Error displaying in Bitdefender Central

I have had Bitdefender for a long time and this year I switched to the family one to protect more devices. I have installed the program and did all the updates and yet my Bitdefender Central says the following:

This device isn't protected.

Install Bitdefender security on this device to keep it safe. It's already included in your subscription, so you can get it right away.

Enable protection

It says that it has been installed on one machine which is my machine so not sure why Bitdefender Central has this error under my devices.

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Alexandru_BD

Hello @Treylin,

Using the device that appears unprotected, try the following:

1. Double-click the Bitdefender shortcut from your Desktop to open the dashboard.

2. Click the account icon in the top right corner of the Bitdefender interface.

3. Click the Switch Account button to change the account linked to the computer.

4. Sign in with the e-mail address and the password of the Central account.

After completing the above instructions, your device should be displayed as protected in the Central account.

Let us know how it goes.

Best regards.

NEH

Alexandru, I had the exact same problem. Your recommendation fixed it, though I've no idea how. Thank you.

Alexandru_BD

Hi @NEH, I'm glad to hear this and thank you for your feedback. 👍️

Yes, using the switch account feature sometimes helps synchronize the program with the subscription/license active in Central, it's recommended to do this especially when there have been subscription/license changes. For the devices to be protected, the antivirus must always be linked with the Central account where the activation code has been redeemed, because it draws its configuration and validity from there. In cases of multiple Central accounts, the program could remain linked to an expired subscription, for example, and the switch account feature allows you to connect it to the Central account that runs a valid subscription.

Regards,

Alex

monaghan1969

Dear All,

I have the same problem but on a MacBook Pro M2 so since 2023, why has Bitdefender not resolved this issue? Since despite the Antivirus being already installed, the same problem error appears when checking the Bitdefender Central Web portal. It is almost to say that macOS does not matter when compared to Windows protection

Alexandru_BD

Hi @monaghan1969 and thanks for joining us here.
Kindly be advised that this is an older discussion. But I'll share my input with you.

I'm unaware of any outstanding issues in Central right now. As for the issue initially reported here, as it can be noticed from the comments, this was punctually resolved by synchronizing the Bitdefender app with the subscription in Central. The Bitdefender software must be linked with the license/subscription active in the Central account, because it draws its configuration and validity from there. Your Bitdefender may not be linked with your account, or it could be linked to another account that does not have an active subscription, or it could be logged out entirely. You can apply the steps I provided above, and let me know if this solved the problem for you. Make sure to reboot your machine as well.
If this doesn't fix it, we'll see what needs to be done next.

For the record, Windows and Mac protection matter equally, and they are both treated with the same priority by security researchers and developers. However, MacOS is a much more restrictive environment than Windows, a situation that has two effects: one is that a Mac does not require the same amount of extensive anti-malware modules, since access is much more restricted to any 3rd party (not only including possible malicious apps / files, but the same restrictions apply to 3rd party software manufactures such as ourselves). The second effect is the limited access provided to developers. But this is another topic.

Regards,

Alex

monaghan1969

It seems quite clear that there is a link between Bitdefender Central and the software installed locally on the macOS device. Again, why pay for a product that is half working if its features are turned off? I indeed logged out and logged back in, but since the software installation is done directly through BitDefender Central, the question that remains is why a supposedly powerful endpoint application isn't working as expected out of the box, regardless of how long this post has been dealt with in the past.

monaghan1969

Please, how do I upgrade to Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security from Bitdefender Small Office Security since I just paid for the latter and am unhappy with the product since I do not trust the software once installed on my macOS device?

Alexandru_BD

Thanks for sharing the screenshot, this better explains what's happening there. The discrepancy could happen for several reasons, but for know what I would suggest is to uninstall the antivirus from that mac, then remove the device from Central and perform a fresh reinstall.
In your example, the message in the product is the correct one, the one that matters. Although the messages are contradictory, your device is indeed protected.

To uninstall Bitdefender from your Mac, check this step by step guide:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1784/

To remove the device from Central, have a look at this article:

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

Then simply reinstall like shown here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/3478/

NOTE: there are some additional steps, but only if your Mac is running macOS High Sierra or a more recent version such as Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, so make sure to check that out, if this applies.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards

Alexandru_BD

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/351528#Comment_351528

This is something that must be addressed in Support. I suppose they could issue a refund for the current subscription, and you can later purchase the one you want.

monaghan1969

Thank you. Knowing that the device is still protected reassures me. I will try your proposal and, once it's done, reverse it, probably shortly.

Alexandru_BD

Yes, the information displayed in the antivirus UI has precedence, or "overrides" the one displayed in Central.
Bitdefender Central is an online platform that serves as your user account. You can use the Bitdefender account to activate subscriptions, install protection, manage your devices, view your invoices, and modify your account settings. Bitdefender Central also provides the latest security news and tips to help you stay informed and protect your digital life. But it's the actual software that does all the work and protects your devices.
As it can be noticed in your screenshot, the product UI displays "Your Mac is safe", also showing the security modules that are enabled.

Normally, the information displayed in the UI should always match the one shown in Central, as you already know.
So, in the event a clean reinstall doesn't fix this glitch, I think it will be necessary for the Support teams to have a closer look, and maybe collect some logs to see what exactly triggers this incorrect message in Central.
They know their way around this scenario, and usually it turns out that there's either a server-related issue, or a network issue that's causing it.

Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Alex

monaghan1969

Thank you for clarifying the information regarding the product UI versus Bitdefender Central.

However, screenshots clearly demonstrate that, other than the Bitdefender VPN, the rest of the protection modules appear as not installed or inactive—indicating the original issue still persists. Additionally, Bitdefender remains persistent and non-uninstallable even after manually uninstalling the product and ensuring no related processes are running, Bitdefender remains persistent and non-uninstallable.

Given these circumstances, I agree that the Support teams should investigate further and collect relevant logs to pinpoint the exact cause of this anomaly.

Please advise on the next steps.

Alexandru_BD

Thank you for sharing fresh feedback on this. Clearly this is not the intended behavior and based on the screenshots you provided, the installation appears to be successful. In order for the Support engineers to gather logs from the product, it will be necessary to get in touch with them using the link below, since it appears that we've exhausted all the available troubleshooting steps we can provide on the forum, so this will require a more in-depth investigation.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

Before contacting them, you can generate a Profiler Log on your Mac, as this will be required by the engineers.
The Profiler utility is used by the Bitdefender support team to diagnose and troubleshoot Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac installation failures or product issues. The tool gathers logs and product usage information, necessary for further investigation, and the following article shows how to create a debug log on your Mac using this tool:

https://www.bitdefender.co.uk/consumer/support/answer/89091/

Once you have this information available, head to the first link where you can 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, so we can close the loop here as well.

Many thanks,

Alex