VAN 57: Vanguard isn't running

Vanguard Error: VAN 57. An unexpected error with Vanguard has occurred and the client will now close.

Why League says Vanguard isn't running

Vanguard comes in two halves. There's a driver, vgk, that loads while Windows boots, and a service, vgc, that the game talks to once you're on the desktop. League won't start a session without both. VAN 57 is what you see when the client asks for Vanguard and nothing answers.

Riot puts the service first on its list, ahead of any reinstall, because the service not being set to start with Windows is the common case. Cleanup tools, "gaming optimizer" apps and a lot of manual service tweaking switch vgc to Manual or Disabled, and then it simply isn't there on the next boot.

Riot's fix, in Riot's order

1. Set the vgc service to Automatic

   Vanguard has two parts: a driver that loads at boot and a Windows service called vgc. If the service isn't running when you press Play, the game closes.

   1. Press Win+R, type services.msc and press Enter.
   2. Find vgc in the list and double-click it.
   3. Set Startup type to Automatic. If the status says Stopped, click Start.
   4. Apply, OK, then restart the PC.

   The exception is Vanguard Pre-Check, Riot's opt-in mode where Vanguard only runs while a game is open. It needs Windows 11 25H2 or newer plus Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, IOMMU, VBS and HVCI, and if you're on it you shouldn't force the service to Automatic.

   Riot's guide: Set the vgc service to Automatic

2. Restart your PC if the service was already on Automatic

   If the step above showed vgc already set to Automatic, you changed nothing, so restart anyway. Plenty of these clear on a fresh boot.

3. Uninstall Vanguard, restart, and let the game reinstall it

   1. Close the game and exit the Riot Client from the system tray.
   2. Right-click the red Vanguard icon in the tray, choose Advanced, then Uninstall Vanguard. If the icon isn't there, search Windows for Add or remove programs and uninstall Riot Vanguard from the list.
   3. Restart the PC. Vanguard is gone if its tray icon doesn't come back.
   4. Open the Riot Client and launch the game. It reinstalls Vanguard and will ask for one more restart before Play unlocks.

   Riot's guide: Uninstall Vanguard, restart, and let the game reinstall it

4. Do a clean boot

   This switches off every non-Microsoft service for one boot, so you can tell whether something in the background is the problem.

   1. Press Win+R, type msconfig and press Enter.
   2. On the Services tab, tick Hide all Microsoft services first (skip it and you'll switch off parts of Windows).
   3. Click Disable all, then tick vgc again so Vanguard still starts.
   4. Apply, OK, restart, and test.

   Some programs ignore a clean boot anyway, third-party antivirus and networking tools most of all. If the error goes away, turn services back on a few at a time until it returns, and you've found it.

   Riot's guide: Do a clean boot

5. Reinstall the game

   Uninstall from Windows' Installed apps list with the Riot Client closed. For a clean reinstall of League, Riot also has you delete the Riot Client folder under C:\Riot Games, the Riot Games folders under %localappdata% and %programdata%, and the League of Legends folder in Documents. That last one holds your replays, so copy them out first if you want them.

   Riot's guide: Reinstall the game

What players found

The fullest write-up we found came from a player who fought VAN 57 in League and VAN -81 in VALORANT on the same PC for about three weeks. Two things got them out.

First, the reinstall has to end in a real restart. After Vanguard reinstalls, the Riot Client can say you're good to press Play without asking for a reboot. They found that pressing Play at that point just reinstalled Vanguard again, in a loop, because the driver only loads during boot. Restart by hand, even if nothing asks you to. Several replies months later said that alone fixed it for them, and one person described hitting a failed update, then VAN 216, then VAN 57 in a row before it worked.

Second, and much rarer: on their machine the vgk driver never registered as a service, though the installer reported success. Running sc query vgk in an admin PowerShell came back saying the service didn't exist, while sc query vgc looked normal. They fixed it by registering the driver by hand and setting it to load at boot in the registry. That's a registry edit on an anti-cheat driver, so back up first, and treat it as the last resort after Riot's steps and a ticket.

Player reports paraphrased from various Reddit threads, read September 25, 2026.

Related errors

• VAN -81
• VAN 9051
• VAN -1
• VAN 216

Source: Riot Games Player Support, Error VAN 57, updated July 8, 2026. Riot's steps are paraphrased here, not copied; checked September 25, 2026.