I had Bitdefender free, now it's asking for a subscription.

Hackodis

I tried reinstalling ensuring i had the "free" version. still same issue. I have no clue what else to do.

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/96953/i-had-bitdefender-free-now-its-asking-for-a-subscription

Kindly perform below steps & see if this helps you in anyway.

1) Uninstall the bitdefender product with add/ remove programs option in windows

2) To remove the remaining files download and run Bitdefender product uninstaller: https://www.bitdefender.com/files/KnowledgeBase/file/Bitdefender_2022_Uninstall_Tool.exe

3) Restart PC in safe mode: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

4) As soon as desktop opens, assuming your windows drive is C, open below things in run (windows icon + R) command one by one :

C:\Program Files (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\Program Files (x86) (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\ProgramData (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\Users\{your pc name}\AppData\Local (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

5) Open run command again and run below command one by one :

temp ,delete all the files in the folder

%temp% ,delete all the files in folder

prefetch ,delete all the files in folder

6) Open registry editor through run command (windows icon + R) and then type regedit. Once registry editor opens, click on edit -> find, make sure to tick mark match whole strings only. Type bitdefender in search box and click find next. If any file or folder under name of bitdefender is found, delete it. Continue searching the registry and deleting until the search will report no registry keys found.

7) Restart your PC in general mode by unticking the option that you selected to run the system in safe mode and then click apply.

8) Remove device from online bitdefender central: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2795/

9) Download online installer for your bitdefender free from below stated link

https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_avfree.exe

Once your respective bitdefender product is installed, a bitdefender dialogue box will open where you will need to login with your registered bitdefender online central details and after a successful login, your product will be synchronized with your online bitdefender central account. Henceforth, your product will get registered & activated with online bitdefender central automatically.

Regards

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Hackodis,

Based on my findings, you still have a Bitdefender Antivirus Free license active in your Central account since July last year. The free version does not requie a subscription and does not have an expiration date. Perhaps you are receiving a notification informing you of the benefits of the paid product and the features that can be unlocked when installing it? It's unclear to me, but as far as I can tell, your Windows device is still protected.

Can you tell us if the Bitdefender shield appears green in the UI?

Regards