HWID Spoofing Guides
Shadow Ban vs HWID Ban: How to Tell
Shadow ban vs HWID ban: one is account-scoped and temporary, the other is keyed to your hardware. Here is the symptom table and the test that settles it
Chris Doyle10 min read
Free Warzone 3 HWID Spoofer - Fix Hardware Bans
For CoD HQ bans, TraceX Spoofer is a free permanent Warzone HWID spoofer that rewrites RICOCHET, TPM, and Secure Boot-linked IDs once; delete it afterward.
Free diagnostic
Is It Really a Warzone 3 HWID Ban?
Warzone's clearest account signals are "Account permanently banned" in game and "STATUS: PERMANENT BAN" or "LIMITED MATCHMAKING" on Activision's ban-appeal page; Limited Matchmaking alone does not prove an HWID ban.
Step 1 / 6
Can you still log into your game account?
Hardware Coverage
What Warzone 3 Tracks — and What TraceX Rewrites
Warzone 3's anti-cheat silently reads dozens of hardware identifiers from your PC while it's running — long before you reach a match. Learn how RICOCHET works in Warzone 3 and why it's difficult to bypass without a spoofer. Below is a sample of the identifiers being tracked.
| Hardware Identifier | Warzone 3 Tracks | TraceX Rewrites |
|---|---|---|
| CPU / Platform Identifier | Yes | Yes |
| SMBIOS Baseboard / System UUID | Yes | Yes |
| GPU Adapter Identifier | Yes | Yes |
| Physical Disk / Volume Serial | Yes | Yes |
| NIC MAC Address | Yes | Yes |
| Windows MachineGuid | Yes | Yes |
Reality Check
Warzone 3 Appeals Almost Never Work
And when they're denied — which is almost always for HWID bans — your hardware stays permanently blacklisted. No second chances.
“Any attempt to hide, disguise, or obfuscate your identity or the identity of your hardware devices may result in a permanent suspension. Permanent suspensions are lasting and final, and can apply across titles, including past, present, or future titles in the Call of Duty franchise.”
Activision — Call of Duty Security and Enforcement Policy
Filing a support ticket or ban appeal
Creating a new Activision account (+ Battle.net or Steam linkage) on the same machine
Using a VPN or proxy
Reinstalling Warzone 3
Reinstalling Windows
Waiting — HWID bans do not expire
Run TraceX once to rewrite your hardware identifiers — Warzone 3's anti-cheat scans your machine and sees a completely new PC
Why You Need This
Do You Really Need an HWID Spoofer for Warzone 3?
You finish a Battle Royale or Resurgence match, relaunch Call of Duty: Warzone through Battle.net or Steam, and get "Account permanently banned." The Activision ban-appeal page now says "STATUS: PERMANENT BAN"; on another account it may instead say "LIMITED MATCHMAKING" while Ranked Play or public queues stall. Those states are not interchangeable. Limited Matchmaking is an account review state, while a permanent suspension is final. If a clean Activision account repeats the restriction on this same PC, the machine link is the part you need to diagnose, not another reinstall.
Activision does not publish RICOCHET's raw HWID schema. It does confirm a PC kernel-level driver that starts with Call of Duty: Warzone, monitors software interacting with the game, validates hardware tampering, and shuts down when the game closes. Durable Windows collection surfaces relevant to a composite device profile include the SMBIOS Type 2 baseboard serial and system motherboard UUID; physical disk serials exposed through IOCTL_STORAGE_QUERY_PROPERTY; OS-assigned volume serials; NIC MAC addresses; and the MachineGuid value under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography. These values have different lifetimes. Formatting can change a volume serial and reinstalling Windows can replace MachineGuid, but neither rewrites the board serial, motherboard UUID, or a retained drive's firmware serial. That is why a format alone cannot be treated as a hardware-ban reset.
Warzone's newer trust check adds another layer. Activision says TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required, Windows verifies the startup state, and the result passes to Call of Duty servers. The TPM 2.0 endorsement key is the chip's persistent attestation identity, but Activision does not say RICOCHET stores the raw EK; it only confirms clean-boot validation. Secure Boot state, UEFI mode, GPT partitioning, and BIOS firmware compliance can block launch without proving an HWID ban. The blast radius is wider than one executable: Activision says active enforcement is tied to Activision accounts across linked devices and permanent suspensions can apply to past, present, or future Call of Duty titles. "Can apply" matters; it does not prove that every Limited Matchmaking state or Warzone device flag automatically bans every Call of Duty title.
A VPN changes the route, a new Activision ID changes the account, and a clean install changes some Windows values. None covers the durable set. TraceX Spoofer takes the permanent route: complete the one-time setup, run it once before Battle.net or Steam, rewrite the supported identifiers, then delete the tool. TraceX leaves no session mask or daemon; the rewritten supported values persist across reboot. A temporary per-session spoofer must load again after every restart. Appeal first if the account was compromised or the penalty is wrong. Activision allows appeals for permanent bans, but not temporary bans or Limited Matchmaking, and warns that hiding hardware identity or circumventing security can itself result in permanent suspension.
Verified
On December 7, 2021, Team RICOCHET said Warzone Pacific's next-day launch would begin the Asia-Pacific rollout of its internally developed PC kernel-level driver. Its December 15 progress report confirmed the driver was live worldwide and required to play Warzone on PC. Activision's launch FAQ also states the driver starts with Warzone and shuts down when the game closes. (Sources: Team RICOCHET progress reports dated December 7 and 15, 2021.)
Why TraceX
Built for Warzone 3 Players
You shouldn't need to replace your PC to play Warzone 3 again. That's why TraceX exists.
Warzone 3 One-Time Run
Run TraceX once before opening Warzone 3 through Battle.net / Steam. The rewrite persists, so you can delete the tool before RICOCHET starts.
Permanent RICOCHET Identity
Warzone 3's hardware ban (hwid) is tied to the profile RICOCHET reads. Rewritten identifiers persist across reboots without a TraceX daemon.
RICOCHET Identifier Coverage
For Warzone 3, the documented RICOCHET coverage includes CPU / Platform Identifier, SMBIOS Baseboard / System UUID, GPU Adapter Identifier. TraceX rewrites the supported fields in one pass.
No Warzone 3 Runtime Load
Warzone 3 launches from Battle.net / Steam after the rewrite is complete. No TraceX process remains during RICOCHET gameplay to consume resources.
Warzone 3 Compatibility Notes
Warzone 3's hardware ban (hwid) details stay separate from the current RICOCHET status, so a game update is never treated as unchanged by default.
Fresh RICOCHET Hardware Profile
When you open Warzone 3 with Activision account (+ Battle.net or Steam linkage), RICOCHET reads the supported identifiers produced by the completed permanent rewrite.
Setup Guide
How to Bypass a Warzone 3 HWID Ban
Getting around a Warzone 3 HWID ban used to take hours — reinstalling Windows, flashing BIOS, wiping drivers, re-downloading everything, and praying it worked. One wrong step meant starting over and burning another account. With TraceX, a single click does more than all of that combined.
01
Get TraceX for Warzone 3
Submit your email through the TraceX Spoofer homepage form to receive the Warzone 3 setup instructions — free, no card required.
02
Rewrite Your Hardware
Run TraceX once before launching Warzone 3. Every hardware identifier RICOCHET reads is rewritten in a single pass — then you can delete the tool.
03
Log In and Play
Open Warzone 3 via the Battle.net / Steam with a new Activision account (+ Battle.net or Steam linkage). RICOCHET scans your hardware and sees a machine it has never seen before — no ban record.
04
Play Ban Free
You're back in Warzone 3. The rewrite is permanent — no daemon running, no expiry, nothing to renew.
Free download
Get the free Warzone 3 HWID spoofer.
Submit your email and receive your free TraceX HWID Spoofer license in a few minutes. Run it once on your PC to permanently rewrite the identifiers RICOCHET fingerprints, then delete the binary and reinstall Warzone 3.
Detection Analysis
How Warzone 3 Scans Your Hardware
RICOCHET can combine identifiers from your PC into a hardware profile for Warzone 3. TraceX rewrites the supported fields shown below before the game runs.
What Warzone 3 Reads Without TraceX
CPU / Platform IdentifierBFEB...0684
ExposedSMBIOS Baseboard / System UUIDPF0W...R3X9
ExposedGPU Adapter Identifier0x0000:0x0001D3A7
ExposedPhysical Disk / Volume SerialS75B...6859N
ExposedNIC MAC Address4A:3B:8C...5E:01
ExposedWindows MachineGuidd83fa349-...-4f3a
ExposedWhen you launch Warzone 3, your real hardware IDs are scanned and matched against ban records. Every new account on a flagged PC is blocked.
What Warzone 3 Reads With TraceX
CPU / Platform Identifier906E...A0C2
RewrittenSMBIOS Baseboard / System UUID7KM2...JQ84
RewrittenGPU Adapter Identifier0x0000:0x00F4B810
RewrittenPhysical Disk / Volume SerialWMC4...3J2L
RewrittenNIC MAC AddressD2:7E:19...1C:A4
RewrittenWindows MachineGuid71c0e28d-...-9b7f
RewrittenWarzone 3 sees a completely new machine with no ban history. New account, clean hardware — access granted.
Ban Reference
Warzone 3 Ban Details
Anti-CheatRICOCHET
Account SystemActivision account (+ Battle.net or Steam linkage)
Ban TypeHardware Ban (HWID)
DurationPermanent ("lasting and final"); Activision says it can apply across past, present, or future Call of Duty titles
Common Triggers
Aimbots, wallhacks, injectors, or other unauthorized software that changes Warzone data in memory or on diskUnapproved input-modification devices or applications, modded controllers, IP flooders, or lag switches used for cheatingAttempts to hide or obfuscate hardware identity, or to circumvent RICOCHET security checksWarzone boosting, teaming, or exploit abuse severe or repeated enough for permanent enforcementUnluckyNo Reason At All
All RICOCHET Games
Other Games Using RICOCHET
All of these games use RICOCHET — the same anti-cheat that banned you in Warzone 3. One permanent TraceX rewrite covers every one of them.
FAQ
Warzone 3 HWID Ban — Frequently Asked Questions
Does Warzone actually HWID-ban, or only Activision accounts?
Activision's status tools label penalties by Activision account, yet its policy also says RICOCHET validates whether hardware has been tampered with and that hiding the identity of hardware devices can trigger a permanent suspension. Activision does not publish a field-by-field HWID ban schema. A new account repeating the same restriction on one PC is evidence of device linkage, but Limited Matchmaking by itself is not proof of an HWID ban.
What is "Limited Matchmaking" and is it a permanent ban?
No. Activision defines Limited Matchmaking as an account state for suspected policy violations. The account may be placed with other accounts in the same state, party members can be affected, and progression may be disabled. It can return to normal or move to a temporary or permanent ban. Activision does not publish a fixed review time, and its appeal page says Limited Matchmaking cannot be appealed, so a stalled queue is not enough to call the PC hardware-banned.
How can I tell a Warzone HWID ban from an account or launcher problem?
Start with Activision's ban-appeal page. "STATUS: PERMANENT BAN" confirms an account suspension; "LIMITED MATCHMAKING" confirms review, not a hardware ban. If several accounts already used on one PC repeat the same restriction soon after launch, device linkage becomes more plausible, though Activision still does not disclose the deciding signal. First separate that pattern from an unrecognized linked account, a launcher problem, and the explicit TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot compliance notification.
How long does a Warzone HWID ban last?
Activision defines a permanent suspension as lasting and final; it does not publish a separate HWID expiry schedule. If the official status is permanent, there is no countdown to rely on. Temporary suspensions vary by offense, while Limited Matchmaking has no published end date and can change state. Claims that every Warzone hardware restriction clears after a fixed number of days are not supported by Activision's policy.
Will reinstalling Windows or replacing my SSD clear a Warzone HWID ban?
Neither is a reliable reset. Formatting can replace an OS-assigned volume serial, and a clean Windows install can replace MachineGuid. It does not rewrite the SMBIOS Type 2 baseboard serial, system UUID, MAC address, TPM hardware, or firmware serials on drives you keep. Replacing one SSD changes only part of that surface. Because Activision does not publish RICOCHET's matching weights, no single component swap can be promised as a fix.
Will a new Activision account, Battle.net account, or Steam account fix the ban?
A different login changes the account link, not the PC beneath it. Battle.net and Steam still launch the same Warzone client and RICOCHET driver, while Activision says active enforcement is tied to Activision accounts and implemented across linked devices. If the machine is part of the enforcement signal, switching storefronts leaves the durable board, storage, network, and boot-attestation surfaces in place. Creating accounts to get around an active penalty can also violate the security policy.
Can a TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot error look like a Warzone hardware ban?
Yes, but it is a compliance failure, not proof of a ban. Activision requires both features for Warzone and says a noncompliant PC receives a security-requirements notification. Its Secure Attestation Wizard can report TPM disabled, Secure Boot disabled, MBR instead of GPT, Legacy mode instead of UEFI, or required BIOS firmware. Check the official account status separately before treating a pre-lobby rejection as HWID enforcement.
Will a Warzone permanent ban affect Modern Warfare III or Black Ops 7?
It can, but Activision does not say every restriction automatically becomes a franchise-wide hardware ban. Its policy says permanent suspensions "can apply" across past, present, or future Call of Duty titles, and active enforcement follows the Activision account across linked devices. Warzone and Black Ops 7 also share RICOCHET and the TPM 2.0/Secure Boot requirement. That creates real cross-title exposure without turning "can apply" into "always applies."
Can I appeal a Warzone permanent ban or HWID ban?
You can submit an appeal for a permanent account ban through Activision's ban-appeal page. Activision says bans are overturned only when it determines the infraction resulted from a hacked Activision account; the account holder remains responsible for other activity. Temporary bans and Limited Matchmaking are not appealable. The public process does not offer a separate HWID appeal form or disclose which device signals contributed to enforcement.
What is the difference between a permanent Warzone rewrite and a temporary spoofer?
A temporary spoofer masks selected values for one Windows session, so the old identity returns after reboot and the tool must run again. TraceX uses a permanent rewrite instead: finish the one-time setup, run it once before Battle.net or Steam, then delete the tool. The supported rewritten values persist without a resident process or per-session mask. That convenience does not override Activision's policy, which treats hiding hardware identity or circumventing security as sanctionable.
Learn More
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Next Steps
Not sure the Warzone 3 ban is hardware-based?
Work out which ban you are actually dealing with before you change anything. The ban-type checker walks the symptoms, and how long a RICOCHET ban lasts covers whether waiting it out is realistic for Warzone 3.
You can also browse every game TraceX supports or read up on the anti-cheat engines behind these bans.