You’re on round 32 in Terminus. The pressure is high. You’ve spent the last three rounds grinding for essence just to activate that S.A.M. trial, hoping for a Ray Gun or at least a Legendary Aether Tool to save your run. You interact with the machine, the essence drains, and... nothing. No timer. No objective. Just a silent machine and a lighter wallet.
Honestly, it’s one of the most frustrating things in Black Ops 6 Zombies right now. The bo6 sam trial glitched error isn't just one single bug; it’s a collection of UI failures, interaction locks, and reward chest "scams" that have been haunting players since launch.
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If you’ve ever opened a Legendary chest only to find it completely empty, or had your screen freeze the second you touched a reward, you aren't alone. It’s a mess. But after hundreds of hours in the community and testing these bugs myself, there are actual ways to sidestep these issues before they ruin your exfil.
Why Your S.A.M. Trial Rewards Are Vanishing
The most common way the bo6 sam trial glitched is during the reward phase. You finish the trial, the purple chest spawns, and you're hyped. You open it, see a Perk Can or a Tool, click it, and everything else in the box just... deletes itself.
This happens because of a weird priority system in the game's code. If you pick up a lower-tier item first—like a pile of Salvage or a small essence drop—the game sometimes "closes" the loot table for the higher-tier rewards. It’s like the game thinks the transaction is finished because you touched the cheap stuff first.
Expert Tip: Always grab the highest-tier item (Gold/Ultra) first. If there’s a Ray Gun or a Wonder Weapon, snag it immediately. Do not touch the salvage. Do not touch the points. Once the big item is in your hands, the rest usually stays interactable.
The "Invisible Chest" and UI Blackout
Sometimes the glitch is even more aggressive. You might find that after you finish the trial, the chest simply never appears. Or, if it does, the "Press [X] to Interact" prompt is nowhere to be seen. This usually comes hand-in-hand with a total UI failure where you can't even see your ammo or mini-map anymore.
Basically, the game is stuck in a "trial active" state even though the timer is gone.
If this happens, stop running around the map. I’ve found that standing directly on the spot where the S.A.M. machine was and jumping can sometimes force the prompt to trigger. If that fails, you need to leave the area entirely. Move to a completely different zone (like going from the Bio-Lab to the Docks) and wait for the start of the next round. Often, the game "refreshes" the entity list at the start of a new round, which can force the reward chest to finally pop or reset the machine for a new attempt.
The Split-Screen Freeze
This one is specifically for the couch co-op legends. There is a nasty, documented bug where opening a S.A.M. trial chest in split-screen mode can hard-freeze the game for both players. You’ll be able to look around slightly, but you can’t move or shoot.
It’s a death sentence.
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If you’re playing split-screen, the "fix" is actually a preventative measure: only one player should ever approach the chest. If both players are standing near the loot box when it opens, the game engine seems to struggle with rendering the loot icons for two different UI overlays at once. Have your teammate stand at least 10 meters away while you grab the gear.
When the Trial Won't Start (But Takes Your Money)
You’ve got 5,000 essence. You want to gamble. You hit the button, the animation plays, but the trial never starts. This bo6 sam trial glitched variant usually happens because there’s another "world event" active.
- Is there a HVT (High Value Target) nearby?
- Is a teammate currently doing a main quest step?
- Is the Rampage Inducer being toggled?
The game has a limit on how many active "objectives" can be tracked. If the map is too busy, the S.A.M. trial will fail to initialize. Check your map for any yellow or orange icons before you waste your points.
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How to Actually Fix a Glitched Trial
If you are currently in a match and the machine is broken, here is the sequence of steps you should follow. Don't just quit the game; you can usually save the run.
- The "Keyboard" Trick: If you are on PC and the interact prompt is gone, try switching to Mouse and Keyboard for a second if you're using a controller. For some reason, the KBM input has a wider interaction radius and can sometimes "see" the chest when the controller can't.
- The Round Skip: If the trial is "stuck" (timer at 0:00 but no rewards), everyone on the team needs to move to a different area of the map. Let the round flip. This is the most consistent way to clear the "busy" flag in the game's logic.
- Klaus Intervention: If you're on a map where Klaus is available, calling him in near a glitched S.A.M. machine has been known to "bump" the machine's physics. It sounds crazy, but physical collisions from NPCs can sometimes reset the interaction prompt.
- Save and Quit (Solo Only): If you're playing solo, use the "Save and Quit" feature. When you reload the save, the world state is re-initialized. This fixes almost 90% of S.A.M. trial bugs instantly.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
To avoid the bo6 sam trial glitched headache in the future, change how you approach these machines. Don't just spam the interact button.
- Check the map first: Ensure no other trials or events are active.
- Solo players should always use Save/Quit: If the UI feels "laggy" or prompts aren't appearing, do a quick save and reload.
- Loot Priority: Train your brain to look for the color of the item, not the icon. Grab the Gold first. Always.
- Distance in Co-op: Keep your distance from the chest until the "opener" has finished.
Following these steps won't stop the game from being buggy—that's on Treyarch—but it will stop you from losing your hard-earned Legendary rewards to a bit of bad code. Stick to the high-tier loot first and keep your UI clean.