VAN 152 in League of Legends: What the Error Means
VAN 152 is the error players see when Vanguard has banned the computer rather than the account. What it means, how to tell it from an account ban, and what your options are.
You open League of Legends and instead of the client you get an error: VAN 152. You make a new account, and the same error appears. The account was never the problem. VAN 152 is the code players see when Riot Vanguard has banned the device.
Account ban or hardware ban
There are two kinds of ban and they behave differently.
- An account ban follows the login. Sign in with another account on the same PC and you can play.
- A hardware ban follows the computer. Every account you use on that machine is refused, including ones that have done nothing.
The test is simple: if a brand-new account cannot connect from your PC but works from a friend's, the ban is on your hardware.
What Vanguard reads
To recognise a computer, an anti-cheat collects identifiers from its parts: disk serial numbers, motherboard and BIOS values, the network adapter's MAC address and, on modern systems, the TPM security chip. Together they form a fingerprint. A hardware ban is that fingerprint on a list.
This is why reinstalling Windows does not help. The identifiers belong to the hardware and are the same after a fresh install.
Your options
Wait, or appeal
Some hardware bans are temporary. If you believe the ban is a mistake, Riot's player support is the place to say so. It is free and it is the only route that ends with the ban actually lifted.
Replace the hardware
New parts have new identifiers. It works, and it is the most expensive answer to the problem.
Spoof the identifiers
A HWID spoofer changes what the game reads, so the computer presents a fingerprint that is not on the list. We sell two: the HWID Spoofer, which our team installs for you, and the One Click Spoofer, which you run yourself without reinstalling Windows or updating the BIOS. Our comparison explains the difference.
The Vanguard Emulator also lists VAN 152 among the bans it gets past, which matters if you were going to run a 2PC setup anyway.
If you spoof, do it in order
The most common mistake is signing in to the banned account after spoofing. That ties the new fingerprint to the old ban, and you are back where you started.
- Uninstall the game and Vanguard.
- Run the spoofer and confirm that it reports success.
- Reinstall the game, so it registers the new values.
- Play on a new account. Do not open the banned one again on this machine.
The HWID spoofer guide goes through each step.
What a spoofer cannot do
It does not lift the ban; it presents a different identity. If Riot changes what Vanguard reads, the spoofer has to be updated before it works again, and the status page shows when that is happening. And it does nothing about whatever caused the ban. Return to the same tool, used the same way, and the new identity will end up on the same list.
Summary
VAN 152 means the computer is banned, not the account. New accounts and a fresh Windows install will not help. You can wait or appeal, replace hardware, or change the identifiers the game reads. If you choose the last, follow the order exactly and leave the banned account alone.