If Wardogs says it failed to connect the anti-cheat system, you are looking at error code 1628505086 (ANTI-CHEAT LOGIN FAILED): the client could not sign in to the Elytra anti-cheat, so the server will not let you into a match. It is almost never a ban. Usually the Elytra driver did not load, or Windows itself blocked it. Error WD-L020, which hit many players on September 22 and 23, has an official cause: the Windows 11 preview update KB5124010, and the developer tells you to uninstall it. The message "The anti-cheat service refused the game executable" usually comes down to Code Integrity, Memory Integrity (HVCI), Hyper-V or another anti-cheat such as Vanguard or FACEIT.
Below is a breakdown by code and the order of steps. To be clear, this is a guide to getting the game to launch cleanly, not a guide to the anti-cheat as such. Once Wardogs reliably gets you into a match, working builds with undetected status, prices and Windows requirements are listed on the Wardogs cheats → page. We checked every step on the build after Patch 0.11, on the Bakurani and Ozeti maps, on official and community servers, and we put the list of codes together from our support tickets and from the Steam discussion boards.
Why Wardogs cannot connect the anti-cheat system
Since September 2026 the Wardogs anti-cheat has been Elytra, and it runs at the Windows kernel level: a driver plus the Elytra.Service service, with the installer sitting in the game folder at Elytra\Elytra-Setup.exe. The alpha and closed beta used Easy Anti-Cheat, but it was replaced before the Early Access release, so old advice like "reinstall EAC" no longer does anything. We covered what Elytra actually checks and why it leans on player behavior in our article Elytra instead of EAC in Wardogs.
These errors all follow the same pattern. The game starts, Elytra has to bring up its kernel driver and report to the server that the client is clean. If the driver did not load, the service did not start or the reply never reached the server, you get one of the codes below. A ban looks different: the message says outright that the account is blocked. The Bulkhead penalty tiers and the hardware ban tied to a device identifier are covered in hardware ban in Wardogs.
Code 1628505086: ANTI-CHEAT LOGIN FAILED
The Russian localization translates this error as "failed to connect the cheat protection system", and that exact phrase is what brings most players to us. Put simply, Elytra did not manage to sign in. The causes are either local (the service is not running, the driver is blocked, game files are damaged) or on the server side, when the anti-cheat backend is overloaded after a patch. In the second case all you can do is wait; in the first, the steps from the table below work. We start by restarting Steam as administrator and verifying the game files, and a share of cases is solved right there.
WD-L020 and update KB5124010
The developer addressed WD-L020 officially: the Steam discussion thread was pinned on September 23 and has more than 610 replies. The culprit turned out to be the Windows 11 preview update KB5124010, released on September 22. After it Elytra stops loading, and the developer offers one fix: uninstall that update. You can do it through "Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates" or with the command wusa /uninstall /kb:5124010 in an administrator command prompt. After removing it, pause updates, otherwise Windows will install KB5124010 again. Preview packages are optional and usually reach people who enabled the option to get updates as soon as they are available, which is why WD-L020 did not affect everyone.
"The anti-cheat service refused the game executable"
Players ran into this message back in the playtest: the Steam thread about it appeared on September 4. According to the community, the Elytra driver fails the Windows Code Integrity check or clashes with another kernel anti-cheat, most often Vanguard (Valorant) and FACEIT. Two kernel-level drivers that both want to be first in line rarely get along. It often comes with a 0xc000007b window at launch, which usually points to damaged Visual C++ or DirectX libraries.
What to do: disable autostart for Vanguard (the vgc service) and FACEIT AC, reboot the PC and launch Wardogs first. If the error stays, look at HVCI and Hyper-V from the next section. For 0xc000007b, reinstalling Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (x64 and x86) and the DirectX End-User Runtime helps, followed by another file check in Steam.
HVCI, Hyper-V and VT-d
Wardogs has no official VBS requirements, yet players whose game would not start mostly fixed it with the same set of steps. Start with Memory Integrity: "Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation → Memory integrity", turn it off and reboot. The next step is to disable the hypervisor with bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off as administrator and reboot again. If that does not help either, turn off VT-d (or Intel TXT) in the BIOS. Keep in mind that WSL2, Docker and Android emulators need Hyper-V and will stop working once it is off; you can bring everything back with bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto.
Secure Boot and TPM have nothing to do with these errors. Bulkhead says it does not currently require them to play online, but it may introduce that requirement at any time. How these mechanisms relate to hardware identification and why spoofers are built around them is explained in our article TPM and Secure Boot: how a spoofer works.
Endless login and BSOD at startup
An "endless login", where the loading spinner keeps turning and the menu never appears, also shows up in our search queries. Most often it is the same 1628505086, just without an error window: Elytra is waiting for the server to answer. A full exit from Steam, closing background overlays and launching again helps, and during peak load after a patch, so does simply waiting. Blue screens and PC freezes, which many players hit in the first days after Elytra arrived, are a separate case. If the BSOD keeps coming back, reinstall the anti-cheat with Elytra-Setup.exe from the game folder, update your chipset and graphics drivers and check that no second kernel anti-cheat is running. The community also links the WD-L004, WD-L006, WD-L007, WD-L010 and WD-L014 codes to launching, but there is no official explanation for them, so start with the general steps.
Table: code, cause, what to do
A summary of every code we have seen in support tickets and player discussions.
| Code or message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1628505086 (ANTI-CHEAT LOGIN FAILED) | Elytra failed to sign in: service not running, driver blocked or server overloaded | Steam as administrator, verify files, wait out server load |
| WD-L020 | Windows 11 preview update KB5124010 | Uninstall KB5124010 (official fix), pause updates |
| The anti-cheat service refused the game executable | Code Integrity, conflict with Vanguard or FACEIT | Remove other anti-cheats from autostart, reboot, then HVCI and Hyper-V |
| 0xc000007b | Damaged Visual C++ or DirectX libraries | Reinstall Visual C++ Redistributable x64 and x86, DirectX, verify files |
| Endless login | Elytra is waiting for the server | Fully exit Steam, close overlays, try again later |
| BSOD or freeze at startup | Elytra driver clashes with the system or another anti-cheat | Reinstall Elytra, update drivers, remove the second kernel anti-cheat |
| WD-L004, WD-L006, WD-L007, WD-L010, WD-L014 | No official explanation | General order of steps below |
If there is no specific code, or it is not in the table, go through the steps from the safest to the ones that change system settings:
- Restart Steam and Wardogs as administrator and verify the game files.
- Close Vanguard, FACEIT and other anti-cheats, remove them from autostart and reboot.
- Uninstall KB5124010 if it is installed and pause Windows updates.
- Turn off Memory Integrity, then Hyper-V through bcdedit, and VT-d in the BIOS as a last resort.
- Reinstall Elytra with Elytra-Setup.exe and reinstall the Visual C++ packages.
Linux and Proton are left out of this list on purpose: the developer states plainly that Linux is not officially supported, and the kernel anti-cheat does not start under Proton. According to the community, GeForce NOW support was postponed for the same anti-cheat reason.
Anti-cheat errors and cheats: what to launch first
The rule we repeat most often in support: first get Wardogs to launch cleanly without any third-party software, and only then open the loader. If the game itself fails with 1628505086 or WD-L020, the cheat has nothing to do with it, and running it on top of a broken anti-cheat makes no sense. Play one clean match, make sure Elytra signs in reliably, close the game and only then follow the build developer's instructions.
It is a different story if the game was launching fine and the error appeared right after you started the cheat. Do not hammer the restart button. Every attempt leaves traces in the anti-cheat logs, and the harshest Bulkhead penalty is a hardware ban on every account on the device, with no appeal. Stop, check the build status on the product card (after a Wardogs patch it can switch to Updating) and message support with the error text. We do not promise "no bans": undetected status is valid at the time of purchase, and there is always a risk.
Your Windows version matters as well. BYSTER for Wardogs lists Windows 10 and 11 builds 22H2 through 25H2 in its requirements and supports Windowed mode only. If you rolled back updates to fix WD-L020, check that your system build is still in that range. Features, the launcher and vehicle aim are covered in detail in our BYSTER review.
What to pick for Wardogs when the anti-cheat acts up
Once the game launches reliably, the right build depends on how comfortable you are with a kernel anti-cheat on your gaming PC.
- Full internal pack with clear instructions: GHOST from about $3.5 a day or about $35 a month, with hiding from OBS and Discord recording, Windowed and Borderless modes. The launch order is laid out in the GHOST loader guide, and the features are covered in our GHOST review for Wardogs.
- Budget internal: BYSTER from about $3 a day or about $29 a month, with vehicle aim and ballistics, but Windowed only and Windows 22H2 through 25H2.
- Leave the gaming PC untouched: the DMA builds KRUSH DMA from $4 a day and ELEVATED WARDOGS DMA from $3 a day or $200 lifetime. The software runs on a second machine through a DMA card and installs no drivers of its own on the gaming PC, so Elytra launch errors do not depend on it. Why a second machine looks different to a kernel anti-cheat is explained in DMA in Wardogs.
- Visuals only, no aim: ANCIENT for about $3 a day (ESP, Borderless only) or NN LITE from $3 a day with a radar and map markers.
Once Elytra signs in reliably, head to the cheats for Wardogs → page: it lists every live build with prices, undetected status, window modes and Windows requirements. We update the list after every Wardogs patch, so the status on the product card is fresher than any forum retelling.
If the error does not go away or showed up after you launched software, write to our community: Telegram (200+ members) and Discord (637+ members). Send the error code and your Windows version and you will get an answer faster.
FAQ on Wardogs anti-cheat errors
What does "failed to connect the anti-cheat system" mean in Wardogs?
It is code 1628505086, ANTI-CHEAT LOGIN FAILED: the Elytra anti-cheat did not sign in, and the server will not let the client through. It does not mean a ban. Based on ForgeCheats support tickets, restarting Steam as administrator and verifying files is usually enough; less often you have to turn off HVCI or uninstall KB5124010.
How do I fix WD-L020 in Wardogs?
Uninstall the Windows 11 preview update KB5124010 with wusa /uninstall /kb:5124010 or through the update history, then pause updates. This is the official fix from the developer's pinned thread of September 23. We at ForgeCheats checked it: after removal, Elytra loads normally.
Can I play Wardogs on Linux or through Proton?
Not officially: the developer says outright that Linux is not supported, and the Elytra kernel anti-cheat does not run under Proton. We at ForgeCheats have not tested this setup and do not recommend it; installing the game on Windows 10 or 11 is the better option.
The error appeared after launching a cheat, what should I do?
Close the game and the loader and do not restart them in a loop. First check that Wardogs launches without any software, then look at the build status on the product card. Current statuses of all builds are collected in the Wardogs cheats section, and you can send the error text to ForgeCheats support.
Do I need to disable Secure Boot or TPM for Wardogs?
No, Bulkhead currently requires neither Secure Boot nor TPM for online play, although it reserves the right to introduce that requirement. These settings do not affect errors 1628505086 and WD-L020; at ForgeCheats we checked launching in both states.
