How to fix the VAN -81 error in League of Legends

Riot Games' anti-cheat system has come to League of Legends, and it's bringing tons of bugs with it. Here's how to fix the VAN -81 error.

Vanguard is a kernel-level anti-cheat system, which means it can have all sorts of issues that will prevent it from functioning properly due to its deep access to the computer. Luckily, the VAN -81 error is one that is usually more straightforward to solve. Here's why you're getting the VAN -81 error, and how to fix it.

The VAN -81 error is a connection error, meaning Vanguard isn't communicating properly with the Riot Client and servers and it's preventing you from playing League of Legends because the anti-cheat isn't good to go. Either something is wrong with Vanguard, or it's the notoriously-glitchy League of Legends client. The first and simplest solution is to open your Task Manager, end all instances of Vanguard, League of Legends, and the Riot Client, and then restart your computer and try to relaunch League of Legends.

If that doesn't work, you should subsequently uninstall both Vanguard and League of Legends from your computer entirely. Note that you do not need to uninstall the Riot Games Client to do this, just the other two.

This can be done directly from your operating system's program manager. Remember to remove both programs and not just Vanguard. You can then reinstall League of Legends from the Riot Client, which should also prompt your computer to reinstall Vanguard at the same time automatically. If it doesn't install Vanguard, that can be done manually.

If the problem persists, Riot Games says it's best to send them an official support ticket. This can be done from their support request page. That's everything we know about how to solve the VAN -81 Error for League of Legends. Best of luck!