Why Is Valorant Telling Me To Secure Boot? | Fix It Right

If VALORANT throws a Secure Boot message, the game is not complaining about your monitor, graphics card, or internet. It is checking the way your PC starts up. Riot Vanguard runs at a low level, so it wants Windows to boot through UEFI with Secure Boot turned on. On many Windows 11 systems, TPM 2.0 also has to be active.

That sounds technical, but the cause is usually plain: Secure Boot is off, the PC is still in Legacy or CSM mode, TPM is disabled, or Windows is installed on an MBR disk that blocks a clean UEFI setup. Once you know which one applies, the fix is a lot less messy than it looks.

What The Secure Boot Message Means

Secure Boot is a firmware setting built into modern PCs. It checks startup files before Windows loads. If something untrusted tries to load first, Secure Boot can stop it. Microsoft says this helps block malicious code during startup.

Vanguard leans on that startup chain. If the chain is loose, VALORANT may refuse to launch. So the warning is not random. It is Riot telling you that your boot setup does not match what Vanguard expects from that machine.

On Windows 11, this check is stricter. Riot’s own pages now separate Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 into their own help articles, which tells you how often these two settings sit behind launch errors.

Why Is Valorant Telling Me To Secure Boot On Some PCs?

The short reason is trust at startup. Vanguard wants the PC to boot in a mode that can verify early system files. If your machine is using UEFI and Secure Boot is on, that check is easier. If the machine is still using Legacy BIOS mode, that chain is broken, even if the hardware itself is new.

This is why two PCs can behave in totally different ways. One player upgrades to Windows 11 and never sees the warning. Another player installs the game on an older build, or on a board with CSM left on, and suddenly VALORANT blocks launch.

You can also get the message after a BIOS reset, a motherboard swap, a firmware update, a clean Windows install, or a change to storage settings. Those events can flip boot mode, clear firmware keys, or turn TPM off without you noticing.

When The Warning Pops Up Most Often

There are a few patterns that show up again and again:

• A prebuilt PC ships with Secure Boot available, but not enabled.
• A custom PC still boots in Legacy or CSM mode from an older Windows install.
• The system drive uses MBR, which blocks a clean switch to UEFI Secure Boot.
• TPM 2.0 is present on the board, but disabled in firmware.
• A BIOS reset restores defaults that do not match Vanguard’s checks.

If one of those sounds familiar, you are probably close to the answer already.

Status Or Symptom	What It Usually Means	Next Move
Secure Boot State: On	Secure Boot is active	Check TPM 2.0 or reinstall Vanguard
Secure Boot State: Off	PC can use Secure Boot, but it is disabled	Turn it on in UEFI
Secure Boot State: Unsupported	UEFI is not active, or the board does not expose Secure Boot	Check BIOS Mode and motherboard docs
BIOS Mode: Legacy	Windows is booting in old BIOS mode	Switch to UEFI after checking disk style
BIOS Mode: UEFI	Firmware mode is correct	Turn Secure Boot on if still off
TPM is ready for use	TPM 2.0 is active	Move back to Secure Boot checks
TPM console fails to load	TPM may be off, hidden, or tied to old firmware	Turn TPM on or update BIOS
Disk partition style: MBR	Legacy boot setup is still in place	Convert to GPT before forcing UEFI
Disk partition style: GPT	The drive is ready for UEFI boot	Enable UEFI and Secure Boot

Check These Three Things Before You Change BIOS Settings

Do not jump into firmware menus blind. First, confirm what Windows already sees. Riot’s Secure Boot Guide matches the same first check most repair shops use: open msinfo32 and read two lines, BIOS Mode and Secure Boot State.

Check Secure Boot State

Press Windows + R, type msinfo32, and press Enter. In System Information, look for:

• BIOS Mode — this should say UEFI
• Secure Boot State — this should say On

If BIOS Mode says Legacy, turning Secure Boot on is not your first move. You need to sort out boot mode and disk style first. Microsoft’s Windows 11 and Secure Boot page also points to UEFI as the required firmware path.

Check TPM 2.0

Next, press Windows + R, type tpm.msc, and press Enter. If the console says the TPM is ready for use, that box is checked. If it does not load, or says no compatible TPM can be found, you may need to turn on Intel PTT or AMD fTPM in BIOS. Riot’s TPM 2.0 Guide walks through the same check.

Check Disk Partition Style

Open Disk Management, right-click the Windows drive, choose Properties, then the Volumes tab. If the partition style says GPT, your drive is ready for UEFI boot. If it says MBR, that old format can block the switch. This is the part many players miss, then they wonder why Secure Boot still will not stay on after a reboot.

Fixes That Clear The Warning On Most PCs

Once you know your status, the repair path gets narrow. You are not guessing anymore. Work through the fixes in this order:

1. Turn on TPM 2.0 in BIOS if Windows 11 or Vanguard still wants it.
2. Switch Boot Mode to UEFI if the system is still in Legacy or CSM mode.
3. Disable CSM if your board keeps both boot modes active.
4. Enable Secure Boot and save changes.
5. Load default Secure Boot keys if the option is present and Secure Boot stays grayed out.
6. Update BIOS if the board exposes the feature badly or not at all.
7. Reinstall Riot Vanguard only after firmware settings are correct.

That last point matters. A Vanguard reinstall will not fix a machine that still boots in Legacy mode. It can help once the firmware side is right, but not before.

If your system disk is still MBR, take care here. A straight switch from Legacy to UEFI can leave Windows unbootable if the disk layout is not ready. Back up your files before any partition or firmware change. If you are using BitLocker or another drive lock, pause it first so you do not lock yourself out after a reboot.

Fix	Use It When	Result To Look For
Enable TPM 2.0	tpm.msc shows no usable TPM	TPM console shows ready for use
Switch Legacy to UEFI	msinfo32 shows BIOS Mode: Legacy	BIOS Mode changes to UEFI
Disable CSM	UEFI option exists but Secure Boot is hidden or blocked	Secure Boot menu becomes active
Enable Secure Boot	Secure Boot State shows Off	Secure Boot State changes to On
Load factory keys	Secure Boot stays disabled after enabling it	Firmware accepts the setting
Reinstall Vanguard	All firmware checks pass but VALORANT still warns	Game launches without the prompt

What Trips People Up

The most common snag is treating Secure Boot as a Windows toggle. It is not. You change it in UEFI firmware, not in a normal settings page. Another snag is seeing “unsupported” in System Information and assuming the board is too old. Sometimes the board is fine; the PC is just still booting in Legacy mode.

Another one: players turn Secure Boot on, reboot, and still get the same warning. In many cases, TPM was off too, or CSM was still enabled. On some boards, Secure Boot also needs the default keys loaded before Windows reports it as active.

If you built the PC years ago, your board may use odd names. Intel boards often call TPM by the name PTT. AMD boards often call it fTPM. The setting you need is the same idea, even if the label changes.

What Usually Solves It

Most players fix this by checking three items in order: BIOS Mode, Secure Boot State, and TPM 2.0. If BIOS Mode is already UEFI, Secure Boot is the next stop. If BIOS Mode is Legacy, fix the boot path first. If both are fine, TPM or Vanguard itself is the likely holdout.

So if VALORANT is telling you to secure boot, it is usually warning that your PC startup path does not meet Vanguard’s trust checks. Once UEFI, Secure Boot, and TPM line up, the message usually disappears and the game opens as normal.