Valorant ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error fix & solution

Some trouble matchmaking in Valorant after the 7.01 patch

Riot Games released the 7.01 patch for Valorant yesterday which included a ban system, the Ignition State for Premier matchmaking, and a few minor ability action icon updates. Unfortunately, since the release of the update, some players have had trouble connecting to games.

We’ve compiled a few solutions and fixes for those getting the Valorant ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error!

Valorant ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error fix & solution

Unfortunately, the ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error can be pretty common in Valorant, especially after a big update or release. More than often this error simply indicates the matchmaking servers are being slammed and are overloaded. If that’s the issue, sadly you will just have to wait for the servers to clear up a little bit and let you in. You can of course keep trying, but sometimes that might just be adding to the congestion. You can always check the official Valorant server status here.

However, sometimes it can be an issue on your end that just needs to be fixed. Therefore, here is a list of possible fixes and solutions if you are getting the ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error in Valorant:

Common solutions for ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error in Valorant

1. Firewall — Check to make sure you do not have a firewall blocking Valorant. While a firewall is certainly not a bad idea protection-wise, it can often accidentally block required connections when playing a multiplayer game. Check if you have some sort of firewall enabled, and if so, make sure you have an exception for Valorant.
2. Update — Make sure you are running the latest version of Valorant. This can be checked by simply restarting the game and seeing if you have an update to download and install.
3. Stable Internet Connection — This may seem obvious but double-check that you have a stable internet connection. Consider running a speed test to make sure you’re not experiencing an outage or slow speeds. If you’re playing via Wi-Fi and it’s possible to switch to a wired connection, give that a try. Wired connections will always be more stable than wireless.
4. Riot Vanguard & Valorant — Sometimes the Riot Vanguard anti-cheat can stop running which can lead to errors with matchmaking. To Rule this out, exit Valorant and press the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys to open Task Manager. Look for any instances of ‘Riot Vanguard’ on the list. Right-click all processes starting with Riot and click End Process. Now restart Valorant which will automatically launch a fresh process for Riot Vanguard.

Hopefully, one of these solutions assisted with the Valorant ‘could not enter matchmaking’ error. If not, more than likely you just need to wait it out for the servers to be less overloaded.