Here’s the latest I can share based on recent public reports:
- Riot Games has experienced occasional update server issues and riot client outages that can prevent checks for updates from completing. In such cases, users may see errors like “Could not update” or the client stuck in a loop while trying to patch. This can be caused by server-side problems or network routing to Riot’s update servers.[10]
- Some users report temporary workarounds when update checks fail:
- Restart the Riot Client and the computer to reset stuck processes, then try updating again.[3]
- Run the Riot Client as administrator to ensure the updater can write to its files and folders.[3]
- Check for local firewall/antivirus interference and temporarily disable them if needed to allow the updater to reach Riot’s servers.[3]
- If the updater stalls, clearing Riot cache or the Riot client temporary folders and reinstalling only the client can resolve corrupted files that block updates.[3]
- During known outages or certificate issues on Riot’s side, users may need to wait and retry or refer to Riot’s status page for incident notices. Outages were highlighted in reports mentioning a global outage around early January 2026 and subsequent server-side issues affecting updates.[5]
Illustration: If you’re seeing a stuck update, try these steps in order:
- Close the Riot Client completely (check Task Manager), then reopen and attempt the update.
- Run the launcher as administrator, then re-check for updates.
- Temporarily disable firewall/antivirus rules that might block the updater.
- If still failing, uninstall and reinstall the Riot Client (not the entire OS) to repair corrupted updater components.
- Check Riot’s official status page or community posts for any outage notices and planned maintenance windows.
Notes on specific sources:
- Reports of update-related errors and recommended troubleshooting steps have appeared in various guides and forum threads, including discussions about “Could Not Update” errors and the need to repair or reinstall the client.[1][3]
- Public outage notices and the impact on update servers have been observed in incident coverage and status updates tied to Riot’s services.[5][10]
If you’d like, I can tailor steps to your platform (Windows or macOS), and whether you’re facing a standard update failure, a launcher crash, or a server outage. I can also monitor for any new status updates and summarize them with timestamps. Please tell me your OS and the exact error message you’re seeing.