then I load up the game and it's not there so I check the social club again and, boom, it's gone.

Erm... just seem to have lost a lvl 26 character with a luxury condo to a perpetual loading screen.

Guess I'll be taking a walk and pushing some iron to decompress from this loss. Hope it'll sort itself out, and when I log on later toady, my character will be restored.

Otherwise... well... FUCK! Guess it'll be time to play through that copy of Sleeping Dogs I got from the current PSN EU sale for a tenner.

Some good info from Rockstar but you can lose your online character at ANYTIME regardless of what you try to do to prevent it.

Last night after about 10 hours straight play the cloud went down and returned me to singleplayer. Returned to Multiplayer, cloud still down. Tried about 30 minutes later and character gone, only his money left. Tried again today, still no dice.

If you are playing GTA Online your character can go at any moment and the chances of getting them back are minimal. Atleast I was only about Lvl 14 and not 60. Still done with it tho.

Yeah. I'm probably going to take a break from online for a while, maybe replay the campaign and try to get over a billion dollars. It's still fun with friends, but I'd rather wait for all the bugs to be worked out now.

This multiplayer isn't worth the instability. Even at its best, when you get a decent group willing to work together and not be dicks, it's still only kind of a novelty as a cooperative GTA. The open world isn't even worth being in with strangers. The competitive stuff is ill conceived because the game doesn't focus on combat in a way that makes that at all, well, competitive. It just comes down to who has the jump on who and who has the best weapon. Sucks, this could have been something special.

Well - character isn't back yet. If it's still gone tomorrow, it'll be time to move on... and never look back.

Just lost my characters for the 3rd time in 2 days, each time I quit back to single player. Didn't help shit.

I crashed out after a crew mission and now my character is apparently lost to the ether. Does no one know any tricks that might resurrect?

I'm not keen on starting a new one, even in slot 2, as I don't want to risk wiping out my previous progress.

I have done this the every time I got off with this character and what do I see when I log in....no characters.

What happened was I logged on with friends with my character and mid mission the crew emblem on my back became yellow and black checkers. So after another 2 hours of playing I decided to reset my game to get it back, so I switched to single player saved then reset GTA. Logged straight back in...gone...not there...two more tries my money came back and nothing else.

Same deal for three days now.