> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.arcticcheats.wtf/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.arcticcheats.wtf/stay-undetected/introduction/hwid-bans-and-spoofers.md).

# HWID Bans and Spoofers

<mark style="color:$info;">For most players a ban lands on the account. For some it lands on the whole PC. You make a new account, launch the game, and you're banned again before you even get into a match. That's a hardware ban (HWID ban), and this lesson is all about how they work and how to get around them.</mark>

#### What a HWID Ban Is

<mark style="color:$info;">Every part in your PC has a unique serial number. Your motherboard, drives, RAM, network adapter, GPU, and with some anti-cheats even your monitor and USB devices. When a game hardware bans you, it saves all of those serials as a fingerprint of your PC.</mark>

<mark style="color:$info;">Once your fingerprint is on the list, making a new account won't help, because the game recognizes your PC before it even looks at who's logging in.</mark>

#### How to Tell if You're HWID Banned

<mark style="color:$info;">Make a fresh account and try to play.</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">**If it's banned or blocked right away, the ban is on your hardware.**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">If it plays normally, the ban was only on the account and you don't need a spoofer.</mark>

#### How a Spoofer Fixes It

<mark style="color:$info;">A HWID spoofer sits between the game and Windows. When the anti-cheat asks for your serial numbers, the spoofer hands it different ones, so your PC looks like one the game has never seen before.</mark>

<mark style="color:$info;">Keep in mind a spoofer does not unban the account you lost. That account stays banned, the spoofer is what lets a new account play on the same PC.</mark>

#### Using a Spoofer the Right Way

<mark style="color:$info;">Most failed spoofs aren't broken software, they're skipped steps. Follow the setup guide for your spoofer all the way through, and make sure you:</mark>

1. <mark style="color:$info;">**Spoof first, launch the game second.**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">If the game starts before the spoofer, it reads your real serials.</mark>
2. <mark style="color:$info;">**Turn off Windows Security while you spoof.**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">Real time protection, tamper protection, dev drive protection and controlled folder access. You only need them off for the spoofing process.</mark>
3. <mark style="color:$info;">**Uninstall other anti-cheats like FACEIT and Vanguard.**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">They run at the same level as the spoofer and will conflict with it.</mark>
4. <mark style="color:$info;">**Run the cleaner for your game.**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">Spoofing changes your serials, the cleaner removes the traces the game left on your PC from the banned account. Skipping it is a common reason people get banned again right away.</mark>
5. <mark style="color:$info;">**Check your serials actually changed.**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;">Some will change completely and some only by a few characters, both are fine. If one comes back exactly the same, something was still turned on.</mark>

#### Temporary vs Permanent

<mark style="color:$info;">A temporary spoofer resets your serials back to normal when you restart your PC, so you re-spoof every time you play. That sounds annoying but it's actually nice, nothing on your PC is permanently changed. A permanent spoofer stays spoofed after a restart, so you set it once and you're done.</mark>

<mark style="color:$info;">We sell both:</mark> [<mark style="color:$info;">Trace 2.0</mark>](/product-guides/select-your-game/hwid-spoofers/trace-2.0.md) <mark style="color:$info;">is our temporary spoofer and</mark> [<mark style="color:$info;">Verse</mark>](/product-guides/select-your-game/hwid-spoofers/verse.md) <mark style="color:$info;">is our permanent one. One key works across every game the spoofer supports, not just the one you got banned on.</mark>

#### Do You Even Need One?

<mark style="color:$info;">Not always. A lot of our cheats come with a spoofer built in that runs automatically, so check the product page before buying a separate one. A standalone spoofer is for when you're already hardware banned, or when you want one for a game we don't sell a cheat for. You can find both on our</mark> [<mark style="color:$info;">HWID spoofers page</mark>](https://arcticcheats.wtf/games/hwid-spoofers)<mark style="color:$info;">.</mark>