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

Valorant VAN errors and “Vanguard Anti-Cheat has encountered an error” almost always come down to a few causes: Secure Boot/TPM not enabled, the Vanguard service not running, a flagged driver, or a connection problem — that covers VAN9003, VAN9001, VAN9090, VAN193, VAN293, VAN148, VAN102, and the rest of the common codes. This guide walks through the fixes in the order most likely to work.

Most VAN codes that block launch entirely (like VAN9003, VAN9001, or VAN9090) are Secure Boot / TPM problems. If you’re on Windows 11 and Valorant won’t open at all, start with Step 2. If you got a specific “incompatible software” message (VAN148) or a connection error (VAN102, VAN293), skip to Step 7.

Step 1 – Restart Vanguard the easy way

Many one-off VAN errors clear with a clean restart of the anti-cheat.

1. Fully close Valorant and the Riot Client.
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. If either is off, Valorant won’t launch — Riot’s own support article groups VAN9003, VAN9001, and VAN9090 together as the same Windows 11 TPM/Secure Boot check.

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 VAN9090 specifically, open tpm.msc, click Action → Prepare the TPM, then reboot. VAN9090 is a TPM initialization failure, not a missing-TPM error — the module is there but hasn’t been provisioned correctly.

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

If Vanguard’s service isn’t started, you’ll see “Vanguard not initialized” or a VAN error.

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

For persistent VAN errors, a clean reinstall usually clears them.

1. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
2. Uninstall Riot Vanguard.
3. Reboot.
4. Launch Valorant — it will reinstall Vanguard and prompt for a restart. Allow it.

Step 6 – Rule out driver and overlay conflicts

• Update your GPU drivers to the latest stable version.
• Disable risky overlays/tools (MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner, aggressive RGB software) while testing.
• Make sure Windows is fully updated — Vanguard checks for current security patches.

Step 7 – Remove flagged or incompatible software (fixes VAN148)

VAN148 is different from the codes above — it means Vanguard detected a specific driver or program it refuses to run alongside, not a missing security setting.

1. Read the error dialog carefully — VAN148 usually names the flagged software or driver file directly.
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 — outdated drivers occasionally trigger this as a false positive.
5. Relaunch Valorant.

Step 8 – Fix connection errors (VAN102, VAN293)

VAN102 and VAN293 aren’t anti-cheat startup failures — they’re the Riot Client losing its connection to Riot’s servers, sometimes with a “Vanguard Disconnected” message attached.

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and fully end any Riot Client / Valorant processes — closing the window alone can leave a “zombie” process that blocks reconnection.
2. Restart your router, then your PC.
3. Temporarily disable any VPN (VAN293 has specifically been linked to VPN and Cloudflare WARP conflicts with Vanguard) and any aggressive third-party firewall.
4. Add Valorant and Riot Vanguard as exceptions in Windows Defender Firewall for both Private and Public networks.
5. Relaunch the Riot Client. If it still fails, work through Steps 1, 3, and 4 above to reset Vanguard itself.

Common VAN codes at a glance

• VAN9003 / VAN9001 / VAN9090 – Secure Boot or TPM 2.0 not enabled or not initialized → Step 2.
• VAN193 – Vanguard startup/communication failure → Steps 1, 3, 4.
• VAN -81 / VAN -84 – Vanguard service or connection issue → Steps 1, 3, 4.
• VAN148 – incompatible/flagged software or driver → Step 7.
• VAN102 / VAN293 – Riot Client connection error, often VPN/firewall related → Step 8.
• VAN 152 – hardware ban appeal needed (not a settings fix).
• VAN 1067 – Vanguard not running at launch → reboot, then Step 3.

Related guides

• 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
• League of Legends Vanguard Error Fix — same Vanguard install, League-specific error codes
• EAC vs BattlEye vs Vanguard vs Ricochet vs VAC compared

Most VAN errors are Secure Boot, TPM, service, driver, or connection problems. Work through these steps in order and the large majority of Vanguard startup failures clear without a support ticket.