Personally I’m no stranger to the “uninstallation” screen that pops out when you’re about to delete the LoL client. Looking back at my decade-old LoL career, I would say that I reinstall the game two to three times per year, depending on how I’m managing that specific ranked session or how many times the game crashes on me.
And while League of Legends can be a fun pastime, it’s notorious for bringing out the… “inner tilt” in its playerbase. Sometimes, it can affect your mental state to the point where you no longer enjoy the game at all, and instead feel burned out after every match.
Additionally, as already mentioned in my League of Legends troubleshooting guide, reinstalling your game can help you out if you’re experiencing bugs, crashes, or any other in-game performance issues. Often, corrupted files cause these issues to occur, so a reinstallation can help fix the problem.
Remember that uninstalling League of Legends won’t delete your account data, so you can always jump back in when you feel ready to do so.
How to Uninstall League of Legends on Windows
Windows is the most common esports platform for a reason: Games, and the hardware and software they need to run, are all optimized with Windows in mind. The OS even has a dedicated Game mode to help boost your gameplay experience.
The two main Windows versions available right now are Windows 10 and Windows 11 Home. There is also Windows 11 Pro, which has additional features. When it comes to gaming, both Home and Pro provide a similar performance, I already covered that in my overview of the difference between Windows 11 Home and Pro.
Uninstalling League of Legends is relatively easy and can be done in a few minutes:
- Go to the Windows “Start Menu.”
- Open the “Control Panel.”
- Choose “Programs and Features,” then select the “League of Legends” application.
- Right-click and select the “uninstall” option.
After uninstalling the client, you should also check the directory to ensure all files have been properly removed. League of Legends is installed on the C:drive by default, so you should find the files there unless you manually changed the location during your first install.
How to Uninstall League of Legends on Mac
It’s common knowledge that MacBooks aren’t exactly… ideal for gaming. The MacOS limitations, combined with the fact that the laptops aren’t designed for esports at all, make them inferior esports devices compared to Windows PCs. Arren ranted about it in his column here: Are Macbooks Good for Gaming.
With that said, from my own experience League of Legends runs surprisingly well on Apple Silicon — you can hit high FPS without experiencing stuttering or overheating issues, something which plagued past Apple machines.
Uninstalling League of Legends on Mac is also easy and follows Apple’s traditional approach to deleting apps, and you can do so by following these steps:
- Open “Finder” and go to your “Applications” folder.
- Locate the League of Legends client. Then, drag the application into your trash can.
- Hold the “Command,” “Shift,” and “C” keys simultaneously.
- Select “MacintoshHD,” “Users,” and then click “Shared.”
- Drag the “Riot Games” folder into the trash can.
- Open your trash can and select “Empty” (the top right).
The process above is the exact same for both Intel-based and Apple Silicon-based machines.
How to Temporarily Deactivate Your League of Legends Account
You can also temporarily deactivate your League of Legends account. Your data and progress will be protected, but you won’t be able to login again until you reactivate the account. Deactivation essentially ensures that nobody else can access your account while you’re not using it. This is a particularly useful safety measure, since inactive accounts are sometimes hacked and sold on to other players.
You’ll need to contact Riot Support to deactivate your account. However, make sure to first delete any payment information stored on it.
- Log in to the official Riot Games Support website.
- Go to the “Submit a Request” page.
- Under “Choose Request Type,” select “Account Management, Data Requests, or Deletion.”
- State “Temporarily Deactivate Account” as the subject.
- In the description box, simply write that you wish to deactivate your account until further notice. Or, if you have a specific time period in mind, until [x] date. Also include: Account username, email address, Summoner name, the server you play on, the account creation date, and the location you registered the account from (both the city and country).
- Set the region to the relevant option, and then choose “Account Deactivation” in “Please Select Your Inquiry.”
- Press “Submit.”
Temporarily deactivating your LoL account is also useful when you know you shouldn’t be playing the game, but keep giving in to temptation (aka no willpower). I personally used this measure — as well as disabling Steam and Discord notifications — when I was working on my dissertation at university.
Permanently Deleting Your League of Legends Account
Decided to give up League for good? Then you can permanently delete your account to remove all your stored personal data. Be aware that purchases won’t be refunded, and this method will also delete other game accounts linked to your Riot account (Valorant, Wild Rift, and Legends of Runeterra).
- Go to the Riot Support website and open the dedicated “account deletion” page.
- Click on “Verify Account” and follow the necessary steps.
- You’ll then be redirected to the self-service deletion page. Scroll down to “Are you the original creator of this account?” and select “Yes.”
- Click on “Start Deletion Process.”
- If the method above doesn’t work for whatever reason, you can also send Riot Support a ticket. This essentially involves following the same process outlined in our deactivation section. However, instead of deactivation ask for your account to be permanently deleted.
Once the deletion process has begun, you’ll have 30 days to change your mind. Your account, and all its data, will be permanently deleted after 30 days. If you do change your mind, you’ll need to reach out to Riot Support at least five days before the 30-day deadline.
Reinstalling League of Legends
Before reinstalling the game, it’s a good idea to first restart your device. Doing so will free up memory space, remove temporary files, and minimizes the chances of files becoming corrupted. When you’re ready to play League of Legends again, you can easily reinstall the client on the official Riot website. Here’s the necessary link for each region:
Once there, you’ll see the download option for your platform by default.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re hoping to fix a bug, or simply saying goodbye to League, I hope this guide above helped you out. At the end of the day, it’s just about following the client instructions and making sure that the former game directory is empty.
And if you decided to stop playing, but still want to follow your favorite teams, our LoL news section is always there for you.