How do I use the EFB in MSFS 2024?

Open the Electronic Flight Bag from the cockpit tablet or the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 toolbar, select Flight Planner, enter the departure and destination, runways, procedures and cruise altitude, then calculate the route. Review weather, fuel and payload, and send the plan to the avionics. The EFB does not complete the aircraft’s FMS setup automatically.

What the MSFS 2024 EFB actually does

The MSFS 2024 EFB is a simulator-wide planning and reference tool, not an autopilot or a replacement for the aircraft’s flight management system. In flight-simulator terms, the EFB prepares and displays information; the FMS or GPS determines the route that the aircraft and autopilot will follow.

Some aircraft display the universal EFB on a physical cockpit tablet. Complex aircraft may also have a separate, aircraft-specific tablet for loading, ground services and performance calculations. These systems do not necessarily exchange routes, fuel figures or performance data.

How to open and use the MSFS 2024 EFB on PS5 and Xbox

On PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X|S, open the MSFS 2024 EFB through an interactive cockpit tablet, the simulator toolbar or a control assignment. PC users have the same access methods, with the additional convenience of direct mouse selection.

1. Try the cockpit tablet. Select the physical tablet or display fitted in the aircraft. On a console, switch to the appropriate cockpit cursor or interaction mode if the screen does not respond. Not every visible tablet is the universal MSFS EFB.
2. Use the simulator toolbar. Open the in-flight toolbar and select the EFB panel. This is often the clearest way to reach the universal Flight Planner when an aircraft has no physical tablet or uses its tablet for aircraft-specific functions.
3. Check Controls. Search the active control profile for EFB, then bind the available open or toggle command to a convenient key, controller combination or hardware button. There is no reliable universal PS5 or Xbox button because presets, accessibility choices and custom bindings differ.
4. Select the required EFB page. Use Flight Planner to build or import a route, Map for route and position information, and the available weather, airport, loading or performance pages as needed.

If two tablets are present, find the one containing the simulator-wide Flight Planner. The aircraft’s own tablet may be the correct place for fuel, payload, doors, ground equipment and performance data even when the universal EFB handles the route.

How do I create and send an EFB flight plan?

Build the route in the EFB, inspect the complete waypoint sequence, then transfer it once and verify the result in the aircraft avionics.

1. Choose the starting position. Select the intended stand, gate or runway before loading the flight. Creating a route after entering the cockpit does not move the aircraft, and choosing a departure runway is not the same as selecting a cold-and-dark parking position.
2. Enter the endpoints and flight rules. Set the departure, destination and an appropriate VFR or IFR route. Add airways or waypoints and choose a realistic cruise altitude for the aircraft and direction of flight.
3. Select the procedures. Add the SID, STAR and approach where required, including the correct runway transitions. Watch for duplicated airports, repeated fixes or procedures that turn back towards the airport unexpectedly.
4. Inspect the route on the map. Follow every leg and look for gaps, sharp reversals, unsupported waypoints or vectors that require manual handling. Review the destination weather before committing to an approach.
5. Set fuel, payload and performance. Apply loading only if the aircraft supports that EFB function, check the centre of gravity, and calculate performance after the runway, weight and weather are settled.
6. Transfer and verify. Send the plan to the avionics and, if required, file it separately with built-in ATC. Open the aircraft’s flight-plan page and confirm the procedures, waypoint order, discontinuities and active leg.

Our step-by-step VFR and IFR flight-planning guide explains route construction, procedure selection and the transfer process in more detail.

A successful transfer still does not finish an airliner’s FMS setup. Cost index, cruise level, winds, fuel reserves, performance pages, take-off speeds and trim may all require manual entry or confirmation.

Using EFB charts, weather and airport information

Use the MSFS 2024 EFB to review the information available for departure, en-route decisions, arrival and diversions, but treat it as a reference rather than proof that a runway or procedure is suitable.

What should I check before departure?

• Airport and runway details: confirm the airport identifiers, elevation, runway length, surface, orientation and available frequencies where those details are provided.
• Weather: review wind direction and speed, visibility, cloud, temperature and pressure information. Check that the planned runway and approach still make sense for the reported conditions.
• Route: inspect the waypoint order, altitude plan, departure, arrival and approach. A plausible-looking line on the map can still contain a discontinuity or the wrong runway transition.
• Charts: use airport diagrams and procedure charts where the EFB or a configured chart service provides them. A moving map is not a substitute for a published procedure chart. Our guide to setting up supported Navigraph chart access covers that workflow.

Procedure restrictions, runway suitability and aircraft capability remain the pilot’s responsibility. Check required navigation performance, runway length, weight limits, approach equipment and any restriction that may not be represented by the EFB route.

Can I use the EFB during a flight?

Yes. In flight, the EFB can show route position, airport information, available weather and charts, and it can help prepare a diversion. Our explanation of the EFB VFR map controls covers panning, zooming, recentring and route display.

Changing the EFB route alone does not guarantee that the aircraft or autopilot will follow it. For a diversion or reroute, update the aircraft’s FMS or GPS, resolve discontinuities, verify the new active leg and amend built-in ATC separately where necessary.

Is there an MSFS 2024 EFB website?

The universal MSFS 2024 EFB is an in-simulator panel, not a browser-based copy that must be opened on a separate website. Account-linked and third-party web planners can prepare a route for import, but they do not remotely complete the aircraft’s avionics setup.

For a web-planning workflow, follow our SimBrief import and account-linking instructions. The imported plan must still be reviewed in the EFB and loaded or entered into the aircraft as applicable; procedures and waypoint interpretation can differ between the planner and the avionics.

What to do when the MSFS 2024 EFB is not working

Work through the EFB, cockpit and avionics separately so that you can identify whether the fault is an input problem, an unpowered aircraft system or an unsupported route transfer.

1. Restore cockpit focus. Return to the cockpit view and select an empty area before trying the EFB again. Close any toolbar, menu or console overlay that may be capturing controller or mouse input.
2. Exit text-entry fields. Confirm or cancel the active field and move focus away from it. A selected search box or waypoint field can consume keyboard and controller commands, making the tablet appear unresponsive.
3. Verify the EFB binding. Open Controls, select the profile used by the relevant keyboard, controller or hardware device, search for EFB and check the open or toggle assignment for conflicts. PS5 and Xbox profiles may have different bindings even on the same account.
4. Close and reopen the panel. Try both the toolbar EFB and the cockpit tablet where available. If one works and the other does not, the issue is likely the aircraft’s tablet integration rather than the universal EFB itself.
5. Check avionics power and initialisation. An EFB can open before the aircraft’s GPS, FMS or navigation database is ready. Power and initialise the avionics as required by that aircraft, then wait for the flight-plan pages to become available.
6. Identify the correct tablet. The universal simulator EFB and an aircraft-specific tablet may look similar but perform different jobs. Use the one containing the simulator Flight Planner for universal route planning; use the aircraft tablet for functions unique to that model.
7. Retry one clean route transfer. While on the ground and when safe, clear any stale route from the aircraft avionics, confirm the EFB origin, destination and procedures, then send the plan once. Repeatedly pressing transfer can leave duplicates or make it harder to see which copy is active.
8. Use the aircraft’s own tablet or FMS when required. Some custom aircraft do not accept the universal EFB route, accept only the endpoints, or require their own import function. In that case, load the plan through the aircraft tablet or enter the route and procedures directly in its FMS.

If only the origin and destination transfer, add the missing airway legs, SID, STAR or approach through the aircraft avionics. If a procedure appears in the EFB but not in the aircraft, use a procedure available in both navigation datasets or build the route from common fixes.

A blank or frozen EFB across several aircraft points to a simulator-level panel problem; close and reopen it, reload the flight, then restart the simulator if necessary. If the fault occurs in only one aircraft, its tablet or avionics integration is the more likely cause.

Can the EFB calculate fuel, payload and take-off performance?

The EFB can manage loading and calculate performance only when the selected aircraft exposes the required data and supports that integration. For a complex aircraft with its own tablet, use the aircraft-specific loading and performance system as the authority unless its instructions state otherwise.

Set fuel and payload before calculating take-off data, then confirm runway, weight, wind, temperature, pressure, runway condition and flap configuration. V-speeds, take-off trim and FMS performance entries may still need to be copied or confirmed manually.