Fix: Smite is Waiting for Verification

Smite is quite a revolutionary game as it’s a third-person Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game which sets it aside from other popular game from this genre such as League of Legends and DOTA 2. The game is available on Steam or the standalone launcher and this problem appears on both versions of the game, soon after launching.

The error appears after the game launches and the client displays the “Smite is waiting for verification” message and it just stands there for a long time. Users complained about the problem and there were some fixes which managed to solve the problem and we decided to put them all together in an article.

What Causes Smite is Waiting for Verification?

The problem is a one which appears with various versions of the client and it started appearing several years ago. Still, the causes for the problem have remained the same over the years and they can be listed down and solved one by one:

• Problems with the game processes might corrupt the launcher and fool it to think that it’s somehow in the middle of checking for updates or installing them.
• The HiRez main service can also get corrupt or it may not have been installed properly in the first place, especially if the error appears right after downloading and installing the game.

Solution 1: Restart Services from the Client

The Smite launcher has the Restart Services option which can be accessed and users have reported that it was able to solve the “Smite is waiting for verification problem”. Restarting the services will reset certain things and the game should get rid of this bug which causes the players to not be able to play the game.

1. If you have installed the game on Steam, open up your Steam client by double-clicking its icon from the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu or the round Cortana button ( or the search bar) next to it if you are a Windows 10 user.

2. Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Smite in the list of games you own in the library.
3. Right-click on the game and choose the Play Game entry which will appear at the top of the context menu. If the game is not installed through Steam, simply locate the game’s launcher on your computer and double click on it.

4. Click the gear-like icon from the bottom left part of the Smite launcher window to open Settings. Click the Troubleshoot button and choose the Restart Services option. Wait for the client to perform this process and try starting the game now. Check to see if the problem is gone.

Solution 2: Kill the HiPatchService.exe Process in Task Manager

The client launches the HiPatchService.exe whose job is to simply check for updates for both the game and the game launcher. However, sometimes it gets stuck while checking for updates and the process simply never stops running, fooling the game into thinking that there might be an update available. Killing the process and reopening the game can solve the problem.

1. Run the game exactly as you did above, either by launching the game via Steam if you installed it using Steam or by running the Smite launcher by clicking its icon from the Desktop or searching for it in the Start menu.
2. When the game launches, use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination by tapping the keys in the same time to open the Task Manager tool. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Alt + Del key combination and select Task Manager from the blue screen which will appear with several options. You can also search for it in the Start menu.

3. Click on More details at the bottom left part of the window in order to expand Task Manager and search for the “HiPatchService.exe” process. It should be located right under Background processes. Select it and choose the End task option from the lower right part of the window.
4. Click Yes to the message which is going to be displayed which should warn about killing various processes and how it may affect your computer so make sure you just go with it.

5. You should now reopen the Smite client and check to see if you are now able to play the game properly.

Solution 3: Start Making a New Account

For some users, it was possible to ‘fool’ the launcher by choosing the Make New Account option which will take you to the screen where you should input your account data. This method is more of a workaround but the error didn’t reappear when users tried to perform these steps.

1. If you have installed the game on Steam, open up your Steam client by double-clicking its icon from the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu or the round Cortana button ( or the search bar) next to it if you are a Windows 10 user.

2. Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Smite in the list of games you own in the library.
3. Right-click on the game and choose the Play Game entry which will appear at the top of the context menu. If the game is not installed through Steam, simply locate the game’s launcher on your computer and double click on it.
4. When the launcher opens, click the HiRez button from the top left part of the laucnher’s window and choose to Make a New Account. When the Make a new account window appears, simply exit out and you should now be able to evade the “Smite is waiting for verification” problem.

Solution 4: Install or Uninstall HirezService

Sometimes this service simply doesn’t install properly on people’s computers and they are unable to do anything with their installation of Smite, leading to this error appearing from the beginning. In other cases, the service appears to be corrupt and you should uninstall and let the game install it itself.

1. If you have installed the game on Steam, open up your Steam client and navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Smite in the list of games you own in the library.
2. Right-click on the game and choose the Properties entry which will appear at the top of the context menu. Navigate to the Local Files tab in the Properties window and choose the Browser Local Files button.

3. If the game is not installed through Steam, locate the game’s shortcut on the Desktop, right-click on it and choose Open file location from the context menu which will appear. If you don’t have a shortcut on the Desktop browse for the game’s installation folder manually (C >> Program Files >> Smite) if you didn’t change it.
4. You can also search for it in the Start menu by typing “Smite” with Start menu open, right-click the Smite entry, and choose the Open file location.

5. Navigate to Binaries >> Redist and double-click to open InstallHiRezService.exe executable. If the service is installed, make sure you choose to uninstall it from within the executable. If it’s not installed, install it before reopening the game again.
6. The game should proceed to install the Service before launching so check to see if you are now able to play properly.

Solution 5: Reinstall Smite

Reinstalling the game is the last step you should undertake in order to solve this problem. Some people may feel like this is too much but it all depends on how fast your Internet connection is because your progress is tied with your Steam or HiRez account (depending on how you installed the game) and you can simply start where you left off.

The instructions below are divided into two parts: instructions for users who used the HiRez launcher to download and install the game and an alternative for Steam users so make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

1. Click on the Start menu button and open Control Panel by searching for it or by locating it in Start menu (Windows 7 users). Alternatively, you can click on the gear icon in order to open the Settings app if you are using Windows 10 as the operating system on your computer.
2. In the Control Panel window, switch to View as: Category at the top right corner and click on Uninstall a Program under the Programs section.

3. If you are using the Settings on Windows 10, clicking on Apps section from the Settings window should open the list of all installed programs on your computer.
4. Locate Smite in the list either in Settings or Control Panel, click on it once and click the Uninstall button located in the Uninstall a program window. Confirm any dialog choices to uninstall the game, and follow the instructions which will appear on screen.

Alternative for Steam Users:

1. If you have installed the game on Steam, open up your Steam client and navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window and locate Smite in the list of games you own in the library.

2. Right-click on the game and choose the Uninstall button which will appear at the bottom of the context menu which will appear.
3. Follow the instructions which will appear on screen and confirm any dialogs prompting you to confirm your choice to uninstall the game.

In order to reinstall Smite, you will need to download it from the HiRez Official Website by clicking the Windows button in the site which will initiate the download of the launcher.

Alternatively, you will need to download it again from Steam by locating in the Library and choose the Install button after right-cling on it. Check to see if the “Smite is waiting for verification” message still appears.