Fix Riot Vanguard Not Installing for Valorant

You are stuck on the 'Vanguard Required' screen, or your Valorant 'Play' button is locked because the anti-cheat failed to initialize. A corrupted installation or leftover service files from a previous attempt are preventing the Riot Client from triggering a fresh install.

Why this happens

Riot Vanguard is a kernel-level driver that ships inside the Valorant installer rather than as a standalone file. If a previous installation attempt was interrupted or corrupted, leftover service entries block the Riot Client from deploying the necessary files.

Steps

1. 01
   Open the Start menu, search for Settings, navigate to Apps, and select Installed apps.
2. 02
   Type 'Vanguard' into the search box and uninstall Riot Vanguard if it appears in the list to remove the corrupted files.
3. 03
   Search for 'cmd' in the Start menu, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
4. 04
   Type sc delete vgc and press Enter to remove the core service entry.
5. 05
   Type sc delete vgk and press Enter to remove the driver service entry.
6. 06
   Restart your PC to finalize the removal of these services.
7. 07
   Launch the Riot Client and sign in to your account.
8. 08
   Select Games from the sidebar, click on Valorant, and click the Update button to trigger a fresh installation of Vanguard.
9. 09
   Restart your computer again once the installation finishes; the Play button will remain locked until this final reboot is completed.
10. 10
    Launch Valorant and check your system tray for the red Riot shield icon, which indicates the service is running.

Still not working?

If you are on Windows 11 and receive VAN9001, VAN9003, or VAN9090 errors, the installation succeeded but the software is blocked by security settings. Run msinfo32 to confirm your BIOS Mode is set to UEFI and Secure Boot is On, then open tpm.msc to verify your TPM version is 2.0. If these are disabled, you must enter your motherboard BIOS to enable them.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose my game data by uninstalling Vanguard?

No, your Valorant account data and progress are stored on Riot's servers, not locally. Uninstalling the anti-cheat only removes the driver files required to launch the game.

What do the VAN error codes mean?

These codes specifically relate to Windows 11 security requirements. They mean Vanguard is installed correctly, but your hardware settings, such as TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot, do not meet the minimum trust requirements for the anti-cheat to run.

Do I need to reinstall Valorant too?

Usually, no. This process clears the Vanguard-specific services so the Riot Client can 'repair' just that component without needing to download the entire game again.

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