The whole Installation/activation is unnecessarily complicated

I have been using antivirus and anti malware programs for about 20 years now and at 81 I have never come across a more complicated and convoluted method of installing the Anti Virus, Total Security and VPN software being offered by Bitdefender. I have taken up the offer of changing from the Free Antivirus to the 5PCs for 1 Year offer at the remarkable price of 8.98 GBP. Very grateful for that.

However when it came to actually installing the software on my PC currently in use, it seemed to go okay, but I still do not know if I have the full Bitdefender Total Security or the VPN or the Antivirus or what installed. I still do not know if my software is activated or not. I do not see how it is possible to install the software on another PC/iOS or other device of any kind from the device currently in use.

I would like to suggest that Bitdefender allocate one licence to each of their clients for each of their products and then when the software is downloaded and installed on a device, simply count the number of times the licence is used to activate the software. This works for Microsoft, Softmaker, Iobit and I am sure for the majority of software sellers. The present method of manual or automatic activation does not inspire confidence here. There are too many videos, instruction dialogs and web pages and other verbose instructions for me to follow. I may end up by just losing my money and installing some other more straight forward software.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Rickdev

I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. It means a great deal to us because this is how we can improve our product and services.

I have noticed you have activated a Bitdefender Total Security subscription for up to 5 devices. But you also have an Antivirus Free in your account. The Central account allows you to manage your subscriptions, checking their expiration date, changing device allocation, viewing service details, and more.

Since you have purchased the paid version, I have now removed the free antivirus and this way, the covered devices will be automatically allocated to the Total Security product. The changes will be reflected shortly and a single subscription covering up to 5 devices will be displayed in your account.

The free version already covered 5 devices and this is the exact number of slots that your Total Security can protect.

However, if you wish to remove a device to free up a slot and then protect another device, you may find detailed steps on how to do this here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2795/

and here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1443/

Please remember that Bitdefender also offers Premium Services such as Install & Setup, Computer Tune-Up, VIP Support and these can help you optimize your devices and make the best of your Bitdefender solution.

Stay safe!

alanrwood

I am in complete agreement with Rickdev. I have never found a more difficult and inflexible install procedure. There are several other issues that I have made representation about which can not be accommodated in BD ie no offline installer, slow program updates (Not definitions), constant pop ups regarding B/D VPN which I can not disable (I have NordVPN). When my current license runs out I doubt I will be renewing even at the bargain prices available.

Rickdev

Thank you for throwing even more confusion at me. I still do not know what exactly is installed on this PC and whether it is activated or not. How do I install further copies on other devices? This is not explained so that I can fully understand it. I have two further PCs that I would like to install Bitdefender on. Will they have Antivirus, will they have VPN(free or otherwise) [ I like Opera as that has a FREE VPN] , how do Bitdefender know how many devices on which I have tried to install the software? These are all questions that I do not see how to answer. How many videos do I have to watch and where do I find them? How many pages of convoluted instructions do I have to follow? None of this is made easy - i.e. your website and methodology is NOT user friendly. The method I have suggested is universally accepted by the vast majority of software producers - why does Bitdefender have to be so different and difficult?????

Alexandru_BD

@alanrwood offline kits are no longer used for installing and there is an ongoing development concerning notifications management.

@Rickdev I shall explain: A single Central account can have multiple Bitdefender subscriptions. You currently have a paid version and a free one.

RICHARD-PC10 is covered by the paid Total Security license. DESKTOP-PC1 is still covered by Antivirus Free. You need to allocate this device to the paid subscription by following the steps below:

1. Launch a web browser and visit https://central.bitdefender.com/.

2. Click the Sign In button and enter your Bitdefender Central username and password.

3. Click on the My Subscriptions panel, located on the left side of the page.

4. Click on the Manage button from the Antivirus Free subscription card.

5. Choose Manage Device Allocation from the drop-down menu.

6. Click to expand the product that has devices assigned to it.

7. Here you should see the DESKTOP-PC1 device that uses this Bitdefender subscription.

8. Click on Change under this device name to modify its current allocation.

9. Click on CHANGE ALLOCATION in the lower-right corner and select "Change allocation to Bitdefender Total Security".

Let us know how it went and if you can now see 2 slots occupied out of 5, for Total Security.

lixxiechan

Soo agree. I am now trying to cancel my unactivated orders as it the process is too complicated for me to follow.

lixxiechan

Alexandru_BD

I think you just proved Rickdev 's point.

Alexandru_BD

Hello @lixxiechan,

The activation process is fairly simple, the above scenario was different from a casual activation. Rickdev had two different products in his account and the problem was that the free antivirus cannot share an account with a paid version.

When you purchase Bitdefender, you will receive an activation code. This must be entered in your Central account and from there you can install protection in just a few steps.

Did you encounter any issues during activation? I can guide you through this.

Regards,

Alex