How to Fix ‘Error Code: VAL 39’ on Valorant?

Fix: 'There was an error connecting to the platform' on Valorant

Some players have been experiencing the VAL 39 error code while trying to play Valorant. As per the error message, an error occurred when your client was trying to establish a connection to the Riot platform. This problem can be caused by a number of reasons that can vary depending on your situation. However, usually, the error message in question is caused when the Riot servers are down for maintenance or are facing some issues. When this happens, players have no choice but wait for Riot to resolve the problem on their end. In addition to that, the problem can also be only limited to you in which case you will have to go through a few troubleshooting methods to get the game back working. Do not worry as we will be taking you through the process in this article.

Valorant Error Code VAL 39

As it turns out, the error message in question prevents users from playing the game. For some, the problem occurs while they are trying to open up the game while for others, the issue is caused as they are connecting to a game. Like we mentioned, the issue is often related to Riot servers being down, however, that’s not the only cause as there are other factors that can also result in the issue. Therefore, let us first go through the possible causes and then we will get started with the different solutions that can help you resolve the problem. With that said, let us get right into it.

  • Riot Servers are Down — As it turns out, the most probable reason for the error message in question is the Riot servers being down. This can happen when there’s the maintenance of the servers on-going due to which they are taken down for a while. In addition, if the servers are having issues, that can cause the problem as well. In such a scenario, you will simply have to wait for Riot to fix their issues.
  • VGC Service — Another reason that you may encounter the problem mentioned here is when the VGC server is not running on your system. This service is required for Valorant and in case it is stopped, the game won’t be able to establish a connection with the game servers. In such a scenario, you will simply have to start the service to resolve the problem.
  • Third-Party Interference — In addition to that, the problem can also be triggered by the interference of a third-party software on your system. This happens when a third-party service on your computer intervenes with the game process and prevents it from establishing a connection to the game servers. In such a scenario, you will have to simply get rid of the responsible application.

Now that we have gone through the possible list of reasons that may trigger the problem for you, let us get into the various methods using which you can resolve the error code in question here. Before we get started, however, it is important to note that most of the time, the problem is caused by an issue with the Riot servers like we have mentioned earlier as well. In such a scenario, you don’t have a choice but to wait it out until Riot restores their servers. However, in case you are the only one facing the error message, then you can go through the methods that are given down below to troubleshoot the issue. With that said, let us get started without any further delay.

Run Valorant as an Administrator

As it turns out, the first thing that you should do when you come across the problem in question is to run the game as an administrator. Running the game with administrator privileges can often prevent several services on your system from interfering with the game process and as a result you are able to have a smooth experience. Doing this is really easy, just follow the instructions given down below:

  1. First of all, open up the Start Menu and search for Valorant.
    Searching for Valorant in the Start Menu
  2. Then, right-click on the result shown and from the drop-down menu, choose the Run as administrator option.
    Running Valorant as an Admin
  3. You will be prompted with a UAC dialog box. Here, just simply click the Yes button.
  4. Let the game launch and then see if the problem is still there.

Check VGC Service

VGC is an important service to the game that is required when you launch the game. However, when the service is not running in the background, the game will encounter several issues including this one where you are not able to establish a connection to the game servers. To resolve this, you have to simply make sure that the service is running in the background. We will be using the Windows Services app on Windows for this purpose. Follow the instructions given down below to do this:

  1. First of all, go ahead and open up the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows key + R shortcut on your keyboard.
  2. Once the Run dialog box is open, type in services.msc and then hit the Enter key. Alternatively, you can just search for Services in the Start Menu and then open it up from there.
    Opening up Services
  3. Doing this will open up the Windows Services app where you will see a list of all the services on the system.
  4. From the list of services, go ahead and locate the VGC service. To do this, press the V key on your keyboard which will take you to the services starting from the alphabet V.
    Locating VGC Service
  5. Once you have found the service, double-click on it to open up the Properties window.
  6. On the Properties window, make sure that the Startup type is set to Automatic. If it isn’t, choose it from the drop-down menu given.
  7. After that, go ahead and start the service by clicking the Start button.
    Changing VGC Service Properties
  8. Once the service starts, open up the Riot client and launch the game. See if the error message still appears.

Perform a Clean Boot

As it turns out, more often than not, problems like these are often caused by the interference of a third-party software on your system. This usually includes any third-party antivirus program that you might have installed on your system. One thing that you can do is either disable it or uninstall the antivirus program from your system. However, the issue may not always be caused by the antivirus program and another third-party service may be the culprit. To verify this suspicion of the issue being caused by a third-party program, we can simply perform a clean boot. Doing this will start Windows with only the required Windows services and so the third-party services are all disabled. If you are able to play your game without any issues in clean boot, that means the problem is indeed being caused by an application on your system. To perform a clean boot, follow the instructions given down below:

  1. First of all, open up the Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R.
  2. Then, in the Run dialog box, type in msconfig and hit the Enter key.
    Opening up System Configuration
  3. This will open up the System Configuration window on your system.
  4. On the System Configuration window, switch to the Services tab and click the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox.
    Hiding all Microsoft Services
  5. After that, follow it up by clicking the Disable all button. Then, click the Apply button.
    Disabling all Third-Party Services
  6. Once you have done that, switch to the Startup tab and click on the Open Task Manager option provided.
    System Configuration Startup Tab
  7. On the Startup of the Task Manager, go ahead and highlight each application one by one and then click the Disable button.
    Disabling all Startup Applications
  8. After that, restart your system to perform a clean boot. As your PC boots up, launch the game and see if the error message is still there.
  9. In case it is resolved, you can locate the culprit application by enabling each service one by one via the Services tab on the System Configuration tab. This may take a while but will ultimately help you in completely fixing the issue.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kamil Anwar


Kamil is a certified MCITP, CCNA (W), CCNA (S) and a former British Computer Society Member with over 9 years of experience Configuring, Deploying and Managing Switches, Firewalls and Domain Controllers also an old-school still active on FreeNode.