Can You Run League of Legends on Windows 11?
The question of whether League of Legends (LOL) can run on Windows 11 or not is a no-brainer. The multiplayer online battle arena game powered by Riot Games should run just fine on any modern PC with decent specs, as it isn’t extremely graphically demanding.
However, since Microsoft started rolling out Windows 11 in Q4 of 2021, many users of the latest iteration of Microsoft’s operating system have complained about not being able to run the game on their PC. Some get a critical error upon clicking the game’s launcher, while others can’t get the game to run past the load screen.
Regardless of any issues you encounter while trying to run LOL on your Windows 11 PC, the easy workarounds below will help you fix them.
Read on below to find out.
How to Fix League of Legends Error on Windows 11
Check Your Firewall Settings
The embedded firewall on Windows is usually a suspect whenever I experience this kind of issue on any game and any version of Windows. With Windows 11, it’s not any different as the system firewall can mess up files that facilitate the launch of an exe extension.
When this is the case for League of Legends, all you need to do is bypass the firewall for the game’s launcher.
Here’s how to get that done…
- Press the Windows key to open the taskbar
- Type Firewall in the search box and open the relevant result
- Once on the Firewall & Network Protection screen, navigate to and click Allow an app through Firewall
On the next screen, click Settings and ascertain if League of Legends is on the list of allowed apps
- If not, click Allow another app
- Browse and select League of Legends from the Installation folder, which is in Program Files> Riot Games> VALORANT> League of Legends>
Tweak Compatibility Settings
“A critical error has occurred” is probably the most common error faced by LOL players on Windows 11. Thankfully, a few tweaks to the compatibility settings in Windows can get the game up and running.
- Launch Windows Task Manager with a combination of Windows key + Alt + Delete, then click Task Manager from the options
- Under processes, navigate to League of Legends and right-click on it, then click End task
The idea is to ensure all processes relating to LOL are terminated, so ensure you end every other Riot Games process in the Task Manager.
Next up,
- Open file explorer and go to LOL installation folder as directed in the previous fix
- Once in LOL directory, delete DATA and Config folders
- While still in the installation folder, right-click on the League of Legends launcher icon and select Properties
- In the Properties window, check Run this program as an administrator
- Under the compatibility tab, disable fullscreen optimization
Launch the game after applying the above tweaks. You can also run in 640 × 480 resolution and see if the problem persists.
Fix Via Update
League of legends is constantly optimized and updated to run efficiently on the latest iterations of Windows 11. Given this, an update might be just all you need to get the game working on your Windows 11 PC.
Ensure you’re running the latest version of the game and check the Windows update section to see if you have any pending updates. Click here for a detailed guide on how to update your Windows 11
Final Note
After trying each of the fixes recommended above, ensure to reboot your Windows 11 PC for optimal performance. And you’ll be up and running in no time.
