Buying a used processor turned into an unexpected problem for a gamer in Germany: after installing a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, Riot Vanguard immediately blocked his access to Valorant. The cause was a hardware ban the processor had received under its previous owner.
The user shared the issue on Reddit, explaining that he had recently purchased a Ryzen 7 5800X3D through a classifieds website. The processor itself worked without any issues, but as soon as he launched Valorant, he was immediately kicked from the game, even though everything had worked normally with his previous CPU.
“I recently bought a used Ryzen 7 5800X3D through a classifieds website. The processor works perfectly and has not caused any problems so far. Yesterday, I launched Valorant and was immediately kicked out of the game. That seemed strange, because Valorant had worked perfectly with my previous processor.”
After contacting Riot, the user learned that the processor’s identifier or serial number had been added to Vanguard’s blacklist on August 12 due to a hardware ban. According to the gamer, the previous owner had used cheats in Valorant and received an HWID ban as a result.
The problem turned out to be more serious than just a banned processor. The gamer claims that after installing the CPU, other components in his PC, including the motherboard and storage drive, were also added to the blacklist. After further communication with Riot, he was reportedly told that he would not be able to remove the hardware ban himself.
“I’ve only owned this processor since September 21.”
The user shared his story publicly as a warning to people buying second-hand computer hardware. The post quickly sparked discussion: some users advised him to return the processor to the seller, while others suggested simply reselling it, although that would only pass the problem on to the next owner. HWID spoofing was also discussed as a possible workaround, but such methods of bypassing anti-cheat systems can themselves violate gaming platform rules. The case was also picked up by German technology publication Heise, which covered the incident involving the banned second-hand processor.
In its support page on HWID bans, Riot Games describes this type of ban as one of its harshest penalties. It is used in cases of serious or repeated violations, including the use of third-party cheating software, threats against other players, or particularly aggressive behavior.
Unlike a standard account ban, an HWID ban is tied to the computer’s hardware identifiers. As a result, simply creating a new account may not help, because the system can recognize the same hardware again and apply restrictions to other accounts used on that machine.
Riot explains the logic behind this type of ban quite directly:
“In practice, this means we do not want that particular person to create, use, or access any account on a Riot platform or in a Riot game for the duration of the ban.”
The company does not disclose the exact duration of an HWID ban. Some Reddit users have claimed that a first hardware ban previously lasted around 120 days, or roughly four months, although there is no independent confirmation of this.
Riot also warns that it may restrict all accounts associated with banned hardware, and in cases involving serious violations, the company may refuse to consider appeals requesting that the ban be lifted.
Riot is not the only company using this approach. Hardware bans and other anti-cheat mechanisms are also used by Activision, Epic Games, Rockstar, Ubisoft, and other major developers of competitive online games. Players have previously reported HWID bans in Fortnite, Call of Duty, and other games.
Modern anti-cheat systems may rely on more than just the serial number of a single component. Hardware-based security mechanisms also play an important role, including the Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, which is used to store cryptographic keys and verify the authenticity of a device.
TPM includes a persistent Endorsement Key that is created during manufacturing. This key is unique to a specific module and does not change even after the operating system is reinstalled. Researchers have previously explained in more detail how TPM can create an almost permanent hardware fingerprint of a computer.
Vanguard, Valorant’s anti-cheat system, requires TPM 2.0 to be enabled along with other security mechanisms, including Secure Boot. This deep integration with hardware-level security gives the anti-cheat system more ways to identify a machine even if the user changes certain software settings.
Such mechanisms are not limited to gaming. Online services can theoretically tie restrictions or user tracking to persistent device identifiers as well. One notable example involved Microsoft, when a Windows GDID identifier helped law enforcement track a hacker linked to Scattered Spider, even while the suspect changed IP addresses, used VPNs, and relied on remote connections.
