How to Sign In to League of Legends and Fix Login Issues

How to sign in to League of Legends is typically a 10-second process. You open the Riot Games client, enter your email or username and password, and you are in. When it fails, though, the error messages are often vague and the troubleshooting path is not obvious.

Login problems in League of Legends fall into two distinct categories: issues with the client itself (corrupted files, stale sessions, server connectivity problems) and issues with your account credentials (wrong password, compromised account, locked account). The fix for each category is completely different, so identifying which category applies saves significant time.

This guide covers the full process of signing in to League of Legends correctly, every common reason login fails, the fastest fixes for each error type, how to recover an account you cannot access, and how to get started in Australia and other regions where server selection matters.

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If you already have a Riot account, the login process is:

Open the Riot Games client (the launcher that replaced the standalone LoL client)
Check the region selector at the top of the login screen. This is the most commonly overlooked step. If you created your account on EUW and your client defaults to NA, your credentials will show as invalid even though the account is perfectly fine.
Enter your email address or username (not your Riot ID, which is a separate display name)
Enter your password
Complete Multi-Factor Authentication if enabled: enter the code from your authenticator app, approve the Riot Mobile push notification, or check your email for the verification code

A common point of confusion: your Riot ID (the SummonerName#tagline format) is your display name and is not what you use to log in. Your login credential is your email address or the separate username you set when creating the account.

How to Get Started with League of Legends (New Account)

Creating a new account and starting League of Legends:

Go to leagueoflegends.com and click Play Now or Create Account
Enter your date of birth (accounts must meet the minimum age requirement for your region)
Enter a valid email address you control
Create a username and password (the username is your backup login if you forget your email)
Verify your email by clicking the confirmation link Riot sends
Download the Riot Games client from the download page
Launch the client and log in with your new credentials

How to Get Started with League of Legends in Australia

For Australian players, server selection is critical before creating an account.

Australia uses the OCE (Oceania) server. When creating your account, you must select Oceania as your region, or your account will be created on a different server and all your ranked progression, friends list, and champion unlocks will be tied to that server rather than Australian servers.

How to verify your server in the client:

Look at the top of the Riot Games client login screen
The region name appears in a dropdown at the top
If it shows NA, EUW, or any non-OCE region, click the dropdown and select OCE
Log in after confirming the correct region is selected

If your account was accidentally created on the wrong server, Riot offers a one-time paid region transfer option. Contact Riot Support atsupport.riotgames.com for details.

The five most common causes of login failure in League of Legends, and how to identify which one applies:

Cause 1: Server Outage

Always check this first before attempting any local troubleshooting. If Riot’s servers are down, no amount of reinstalling or cache clearing will fix the login failure.

On January 4, 2026, Riot’s SSL certificate expired at midnight and locked out millions of players globally. Downdetector received over 7,000 reports while Riot’s own status page initially showed no issues. This example illustrates why checking multiple sources is important.

Where to check server status:

status.riotgames.com (official, but occasionally delayed in reporting issues)
downdetector.com/status/league-of-legends (user-report aggregator, catches issues faster)
@RiotSupport on X (real-time status announcements)

If a server issue is confirmed: wait. No local fix will resolve server-side authentication failures.

Cause 2: Wrong Region Selected

The region dropdown at the top of the client is the most commonly missed setting. Your credentials are valid only on the server where your account was created.

Signs this is the cause:

You have played before and your password has not changed
The error says “Invalid credentials” or “Account not found”
You recently reinstalled the game or are logging in on a new computer

Fix: Click the region dropdown at the top of the login screen and select the correct region for your account.

Closing the League client with the X button does not fully close the application. Background processes (RiotClientServices.exe and LeagueOfLegends.exe) continue running and can hold onto expired authentication tokens that block new login attempts.

How to fix a stale session:

Press Alt+F4 on the League client window
When the Exit prompt appears, click Sign Out, not Exit
Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc)
On the Processes tab, find and end every instance of RiotClientServices.exe and LeagueOfLegends.exe
Relaunch the Riot Games client and log in again

This resolves the majority of “Unexpected error with login session” errors without requiring any other changes.

Cause 4: Vanguard Anti-Cheat Errors

Riot added Vanguard kernel-level anti-cheat to League of Legends in 2024. Vanguard errors (VAN 57, VAN 9001, VAN 9002, VAN 9005) block gameplay entirely and none of the standard login fixes address them.

VAN errors require BIOS-level changes:

Secure Boot must be enabled in BIOS
TPM 2.0 must be enabled in BIOS
Memory Integrity under Windows Core Isolation should be turned off if you get VAN 9001 or 9002
VBS (Virtualization-Based Security) can cause VAN 9005 errors and may need to be disabled through msinfo32 or Group Policy

How to enter BIOS: restart your PC and press Del, F2, or F12 during the startup screen (the key varies by motherboard manufacturer and is displayed briefly during boot).

Cause 5: Corrupted Client Files

If the client opens but crashes before login, or shows unusual errors not related to credentials, corrupted files are likely.

The official solution is the Hextech Repair Tool:

Download it from support.riotgames.com by searching for “Hextech Repair Tool”
Run it as administrator
Let it scan your installation for file mismatches, registry errors, and configuration issues
After it completes, relaunch the client

The Hextech Repair Tool resolves post-patch corruption issues automatically without requiring a full reinstall.

Error Type	Fix
“Unexpected error with login session”	Sign out, kill all Riot processes in Task Manager, relaunch
“Invalid credentials”	Check region selector, verify email/password at account.riotgames.com
Client opens then closes before login	Run Hextech Repair Tool
VAN error codes	Check Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 in BIOS settings
Login loop (returns to login screen)	Clear browser cookies if using web login, or reinstall client
Server connection timeout	Check status.riotgames.com and wait for server restoration
DNS connection issues	Change to public DNS: 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) in network settings
Outdated network drivers	Update through Device Manager, expand Network Adapters, right-click and Update Driver

If the above fixes do not resolve the issue:

Disable VPN if active: Riot blocks logins from VPN, hosting, and proxy services in some regions. Disconnect from any VPN before logging in.
Verify your system clock is accurate: League’s SSL certificates require a correctly synced clock. An inaccurate clock prevents certificate validation. Go to Windows Settings, Time and Language, and enable “Set time automatically.”
Disable firewall temporarily: Windows Firewall or third-party security software may block the Riot client’s connection. Test with firewall temporarily disabled to identify whether this is the cause.
Flush DNS: Open Command Prompt as administrator, type ipconfig /flushdns, press Enter, and try logging in again.

How to Get Your LoL Account Back

If your credentials no longer work and you believe your account has been compromised or you have forgotten your password, use the account recovery flow:

Password Reset (Most Common Fix)

Click Forgot your Password on the Riot Games client login screen
Enter the email address linked to your account
Check your email for a password reset link from Riot
Follow the link and set a new password
Log in with the new credentials

If the password reset email does not arrive: check spam folders, verify you are using the exact email associated with your account, and wait up to 10 minutes for delivery.

Account Recovery (When Email Access Is Lost)

If an attacker changed your email address or you no longer have access to the account’s email:

Go to support.riotgames.com
Navigate to Accounts and click I Can’t Sign In
Select Recover Your Account
Fill in the recovery form with as much original account information as possible: original email, previous usernames, date of birth on the account, purchase history, and specific champions or skins you owned
The original email address you used when creating the account is the highest-weight field in Riot’s identity verification system

Riot Support can recover accounts even after an attacker changed all account details, provided you can demonstrate original ownership through account history.

Pro Tips: Signing In to League of Legends Without Issues

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication before you need it: MFA on your Riot account prevents credential stuffing attacks from succeeding even if an attacker has your password. Enable it under Account Settings on the Riot Games website.
Sign out properly rather than just closing the client: Clicking the X on the client leaves background processes running. Use the proper Sign Out option to clear the session completely and avoid the “stale session” login error on your next session.
Save your region name when setting up a new device: The region selector defaults to the same region every time on an established computer. On a new computer, it may default to a different region. Note your server name (OCE, EUW, NA, etc.) and verify it before entering credentials on any new device.
Run the Hextech Repair Tool after every major Windows update: Major Windows updates occasionally break Riot’s file integrity or registry entries. Running the Repair Tool after significant system updates prevents the login failures that otherwise appear unexpectedly.

Common Mistakes When Signing In to League of Legends

Trying local fixes when Riot’s servers are down: Players spend an hour reinstalling, clearing caches, and rebooting routers when the actual cause is a Riot infrastructure issue. Fix: Check status.riotgames.com and Downdetector for 60 seconds before attempting any local troubleshooting.
Entering the Riot ID instead of email or username: The Riot ID (SummonerName#0000 format) is your in-game display name, not your login credential. Fix: Log in with your email address or the username you chose during account creation.
Not checking the region selector when logging in on a new device: Every region has separate account databases. Entering correct credentials for a different region produces an “invalid” error. Fix: Verify the region dropdown matches the server where your account was created before entering your password.

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Fixing your League of Legends login issues gets you into the game. A stable connection keeps you there without interruptions during ranked matches.

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All product names and trademarks mentioned in this article belong to their respective owners. Riot Games, League of Legends, and all related marks are trademarks of Riot Games, Inc. They are used for informational and educational purposes only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation with the rights holders.

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