Failed to start BattlEye service

This is an error that appears only after running certain games that use the anti-cheat program BattlEye, which is used to check the settings of programs or hacks that may make your game easier and unfair to other competitors. Some of the most famous games include the Arma series, PUBG, Heroes & Generals, Fortnite, etc.

This error can be corrected by several different methods and we suggest that you try all of them before giving up. The error is not difficult to solve, but it prevents users from playing normally.

What Causes BattlEye Service Start Failure?

This error can be caused by a variety of different things, but they are generally quite easy to pin down and the 99% of them can be solved using some of the solutions below. Sometimes, the cause of the problem is unknown, but restarting everything and letting Steam re-download the BattlEye client can easily solve the problem.

Among other causes of the problem, you can see that the problem is caused by old graphics card drivers not able to keep up with new gaming technologies. Finally, some antivirus tools may mistake the BattlEye program for a malicious tool mainly because its nature is similar to that seen in viruses: scans your computer for various hacks and tools without you being able to witness the process and, in fact, not even BattlEye even starts manually.

Solution 1: delete the BattlEye folder, etc. (Steam users only)

Steam has a useful feature that allows you to re-download files that may have been lost or corrupted while using the game.. We can use this useful function to correct the error “Failed to start BattlEye service” deleting the files related to BattlEye and allowing Steam to re-download them to our computer to restart the BattlEye client.

1. If you have purchased the game on Steam, open your Steam PC client by double clicking its shortcut on the desktop. You can also search for it in the start menu by simply typing “Steam” after pressing the start menu or search button (Cortana).

1. After the Steam client opens, click to open the Library tab in the Steam client from the menu at the top of the window and find the entry for the problem game in the list.

2. Right-click on the game entry in the library and choose the Properties option from the context menu that will open and be sure to navigate to the Local Files tab of the Properties window immediately and click the Find Local Files button.

1. You can also search for the main executable of the game on your desktop or on your computer. If you find the shortcut, right click on it and choose the option Open file location from the context menu that will appear.

2. Find the folder BattlEye in the folder that will open, right click on it and choose the Delete option from the drop down menu. Confirm your choice by clicking Yes and repeat the same process for the main game executable, which should be easy to locate in the folder.

Immediately after this, it's time to clear the game cache. As usual, is in the same place for almost any game, but this method has a certain risk: you should make sure not to delete any save files that may be located in that location.

1. As usual, these files are easy to recognize or are in a special folder, but you still have to do a google search to see how these files are named and where they are located.

2. Press the Windows logo key combination + R button to open the Run dialog. Be sure to write “% appdata” in the box without the quotes and click OK to open this location in File Explorer.

1. Alternatively, you can open File Explorer on your computer and navigate to folder manually. First, locate My Computer or This PC on the right navigation screen after opening File Explorer and click on your local drive.

2. Go to Users >> AppData. If you can't see the AppData folder, it's because the folder is hidden by default and you can't see it without changing certain settings in File Explorer.

3. Click on the tab “Watch” in the File Explorer menu and click the box “Hidden elements” in the Show section / Hide. File Explorer will now be able to display the AppData folder, so double click to open it.

1. Look for a folder with the same name as the problem game you are trying to solve. Open it by double clicking, by right-clicking on anything other than saving the game files and choosing the Delete option from the context menu.

Now is the time to re-download the files you have deleted and check the integrity of the game as a whole. After performing these final steps, the problem should be completely resolved.

1. After making these changes, go back to your Steam client, right-click the problematic game entry in the Library tab and choose Properties. Go to the Local Files tab one more time, only this time click on the Verify integrity of game files option.

1. The game should proceed to redownload the files it just deleted and the BattlEye client will reinstall itself in no time.. Try to reopen the game and see if the error has disappeared “Failed to start BattlEye service”.

Solution 2: use this useful command and restart your computer

This method was apparently useful for many people who have struggled with the same problem for days and is applicable to any game that may throw this error. Running this command is easy and the risk of breaking something is minimal, so we suggest that you don't skip this method when troubleshooting.

1. I searched “Symbol of the system” by typing it in the start menu or hitting the search button next to it. Right-click on the first entry that will appear as a search result and select the entry from the context menu “Execute as an administrator”.

2. What's more, you can also use windows logo key combination + R to open the Run dialog. Scribe “cmd” in the dialog box that appears and use the Ctrl key combination + Shift + Enter to run the command prompt with administrator privileges.

1. Type the following commands in the window and make sure to hit Enter after typing each one. Wait for the message “Operation completed successfully” or something similar to know that the method worked and that you did not make a typing error. Pause briefly between these two commands.

BCDedit
Bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING OFF

1. Reopen the problematic game by double-clicking its entry on your computer or running it through Steam and see if the error has disappeared “BattlEye service start failed”.

Solution 3: update the graphics driver to the latest version

Graphics drivers are troublesome for most people, since old drivers are the cause of many, many problems, but newer drivers don't provide any help. Newer games often rely on the fact that you have up-to-date drivers and you should keep them up to date just to avoid getting errors like this when you try to run the game.. Follow the steps below to install the latest graphics driver on your computer.

Driver update:

1. Open the start menu by clicking its button at the bottom left of the screen, scribe “Device administrator” with the start menu open and select it from the list of results by simply tapping the top result.

2. You can also use the Windows key combination + R to open the Run dialog. Scribe “devmgmt.msc” in the box provided and click OK to run.

1. Since it is the video card driver you want to update on your computer, expand the Display Adapters part by clicking the arrow pointing to the right next to it, right click on your graphics card and select Uninstall device option.

1. Confirm the dialog boxes asking you to confirm the uninstallation of the current video driver and wait for the process to complete.

2. Find your video card driver on the device manufacturer's website and follow their instructions, that should be available right there on the site. Make sure to choose the latest driver available. Save the installation file to your computer and run it from there. Computer may restart multiple times during installation.

3. Check if the error 41 keeps popping up when you start the game.

Nvidia Drivers – Click here !

AMD drivers – Click here !

Note: The latest drivers are usually downloaded and installed with Windows updates, so make sure to keep your computer's operating system up to date, whatever happens. Windows Update is supposed to run automatically, but anything, including you, may have disabled automatic updates.

Regardless of the version of Windows you use, follow the steps below to update your PC, as this method works for all versions and versions of Windows:

1. Launch the PowerShell tool by right-clicking the Start menu and clicking Windows PowerShell (Administrator) in the context menu.

1. If you see Command Prompt instead of PowerShell in this context menu, you can also search for PowerShell in the Start menu or in the search bar next to it. This time, make sure to right-click on the first result and select Run as administrator from the menu.

2. In the Powershell console, scribe “cmd” and be patient for Powershell to change your ui to window in cmd form.

3. On the console “cmd”, type the command shown below and make sure to click Enter after:

wuauclt.exe /updatenow

1. Let this command run for at least an hour and check if updates have been found and installed on your computer.

Solution 4: add the BattlEye program to your exceptions / white lists / antivirus exclusions

Severe antivirus programs can quarantine the BattlEye executable on your computer, thinking it's some kind of malware. This causes this error to occur and any game that depends on BattlEye working properly will not start due to your antivirus. This can be fixed by adding the BattlEye executable to the exceptions list.

1. Open the antivirus user interface by double clicking on its icon in the system tray (right part of the window) or by searching for it in the Start menu and clicking the first result to open it.

2. The exceptions / exclusions or even whitelist settings are in different places with respect to different antivirus tools. It can often be found simply without much trouble, but here are some quick guides on how to find it in the most popular antivirus tools:

Kapersky Internet Security: Start >> Setting >> Additional >> Threats and exclusions >> Exclusions >> Specify trusted applications >> Add.

AVG: Start >> Setting >> Components (edit) >> Web Shield >> Exceptions.

Avast: Start >> Setting >> General >> Exclusions.

1. You will need to add the main BattlEye executable file in the box that will appear asking you to navigate to the location of the file. It must be in the same directory where the game is installed (the same location you searched for in the Solution 1 to delete the folder).

2. Check if you can now start the problem game without getting the error “Failed to start BattlEye service” at the beginning.