League of Legends players who are exhausted after playing for a decade might go to uninstall the game, only to discover they can’t. Here’s how to fix that.
Uninstalling Riot Games’ signature title may seem like a simple task since the process, theoretically, is the same as uninstalling any other game or program on a PC. But with the arrival of Riot Games’ custom game security software called Vanguard, the uninstalling process of League of Legends became more complex than players are used to
Still, if there is a will, there is a way. If players really want to uninstall League of Legends, there’s still a way to do so.
How to uninstall League of Legends on PC
Players can uninstall League of Legends from their PC using standard methods after manually closing all of Riot Games’ software.
To uninstall League of Legends from your laptop or PC, the standard uninstallation options still apply. There is just an added layer of steps since Riot Vanguard should also be disabled. Here is the step-by-step process:
- Right-click on the Vanguard icon on the right side of the taskbar
- Close Vanguard
- Right-click on the Riot Games launcher
- Close the Riot Client
- Open your OS’s program manager
- Uninstall League of Legends
The first step to uninstalling the game is disabling Riot Vanguard. The anti-cheat engine is a separate program that is constantly running, even when you’re not in League of Legends or any other Riot title.
Look for the Vanguard icon on the right side of the taskbar. Right-click the icon, then select “Exit” and confirm closing it once the pop-up appears. Do the same for the Riot Client icon.
If you can’t find these icons, click the upward arrow icon on the lower-right corner of the screen at the taskbar. These will display the hidden icons, and Vanguard and the Riot Client should be there, if they’re not immediately visible.
From there, there’s nothing to stop users from uninstalling League of Legends using their operating system’s typical method. In Windows, click on the search bar and type in “add or remove programs” and open that section of the control panel. From there, users can uninstall League of Legends. If LoL is the only Riot Games title they’re playing, Vanguard and the Riot Client ought to be uninstalled as well.
Alternatively, users can uninstall from the file locations of the Riot programs. Right click on the Riot Client from the desktop and select Open file location. Find the Riot Games folder in the File Explorer. Right-click it and select “Delete.”
Go to the Start menu afterward. Type RUN, enter APPDATA in the window that appears. Once done, open the Local file and look for the Riot Games folder. Click it, select Show more options, and choose Delete. After this, search for the Riot Client, right-click it and select “Open file location.” Go up one folder and find the Riot Games folder. Right click to select Show more options and click Delete. Finally, go to the Start menu again and select the Control Panel. Look for League of Legends and delete it.
What to do if League of Legends won’t uninstall
If League of Legends won’t uninstall, make sure that the Riot Client and Vanguard are both closed down.
While League of Legends is its own program, it’s tied up with other programs in a way that won’t let it uninstall if those programs are still open. Users may be told they can’t uninstall it if Vanguard or the Riot Client remain open. This issue is also present in Valorant, but is particularly galling in League of Legends, as Vanguard is a recent addition to the game.
Thankfully, this can be remedied by simply closing the programs. From there, players can uninstall any and all of Riot Games’ software.
