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VALORANT error

VAN 289 in VALORANT: something on your PC is interfering with Vanguard

Riot VanguardVALORANT

The message

Connection Error: VALORANT has encountered a connection error. Please relaunch the client to reconnect. Error Code: VAN 289

What it means

Another program on your PC is interfering with Vanguard or changing how it runs. That's the only cause Riot gives.

What to try first

Restart the PC. If 289 comes back, do a clean boot, quit overlays and capture tools, then test without any extra antivirus.

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.

Seeing it in League instead? VAN 289 is a Vanguard code, so League can throw it too. The League version is here: VAN 289 in League of Legends.

It looks like a network error, and isn't

VAN 289 arrives in VALORANT's reconnect popup, which makes it read like your internet dropped. Riot's article says otherwise. Its only explanation is software on the PC interfering with Vanguard or changing how it runs, and none of the four steps touch your connection.

Finding the program

After a restart, the clean boot does most of the work. It turns off every non-Microsoft service for one boot (keep vgc ticked), and if VALORANT runs cleanly, you turn services back on in batches until 289 returns. Riot then adds a step for programs that survive a clean boot: close anything you installed recently, with overlays and capture tools at the top of the list. Last comes antivirus, and for 289 Riot goes straight to uninstalling any extra security software for the test, leaving Windows Security in place.

VAN 302 is the close cousin. Riot describes it nearly the same way, but its list is shorter and starts by disabling antivirus before uninstalling anything. Riot dated its VAN 289 article September 18, 2026, which makes it one of the newest Vanguard codes.

Riot's fix, in Riot's order

  1. Restart your PC

    A full restart, not a sign-out. Vanguard's driver loads when Windows boots, so a restart is the only thing that gives it a clean start.

  2. 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

  3. Close overlays, capture tools and anything newly installed

    Fully exit overlays, screen recorders and anything that hooks into games, and anything you installed around the time the error started. Check the tray and Task Manager, because a closed window doesn't mean a closed program.

  4. Take third-party antivirus out of the picture

    If you've added an antivirus beyond the one built into Windows, disable it and restart. If the error stays, uninstall it for the test, since some of these keep running when they claim to be off. Windows Security covers you in the meantime.

    Riot's guide: Take third-party antivirus out of the picture

Other wordings of the same error

  • VAN 289 VALORANT
  • VALORANT VAN289
  • Error Code: VAN 289
  • VALORANT connection error 289

Source: Riot Games Player Support, Error VAN 289, updated September 18, 2026. Riot's steps are paraphrased here, not copied; checked October 8, 2026.