GTA Online Sonar Station - how to use it to find hidden treasure caches

GTA Online Sonar Station
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

The GTA Online sonar station is a helpful upgrade available for your submarine HQ, but although this is a standard piece of underwater kit it's not immediately obvious what you use it for. If you follow the description listed on the Warstock Cache and Carry website you'll see that players can "use this to hunt for hidden treasure," but that's as far as the instructions go. If you need to take a breather from planning and executing the GTA Online Cayo Perico Heist, then recovering hidden caches from the bottom of the ocean could provide some relief, but with the island of GTA Online surrounded by a vast ocean you're going to need assistance to zero in on the right locations. We've got all the details on how to use the GTA Online sonar station, so the sunken treasure along with additional cash and RP can be yours.

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How to install the GTA Online Sonar Station in your submarine

GTA Online Sonar Station

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

When you first purchase the Kosatka from Warstock Cache and Carry, you'll have the option to install the GTA Online sonar station for GTA$1,200,000. If you decided you didn't need it or you couldn't afford it at the time, don't worry – at any point you can visit the Warstock Cache and Carry website and choose the Kosatka renovate option to add the GTA Online sonar station to your underwater HQ later.

How to use the GTA Online Sonar Station to find hidden treasure caches

GTA Online Sonar Station

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Once inside your Kosatka, you can operate the GTA Online sonar station by approaching the helm controls (the joystick and screens), sitting down, then following the drive prompt. Once in the external view, a prompt will appear to toggle sonar, and when pressed a scan will be overlaid on your minimap revealing the location of hidden caches. You can also open the main map and set a waypoint to a hidden cache when it appears, making it easier to track.

GTA Online Sonar Station

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Although you can drive the Kosatka to the location of the Hidden Cache, you can't actually retrieve them from the ocean floor while still inside the submarine HQ. The easiest way to reach them is to have the Kraken Avisa minisub or Pegassi Toreador amphibious car installed within your moon pool, then launch that vehicle and dive to the ocean floor to collect the Hidden Cache by driving into it. There are 10 Hidden Caches available to be collected each day, with each providing a modest amount of RP and cash for retrieving them.

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Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.