How to fix VALORANT errors VAN 0, VAN 1, VAN 6 and VAN -102
The low numbers are the shallow end of the Vanguard error pool, transient, nothing broken, nobody banned. A 90 second loop clears most of them, and this page sorts the stragglers by code so you stop at the right fix.
By Neeraj Singh ~10 min Updated Jul 2026 85% found this helpful
Error message
VALORANT has encountered a connection error. Please relaunch the client to reconnect. | Error Codes: VAN 0 / VAN 1 / VAN 6 / VAN -102
Quick fix
Seeing “VALORANT has encountered a connection error” with VAN 0, 1 or 6? Nothing is broken and it is not a ban, these are the transient codes. Run the 90 second loop: close the game, end every VALORANT and Riot Client process in Task Manager, leave Vanguard alone, relaunch. Repeats once? Restart the PC. Method 1 walks you through it.
Seeing “VAN -102”? The minus family is different, your Riot Client launched badly. Same loop first, then Method 4 repairs the client itself.
Code keeps returning every session? Then the network path has a snag: router, DNS, a firewall block or a VPN or proxy in the way. Methods 2 and 3 clear the path.
Wondering if it is Riot's side? The same popup with VAL 19 is their side, and patch days wobble for everyone. Thirty seconds on the Riot Games Service Status page settles it before you troubleshoot.
Same popup, three different owners
Riot reuses the connection-error popup across codes that belong to different owners, which is why the number underneath is the only part worth reading. The positive low numbers, VAN 0, 1 and 6, are your connection having a moment, flaky Wi-Fi, a stale DNS cache, a VPN in the way. The minus codes, VAN -102 and its sibling VAN -104, are your Riot Client having launched badly, the connection is fine but the thing that should use it is not. And the same sentence with VAL 19 is Riot's side entirely, where the fix is patience. Sorting yourself into the right column takes ten seconds and saves the wrong half hour.
Figure 1: one popup, three owners, read the code
✓ How to fix it
Method 1 clears the large majority of all four codes. The rest of the methods catch the stragglers, each one tells you what success looks like.
Method 1
Run the 90 second loop
1Close the game, open Task Manager and end every VALORANT and Riot Client process you find. Leave Vanguard alone, it does not need the restart and killing it forces a full reboot before you can play.
2Relaunch the Riot Client, let it finish any update it is holding, then sign in and start the game.
3If the same code appears once more, restart the PC, which also restarts Vanguard cleanly, and try again. Logging in and reaching the lobby is your success sign, and for these codes this loop is genuinely the whole fix most of the time.
Figure 2: the 90 second loop, and the one thing not to touch
Method 2
VAN 0 and 1: clear the network path
1Power the router off for thirty seconds and back on, and if you are on Wi-Fi, test a wired connection for one session, a flickering link is exactly what these codes report.
2Flush the stale lookups: open Command Prompt as administrator and run ipconfig /flushdns. Turn off any VPN or proxy while you test, both are repeat offenders for VAN 1 in particular.
3Relaunch. A clean login on the refreshed path confirms the network was the snag. Still repeating? Method 3 checks what might be blocking it on purpose.
Method 3
Check the firewall, and the antivirus quarantine
1In Windows Security, allow VALORANT and the Riot Client through the firewall, and add both as exceptions in any third-party antivirus.
2Then check the antivirus quarantine folder, security software occasionally quarantines a Riot file silently, and a client missing a file connects exactly this badly. Restore anything of Riot's you find there and add the folder to exclusions.
3Also try launching the Riot Client as administrator once, restricted permissions produce the same symptoms. A stable session confirms the block is gone.
Method 4
VAN -102: repair the Riot Client itself
1VAN -102, and its sibling -104, mean the Riot Client launched badly, so the fix targets the client, not the network. Run Method 1's loop first if you have not, ending every Riot Client process is the documented first move, and it works in League of Legends too.
2Still failing? Launch the Riot Client as administrator, and let it sit on the login screen for a minute so any half-finished update completes.
3For a -102 that survives all of that, reinstall the Riot Client: uninstall it from Settings > Apps, restart, download it fresh from the official site and let it update fully before launching the game. A clean launch straight to login closes the case.
Method 5
Rule out Riot's side
1Open the Riot Games Service Status page for your region. An incident or maintenance listed there means the fix is patience, and no local method beats waiting.
2Remember the popup twin: the same sentence with VAL 19 is Riot's side by definition, so if your code is that one, you are done troubleshooting already.
3On patch days, give the client one full update cycle and one PC restart before judging, half-updated clients throw exactly these transient codes.
Mind the minus sign when you search or ask for help. VAN 1 is a transient connection error from this page. VAN -1 is a different animal that Riot documents as Vanguard failing to start or a required service being unavailable, and its fixes live with the service guides linked below, not with router restarts.
Common causes of VAN 0, 1, 6 and -102
A transient wobble in your connection or a half-updated client, cleared by the 90 second loop.
Unstable Wi-Fi, a stale DNS cache or a VPN in the path (VAN 0 and 1).
A firewall block, or an antivirus that silently quarantined a Riot file.
The Riot Client launching badly or stuck half-updated (VAN -102 and -104).
A Riot-side incident or patch-day instability, the case where waiting is the fix.
Expert insight
“The low numbers are the codes I worry about least, and I tell people that first because the popup scares them more than it should. My loop is boring on purpose: kill the game and the Riot Client in Task Manager, hands off Vanguard, relaunch, and if it repeats once, restart the machine. That is the whole story for most of them. The two habits that catch the rest: read the sign of the number, because minus 102 is the client and plain 1 is the connection, and peek in the antivirus quarantine when nothing else makes sense, security software eats Riot files quietly more often than anyone believes.”
Manager, Tech Support & Operations · 19+ years fixing Windows and system errors
Make sure this is the error you have
The Vanguard family crowds this neighbourhood, so match the code exactly. VAN -1 is the minus-sign trap from the note above, and its service fixes live in the vgc guide and the VAN -81 guide. VAN 79 is the launch-time connection failure with the service-first fix, in the VAN 79 guide. VAN 84 is the drop-and-outage error, in the VAN 84 guide. And VAN 185 is the session error with Riot's own explanation, in the VAN 185 guide. This page is only for the transient trio VAN 0, 1 and 6, plus the VAN -102 client launch error.
Frequently asked questions
What do VALORANT error codes VAN 0, VAN 1 and VAN 6 mean?
They are the low-numbered connection errors: the client could not reach or hold its link to Riot's platform. VAN 0 and VAN 1 point at your network connection, and VAN 6 is the same family with a strong record of clearing after a full PC restart. None of them means anything is broken or banned, they are the transient end of the Vanguard error family.
What does VAN -102 mean?
VAN -102 means the Riot Client itself launched badly, so the game has no healthy client to connect through. It appears in VALORANT and League of Legends, and it has a near-identical sibling, VAN -104, fixed the same way. End every Riot Client process, leave Vanguard alone and relaunch, with a PC restart as the reliable second step.
Is VAN 1 the same as VAN -1?
No, the minus sign matters. VAN 1 is a transient connection error you clear with a restart and a clean network path. VAN -1 is documented by Riot as Vanguard failing to start correctly or one of its services being unavailable, which is a service problem: reinstall Vanguard and set its service to start automatically.
The popup says there was an error connecting to the platform, is that my fault or Riot's?
That wording is shared by codes on both sides, which is why the number underneath matters. VAN 0, 1 and 6 point at your connection, while VAL 19 with the same text points at Riot's side. Check the code first, then glance at the Riot Games Service Status page: if an incident is listed, wait it out rather than troubleshooting.
Are these codes a ban or account problem?
No. VAN 0, 1, 6 and -102 say nothing about your account standing. Bans and restrictions arrive with their own clearly worded messages and their own codes. Once the connection or client recovers, you sign in and play as normal.
What is the fastest fix for these codes?
The 90 second loop: close the game, end every VALORANT and Riot Client process in Task Manager while leaving Vanguard alone, relaunch and sign in. If the code repeats once, restart the PC, which also restarts Vanguard cleanly. That loop resolves the large majority of all four codes.
Why do these errors spike after a patch?
Patch days combine busy servers with clients in half-updated states, which is fertile ground for transient connection and launch errors. Run the 90 second loop, let the Riot Client finish updating fully and give it one PC restart. If many players are reporting codes at the same time, the status page tells you whether waiting is the real fix.
When should I reinstall the Riot Client?
Last, and mainly for a VAN -102 that survives restarts and admin mode, because that code points at the client's own installation. Uninstall the Riot Client, restart, reinstall from the official site and let it update fully before launching the game. For the plain connection codes, reinstalling rarely adds anything the network fixes have not, though a stubborn VAN 1 that survives every method is the one exception worth trying it on.
Still not working?
A transient code that refuses to be transient is telling you something is steady-state wrong: test a phone hotspot for one session to rule your home connection in or out, and if the codes started arriving together with crashes or other VAN errors, treat the newest code as the real story and start from its guide. On the League of Legends side, Riot's Hextech Repair Tool can repair the install and bundle logs for a support ticket, worth running before you contact them. Browse the full set of Riot Vanguard error guides, or submit your error to us for a tailored fix.
