An HWID ban is a hardware-level enforcement action that blocks a specific physical device from accessing a game by fingerprinting hardware component identifiers. These include the motherboard serial, disk volume serial, MAC address, and GPU UUID. Creating new accounts or reinstalling the game will not lift an HWID ban. Using a VPN will not lift it either.
How an HWID Ban Works
Anti-cheat software such as Riot Vanguard, Easy Anti-Cheat, Ricochet, and BattlEye reads hardware identifiers at the kernel level and assembles them into a device fingerprint. That fingerprint is recorded server-side when a ban is triggered. Any account logging in from the banned machine matches the stored fingerprint and is refused immediately, including brand-new accounts.
HWID Ban vs. Account Ban
The three ban types work at different levels.
- Account ban: blocks login credentials. A new account on a different device bypasses it.
- HWID ban: blocks the device fingerprint. Any account on that machine is refused at login.
- IP ban: blocks a network address. A different internet connection can bypass it.
An HWID ban cannot be bypassed by any of these methods.
Common Causes of an HWID Ban
Most HWID bans trace back to three causes:
- Confirmed cheating or unauthorized software detected by anti-cheat
- Ban evasion: a new account created on the same device after a prior ban
- Purchasing secondhand hardware that already carries a ban record
A shared PC where another user cheated can generate an HWID ban on that device. No consumer-accessible method exists to check whether used hardware is already banned before purchase.
How Long Does an HWID Ban Last?
Duration varies by publisher and anti-cheat system. Riot Games implements temporary HWID bans; players should check the official Riot support portal for current durations. Activision applies permanent HWID bans for severe Call of Duty violations. Ban duration policy is set by each publisher, and the official support portal for that game is the only authoritative source.
How to Tell If You Are HWID Banned
Three signals indicate an HWID ban:
- A specific error code persists across multiple accounts at login. Valorant error VAN 152 is a known HWID ban indicator.
- Any account, including a brand-new one, is banned immediately on that device at login.
- No ban notice appears in account settings, because the block sits at the device level.
Benefits of HWID Bans for Game Studios
HWID bans remove repeat offenders who cycle through new accounts after each ban. They raise the cost of sustained cheating and reduce moderation workload by closing the new-account-creation loop. Cheat software vendors also lose value when hardware enforcement is present.
HWID Bans in Live-Service Games
Live-service games with large concurrent player populations face the highest volumes of cheat-related enforcement. HWID ban appeals require triage workflows that separate hardware bans from account bans before routing. False-positive scenarios, including secondhand hardware and shared household PCs, require human review and documented evidence before resolution.
Studios using Helpshift’s trust and safety capabilities and expert gaming specialists can manage high-volume enforcement queues and handle nuanced appeal cases at scale.
How to appeal an HWID ban
To appeal, locate the official support portal for that game. State that this is a device ban appeal and include any error code shown at login. If a shared or secondhand PC is involved, describe that context with available evidence. Avoid third-party spoofer software. Anti-cheat systems detect common spoofers, and a detected spoofer typically results in a permanent ban.
Studios building trust and safety workflows for live-service games, including HWID ban appeal triage, can explore what Helpshift makes possible at helpshift.com/request-demo.
