If you’ve ever tried matchmaking in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and found yourself waiting endlessly with an increasing ping—100ms, 200ms, or more—without finding a lobby, there’s a high chance that you or one of your teammates has been banned by Activision. The real challenge, however, is convincing your teammate that they are the reason for the issue.
How to Determine If a Ban is Affecting Matchmaking
Test Solo Matchmaking – If a player cannot find a match even when playing alone, this usually indicates a permanent ban.
Test Team Matchmaking – If both players can find matches individually but not when playing together, then one of them is likely shadowbanned.
A shadowban means that a player can still join lobbies, but those lobbies are composed almost entirely of other shadowbanned players. In most cases, about 80% of these players are unaware of why they were banned, while the remaining 20% are actual cheaters. This is what is commonly referred to as the shadowban lobby.
How to Confirm If You or Your Teammate Is Banned
To verify if an Activision ID has been banned:
Visit the Activision Website – Log into your Activision account. The process may vary depending on where you purchased the game (e.g., Steam, Battle.net, PlayStation, Xbox).
Check the Ban Status – Activision provides a section in your account settings where you can see if your ID has been banned.
Identify the Issue – If a ban is listed under your account, it confirms that matchmaking problems stem from restrictions placed by Activision.
What Can You Do?
If you or your teammate has been shadowbanned or permanently banned, your options are limited:
Wait for the Ban to Be Lifted – Activision sometimes reviews shadowbans, but there is no guaranteed timeline.
Appeal the Ban – If you believe the ban was issued by mistake, you can submit an appeal through the Activision support page.
Play Separately or Join Shadowban Lobbies – If both players receive a shadowban, they may still be able to play together—but only in shadowban lobbies.
Until Activision removes the ban, normal matchmaking will remain impossible. Stay informed and check your account status to avoid unnecessary matchmaking frustrations.