Valorant 43

On screen: A system has timed out. There was an error connecting to the platform

What it actually means

One of Riot's backend services did not answer in time during login or matchmaking. It usually arrives with the broader message about an error connecting to the platform.

Riot's own list writes this as plain 43. The game may print it as VAL 43, and people search for it as VAN 43, which is a different registry entirely — see the note below.

How to tell which one you have

Open the Riot Client without launching the game. If the store, your friends list and lobbies load, the platform is alive and the problem is narrower than it looks. If the client itself is empty, it is Riot's side and the live status above will usually agree.

Fixes, in the order worth trying

1. Restart the Riot Client — Riot's official step, with a caveat that makes it actually work: see the next line.
2. Kill RiotClientServices.exe in Task Manager first — Closing the window does not end the process, so a restart that leaves it running is not a restart. This is why the official advice seems not to work.
3. Check Riot's banners and the live status above
4. If people in your region report it at the same time, wait — A regional backend timeout is not something you can route around.

Operator documentation: support.riotgames.com. Two things worth knowing about this source. Riot's Valorant code list currently carries their own banner saying it is out of date, and Riot keeps a second registry for Vanguard where the same numbers mean different things. Check which prefix your game printed.

Common questions