Client Not Opening (8.21 patch)

Blimpy··28 votes·18,332 views

Once the 8.21 patch hit the PBE server (the new K/DA skins patch), the client wouldn't open, I was stuck at the League of Legends logo on my desktop every time I tried to open the PBE client.

I've searched for a solution to the problem on the PBE boards and reddit and stuff, most of them were "Reset your internet, reboot computer, etc.", as you probably have guessed none of them worked.

https://boards.pbe.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/bugs/rzJfYIIk-pbe-client-not-appearing

This is the most recent post I could find regarding my issue, and as you can see, there was a reply saying to wait untill the next patch to hit the PBE server..

It did now and the client is still not opening.

You might think why the hell am I posting this on Live boards and not the PBE boards, well the patch 8.21 just hit the live servers and... my client is not opening.

Any suggestions would be useful, Thank you.

{quoted}

Figured out that if the game is installed on a computer that's never had League on it before, this issue doesn't happen, so with some messing around finally managed to find a fix that works for me. This is what I did, hopefully it helps, or at the very least sets you on the right track in finding a solution that works for you.

Uninstall League (and the PBE). Go to the drive that the game was installed on and ensure that there are no League or Riot files or folders left. Sometimes even with an uninstall it leaves stuff behind. Go into your AppData folder. Go through Local. LocalLow, and Roaming and ensure there's no League or Riot files/folders. I think I found like three League related things even after uninstall. Go into your Documents and remove the League folder which saves your highlights and replays. You can save this elsewhere if you don't want to loose them. Finally restart and then reinstall the game.

After that the client loaded for me, patched, no issues. I added my highlights back and those seem to take just fine, no issues. So it's possibly the hidden files within local and roaming or something to do with replays. Didn't bother readding the replays since they wouldn't play on a new patch anyway.

[{quoted}](name=BEST ZlGGS IRAN,realm=NA,application-id=LqLKtMpN,discussion-id=8TIfXKi9,comment-id=00020003,timestamp=2018-10-25T00:05:26.551+0000)

UPDATE 2-Minute Fix
Delete your Replays folder, restart your computer and relauch the client before attemping the fix below. It does not require a reinstallation of the game or deleting hidden files and is a solution.

I can confirm that this solves the issue of the client not opening and being stuck indefinitely on the League of Legends logo. Today's 8.21 patch is the culprit.

All credit goes to Cornboss. I am just regurgitating the steps I did.

Solution:

  1. Uninstall League of Legends.
  2. Navigate to your AppData folder (e.g. C:\Users\[username]\AppData). This is normally a hidden folder so it is best to type out the address into File Explorer. Additionally you can type %appdata% into File Explorer and click Enter. It will take you to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming. From here click on AppData in the path field to get to the main folder.
  3. Delete any folders associated with Riot Games or League of Legends in the folders Local, LocalLow and Roaming.
  4. Navigate to your Documents folder then League of Legends where your Replays are stored and delete that folder. It is beneficial to delete this folder occasionally, since old replays do not work after patches and it frees up space on your disk drive. (I did not touch my Highlights folder.)
  5. Reinstall League of Legends.

The client will now open and patch successfully.

Thank you both so much! I hope this helped others as well!

35 Comments

Cornboss10 votes

Figured out that if the game is installed on a computer that's never had League on it before, this issue doesn't happen, so with some messing around finally managed to find a fix that works for me. This is what I did, hopefully it helps, or at the very least sets you on the right track in finding a solution that works for you.

Uninstall League (and the PBE). Go to the drive that the game was installed on and ensure that there are no League or Riot files or folders left. Sometimes even with an uninstall it leaves stuff behind. Go into your AppData folder. Go through Local. LocalLow, and Roaming and ensure there's no League or Riot files/folders. I think I found like three League related things even after uninstall. Go into your Documents and remove the League folder which saves your highlights and replays. You can save this elsewhere if you don't want to loose them. Finally restart and then reinstall the game.

After that the client loaded for me, patched, no issues. I added my highlights back and those seem to take just fine, no issues. So it's possibly the hidden files within local and roaming or something to do with replays. Didn't bother readding the replays since they wouldn't play on a new patch anyway.

PentaPanda1 votes

{quoted}

Figured out that if the game is installed on a computer that's never had League on it before, this issue doesn't happen, so with some messing around finally managed to find a fix that works for me. This is what I did, hopefully it helps, or at the very least sets you on the right track in finding a solution that works for you.

Uninstall League (and the PBE). Go to the drive that the game was installed on and ensure that there are no League or Riot files or folders left. Sometimes even with an uninstall it leaves stuff behind. Go into your AppData folder. Go through Local. LocalLow, and Roaming and ensure there's no League or Riot files/folders. I think I found like three League related things even after uninstall. Go into your Documents and remove the League folder which saves your highlights and replays. You can save this elsewhere if you don't want to loose them. Finally restart and then reinstall the game.

After that the client loaded for me, patched, no issues. I added my highlights back and those seem to take just fine, no issues. So it's possibly the hidden files within local and roaming or something to do with replays. Didn't bother readding the replays since they wouldn't play on a new patch anyway.

thanks for sharing! this worked for me too!!!

Cornboss2 votes

[slayer-pantheon-thumbs] So glad to have helped! ♥

Volocaust2 votes

{quoted}

Figured out that if the game is installed on a computer that's never had League on it before, this issue doesn't happen, so with some messing around finally managed to find a fix that works for me. This is what I did, hopefully it helps, or at the very least sets you on the right track in finding a solution that works for you.

Uninstall League (and the PBE). Go to the drive that the game was installed on and ensure that there are no League or Riot files or folders left. Sometimes even with an uninstall it leaves stuff behind. Go into your AppData folder. Go through Local. LocalLow, and Roaming and ensure there's no League or Riot files/folders. I think I found like three League related things even after uninstall. Go into your Documents and remove the League folder which saves your highlights and replays. You can save this elsewhere if you don't want to loose them. Finally restart and then reinstall the game.

After that the client loaded for me, patched, no issues. I added my highlights back and those seem to take just fine, no issues. So it's possibly the hidden files within local and roaming or something to do with replays. Didn't bother readding the replays since they wouldn't play on a new patch anyway.

these seems like so much fucking work LOL

Acorn21 votes

holy fk this actually worked, thanks.. spent too much time on reinstalling / doing random stuff to no effect :L

BEST ZlGGS IRAN4 votes

UPDATE 2-Minute Fix
Delete your Replays folder, restart your computer and relauch the client before attemping the fix below. It does not require a reinstallation of the game or deleting hidden files and is a solution.

I can confirm that this solves the issue of the client not opening and being stuck indefinitely on the League of Legends logo. Today's 8.21 patch is the culprit.

All credit goes to Cornboss. I am just regurgitating the steps I did.

Solution:

  1. Uninstall League of Legends.
  2. Navigate to your AppData folder (e.g. C:\Users\[username]\AppData). This is normally a hidden folder so it is best to type out the address into File Explorer. Additionally you can type %appdata% into File Explorer and click Enter. It will take you to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming. From here click on AppData in the path field to get to the main folder.
  3. Delete any folders associated with Riot Games or League of Legends in the folders Local, LocalLow and Roaming.
  4. Navigate to your Documents folder then League of Legends where your Replays are stored and delete that folder. It is beneficial to delete this folder occasionally, since old replays do not work after patches and it frees up space on your disk drive. (I did not touch my Highlights folder.)
  5. Reinstall League of Legends.

The client will now open and patch successfully.

Cornboss1 votes

That's awesome! [sg-kiko] Since I did both in one go I wasn't able to figure out what exactly was causing it, but so glad that it's been pinpointed to the replays.

The Real M001 votes

i also can confirm that the deletion of replays folder and a re start works! i had to restart the pc after deletion of replays folder found in league of legends documents then when i re opened client the first time was delay and no luck but i just crossed off the client re opened again and it worked. thanks for the help.

Gay Garen1 votes

THANK YOU SO MUCH Bro this worked. im sooooo happy and it was cause of the old replays. [sg-kiko] THANK YOU im shook

SweetSatu1 votes

I love you dude! Thank you soo much [katarina-love] [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

D069Y1 votes

where do I find the Appdata, Local, LocalLow and Roaming folders on my Mac though? :(

Cornboss1 votes

Did removing your replays not work?

I don't use a Mac, so I'm not terribly familiar with what the AppData equivalent is. I'm not really sure where to recommend looking for possible hidden League/Riot files. Maybe Library? Or Library/Application Support? Sorry I can't be of more help.

D069Y1 votes

Yeah I tried deleting replays - no success. I also deleted everything Riot Games / League of Legends related from Library/Application Support - no success either. Also, when I run the HTR it seems to get stuck while copying R3D Log-files.

i really don't know what to do right now. My client just won't open.

Cornboss1 votes

Then I'm not too sure. My Mac knowledge isn't that great, sorry. The only thing I can suggest is to contact support and see if they can figure something out since a PC fix was found.

42Squared1 votes

Did you ever figure it out man? Mine is stuck now too.

PentaPanda5 votes

Hitting the exact same problem after installing 8.21 patch, launch stuck on logo. Tried clean reinstall, firewall disable, repatching, deleting RADS... all didn't work... Frustrated.

Darkangel213133 votes

This is happening to me as well and It's pissing me off. I tried deleting the RADS file, Uninstalling/Reinstalling the game, I shut down my pc twice, and I even tried using the administrator setting, but Still nothing works. This is the first time I've been met with this problem within the past four years of me playing this game, and It's quite annoying. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

lolwatimjustbad2 votes

Having the same problem. I am actually able to log in the menu screen and in the game, but the patch never ever downloads. It's literally stuck at 0% and then a bugsplat occurs and keeps occuring continously until I close my game.

Luxyria2 votes

is there anyway to do this either than Cornboss's post? im not reinstalling it bc it takes long

BEST ZlGGS IRAN3 votes

Try deleting your Replays folder, restart your computer and relaunch the client. Let me know if it helps.

Ungrateful Thug1 votes

[{quoted}](name=BEST ZlGGS IRAN,realm=NA,application-id=LqLKtMpN,discussion-id=8TIfXKi9,comment-id=00080000,timestamp=2018-10-25T01:09:36.435+0000)

Try deleting your Replays folder, restart your computer and relaunch the client. Let me know if it helps.

PC user here.

I just tried this and it worked for me. Thank you so much! You just saved me a bunch of time that I otherwise would have spent uninstalling/reinstalling and deleting a bunch of stuff.

BEST ZlGGS IRAN1 votes

It is indeed then the old outdated replays as I suspected. These old game files may somehow be interfering with the patching process for this specific patch.

You do not need to uninstall and reinstall the game or delete AppData folders. Try this first and see if it works. Then proceed to the other solution if you still need to.

Unlawful Salmon2 votes

Went to play some ARAM today. Opened league to have it try to update. Update hung and then crashed. Now I am stuck at the LOL logo and cannot get any further and I have tried damn well everything.

Although I did get a chuckle out of the response I got from the Riot Support Ticket: https://imgur.com/XCW8Jks

Volocaust1 votes

My client is not opening either.

Ungrateful Thug1 votes

Having the same exact problem. Nice to know this client still sucks.

PentaPanda1 votes

[Solved] Guys! Cornboss's solution above worked for me!!!

O for Orianna1 votes

phew, thought it was my computer and was going to buy a new one

Luxyria1 votes

YES IT DID! TYSM

Rαy1 votes

Had the same problem, helped me a lot! Thanks!

Manianes1 votes

It worked for me thx a lot mates

SLR habsrock1 votes

Thank you so much for the help

Cuenxin1 votes

any solution for mac users?

gooeymonster41 votes

Go to: C drive > Users > (username) > Documents > League of Legends and delete the entire League of Legends folder.

Note:* Doing this will delete your highlights/replays (which are stored in this folder). If you would like to keep your highlights/replays, just move the entire League of Legends folder to a different location like your desktop. This will have the same effect as deleting it.

gooeymonster41 votes

Go to: C drive > Users > (username) > Documents > League of Legends and delete the entire League of Legends folder.

Note:* Doing this will delete your highlights/replays (which are stored in this folder). If you would like to keep your highlights/replays, just move the entire League of Legends folder to a different location like your desktop. This will have the same effect as deleting it.

Lezley1 votes

Thanks this helped me out!

More from Report a Bug