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How to Fix Valorant Update Stuck at 0.1 KB

As an avid Valorant player myself, I know how frustrating it can be to eagerly await a new patch or download only to face an error message showing 0.1 KB/s speeds. Well, you’re not the only one! This seems to be a common headache plaguing many in the Valorant community.

But don’t abandon hop just yet. In this detailed guide, we’ll get to the bottom of what’s causing this issue and how you can resolve it quickly to get back in the game.

Why Does the Download Speed Get Stuck at 0.1 KB/s?

To understand what’s slowing your download to a crawl, you first need to know what’s happening behind the scenes when you install or update Valorant.

The game uses a proprietary anti-cheat system called Riot Vanguard that closely monitors system changes to block cheating software. During updates, it scans your PC’s background apps and Windows configurations. If anything raises red flags that can potentially interfere with Vanguard, it deliberately throttles speeds.

Think of this as a self-defense mechanism to prevent corrupted system files. Annoying? Yes. But it stops cheaters.

The most common culprits that activate Vanguard’s ultra-safe 0.1 KB/s mode are:

  • Outdated Windows: Older versions like Windows 7 or 8 can activate throttling. Valorant requires you to be on the latest Windows 10 builds.
  • Antivirus programs: Software like AVG Antivirus and Avast are known troublemakers. Their malware monitoring intervenes with Vanguard anti-cheat integration.
  • Background apps: GPU utilities like MSI Afterburner, RivaTuner Statistics Server, hardware monitors like HWInfo, even Discord have triggered issues for some players.

Now let’s see how you can neatly sidestep this overprotective speed lockdown by Vanguard.

Fix #1: Update Your Outdated Windows Build

Since older Windows builds usually trigger Vanguard’s safety protection, start by checking whether you need bring your OS up to date:

Follow these steps:

  1. Search for "About Your PC"
  2. Check your Windows Specifications. If it‘s lower than Build 1607, updates are pending!
  3. Go to Settings > Update & Security
  4. Click on Check for Updates. Install them.
  5. Restart your system once the updates finish installing.

Once your Windows is updated, launch Valorant to see if speeds improve.

Fix #2: Remove Clashing Antivirus Software

As we discussed earlier, third-party antivirus software often clash with Valorant‘s anti-cheat protection – triggering speed throttling as a safety mechanism.

So if you have AVG or Avast installed, it‘s best to uninstall them while playing Valorant. Follow these simple steps:

For AVG:

  1. Open Programs and Features via Start Menu search
  2. Select AVG from installed programs list
  3. Click Uninstall and follow prompts to fully remove it

For Avast:

  1. From Programs and Features, select Avast Free Antivirus
  2. Click Uninstall and follow prompts to fully remove it

Once uninstalled, restart your PC and check if Valorant can now update without splitting speeds. Consider using Windows Security suite instead for antivirus needs.

Fix #3: Stop Background Apps Interfering

Let‘s move onto the next usual suspect – background apps running stealthily which intervene with Valorant‘s anti-cheat integration:

Common culprit background apps:

  • MSI Afterburner
  • RivaTuner Statistics Server
  • HWiNFO
  • Discord

Here‘s what you need to do:

  1. Press CTRL+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager
  2. Go to Processes tab
  3. Search for the background apps mentioned above
  4. Select each process and click End Task to force close them
  5. This will terminate the background tasks disrupting your download speeds.

Try updating Valorant now. You should observe faster speeds with these background apps out of the picture.

Fix #4: Reinstall Vanguard after Wiping Old Files

If closing background apps did not work, take more drastic action by fully reinstalling Vanguard:

Follow these steps carefully:

  1. Open Command Prompt as Admin
  2. Type sc delete vgc – This stops the VGC service
  3. Type sc delete vgk – This stops the VGK service
  4. Restart your PC
  5. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard
  6. DELETE the Riot Vanguard folder

Next:

  1. Launch Valorant directly
  2. Valorant will automatically reinstall Vanguard
  3. Download the patches without old files causing 0.1 KB/s errors

This scrubbed away old files triggering conflicts so Vanguard can freshly install itself smoothly in the backend.

Additional Troubleshooting Checks

If you still face stubborn download throttling, ensure:

  • No background apps like Capture Software / TeamViewer / Remote Desktops are enabled. Force close them.
  • Temporarily DISABLE your internet security suite and firewalls.
  • Toggle your home router off and on to refresh internet connection if on WiFi.
  • Update network card/WiFi drivers if they are outdated.

Finally, consider uninstalling Valorant completely using the installer and retry installing it from scratch as a last resort.

I hope these comprehensive set of troubleshooting steps have helped uncover what’s choking your Valorant update speeds and how to finally slay this pesky 0.1 KB/s limitation once and for all.

Let me know in the comments below if these optimization tricks worked for you guys! Feel free to share any other tips I may have missed as well to help out other Valorant players facing this issue.

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