The Vanguard anti-cheat system for Valorant requires that your computer's BIOS be set to UEFI mode and that Secure Boot is enabled. This security feature is necessary for Vanguard to run properly on Windows 11. If you see an error stating "This version of Vanguard requires UEFI secure boot," it means Secure Boot is not enabled or your BIOS is in Legacy mode rather than UEFI. To resolve this, the typical steps include:
- Restarting your PC and entering BIOS/UEFI settings by pressing a key like F2, F10, F12, Delete, or Esc during boot (key depends on manufacturer).
- Navigating to boot or security settings.
- Ensuring that the BIOS mode is set to UEFI (not Legacy).
- Enabling Secure Boot in the BIOS.
- Saving the changes and rebooting.
If your BIOS mode is Legacy and your OS drive uses MBR partition style, you may need to convert it to GPT before switching to UEFI, to avoid boot issues. Additionally, TPM 2.0 needs to be enabled for Vanguard on Windows 11, which is often found alongside Secure Boot settings in the BIOS. These steps are safe and will not harm your data if properly followed. After making these BIOS changes, Vanguard should start without the UEFI secure boot error, allowing you to play Valorant normally.
