Instructions for merging subscriptions when renewing early

Gjoksi
Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

It seems that questions like "How to merge my old and my new subscription when renewing early" and "Will i lose ... months/days cover of my existing subscription when renewing early" are very often here in the community.

So, based on my previous and today's experience, here are the instructions for merging the old and the new subscriptions when renewing early, without losing the remaining validity of your current subscription.

I had a subscription for Bitdefender Total Security with expiration date March 29, 2023.

Today i got a new valid Activation code for the same Bitdefender product.

After receiving the code, i signed in to Bitdefender Central here:

When signed, i went to My Subscriptions -> Subscriptions -> +Activate with code.

Next, in the white box, i entered the new code and clicked on "Activate".

After that, in the next dialog box, i selected this option: "Extend current subscription" and clicked on "Confirm activation".

In the next dialog box, i was informed that the subscription has been extended.

Then, back in Bitdefender Central, "This license will end on March 29, 2023" was automatically changed to "This license will end on March 29, 2024".

It takes time (less than 5 minutes) for the new subscription details to be applied to all devices that have Bitdefender products installed.

Sometimes, the new subscription details won't be applied automatically on some Windows devices, like here:

but if that occurs, here is what to do:

Click on your account's name in the upper right corner of the program, then click on "Switch Account", enter the existing e-mail and password that you already used for the subscription and after the process will finish, the new subscription details will be applied, like here:

That's it.

As you can see, i didn't lose the remaining validity of my current subscription, which was about to expire on March 29, 2023, but the subscription was just extended to March 29, 2024.

Best regards. 😊

Comments

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    Nice thread, Gjoksi79_ in the future, this will come in handy to link members to :) Well done :)

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • I am speechless 🙏

    Thank you so much @Gjoksi79_ for this insightful post!

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Where do I get my activation code everyone I renewal I don't recieve one? And when I call C/S or for tech help they ask me for it? I want it!

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Ginger

    Visit this link:

    or

    Sign in to your Bitdefender Central account or Create Bitdefender Central account here:

    In your Bitdefender Central account, go to My Subscriptions -> My Payments and click on "View details" on right of your Bitdefender product:

    Now, wait a few seconds and you will get this:

    And there is your Activation code.

    Best regards.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @markjohn123123

    Good to know that!

    Anyway, spam reported. Bye-bye.

  • @Gjoksi79_ 😂😂👍️

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Guilhermesene
    Guilhermesene Defender of the month ✭✭✭

    Interesting topic!

    He is of great help! 🙂

  • Oct 2022 and this does not work, as a very long time user of Bitdefender I find it pathetic they stick you on automatic renewal so it costs you around $79.99 a year when you can buy a new version for $34.99.

    Why are long time users punished by having to pay double for a product? Every year I turn off auto renewal and buy a new copy of the same product but have to uninstall the old version and re-install on my 3 devices to activate the new key which I see as a way of trying to force users to pay double with auto renewal or making it a pain to have to keep uninstalling and reinstalling.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2022

    @Mr C

    Hello.

    You can stop the auto-renewal for the Bitdefender subscription, by following these steps:

    Just follow the steps as described in Method 1, because some users in the past reported that the steps from Method 2 didn't stop the auto-renewal.

    Also, from my personal experience, Method 1 did/does the job.

    Finally, you can stop the auto-renewal for the Bitdefender subscription by contacting Customer Support at:

    cancel@bitdefender.com

    Next, you can renew your license by visiting this site:

    After you purchused the new license, you can follow the steps from this topic.

    I'm a Bitdefender user since 2017 and NEVER had to uninstall/reinstall my Bitdefender Total Security program for the renewal process. And every year when renewing i always pay the same price 39,98 EUR / $ 39.98.

    Regards.

  • Alexandru_BD
    Alexandru_BD admin
    edited October 2022

    Hi @Mr C,

    In the event of a manual renewal of protection, it is not necessary to reinstall the product, as it draws its validity and configuration according to the subscription or license active in the Central account. When renewing manually, all you have to do is to redeem the activation code in your Central account and this will extend the validity of your security solution.

    The Bitdefender security solutions come with an automatic renewal feature that allows you to conveniently retain your protection when your Bitdefender subscription expires, without having to go through all the motions of manually renewing your cyber-security solution.

    You will receive email notifications before the actual renewal takes place. 

    These e-mails will provide you with all the details about automatic renewal, including a link for easy cancellation of the service. If the auto renewal option remains active, your Bitdefender subscription will be automatically extended and this will keep your defenses activated without interruption for all devices covered by your current subscription.

    Please keep in mind that, whether you want to activate the renewal option or disable it, you can do it anytime. 

    You can cancel the automatic charges for your subscription by logging in to your Bitdefender Account and disable automatic renewal, or by contacting Customer Support at: cancel@bitdefender.com

     If you have agreed to permit Bitdefender to automatically renew your subscription by charging a valid credit card number which you have provided to Bitdefender, your subscription will be automatically renewed prior to the expiration of the term and each anniversary thereafter for a fee no greater than Bitdefender's then-current price, excluding promotional and discount pricing.

    The automatic renewal pricing is not linked to ongoing offers, discounts and promotions available at our official website or at different points of sale throughout our Partner Network and for this reason we are trying to offer our customers the opportunity to manually renew at favorable prices during the subscription period. 

    The price at which the auto-renewal is applied can be seen in automatic notifications so that any customer has the opportunity to request either the deactivation of the option, or a more advantageous offer.

    Following your request, I have now disabled the automatic renewal feature for the latest order you have placed on October 10.

    Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Very informative but didn't work for me. I installed a new activation code via the Bitdefender Central on android phone and didn't get an option to merge/extend my current subscription after entering activation code even though same subscription type (Family). Tried logging in to Bitdefender on Windows to see if it would give me the option but it does not.

    Now have two subscriptions one will expire in about four months with the new one now activated so four months wasted.

    Been a Bitdefender customer/user for many years but if cannot resolve this then I will review my future use of Bitdefender.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @bryalf

    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:

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

    NOTE: Bitdefender telephone support is not toll-free!

    Also, @Alexandru_BD and @Mike_BD (they both work for Bitdefender) can take a look here and help you with the issue. You can PM them.

    Regards.

  • I found the link for the Web chat and it is being sorted as I type.

    Thanks for the steer.

    A lesson learned for next time.

  • Nice but unfortunately did not work for me. Maybe because I bought the "family Pack" which is the same as the total security. It created a second account under my user email.

  • Hello @Laidback,

    While Family Pack is indeed based on Total Security, it has a different variation of devices and its activation code cannot extend the validity of a Total Security license for up to 5 devices. As it stands now, you don't have a second Central account, but the licenses are running in parallel in the same account and will overlap until the previous ones expire. You have two Total Security licenses, the first is due this month and the second one expires at the beginning of October. Until then, they will still be displayed in your Central account, however they no longer protect devices and all your machines seem to have been successfully transferred to the new Family Pack license.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Guilhermesene
    Guilhermesene Defender of the month ✭✭✭

    @Alexandru_BD @Scott @Gjoksi just out of curiosity, is there a time limit (days or years) in which a subscription can be merged?

    For example, can I have a subscription until 2035? That would be really cool 😄

    Thanks in advance!

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    I'm not sure of how many subscriptions you could merge to get to 2035..the only thing I would want to last that long and beyond, is a marriage or hopefully paying off a mortgage in that amount of time. lol :)

    My max would be 2 years for an AV, especially if it was a good deal for that length of time.

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Guilhermesene
    Guilhermesene Defender of the month ✭✭✭
  • @Guilhermesene the validity limit when entering activation codes subsequently in Central is 5 years.

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Guilhermesene
    Guilhermesene Defender of the month ✭✭✭

    @Alexandru_BD Thanks for the info my friend 😄 it was something I wanted to know for a while now

  • TaxiMagicien42
    TaxiMagicien42 Defender of the month ✭✭✭✭

    Bonjour,

    C'est bon à savoir 😉

    Cordialement,

    TaxiMagicien42

    WIndows 11 Home 23H2

    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Core Processor 3.70 GHz

    Bitdefender Premium Security Plus