BitDefender Total Security not installing Antivirus on Mac Monterey

Rexie

As the title states, the install is only installing VPN on my Mac and not the antivirus software. The subscription has been activated (until March 2026). The same license has successfully installed all modules on a Windows 10 machine.

I have used BitDefender on this Mac for the past few years without a problem so I'm not sure what has changed.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks

Alexandru_BD

Hi

What happens exactly, do you get any error messages during the install process, and does it start at all? Was Bitdefender previously installed on that device? Have you recently renewed your Total Security subscription, or is this the first time you are using Bitdefender?

Any additional information would help us help you. 🙂

Thanks

Rexie

Yes - Total Security was previously installed.

Yes - I have just renewed the subscription. 'My subscriptions' shows it's renewed till March 2026, and that 'security is installed on 1 device' and 'VPN is installed on 1 device'.

The 'Dashboard' shows 'Windows is protected' and the 'Mac is at risk'. Clicking on the Windows device shows 'Protection for Windows' and the 'VPN' are installed on the Windows machine. The Mac shows as 'being at risk'.

When I click the 'show issues' button for the Mac the message shows that 'the device isn't fully protected and 'The Bitdefender security product isn't assigned to a subscription on this device. Restart the device and make sure it's connected to activate protection.' Yet further down the dashboard indicates 'protection for macOS is installed' and 'VPN is installed'.

When I check Applications in Finder, only the VPN app and uninstaller app show in the BitDefender folder.

When I try to install Bitdefender on the Mac, I click the download button from 'install BitDefender products' and choose the option for the Mac. It downloads the .pkg file. I double click the file and it runs. It states 'installation was successful' and then another box opens showing showing 'downloading antivirus for Mac'. There are no further messages except to move the installer to the bin.

I have tried running the uninstaller but I get an error: 'uninstall error. An error occurred while uninstalling the following products' - it shows Antivirus for Mac. I have tried the same procedure in safe mode and get exactly the same error.

Any suggestions?

Scarlet

The installer might be detecting a VPN-only package instead of the full security suite. Try reinstalling directly from your Bitdefender Central account to ensure the correct version. Also, check macOS security settings for any blocked permissions. If the issue persists, a clean uninstall and reinstall may help.