Error Code 57 VALORANT: How to Fix It
Some VALORANT players may encounter Error Code 57, which prevents them from launching the game, prompting them to reboot their computers. This error message indicates that the game's anti-cheat system, Riot Vanguard, did not initialize as intended. Moreover, this error message could show up more than once, even after rebooting your PC. The error's persistence ironically makes Riot Vanguard—the game's anti-cheating component and its crucial firewall that should ensure fun and fair competition—the root of pain for its players.
In this article we’ll take a rather deep dive into how to fix Error Code 57 in VALORANT. But first, we must know what exactly causes it...
Causes of Error Code 57 in VALORANT
As we said, Error Code 57 results when Riot Vanguard, VALORANT’s anti-cheat system, fails to initialize. This could stem from multiple actions that we usually don’t know the consequence of. Let me illustrate some examples:
You may be playing quite a demanding game and you try to alleviate some strain on memory, CPU, or Hard Disk, and you choose to end the Riot Vanguard task or all related Riot-related processes on your device. What you’ve done is that you just manually disabled Riot Vanguard. In the same session, if you try to open up VALORANT, it will show you Error Code 57.
On a separate note, your PC might have some third-party apps that Riot Vanguard isn’t very keen on. These third-party apps cause conflict with VALORANT’s anti-cheat system, and you won’t be able to have the game run at the same time with these apps.
Let’s move to a bigger beast, having your game files corrupted or some of them missing. If your files are incomplete, Riot Vanguard may not be able to initialize, therefore show you the Error Code 57 message. This, out of all other causes, is probably the most problematic. But no sweat, it’s not difficult to fix.
Now, this last one is unlikely, but it still has a chance of happening. If you’ve been procrastinating updates lately, like driver and windows updates, you may be prone to Error Code 57. Your outdated drivers, in this case, cause a system compatibility issue, which will prevent Riot Vanguard from initializing correctly.
Fixing Error Code 57 in VALORANT
Now that we understand why the annoying message keeps showing up, we can start solving it. Fortunately, we have a good range of options. Each one of these proved effective for me at least once, I'll tell you that.
- Restart VALORANT And Your Computer: Sometimes the solution is just as is prescribed; a simple restart can often fix temporary glitches or conflicts that may be causing the error. Close VALORANT completely, restart your computer, and then launch VALORANT again. If that doesn’t pan out, don’t sweat it, there’s still a good chance you can fix it with one of the following options.
- Disable Conflicting Third-Party Software: Temporarily disable any third-party softwareor antivirus programs that may be interfering with Vanguard. If Error Code 57 persists, consider uninstalling them temporarily.
- Reinstall Riot Vanguard: If the above-mentioned solutions don’t work out and the error persists, try reinstalling Riot Vanguard. Open the Start menu, search for "Add or RemovePrograms," then look for “Riot Vanguard,” and select "Uninstall." Once uninstalled, restart your computer and launch VALORANT. It should automatically reinstall Vanguard.
- Update System Drivers: Ensure your system drivers, particularly graphics card drivers, are up to date. You can do that by visiting your GPU manufacturer’s website to check if there are any new updates.
- Run VALORANT In Compatibility Mode: Try running VALORANT in compatibility mode for Windows 7 or Windows 8. Right-click on the VALORANT launcher and select Properties > Compatibility > "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and choose either Windows 7 or 8.
It’s highly unlikely you’re going to get to this point without having already fixed the issue. But on the rare occasion that you do, contacting Riot Support is your only lifeline. They can provide more in-depth troubleshooting and identify any further underlying issues that may be causing this weird persistence.
For more helpful guides on VALORANT, make sure to check the following guides: