If you’ve been in the Escape from Tarkov (EFT) cheating scene for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard about “HWID bans”, and chances are, you’re either trying to avoid one, or already got slapped with one. In this post, we’ll break down what a HWID is, how HWID bans work in Tarkov, and how spoofers can (sometimes) help you bypass them.
HWID stands for Hardware ID – a unique fingerprint of your PC, generated from a mix of hardware components like:
Your motherboard serial number
Disk drive serials
Network adapter MAC addresses
BIOS info
CPU ID, GPU ID, etc.
Game developers use HWIDs to identify a specific physical machine. So even if you create a new account after getting banned, they can link your new account back to your original setup. Think of it as a digital dog tag for your rig.
Battlestate Games (BSG) doesn’t immediately drop the hammer on your hardware. Most players report that the first few bans (2-3 or even more) are usually account-only. In fact, there are people who’ve been banned 5 to 8 times and never received a full HWID ban. Others get flagged by their third offense.
There’s no solid rule here, it’s a bit of a dice roll. Tarkov’s anti-cheat is inconsistent, and it seems like HWID bans are often manual. Some players cheat for weeks and walk free. Others get nuked instantly after a single rage raid.
When you finally get hit with a HWID ban, any new account you create will get banned shortly after login, even if you’re using fresh email, IP, and payment method.
A HWID spoofer is a tool that temporarily changes your hardware identifiers, tricking the game (and anti-cheat) into thinking you’re on a totally different PC.
Here’s how they usually work:
Generate fake serials/MAC addresses – Replace or mask real values.
Optional cleaning, Some spoofers also include “cleaners” to remove registry traces, logs, and cached identifiers.
Not all spoofers work on Tarkov BattlEye (EFT’s anti-cheat) can detect some spoofers or revert their changes after boot.
You must also clean your traces after every ban. Just spoofing might not be enough.
Free spoofers? 99% are garbage or malware. If it’s not paid, assume it’s either outdated or just a stealer.
HWID bans in Tarkov are not instant, but once you’re on their radar, you’re in a tricky spot. Spoofers can help, but they’re not foolproof. Think of them like a mask, if the rest of your setup is still dirty, they won’t save you.
If you’re looking for a reliable HWID spoofer to stay ahead of BSG, our spoofer is a solid choice, stable, stealthy, and tested in EFT. You can check it out here: Valkyrie HWID Spoofer
Stay safe out there…