How to sign in and activate my New Bitdefender Account?

Dear all,

Hello everybody, I'm new to Bitdefender and this support forum, and appreciate the opportunity to join you all on it.

I downloaded and installed a free version of Bitdefender on my Acer laptop on windows 10, yesterday, and received the email notification to activate my account on the same day. However, since then I have not once been able to sign in. When I try to sign in, it accepts both my account email and password, but after I click, there's a delay of a minute or two with a blank page, before it returns to the sign in page again. This happens constantly. I'm just going around in circles. This happens whether I use the memory function for my password which comes up automatically or if I input the password myself. I have updated my Microsoft Edge browser.

Also, do I have to be constantly logged in to get anti-virus protection from Bitdefender?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Accepted answers

Gjoksi

Hello.

ONLY Bitdefender staff can have access to your Bitdefender Central account, your devices, your payments/purchases and/or your subscription(s).

So, you should contact Bitdefender Consumer Support by chat, telephone or e-mail:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

Chat is the fastest way to get in touch with Bitdefender Consumer Support.

Select: Purchase & Manage Subscription -> My Bitdefender Central Account, click on Contact Support in the black box and then click on Chat 24/7.

NOTE: Bitdefender telephone support is not toll-free!

Regards.

All comments

Gjoksi

Hello.

ONLY Bitdefender staff can have access to your Bitdefender Central account, your devices, your payments/purchases and/or your subscription(s).

So, you should contact Bitdefender Consumer Support by chat, telephone or e-mail:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

Chat is the fastest way to get in touch with Bitdefender Consumer Support.

Select: Purchase & Manage Subscription -> My Bitdefender Central Account, click on Contact Support in the black box and then click on Chat 24/7.

NOTE: Bitdefender telephone support is not toll-free!

Regards.

Patient Merit

Thank you Gjoksi,

I have found chat 24/7 and the 'send email' resource. Very helpful. It's what I was looking for, but couldn't find.

Your clear, detailed help is much appreciated.

Alexandru_BD

Welcome to Bitdefender and the community @Patient Merit.

Just adding here that you don't actually have to be logged into your Bitdefender Central account to use Bitdefender every day, but the security software installed on your device must be linked with your Central account to work, because the antivirus draws its configuration, number of slots and validity from there, so you need to be logged in the actual Bitdefender security solution with that account. You can access Bitdefender Central anytime afterwards, but you don't have to keep that one open at all times. Nor is it necessary to login in Bitdefender all the time, one time login will suffice, the connection with Central will be established and the protection enabled.

Now regarding the login loop you are experiencing, I think it's best to reach out to Bitdefender Support, like Gjoksi suggested, because the Support representatives can perform further checks for your account and advise accordingly. Surely, this can be resolved swiftly and please do let us know the outcome here as well, if possible.

Regards,

Alex

Patient Merit

Thank you Alexandru_BD

I did take Gjoksi's advice and contacted Bitdefender's 24/7 chat. The chat was helpful and the clear, detailed advice I received is much appreciated. My concern, though, is that all the advice given on what to do, while very good, entails it seems in making at least one or possibly several changes to my computer. It, also seems to me that the answers were given by bots. See, one of the links, I received from Bitdefender support, below.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/17225/

After researching the possible problems that could ensue from making changes to my computer, I am very wary about doing so, yet the link suggests making four or five changes, one after another, if necessary. I did a clean custom install version of windows 10 on my laptop less than two weeks ago. Does this not suggest that I am less likely to need to make changes on my computer?

When I checked virus and threat protection, I found that Bitdefender anti-virus is turned on and last time I checked windows anti-virus was turned off. These conditions apparently came about after I installed Bitdefender. However, whenever I click the Bitdefender icon which came up after the installation?/download?, it always says that I need to log in to activate the Anti-virus protection.

Are there any alternatives to overcoming this problem? Are there any simpler solutions that are less likely to cause PC problems? My next step will be to email Bitdefender.

Update

I seem to have managed to activate Bitdefender after all by inadvertently finding a different route through. I went to virus and threat protection on my laptop and after finding Bitdefender there, and clicking a few links I came to a box in which the heading states 'You are safe. We're looking out for your device and data'. There are several small boxes on that page, which allow me to run various scans, including system scan and quick scan. I have clicked 'Quick scan' and it scanned safely. I am now doing a 'system scan'. Update, it is now finished and says that my system is clean. It does say, though, that my threat information database is outdated and I need to update.

Surely this means that my BitdefenderAnti-virus is actually activated. Correct?

Your input is much appreciated, Alexandru_BD. Also, thanks again, Gjoksi. You put me on the right track.

Alexandru_BD

Hi @Patient Merit,

Affirmative, if you were able to run scans and Bitdefender displays the message that you are safe, accompanied by a green shield, then this means it's up and running on your device.

For the record, when contacting Bitdefender Support via chat, you will connect to a chatbot initially.

Bitdefender is constantly looking for ways to improve customer support through fast solutions when in need of an answer from their behalf. This is the main reason why they are currently testing a chatbot to provide this service.
However, the chatbot is not here to replace human support but to complement it, ensuring you get the help you need faster. Whether it's answering questions or resolving issues, the bot is trained by Bitdefender's top technical writing specialists to provide accurate and helpful responses.

For more complex cases that require human intervention, the chatbot will seamlessly transfer you to a live representative.
AI will help us offer immediate assistance and break down language barriers by communicating in your native language, regardless if someone from Bitdefender speaks it or not. This will allow Bitdefender existing and future customers to have faster access to help with questions or issues and swifter resolution time in their native tongue.

Now that we got that out of the way, the modifications suggested in the previous article are completely safe and required whenever the product is unable to connect to the server to complete the activation. Like the article points out, there can be multiple reasons behind the failure to connect, including a firewall, DNS, or content filtering system on your network or computer which prevents communication with the Bitdefender servers and blocks the activation process. Bitdefender requires to communicate with its servers to ensure proper activation and successful signature and product updates later on.

Changing the DNS server is a popular solution, while checking for firewall settings won't hurt, and you can test if this is actually the culprit by simply deactivating the windows firewall, which is not complicated to do, or by checking if your router includes one that may interfere with the communication. Furthermore, like the article mentions, some Windows components are directly related to Internet Explorer, and Bitdefender runs an Internet Explorer framework, so resetting its settings will help ensure that it’s functional and up to date, so you can eliminate this probable reason as well. Then you can look into updating network adapter drivers, and finally flush and reset the DNS, which again, won't hurt anything on your computer.

I'm glad to hear this was solved and should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to share them in the comments. 🙂

Regards,

Alex

Patient Merit

Thanks again, Alex,

I hear you about those changes being completely safe. However I am of the belief, wrongly or rightly that I should only implement changes on my PC if absolutely necessary. I would rather find alternative ways to solve any issues, if possible.

Thank you for clarifying how Bitdefender Support operates and how they use bots. I'm sorry if I came across as critical. I think Bitdefender's support system is very professional and thorough and I truly appreciate it.

I've been running scans again. I am a complete novice in running anti-virus programs on my computer. Previously, I only used whatever protection came with Windows or Microsoft and hardly ever bothered with it. You can imagine what a mess my computer was in! It's quite scary running scans and getting various responses talking about threats here and threats there and what various agencies can do if I don't enable or fix this or that. I feel like a person who is told there are scores of sinister people collected around your house looking for ways to come in and attack you.

I guess I'll soon get the hand of it.

Your patience, support and informative responses are much appreciated Alex.

Alexandru_BD

You are most welcome @Patient Merit, it was my pleasure and thank you very much for your appreciation! 🤝

And don't worry, at no time did I perceive your comments as criticism. And even if that was the case, I welcome constructive criticism, because I think this is how one can find the most valuable insights and acknowledge the areas of improvement. 😉

I understand the reluctance to make changes that are not absolutely necessary on the computer. Sometimes, depending on the system configuration, available resources and other factors, it may be required to make some minor tweaks when installing an antivirus, and to some extent, I think this is somewhat expected.
But in most cases, it's pretty much a 'set it and forget it' type of product that simply does its job.

Don't hesitate to write us on these pages anytime.

Regards,

Alex

Patient Merit

Thanks for understanding, Alex.

I can see how it is necessary, at times, to make changes on our PCs. If I wish my PC to be better protected and to run well, I need to be a little bit more flexible and braver in that regard, I think.

I'm very grateful for the welcome you have extended to me on this forum.