1. Start With Riot’s Suggested Fixes
Riot Games has a full post regarding all the Vanguard error codes in League of Legends. The post lists over 20 error codes, their common causes, and quick solutions. For the VAN 185 error code, the guide states, “The issue may be caused by leaving the League Client running for longer than 7 days or being logged into the client on multiple devices.“ To fix the VAN 185 issues, Riot suggests restarting the League and Riot clients and logging out of the client on multiple devices. Let’s take a closer look at these solutions.
↪ Restart Your League and Riot Client
To restart your League and Riot Client, close any open windows and ensure the app is not running in the background. Go to the taskbar, click the upward arrow icon, right-click on the Riot Client or League Client icon, and select Exit. Once the respective client is closed, relaunch it to see if the issue is resolved. Riot also recommends not leaving either of these clients running for more than seven days, as this can lead to network issues, such as VAN 185 and VAN 0.
↪ Log Out Your LOL Account From Multiple Devices
If you have multiple devices using the same League of Legends account, you should reconsider this. Sharing an account across multiple devices can lead to issues like the Van 185 error. To resolve this, log out of your League account on all devices except your main one, and check if the problem persists.
2. Reinstall Riot Vanguard
Riot Vanguard is an anti-cheat software developed by Riot Games that runs in the background while you play games like League of Legends and Valorant. It monitors your computer for applications and processes that may indicate cheating. However, Vanguard can sometimes cause errors when launching games. Reinstalling Vanguard is often helpful in addressing these errors.
3. Enable Vanguard Services
Another way to fix the VAN 185 error is by enabling Vanguard services. While these services are usually enabled by default, it’s a good idea to double-check to ensure everything is set up correctly. Once you have done that, you need to do one more thing. Go to the Run box again, type in msconfig, and hit OK. From the System Configuration window, head to the Services tab and toggle on Hide all Microsoft services to make the process easier. Next, scroll down, find “vgc,” and ensure it is toggled on and that the Status says “Running“. Once all that is done, hit the Apply and OK buttons and restart your computer to apply the changes.
4. Reinstall League of Legends
If none of the above methods fix the issue, the last option you can try is reinstalling League of Legends. Reinstalling the game won’t delete your data and settings, as these are stored on your profile and in other temporary files. So, as long as you don’t alter those, reinstalling shouldn’t be a problem. With that said, here’s how to reinstall League of Legends:
5. Contact Support
Contacting support is your last resort. Typically, customer support will suggest steps already listed on the website, so to avoid repetition, ensure you thoroughly explain everything you’ve already tried. You can reach out to both Riot’s and League of Legends support, as one may be more helpful than the other.
