Hardware Ban in Rust: How an HWID Ban Works and How to Get Back into the Game

The most unpleasant situation in Rust isn't the ban itself but what happens after it. You buy a new account, join a server, and within a few minutes or after the first wipe the ban hits again. That's what a hardware ban in Rust, or HWID ban, looks like: the anti-cheat remembered not only your account but your computer too. In this article we'll look at how such a ban works, how to tell it from a regular one and which spoofer for Rust will help you get back into the game.

What a hardware ban is

Every computer has a set of unique numbers: drive serials, motherboard and BIOS data, the network card's MAC address, GPU and monitor identifiers, the TPM module key. Together they work like a fingerprint — they identify a specific PC even if the account on it has changed.

Rust is protected by Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC). When the anti-cheat issues a ban, it can remember not only the Steam account but also this fingerprint. After that, any new account launched on the same hardware gets banned without any cheat at all — simply because the computer was “recognized”.

Hence the main rule: after an HWID ban, a new account without preparation is money thrown away.

How to tell that it's your computer that's banned

A regular account ban and a hardware ban look the same at first. The difference shows when you try to keep playing.

If the second account got banned without a single cheat launch, your computer is almost certainly blocked.

How a spoofer works

HWID spoofer replaces the identifiers the anti-cheat reads from the computer. To EAC it looks as if the game was launched on a different PC. Spoofers come in two kinds.

• •Temporary ones change the numbers until a reboot. After Windows restarts everything returns to the factory values, and the spoofer is run again before the next game. This is safe for the system: nothing in it changes permanently.
• •Permanent ones change the data once. You run them again only after a new ban. Some require reinstalling Windows or updating the BIOS, but you don't have to do anything before each game.

TPM spoofers are a separate group: they change the TPM 2.0 module key. A regular spoofer doesn't touch it, so games that check TPM need exactly this kind of tool.

Which spoofers work with Rust

Not every spoofer suits Rust, even if it's advertised as “for EAC games”. For example, Ancient and Avalanche explicitly exclude Rust, and SMG works only with BattlEye. Here's what fits:

Spoofer pages: Vex for Rust, Reported, Vengeance, UBGG and TPM Spoofer.

There's also a third way — a cheat with a spoofer included. Among Rust programs, that's Aegis: the spoofer is built in and works on Windows 10 and 11 versions 2004–23H2.

How to choose

• •You play occasionally — take a temporary spoofer for a day or a week. Vex is made specifically for Rust, and it lets you enable spoofing for individual components.
• •You need a stable “second identity” for your computer — Reported with its seed system: the generated set of numbers is saved, so one account always sees the same “computer”.
• •You play every day and don't want the hassle — the permanent UBGG. Factor in the preparation: some games require reinstalling Windows, updating or rolling back the BIOS, and sometimes an 8 GB flash drive.
• •You suspect a TPM-based ban — TPM Spoofer or Vengeance, which also spoofs TPM 2.0.

All spoofers are collected in the section HWID spoofers — you'll also find versions for other games there.

What to do after a ban: a step-by-step plan

Step 1. Don't create new accounts right away

Every new account banned on flagged hardware only confirms the link between the computer and the bans. Prepare the system first, then buy an account.

Step 2. Clean up the traces

Rust and the anti-cheat leave files and records in the system that can link the old and new accounts. Many spoofers have a cleaner for this: Vex has a built-in one, and Reported has targeted cleanup that touches only what's related to bans.

Step 3. Run the spoofer

Follow the instructions for your specific spoofer. The general rules are: a temporary spoofer is run once after turning on the computer and before launching the game, and a permanent one once for a long time. If you play with a cheat, the launch order is given in the spoofer's description: for temporary spoofers it's usually reboot first, then the cheat, then the spoofer.

Step 4. A new Windows user and PC name

If bans keep coming even with a spoofer, create a new Windows user and change the computer name in the system properties. These are simple steps, but they remove a couple more signs that could link accounts.

Step 5. A new Steam account

Only now create a new account and buy Rust on it. Don't join your old communities on it and don't play in the same team with your former friends right away — overlaps in your social circle stand out too.

How not to get a hardware ban again

• •Don't make your play obvious. Flying, Spiderman and speedhack are visible to everyone nearby. Most bans in Rust start with player reports or an admin watching.
• •Don't stream with a cheat that isn't hidden from OBS. If the stream matters, choose cheats with hidden visuals — more in the article How to choose a Rust cheat.
• •Consider DMA. A DMA cheat runs on a second computer, and not a single cheat process runs on the gaming PC. How to build such a setup and how much it costs is covered in the article What you need for DMA.

FAQ

How long does a hardware ban in Rust last?

The length of a computer ban isn't known in advance, and waiting for it to “pass on its own” is a bad strategy. Spoofing the identifiers is more reliable.

Can I just reinstall Windows?

A reinstall changes some software identifiers, but drive serials, motherboard data and TPM stay the same. That's why it usually doesn't help without a spoofer.

Will any spoofer for EAC do?

No. Ancient and Avalanche don't support Rust, and SMG works only with BattlEye. For Rust, choose spoofers where the game is listed explicitly: Vex, Reported, Vengeance, or the permanent UBGG and TPM Spoofer.

Do I need a spoofer if only my account was banned?

If a second account on the same computer plays without problems, a spoofer isn't required. But it's worth keeping one at hand: a temporary spoofer for a day costs from 369 ₽.