Why is Valorant Not Updating?

Valorant not updating is usually the case where update progress wheel will get stuck at 0, or the download speed is capped at 0.1Mbps.

Although there are numerous reasons why this problem can occur so randomly, I’ve gone through and narrowed down a few common factors.

You’ll likely face this issue if you have a glitched update process, bugged Riot Vanguard software, or when your antivirus software falsely blocks the update.

After facing this issue myself, I was only able to resolve it by re-installing the Riot Vanguard anti-cheat software.

That being said, here, I’ve also included some other fixes to help you resolve the update problem.

Let’s get into the details.

Restart Riot Client’s Processes

Usually, Valorant’s update failure results from the Riot client’s glitched process. You’ll have to force close these processes from the Task Manager to fix them.

Alternatively, you can also reboot your computer to terminate the bugged processes. 

1. Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc shortcut keys.
2. Switch to the Detail tab and close all processes related to the Riot Client.
   
3. Launch the Riot Client and try updating the game again.

Re-install Riot Vanguard

Riot Vanguard is Riot’s anti-cheat tool that scans your system for suspicious behaviors and prevents them from affecting the game.

Any problems with this tool can affect the game’s download and the update process, so it’s best to re-install it to fix the update issue.

But before we proceed, make sure to close all Riot Client and Vanguard tray notification processes, as it can prevent you from making any sort of changes to the anti-cheat tool.

1. Open the Run command by pressing the Windows + R shortcut keys.
2. Type in cmd and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to run the command as administrator.
   
3. Type in sc delete vgc and press Enter to run the command.
   
4. Next, type sc delete vgk and run it as well.
   
5. Now, you must restart your computer before moving on to the next step.
6. After the reboot, head over to C:\Program Files and delete the Riot Vanguard folder.
   
7. Launch Riot Client to re-install Riot Vanguard anti-cheat. Make sure to reboot your computer upon completion.
8. After the reboot, launch Valorant to start the update.

Check Your Antivirus Software

Antivirus softwares are pretty notorious for flagging files as false positive. This can also affect Valorant as it can sometimes interfere with the game’s latest patches and update files, thus halting the update process. 

This is a commonly recurring problem that even Riot Game recommends temporarily disabling your Antivirus software or keeping it in passive mode before updating your game. 

But first, ensure to close all Riot Games processes from the Task Manager. Here’s how:

1. Restart your computer to close all ongoing background processes.
2. Open the task manager and make sure to close all processes related to Riot Client or the Vanguard if they’re running already.
3. Launch your antivirus software and pause the protection temporarily. (The exact steps will differ depending on the antivirus software).
4. Open the Riot Client application and launch Valorant. You should be able to update the game with no issues.

Note: Sometimes, pausing the protection feature on the antivirus might not be enough to turn it off completely. So, for such cases, try uninstalling the antivirus software and then updating the game.

Run the Game as an Administrator

Sometimes, Valorant will fail to update if it lacks sufficient user privileges. The game will most likely ask you for update permission via the User Account Control prompt. But if it fails to trigger the prompt, you’ll have to run the Riot Client as an administrator manually. 

Here’s how you can do so:

1. First, close all Riot client processes, as we’ve mentioned previously.
2. Right-click the Riot Client shortcut on your desktop and hit Run as administrator.
   

Alternatively, you can set the client app to run as administrator every time you launch it. To do so, navigate to the Riot Games installation folder. By default, you’ll find it under “C:\Riot Games\Riot Client.”

1. Right-click on the RiotClientServices.exe and select Properties.
   
2. Switch to the Compatibility tab and check the Run this program as an administrator tickbox.
   
3. Hit Apply and OK to save the changes.

Some Other Fixes You Can Try

By now, you should be able to update and play the game. But if you’re still facing the update issue, you can also try the following general fixes.

• Start by checking your internet connection. Having frequent fluctuations in your connection can often disrupt the update process. So make sure your connection speed is decent and is free from issues. Also, ensure that your system firewall isn’t blocking Valorant.
• New updates often contain new content and fixes, so ensure you have sufficient space on your storage drive before updating the game.
• As a last resort, you can also try submitting a ticket over at Riot Games stating the update issue. To do so, visit Riot Games support and fill in the details.