VAL 7: couldn't connect to the session service
VALORANTRiot's name for this error
Couldn't connect to session service.What it means
VALORANT couldn't connect to Riot's session service. Riot gives two possible reasons: a suspension on your account, or trouble on Riot's side.
What to try first
Check the email on your Riot account for a suspension notice. If there's nothing, look for an outage before you troubleshoot your PC.
Riot's table carries a warning. Riot has flagged its VALORANT code list as out of date, because a bug is making some VALORANT errors show up wrong. If the steps here don't match what you're seeing, Riot suggests a support ticket.
Is it you or Riot? If a lot of players got the same code at once, it's likely the servers. Check Riot's service status page for VALORANT before you start reinstalling things.
Two very different causes
Riot's VALORANT table gives VAL 7 an unusual pair of explanations. One is that your account might be suspended. The other is a platform issue on Riot's end. Nothing in the popup tells you which, so you have to check both, and the order below is the quick way to do it.
Your email comes first because it's the fastest to rule out. Riot sends penalty notices to the address on the account, so search that inbox and its spam folder. If there's a recent suspension message, that's your answer, and the duration will be in it. Riot's penalties FAQ explains that VALORANT penalties scale with your history, from warnings up to timed bans.
No email? Look for an outage
If there's no notice, Riot points you to the banner on its support site and the official VALORANT Discord, where it posts known problems. If lots of players are getting VAL 7 at the same moment, that points to Riot's side, and waiting is the fix. If there's no outage and no notice and VAL 7 won't clear, a ticket is the next step.
Riot's fix, in Riot's order
Check your email for a penalty notice
Riot sends suspension and ban notices to the email address on your Riot account. Search that inbox (and spam) for a recent message from Riot before you start troubleshooting anything on the PC.
Look for a known outage
When the fault is on Riot's side, it says so in a banner across the top of its support site and on the official VALORANT Discord. Riot's service status page lists open incidents too. If one matches, nothing on your end will clear it, so wait for the fix.
Send Riot a support ticket
If the steps above don't clear it, open a ticket with Riot Player Support from the VALORANT support site and include the exact code you saw. Riot can see account-side problems that you can't.
Other wordings of the same error
VAL 7VAL7VALORANT error code 7Error Code: VAL 7Couldn't connect to session service
Related VALORANT errors
Source: Riot Games Player Support, Error Codes and Solutions in VALORANT, updated June 2, 2026. Riot's steps are paraphrased here, not copied; checked October 8, 2026.