How to Fix Valorant VAN Errors and Vanguard Won't Start

Valorant VAN errors come from Riot Vanguard, and Riot’s own fix order clears most of them: restart your PC, set the Vanguard (vgc) service to Automatic, turn on Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 for VAN 9003, VAN 9001 and VAN 9090, then clean boot and reinstall Vanguard for startup codes like VAN -1, VAN 193, VAN 148 and VAN 1067. Find your code in the table below, then work the steps it points to. If your code starts with VAL instead of VAN (for example “VAN 54”, which is really VAL 54), it isn’t a Vanguard error at all — see VAN or VAL?.

VAN error codes: what Riot says each one means

Meanings below follow Riot’s own per-code support articles (Riot’s Vanguard error index covers both Valorant and League of Legends). Work the fixes in order and test in the Practice Tool after each one, as Riot recommends, so a repeat error doesn’t cost you a ranked match.

Code	What Riot says it means	Fix, in order
VAN 9003	Secure Boot is not enabled	Step 2
VAN 9001	Vanguard doesn’t detect TPM 2.0 as enabled	Step 2
VAN 9090	TPM 2.0 couldn’t initialize — often because it was recently cleared	Step 2, then restart
VAN -1	Vanguard couldn’t start correctly, or a required service is unavailable (often shown as a “Connection Error” that kicks you out)	Reinstall Vanguard (Step 5) → vgc Automatic (Step 3)
VAN 193	Vanguard had trouble starting or communicating with the Riot Client	Close extra Riot Client instances → restart → vgc Automatic → clean boot → reinstall Vanguard → reinstall Valorant
VAN 148	Vanguard hit an unexpected issue while starting or checking in with your system	Update Windows → run the Riot Client as administrator → vgc Automatic → clean boot → reinstall Vanguard
VAN 1067	Same description as VAN 148 — an unexpected issue starting or checking in with your system	Update Windows → unplug controllers and spare USB devices → Riot Client as administrator → vgc Automatic → clean boot → malware scan → reinstall Vanguard
VAN 152	Hardware ID (HWID) ban on this device	Not fixable with troubleshooting — read Riot’s HWID ban article
Error VAN: Incompatible Software	Vanguard found a program or driver it won’t run alongside	Step 7

Codes not on Riot’s Vanguard list. Searches also turn up VAN 102, VAN 293, VAN 54 and VAN 1, none of which appear in Riot’s Vanguard error index. VAN 54 and VAN 1 are almost certainly VAL codes (see below). For the others, don’t trust a single forum explanation — run the generic order (restart → vgc Automatic → clean boot → reinstall Vanguard → Step 8), and if the code survives that, open a ticket with Riot Player Support and attach your logs.

VAN or VAL? Why “VAN 54” isn’t a Vanguard error

Riot splits Valorant errors into two lists: VAN codes come from Riot Vanguard, VAL codes come from the game and the Riot Client. Riot’s own Vanguard page warns that the two are easy to mix up (“VAL 59 instead of VAN 59”).

• VAL 54 — Riot lists it as Content service failure: Valorant couldn’t retrieve your content. Fix: restart the Riot Client; if it persists, check Riot’s support-site banners for an outage.
• VAL 1 (and VAL 0) — a generic Connection Error. Fix: restart Valorant and the Riot Client.
• VAL 44 / VAL 45 — “Vanguard not initialized” / “Vanguard reboot required”. Fix: restart the Riot Client; if it persists, uninstall Riot Vanguard and restart Valorant.

Riot also notes that a recent issue has been making some Valorant errors display incorrectly, so if the code on screen doesn’t match anything, work the generic order above and file a ticket.

Step 1 – Restart Vanguard the easy way

Many one-off VAN errors clear with a clean restart of the anti-cheat — restarting is the first step in Riot’s fix order for most startup codes.

1. Fully close Valorant and the Riot Client. Make sure only one Riot Client is running — Riot lists multiple Riot Client instances as a cause of VAN 193.
2. In the system tray, right-click the Vanguard (Riot) icon and choose Exit / Quit.
3. Reboot your PC. Vanguard must load at boot — a reboot is more reliable than just relaunching.
4. Launch Valorant again.

Step 2 – Enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 (fixes VAN9003, VAN9001, VAN9090)

On Windows 11, Vanguard requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Riot’s articles split the three codes cleanly: VAN 9003 = Secure Boot not enabled, VAN 9001 = TPM 2.0 not detected as enabled, VAN 9090 = TPM 2.0 present but failed to initialize (for example after it was cleared).

1. Press Win + R, type msinfo32, press Enter.
2. Confirm Secure Boot State: On and BIOS Mode: UEFI.
3. Press Win + R, type tpm.msc, press Enter — it should say TPM 2.0, ready for use.
4. If TPM shows up but Valorant still throws VAN 9090, the module is there but hasn’t been set up again since it was cleared: open tpm.msc, click Action → Prepare the TPM if it’s offered, restart, and launch again.

If TPM or Secure Boot is missing entirely, enable it in BIOS using your board’s guide:

• Secure Boot: ASUS · Gigabyte · MSI · ASRock
• TPM 2.0: ASUS · Gigabyte · MSI · ASRock

Step 3 – Make sure the Vanguard service is running

Riot puts “set the Vanguard (vgc) service to Automatic” in the fix order for VAN -1, VAN 193, VAN 148 and VAN 1067. The exception is if you use Vanguard Pre-Check, which lets Vanguard run on demand instead.

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
2. Find vgc.
3. Right-click → Properties → set Startup type to Automatic.
4. Click Start, then OK, and reboot.

Step 4 – Restart the vgk driver from Command Prompt

If a reboot didn’t help, reset Vanguard’s kernel driver.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator (here’s how).
2. Run these one at a time:

   sc stop vgc
   sc stop vgk
   sc start vgk
   sc start vgc

3. Launch Valorant again.

Step 5 – Reinstall Vanguard cleanly

Riot calls this the quickest way to restore Vanguard’s default settings, and it’s the main fix for VAN -1.

1. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
2. Uninstall Riot Vanguard.
3. Restart your PC.
4. Launch Valorant — it reinstalls Vanguard and prompts for a restart. Allow it.

Step 6 – Update Windows, clean boot, and rule out conflicts

• Update Windows and restart — Riot notes Windows updates can include security and system-service changes Vanguard relies on (the first step for VAN 148 and VAN 1067).
• Run the Riot Client as administrator once to rule out a permissions problem.
• Unplug controllers and spare USB devices before launching (Riot’s step for VAN 1067).
• Perform a clean boot (msconfig → Services → Hide all Microsoft services → Disable all, then restart) so background apps can’t interfere with Vanguard.
• Update your GPU drivers and close overlays/monitoring tools (MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner, RGB software) while testing.

Step 7 – Remove flagged or incompatible software

When Vanguard refuses to run alongside a specific program or driver, Riot shows a named error — “Error VAN: Incompatible Software” (or Incompatible OEM Driver) — rather than a number. (VAN 148 is a different, startup-type error; see the table.)

1. Read the error dialog carefully — it usually names the flagged software or driver file.
2. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find that program, and uninstall it. Common culprits are older overlay tools, cheap peripheral utilities, and unsigned or outdated drivers.
3. If the file still exists after uninstalling (check the path shown in the error), delete the leftover .sys file manually, then reboot.
4. Update your chipset and GPU drivers.
5. Relaunch Valorant.

Step 8 – Fix connection problems

Some VAN errors appear as a “Connection Error” (VAN -1 and VAN 1067 both do), and Riot’s later steps for VAN 148 and VAN 1067 include checking your connection.

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and end every Riot Client / Valorant process — closing the window alone can leave a process running that blocks reconnection.
2. Restart your router, then your PC.
3. Temporarily disable any VPN or aggressive third-party firewall and test again.
4. Allow Valorant and the Riot Client through Windows Defender Firewall for both Private and Public networks.
5. Relaunch the Riot Client. If it still fails, work through Steps 1, 3 and 5 above to reset Vanguard itself.

Related guides

• League of Legends Vanguard Error Fix — same Vanguard install, League-specific error codes
• How to Enable Secure Boot in ASUS BIOS for Windows 11
• How to Enable TPM in ASUS BIOS for Windows 11
• 10 Ways to Run Command Prompt as Administrator
• Best Valorant Settings for FPS and Low Input Delay
• EAC vs BattlEye vs Vanguard vs Ricochet vs VAC compared

Most VAN errors are Secure Boot, TPM, Vanguard-service or startup problems with a documented fix order from Riot. Match your code in the table, work the steps in order, and only open a ticket if the code survives a clean boot and a Vanguard reinstall.