Off the Grid – How to Appeal a Call of Duty Ban (Warzone, MW, Black Ops)

The grounds Activision relies on

Activision applies its Call of Duty Security and Enforcement Policy (checked on 26 October 2026) to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) and every later console and PC title, including Warzone and the subsequent Modern Warfare and Black Ops games. The policy names, inter alia, unauthorised software such as aimbots, wallhacks and input mapping software, unsupported peripherals such as modded controllers and lag switches, boosting, glitching, griefing, malicious reporting, offensive behaviour, spoofing and the fraudulent acquisition of COD Points. Detection rests on RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, which combines client- and server-side systems, monitors applications running during play, models behaviour and checks hardware for tampering, while reports by other players may support enforcement.

The penalties range from warnings and temporary bans to permanent bans, a limited matchmaking state, ranked play restrictions and hardware bans, in addition to corrections of stats, inventory and leaderboards. Two rules of the policy decide most cases. First, the account holder is responsible for any infraction, no matter who was playing at the time. Second, enforcement is tied to the Activision account and applied across all linked devices, and a permanent ban can extend to past, present and future Call of Duty titles.

Where the appeal goes

Appeals are filed on Activision's ban appeal page, which first shows the enforcement status of the logged-in account and whether it is eligible for appeal. Only permanent bans may be appealed; temporary bans and accounts in a limited matchmaking state are not eligible, and hardware bans are neither displayed there nor open to appeal. Before the form opens, the page asks whether unknown accounts are linked or account details were changed without the holder's knowledge, and where that is the case it recommends a Hacked Account Recovery request.

Thereafter, the form asks why the player is appealing and for additional details. Activision states that it reports the status only after its investigation, answers by email, does not respond to multiple submissions or to appeals sent through other channels, and treats decisions in the appeals process as final. Thus, the single appeal has to be complete when it is sent.

What the appeal should contain

The content of a Call of Duty appeal follows from one statement on the appeal page: permanent bans are overturned only if Activision determines that the infraction was due to the Activision account being hacked. The appeal, therefore, has to show a takeover and its timing, i.e. the date of the first unauthorised login or change, the linked accounts or details that changed and the security emails received. The case number of any Hacked Account Recovery request belongs in it as well.

Where the account was not compromised, the policy leaves an appeal little room, since the holder answers for anyone who played on it, including a friend who had been given the password. It shall be noted that a hardware ban follows the device and not the account, and Activision warns that such bans may remain on second-hand, shared or publicly accessible devices, which an appeal concerning the account cannot reach.

After the decision

Activision treats decisions in the appeals process as final and does not answer repeated submissions. A second request is therefore pointless unless a takeover comes to light only later, and for exactly that case the appeal page points to a Hacked Account Recovery request. A limited matchmaking state, by contrast, can end without any request, since under the policy the account may be returned to normal matchmaking at any time or, equally, move on to a ban.

The policy lists circumventing security and spoofing, i.e. hiding the identity of the player or the hardware, among the infractions. Extreme or repeated violations, it warns, may lead to the permanent suspension of all accounts and to hardware bans. Ban evasion may thus breach the policy again; accordingly, this guide does not describe ways around a ban.

Current enforcement

The Call of Duty appeal page sets out the steps in short form, and the Warzone ban-wave monitor records whether Activision is currently running a wider enforcement wave.

Frequently asked questions