7 Fixes For ‘Avast Won’t Update Virus Definitions’ Issue

It is extremely important to protect your system from potential security threats. And your antivirus software performs this job on your behalf. However, if your Avast antivirus is not updating, it could be a troublesome situation for you. 

Usually, Avast Antivirus software is set to automatically update when new virus definitions or an update is available. But, sometimes due to one or the other reason, you could get the “Avast Antivirus is not updating” error message. If you have the same issue and are looking for answers, you’ve landed at the right place. 

Keep reading to find out why you get this error and how to fix it!

Why Is Your Avast Antivirus Software Not Updating?

It is important to know why you are getting the error before jumping to the solutions. Knowing the cause will help you prevent the error from occurring again. Given below are the reasons why your Avast Antivirus is not updating:

  1. Incompatibility Issues:

Perhaps, your Avast app version is incompatible with your current Windows version. This usually happens when you don’t regularly update your Windows OS and other software. 

  1. Incorrect Installation:

If Avast antivirus is installed incorrectly, that too can lead to this error. This generally occurs when an update is failed or canceled while installing the updates.

Solutions To Fix ‘Avast Won’t Update’ Error: 7 Fixes

Given below are 7 ways to fix the “Avast Antivirus is not updating” error. Follow the steps one by one to fix the issue. 

  1. Manually Update The Virus Definitions
  2. Manually Update The Avast Application From Taskbar
  3. Update Avast Free Antivirus From Settings
  4. Use The Built-In Troubleshooting Feature To Repair Avast
  5. Repair Avast From Control Panel
  6. Reinstall Avast Antivirus Software
  7. Contact The Customer Support

Method #1. Manually Update The Virus Definitions

  1. From the bottom-right corner of your taskbar, click on the Avast icon. Then, click on Update followed by Engine and virus definitions.
  2. If the Avast antivirus doesn’t start checking your system for updates on its own, click on Check for updates.
  3. Wait till the Avast Antivirus checks for virus definition updates and installs them.
manually update virus definitions
  1. Once the update is finished, the status will say: “Virus definitions are up to date.”
update virus definitions issue
  1. You might require restarting your PC to finish with the update. If you are prompted, click on Restart now which will reboot your system.

Method #2. Manually Update The Avast Application From Taskbar

  1. Right-click on the Avast icon from the notification section of your taskbar and click on Update > Program
  2. If the Avast antivirus program does not start looking for updates on its own, click on Check for updates.
  3. Wait till the Avast antivirus program finishes checking for and installing virus definition updates.
  4. Once the update is finished, the status reads: Virus definitions are up to date
  5. If a prompt comes up, click on Restart now to reboot the system immediately.

Method #3. Update Avast Free Antivirus From Settings

  1. Open Avast on your system and go to the Menu from the upper-right corner.
click on avast program icon
This computer is protected
  1. Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
click on settings from Avast menu
  1. From the Settings menu, go to the General tab from the left pane and click on the option Update.
  2. Under the Update tab, click on Check for Updates button and the update installation process will begin.
manually Update Avast Free Antivirus From Settings
  1.  Once you have installed the latest updates of Avast Antivirus software, restart your system to apply the changes. 
  2. Launch the Avast antivirus app again to check if the error is gone or not.

Method #4. Use The Built-In Troubleshooting Feature To Repair Avast

The built-in troubleshooting menu of Avast is quite helpful if the Avast Virus Definitions don’t update on their own. Here’s how you can repair Avast using its Troubleshooting menu:

  1. Open Avast Antivirus and click on Menu and then on Settings
  2. Under the General tab, click on Troubleshooting, keep scrolling, and then click on the Repair App button under the Still having problems? section
Use The Built-In Troubleshooting Feature To Repair Avast software
  1. Click on Yes. Wait patiently till the Avast repair finishes.
click on Yes to repair Avast program

Method #5. Repair Avast From Control Panel

If you find that no updates are available, then the Avast installation files probably need to be repaired. Follow the steps given below to do so:

  1. Press the Windows + R key
  2. Type in control in the Run dialog box field and click on OK.
  3. In the Control Panel window, click on Programs and then on Programs and Features
click on Programs
  1. Click on Avast and then, on Uninstall/Remove
click on avast > uninstall
  1. Hit the Repair button and click on Next. Follow the on-screen instructions and the repair process will start.
click on repair to repair avast antivirus solution
  1. When the scan is completed, scroll through the issues and click on Resolve.
avast antivirus solution repairing
  1. The fixes will start and once all the fixes are finished, reboot the system and relaunch Avast antivirus to check if the problem is solved. 

Method #6. Reinstall Avast Antivirus Software

If updating and the built-in repair function of Avast fail to repair the Avast software, you need to reinstall Avast. Sometimes, you might require installing an older Avast version because the latest one has bugs. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Press Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type in appwiz.cpl and click on OK to launch the Control Panel
  3. Click on Avast from the list that comes up.
  4. Next, click on Remove or Uninstall
  5. The setup screen will come up, click on Uninstall. Then, follow the on-screen instructions.
  6. After you are done uninstalling Avast, download the latest version of Avast antivirus from the official Avast website and install it.

Another way to do this is via a clean uninstall. You can do that by booting into the safe mode and then uninstalling Avast.

  1. Download the Avast Uninstall Utility from the official Avast website. Make sure you’ve saved it on your desktop.
  2.  Launch the Run utility by pressing the Windows + R key and type in msconfig. Press the Enter key
  3. Underneath the Boot tab, check the box beside Safe boot under the Boot options section.
  4. Click on Apply > OK
  5. Restart your system to boot into Safe mode automatically.
  6. After entering the safe mode, run avastclear.exe that you had earlier downloaded on your desktop. This clears the residual files.
  7. Next, boot in normal mode. Download and install the latest Avast version from their official website. 

The safe boot and the clean install should remove the corrupted files and resolve the “Avast Antivirus is not updating” error or the “Avast won’t update virus definitions” error.

Method #7. Contact The Customer Support

If the clean install can’t solve your problem, there might be a deeper problem. So, contact Avast customer care and ask them for help.

Final Words

The above article discusses different methods to resolve the Avast not updating error. Follow them one by one in the given order and your problem should be resolved. If the “Avast Antivirus is not updating” error persists even after trying out all the above solutions, consider switching to better antivirus software. Ensure the new antivirus options have an unlimited license so that you don’t need to update them every once in a while.