What should I do if I logged in to the game and all my characters are missing?

The most common reason your characters will appear to be missing is that you have logged into the Megaserver (North America vs European) that does not contain your characters. The instructions to change your Megaserver are below.

PC/Mac
Navigate to the in-game login screen by launching The Elder Scrolls Online from the ESO Launcher. At the login screen, select Server (underneath the Play button), select the server you wish to connect to (Live or Live-EU), and then select Accept. It may take several minutes for your server selection to update. After choosing your server, wait until the Announcements reflects your selection in red before logging into the game.

Xbox /PlayStation 

  1. Launch the game application from the console's main menu.
  2. Press A (Xbox) or Cross (PlayStation) to start the game.
  3. Under the Game Startup menu, go to Server Select instead of Play.
  4. Use the D-Pad(Xbox) or Direction Buttons (PlayStation) to select North America or Europe as the regional megaserver.
  5. Go to Play under the same Game Startup menu.
  6. Click A (Xbox) or Cross (PlayStation) to start playing.