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 strangely, replacing your summoner name in the top-right corner of the client with the phrase “unknown player,” and your account becomes temporarily inaccessible as a result. When the Unknown Player error takes hold of your account, the client gets replaced by a black screen, and you cannot queue up for any games or access anything. 

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 you can use to fix it. 

How to fix Unknown Player error in LoL

To fix the Unknown Player error in League, you’ll have to address issues with your connection. There is likely 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 get 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, the connectivity problem was likely on Riot’s end to begin with. 

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