Dreamlight Valley ‘A Friendly Exchange’ not progressing? Bug workarounds

There's nothing quite like watching a futuristic robot and a mermaid remember that they're good friends. Unfortunately, this quest has fallen prey to some of the bugs that came with Dreamlight Valley's release, which makes it extra hard for players to rekindle Ariel and WALL-E's friendship. Here's how you can workaround these error states to get these two collectors trading once again.

Trouble collecting the Lightbulb in Dreamlight Valley

Users report having trouble picking up the Lightbulb in WALL-E's house as the usual pick-up interaction is not appearing when they approach the item. This does not appear to be an issue with the other items in the quest, like the Bowling Pin and Toy Train.

The easiest solution players have discovered is that the Lightbulb pick-up option seems to appear if players wander around the house. The interaction is still available, it just isn't always tied to the Lightbulb's location, making it tricky to find. Wander around WALL-E's house and keep an eye on the screen for the pick-up prompt when you can finally get the Lightbulb.

Related: Dreamlight Valley: Hidden Requirements for WALL-E's Broken Memory quest

Ariel and WALL-E aren't speaking

Though it seems like the two used to be best friends, for some players, Ariel and WALL-E aren't even on speaking terms. Once you have collected all of the items for WALL-E to trade, you must listen to Ariel and WALL-E as they exchange the gifts. Ariel seems to be the cause of this bug, as the two will not always naturally approach each other because she is completely water-based.

There seem to be two workarounds for this error. The first solution that's worked for players is ensuring they aren't hanging out with WALL-E. Then, speak to both Ariel and WALL-E separately. For some, this seems to be enough to trigger the two to speak to each other.

Waiting it out seems to do the trick if that doesn't work. Wander away for a bit, and eventually, you might notice Ariel and WALL-E are next to each other on the map. Head their way, but keep your distance. When you get close enough, the speech bubbles above their heads should appear, and you should be able to finish the quest.

If nothing else works, closing the game and restarting also fixes the problem for most users experiencing this bug.

Looking for more Disney Dreamlight Valley content on Pro Game Guides? Check out How to get Eric in Dreamlight Valley.