Valorant HWID ban on a used CPU: what Riot says and how to protect yourself

Valorant HWID ban on a used CPU sounds like a forum myth, but in September 2026 a player from Germany got one together with a second-hand Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The CPU worked, Windows worked, and Vanguard kicked him out of the game right after launch. The reason: the previous owner cheated and Riot blocked his hardware.

Buying a used CPU on Allegro, OLX or Vinted? This case shows a risk that no benchmark will catch. I checked what exactly happened, what Riot replied and what you can do before you pay.

The used PC market has a new problem

Buying a used CPU has always been a risk. Sellers hide defects and sell parts after failed overclocking or crypto mining. Now a hardware block from an anti-cheat joins that list. The CPU passes every test, and Valorant still will not run on it while the block lasts.

You will not find it with a stress test or a benchmark. Riot offers no public lookup for blocked hardware, as ComputerBasealso notes. Only Riot can see Vanguard's block list.

Case study: a Ryzen 7 5800X3D from Kleinanzeigen

A player from Germany bought a used Ryzen 7 5800X3D in September 2026 on Kleinanzeigen, a German classifieds site similar to our OLX. He described the case on Reddit, in the r/PCBaumeister subreddit. He installed the CPU on his motherboard, launched Valorant and Vanguard kicked him out of the game right away.

According to his account, Riot support replied that the CPU's hardware ID had been on Vanguard's blocklist since 12 August, because the previous owner cheated in Valorant. The player later added that his motherboard and drive ended up on the list too, and that support cannot lift the block. That is how his version is described by PC Gamer.

That is where the player's account ends. Riot replied publicly and disputed part of the story.

What Riot says: four months at most and only one game

Phillip Koskinas, who is in charge of anti-cheat at Riot, wrote on X: “Our hw bans only last 4 months maximum, they're game-specific, and support tells you the time remaining on the ban when you write in”. The quote comes from Tom's Hardware. So a hardware block lasts four months at most, applies only to the game in which someone cheated, and support tells you how much time is left when you write in.

Koskinas also denied that one blocked part spreads the ban to the rest of the PC. According to ComputerBase, Riot does not automatically add the remaining components to the block list, and Koskinas could not find this player's ticket. He also gave the scale: so far Riot has recorded fewer than a dozen cases in which a hardware block reached a new owner this way.

Counting four months from 12 August, the CPU from Germany should work in Valorant again around 12 December 2026 at the latest. Replacing the whole PC, as the player wrote, has no basis in what Riot says.

Why the ban sits in the CPU

Riot does not publish exactly how it identifies a computer. What is known is that on Windows 11 Vanguard requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, which has been enforced since 2021 (TechSpot). Hardware Busters points to the Endorsement Key from the TPM module as the likely identifier. The manufacturer writes it at the factory, it cannot be changed and it survives a Windows reinstall.

On AMD boards without a separate TPM chip, the module runs as fTPM, firmware that runs inside the CPU itself. In that case the CPU gets flagged, not the motherboard or the graphics card. That is a hypothesis from the tech press, and Riot has not confirmed it. It does fit what happened to the player from Germany: the CPU went onto a completely different motherboard, and the ban went with it.

How cheaters destroy the market value of hardware

A player cheats in Valorant, gets an HWID ban, buys a new CPU and lists the old one at a normal price. The buyer has no way to check it. If the CPU has passed through several hands, the next seller may not even know they are selling blocked hardware, because it works fine in other games.

The scale is small for now, as Riot talks about fewer than a dozen such cases. It does hit popular models, though. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is no longer made, so anyone who wants a strong gaming CPU for AM4 buys it second hand, as Hardware Busters points out.

The used parts market has always had hidden defects: graphics cards from mining rigs, CPUs after failed overclocking, motherboards with damaged PCIe slots. You can catch some of them with a test. You cannot catch a Vanguard block with any test.

Do other anti-cheats ban hardware too

Yes, but the rules differ. Tom's Hardware writes that BattlEye uses permanent global bans, and that Ricochet in Call of Duty has even stricter rules than Riot. The official BattlEye FAQ does not describe how long bans last or what they cover, though.

FACEIT, in its banning policy gives 5 years for cheating and adds 2 years for every attempt to evade the ban, escalating to a permanent block. The policy says nothing about hardware bans.

How to avoid problems when buying a used CPU

You would not buy a used graphics card without checking the seller. Do the same with a CPU. Here is what you can do:

• Buy from a business if you can. When you buy online from a business in Poland, you have 14 days to withdraw from the contract without giving a reason. You can return a banned CPU without explaining yourself.
• Check the seller's history. Do they have positive feedback? Do they sell a lot of components?
• Ask what the hardware was used for. What it was used for and whether the owner played Valorant. The answer guarantees nothing, but saved in your messages it helps with a complaint.
• Pay through the platform. Allegro Buyer Protection also covers private sellers and Allegro Lokalnie, up to 20,000 PLN, with a claim from 14 days to 2 years after purchase. It does not apply to cash on delivery. On OLX, a refund for an item not as described works only with OLX Payments and OLX Shipping, and OLX reviews each claim individually.
• When picking up in person, ask the seller to launch Valorant. On the seller's PC, with that CPU. For the player from Germany, Vanguard blocked the game right after launch, so this test does tell you something.
• Keep proof of purchase. An invoice, a receipt or screenshots of the listing and the conversation.

I found no case in which Allegro or OLX accepted a game ban as an item not matching its description. Buyer protection gives you a chance, not a certainty.

Shop or private seller: what Polish law says

You get more from a business. A trader is liable for non-conformity of goods with the contract for 2 years from delivery (for used goods they can, with your consent, shorten this to one year), and for online purchases you also get 14 days to return (UOKiK). From a private person there is no 14-day return. The Civil Code warranty for defects applies, but the parties can limit or exclude it in the contract. Such an exclusion does not work if the seller fraudulently concealed the defect (legalniewsieci.pl). I found no ruling that decides whether a game block counts as a defect of the CPU.

What to do if you bought a CPU with a ban

Write to Riot support and attach proof of purchase. According to Koskinas, support tells you the time left until the block ends. Also ask directly whether the block covers other parts of your PC. I found no information that Riot lifts a ban early when the buyer shows proof of purchase. The player from Germany was told the block could not be lifted.

Return the CPU if the law or the platform allows it. From a business, you withdraw from the contract within 14 days. From a private person, write to the seller and file a claim with the buyer protection of the platform you paid through.

Do not install an HWID spoofer. It is a tool for evading bans, and the anti-cheat treats it as a cheat. You risk a ban on your own account.

If none of this works, wait. According to Riot, the block lasts four months at most. If you sell such a CPU on, tell the buyer about the ban, or you do to them exactly what someone did to you.

Why this is a problem for the whole market

The used parts market has always run on information asymmetry. The seller knows more than the buyer. HWID bans add a risk the buyer cannot check before buying, and Riot gives them no tool to change that.

In my opinion this can lower trust in the second-hand market. Some people will be afraid to buy used CPUs, because there is no way to check in advance whether they come with a block. I cannot check it during remote optimization either, because only Riot sees the block list. After a CPU swap, though, it pays to set up the BIOS and Windows for the new chip, and I do that remotely.

A few facts remain from the whole story. A Valorant HWID ban can come with a used CPU, but Riot talks about fewer than a dozen such cases. The block lasts four months at most and applies only to Valorant. Riot denies that the ban spreads to the motherboard and drive. No test will show it before you buy, so your best protection is buying from a business with 14 days to return, or paying through a platform with buyer protection.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get a Valorant HWID ban through a used CPU?

Yes, but rarely. So far Riot has recorded fewer than a dozen cases in which a previous owner's hardware block reached a new one. The most publicised involved a Ryzen 7 5800X3D bought in Germany in September 2026.

How long does a Valorant HWID ban last?

According to Riot's Phillip Koskinas, four months at most. Riot support tells you the exact time left after you write in.

Does a Valorant HWID ban also block League of Legends?

According to Riot, no. Hardware blocks apply only to the game in which cheating was detected. A ban for cheating in Valorant does not lock you out of other Riot games.

Can you check a CPU before buying it?

There is no public tool. Only Riot sees the block list, and a benchmark or stress test shows nothing here. When picking up in person, you can ask the seller to launch Valorant on their PC with that CPU.

Does a new motherboard or a Windows reinstall remove the ban?

A new motherboard did not help the player from Germany, because the ban came with the CPU onto his own board. Riot does not say how it recognises hardware. If the identifier is a key from the TPM module, as the press suspects, a Windows reinstall will not change it.

Does FACEIT ban hardware too?

FACEIT's public policy talks about account bans: 5 years for cheating and 2 more years for every evasion attempt, escalating to a permanent ban. It does not mention hardware blocks.