The Into the Unknown mission in Starfield has 2 major bugs that are preventing players from progressing, and fortunately, there are a handful of fixes to resolve them.
Players are encountering a bug where, after completing the Back to Vectera main mission, the Into the Unknown quest does not appear in their quest log.
Additionally, other players have reported how they are unable to find the source of the distortions on Pyrocon III when scanning for them.
Fortunately, both of these bugs are fixable. Below, we outline every fix that will resolve these bugs and get you back into enjoying Starfield again!
Starfield Into the Unknown Bug Fixes
There are a 6 fixes you can try to resolve the two major bugs in the Into the Unknown quest in Starfield. They are:
- Use console commands (PC only)
- Reload a previous save
- Fast travel to another planet
- Restart the game
- Wait for a patch
- Start a new save
Some have worked better than others, so make sure to give them all a go if you’re still struggling.

Below, we’ve broken down each fix and how to do them to help you solve the Into the Unknown quest bugs:
Use Console Commands
To resolve either of the bugs, you can use the console command “setstage 000160A9 600” to completely skip the mission and progress to the next one.
To use this console command, you must:
- Press the ` or ~ key to open the console
- Input the “setstage 000160A9 600” command (minus the “)
- Hit enter
This will move you on to the next quest, which will fix it but will also prevent you from experiencing the quest entirely. It also only applies to the PC version of Starfield and won’t fix the bug on Xbox.
It’s important to note that if you use console commands, you will no longer be able to earn Steam achievements.

Reload a Previous Save
Reloading a previous save has helped some players overcome these issues. Some have reported that you need to do this multiple times if it doesn’t work on the first try.
You will need to reload a save from before you finished the Back to Vectera main mission for the fix to work.
Of course, it’s worth noting that if you haven’t saved recently or have a recent auto-save, you will lose a small amount of progress.
Fast Travel to Another Planet & Back Again
Fast traveling to any other planet and then heading back to the quest location should fix the issue of being unable to scan the distortions.
It’s also important to ensure that you’ve landed at the correct landing zone with the anomaly and not one nearby.

Restart the Game
Restarting Starfield may seem like a simple option, but it can help give the game the fresh reboot it needs to resolve the issue.
While it isn’t guaranteed to work, the old adage of “turn it off and on again” does fix the majority of problems, Starfield bugs included.
Wait For a Patch
It is very likely that Bethesda will patch these issues soon allowing you to continue playing as normal.
Several Reddit users have contacted Bethesda’s support team, who have said that they are aware of these quest bugs.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that a patch will launch any time soon, but fortunately, there’s a wealth of content waiting to be discovered in Starfield that you can try in the meantime.

Start a New Save
If all else fails and you don’t want to wait for Bethesda to patch the mission, you can simply start all over again. This is not encouraged unless you’re really desperate to overcome this issue as quickly as possible.
Starting a new save will give you a fresh opportunity to complete this mission, and as it happens relatively early on, you shouldn’t lose too much progress.
However, if you’ve pursued other missions outside of the main storyline, then you will lose all of that progress as well. Use this fix at your own discretion.