Bitdefender VPN Upgrade Message Prevents Me From Using My Free VPN Data. Any Help?
I have Bitdefender Total Security and according to the package information I should get 200 MB per day. However I cannot use it because the VPN box constantly changes to an upgrade message as soon as I open it. And there is no way to open the VPN.
This is annoying and unethical and makes me want to cancel my Bitdefender subscription which I have had for a few years. While I can afford the cost of upgrading, the way it is being pushed on me makes me less, not more, likely to upgrade. I have gone through a number of the threads in the forums and done every suggestion the admins have made about managing popups (which is also a problem that I experience - I'm constantly told I have an unsafe home wifi when my password has all the requirements advised by Bitdefender). I have turned off multiple security notifications and NOTHING has worked and I keep seeing the admins making the same suggestions over and over. I will be switching antivirus providers due to this issue.
EDIT:
Okay so an update is that the issue has spontaneously resolved.
However I'm still frustrated that I wasted hours on it and seemingly cannot use the VPN when its convenient to me but rather at Bitdefender's discretion. I will update if it keeps occurring.
Best Answer
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Today's update seems to have fixed this problem for me. Will post again if the problem returns. Happy camper.
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Answers
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Hello.
Open your Bitdefender program and go to:
1. Settings -> General and disable "Special offers" and "Recommendation notifications" (for the "Password Manager" notification)
2. Protection -> Antivirus -> Settings -> Scan flash drives and select "Autoscan" or "Disabled", do not select "Ask every time" (for the "USB Immunizer Recommendation" notification)
3. Privacy -> Safepay -> Settings and disable "Safepay notifications"
4. Privacy -> Video & Audio Protection -> Settings and disable "Notify when allowed applications connect to the webcam", "Notify when an application tries to access the microphone" and "Notify when browsers access the microphone"
5. Utilities -> Profiles -> Settings and disable "Activate profiles automatically" (for the Profile notification)
After doing that, in the future no pop-up notifications will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen.
REMEMBER: When a threat is detected, a pop-up notification will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen and you can't disable those pop-up notifications.
Next, as an option to fully disable the Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups, open your Bitdefender program, go to Utilities -> Profiles -> Settings and enable/activate "Work Profile" or "Game Profile".
When "Work Profile" or "Game Profile" is enabled/activated, all Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups are disabled.
Finally, as for the Bitdefender VPN pop-ups, open the Bitdefender VPN program, go to Settings -> Notifications and disable "Allow notifications".
It is recommended that you also review the privacy preferences set in your Bitdefender Central account:
1. On any internet-connected device launch a web browser, visit https://central.bitdefender.com and sign in to your Bitdefender Central account.
2. Click on your username in the top right corner and select "Bitdefender Account" in the menu. This option will launch in a new browser tab.
3. Access the "Data & Privacy" tab, then click on the "Privacy preferences" section.
4. Uncheck both boxes to stop promotional messages:
- Receive in product insights regarding threats, news, and offers.
- Receive insights regarding threats, news, and offers via email.
Regards.
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Hello @Spikey01,
In addition to @Gjoksi's instructions on how to disable in-product notifications, regarding the issue you have experienced, we haven't seen this glitch before, but as a workaround, you can always right-click on the VPN icon in the systray and click 'Connect':
My hypothesis concerning this message is that you have either already used that 200 MB quota, or you've just installed VPN and received an upgrade recommendation. A restart after install should have suppressed this message and it's usually recommended to reboot your device after clean installation of software.
Regards
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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Same problem as spikey01. I put it down to a messed up installation. Specifically, I paid for the subscription, and downloaded and set up the 30-day trial. My theory was that you set up the software, put in the activation code, and then the software becomes full featured.
Now I know to read and follow the e-mail. But too late.
Instead, I am left with at mess as far as VPN 200 MB goes. My computer thinks it is still running the Bitdefender trial.
BTW Alexandru_BD: The right click workaround suggestion brings up the same upgrade screen. There is seemingly no way around it.
Suggestions appreciated because I would really like to use the free 200 for banking, other of the various sensitive financial transactions commonly insecurely handled online.
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I just thought I'd reply to Alexandru_BD's suggestions of:
"My hypothesis concerning this message is that you have either already used that 200 MB quota, or you've just installed VPN and received an upgrade recommendation. A restart after install should have suppressed this message and it's usually recommended to reboot your device after clean installation of software".
In my case I've had Bitdefender for 4 or 5 years. I can't remember whether I restarted after installation but the issue certainly didn't appear immediately. It's happened a few (?3 - 5) times over the years and then spontaneously resolved within days, like what happened when I wrote my original message above. And no, I hadn't used my allocation of data for the day. I assumed that it was Bitdefender getting aggressive with their marketing, like the pop-ups that are impossible to get rid of.
I'll advise you when/if it happens again.
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Hi,
Thank you for following up @Spikey01
I think this behavior suggests a server-side problem... Because the notification should disappear when rebooting the machine. Still, to find out exactly where the culprit lies, if the issue persists, I think it will be necessary for one of our engineers to have a closer look. So far, I haven't seen other similar reports, thus we don't have reasons to believe it may occur on a larger scale, but it's definitely something worth looking into.
You can reach or Support Teams using the link below. There are three channels to choose from, chat, phone and email (ticket):
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/
Let us know if the issue persists and what has been done by the engineers to correct this, so we may help other members that might enconter this issue in the future. @Paco35 you can also get in touch with them regarding your findings.
Thanks and best regards.
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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To confirm it’s happening to others: we currently have the same issue on our laptop and can’t dismiss the notification, even after trying all the fixes here.
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Hello @Phanatic,
In the event the above solutions don't fix the issue and your VPN is up to date, I would recommend contacting the Technical Support Teams, as more information might be required to troubleshoot this. You can get in touch with our engineers by choosing one of the contact channels available here:
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/
Let us know how it goes.
Regards
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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@Phanatic just to follow up on this, are you sure that the daily 200mb quota has not been used? Do you get this message on a daily basis, or does it reset itself the next day?
Regards
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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I have used Bitdefender for so many years I can't count. Today, July 21, 2023, free VPN will not come on and popup for Upgrade to Premium will not STOP. I have NOT used any time today on free VPN so I AM NOT OUT OF TIME. This is a SORRY EXCUSE for Bitdefender to try to force their customers on an upgrade WE DO NOT NEED! I tried calling the US phone number 954-414-9631 and keep getting recorded message "THE PARTY IS NOT ANSWERING." So my next step is to cancel Bitdefender and get Norton because I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR ENERGY TO MESS WITH BULL SHI_!
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And I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING SUGGESTED IN THE ABOVE STATEMENTS! NOTHING WORKS! I have tried turning off laptop SEVERAL TIMES, NOTHING WORKS! VERY FRUSTRATING!!!
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I too, have tried everything. VERY FRUSTRATING!
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Hello,
In the event this pop up cannot be supressed and it prevents the use of the available daily VPN quota, kindly get in touch with the Technical teams for further assistance. This is not the expected behavior and the message should not appear unless the daily traffic limit has been reached for the included VPN version.
A reinstall of just the VPN service as per the steps below might also help:
- Press at the same time the keys "Windows logo" (located between Ctrl and Alt keys) and "R".
- This will bring up the Run box.
- Type directly in the box "appwiz.cpl" and hit Enter.
- Wait while the list is being populated, then search for 'Bitdefender VPN', right click on it and choose Uninstall.
- Open the Bitdefender Interface
- Click on Privacy
- Click on Open VPN
- Click on Install Bitdefender VPN
If the issue persists, you can get in touch with the Bitdefender engineers by choosing one of the contact channels available here:
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/
I've noticed that the issue was already solved for @SoLAgardenlady.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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Exact same problem, I have reinstalled Bitdefender & Bitdefender VPN , restarted computer - many times, updated Windows, turned off firewall, fiddled with every setting imaginable. tried different internet connections. Nothing works.
Don't even suggest I have used up my 200 mb that comes with my Bitdefender Total Security subscription, IHAVE NOT since I cannot connect, I am sitting on 0.
This is a relatively recent problem, it once worked but now it won't.
I have tried everything suggested and I have contacted help and done everything suggested there as well.
I do not want the Premium upgrade, I just want to connect to the VPN I have.
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Hello @ShaneH,
Since you've mentioned you already contacted the Support teams regarding this, do you still have the ticket number?
Regards
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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The VPN insistent-upgrade-popup problem has returned for me. Literally overnight. One day fine. Next day blocked out.
Cannot get past this. Really annoying.
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I have had the same problem. Today I turned on my laptop and tried to access VPN. I was able to connect—but for Liechenstein, a long way from Canada where I live ???
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Hello @Paco35,
Did you manage to connect successfully after this message was displayed, or does the issue persist?
I'm asking because from what I can notice in your screenshot, it seems that the traffic limit per device was not set correctly, because 0mb available is displayed there, instead of 0mb out of 200mb (that would be the daily traffic limit per device for the standard VPN version). There are two possibilities here. Either there was a temporary communication problem with the actual VPN servers and in this case a restart is recommended before trying to reconnect, or there's an auto-connect rule enabled that starts the VPN automatically without you realizing it and consumes its daily allocated traffic. So, first check if any auto-connect settings are enabled, then restart your device and try again. If no auto-connect settings are enabled and the message still pops up without exceeding the daily traffic limit, then please get in touch with the Bitdefender Support teams for further investigation. Here's where you can check/set the auto-connect rules within the VPN app:
And this is the link you can use to get in touch with Support, if necessary:
State your contact reason / choose request category, then choose from the available contact channels, chat, phone and email/ticket. Chat would be the fastest way to reach them.
Let us know how it goes and what worked for you.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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Hello @CondoLady,
If you are using the standard VPN version, this automatically connects you to the optimal server, without having the possibility to change it. Bitdefender VPN will select the fastest server available for you. The location is chosen randomly, but also based on server load in your area or surrounding areas. If VPN servers are under heavy use in Canada, for example, the location will move further and further away until it finds a server that is less strained.
This will help streamline the connections and will ensure proper network speeds are met.
In regard to that upgrade notification, please see my above comment.I hope this helps.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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