How to fix the Unknown Player error in League of Legends

One of the most frustrating and inconclusive errors you can encounter as a League of Legends player is the “Unknown Player” error.

The Unknown Player error will cause your profile to act up in a strange way, making it so that your summoner name in the top-right corner of the client is instead replaced by the phrase “unknown player,” and your account becomes temporarily inaccessible as a result. When the Unknown Player error takes hold of your account, the usual content of the client is replaced by a black screen, and you are unable to queue up for any games or access anything in your account. 

This error is usually caused by connectivity problems between your computer and Riot Games, and oftentimes, it’s difficult to tell who exactly is at fault. Here are a few solutions on how you can fix it. 

LoL Unknown Player error: Resolutions and how to fix the issue

To fix the Unknown Player error in League, you’ll have to address issues with your connection. It’s likely there is some sort of connection interruption between your PC and Riot’s servers, meaning you’ll either have to switch your point of connection, or wait until Riot’s server issues are resolved on the developer’s end. 

A temporary solution to the error could be changing your connection point from your router to a mobile hotspot. If that doesn’t work, you can try flushing your DNS cache. Don’t forget to check resourceful sites like Downdetector to see if other players around the world (or your region) are having this issue. If there is a spike in outages for League, there’s a better chance that it’s a “Riot problem” more than a “you problem.” 

In some cases, players have reported that waiting for a few hours, or even a day, has resulted in the Unknown Player error simply going away. If enough players report this issue and League’s servers take a population hit as a result, it’s likely that the connectivity problem was on Riot’s end to begin with.