Avast Not Updating Virus Definitions: 3 Easy Fixes

Avast is one of the most popular antivirus solutions, with over 400 million active users globally. It is natural for such widespread use platforms to have some problems.  

With Avast antivirus, many users have complained of Avast not updating. This error is prevalent and can occur due to several reasons. It is advisable not to ignore this error and fix it as soon as possible for the safety and security of your computer.

Many solutions and fixes have been offered for this error by people on various forums. Avast themselves has provided fixes for the problem on their support page.

This post discusses the error and provides a collation of fixes for anyone who has faced the Avast not updating issue.

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A Brief Introduction to Avast Antivirus

Avast Antivirus is a family of cross-platform internet security applications for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. They have all the security tools you need to protect your data and privacy. Some of the features they offer include computer security, browser security, antivirus software, firewall, anti-phishing, antispyware, and anti-spam. They offer both free and paid versions of the software.

Avast Not Updating: What is the Issue?

Avast Antivirus helps keep the latest malware and adware out of your system. Around half a million malware were created daily in 2021. To protect your system against this potential new threat, Avast Antivirus uses a database of known virus definitions to identify malware and other threats. The virus definitions need to be updated to stay ahead of the threats constantly.

When working normally, Avast Antivirus automatically updates whenever new virus definitions or a new application version are available. It would help if you kept automatic updates enabled for this to happen. It is also possible to perform manual updates or to require permission before an update is downloaded.

Over the years, several users have reported Avast not updating virus definitions. This can pose a grave threat to the security of your system as the software is unable to stop new malware or viruses.

Reasons for Avast not updating

The reason for Avast not updating is often compatibility issues between the Avast application and your device due to your usage of older versions. Other reasons like corrupted installation files, glitches in the antivirus, or some Windows issues are also possible.

Before we go to solutions for the problem, it is important to manually check and update virus definitions.

How to Update Avast Antivirus Definitions Manually?

1. Go to Avast Anitvirus.
2. Select “Settings” from the menu.
3. Click on “Update” under general settings.
4. Under virus definitions, click “Check for updates” if it does not begin checking automatically.
5. When the update is complete, you can see the status: “Virus definitions are up to date”

Click on “More options” to change between automatic and manual updates. If you are getting an error Avast not updating virus definitions or something similar, go to the next section.

How to Fix the Avast Not Updating Virus Definitions Issue?

It is a fairly simple problem that can be easily remedied. Here you can see some of the methods for fixing the update issues. Follow the fixes in the following order.

Fix 1: Update Avast Antivirus

The simplest solution is to update the software. Many users claimed the error was caused by a bug in the Avast program that has been resolved in the next version, 6.16. The problem occurred due to a bad date being pushed along with the update.

This forced the virus signature updating function to display an error even though the update was installed properly. Updating to the latest version of the Avast software is enough to resolve this issue.

1. Go to Avast Anitvirus.
2. Select “Settings” from the menu.
3. Click on “Update” under general settings.
4. Under application updates, click “Check for updates” if it does not begin checking automatically.
5. When the update is complete, you can see the status: “Your application is up to date”
6. If prompted, restart your PC to complete the update.
7. Once the system is rebooted, open the Avast application, and check if the issue has been resolved.

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Fix 2: Repair Avast Antivirus

If the Avast program is partially corrupted, it can lead to Avast not updating virus definitions. This might happen because of an unexpected shutdown of your system. You can fix this by forcing the Avast program to repair itself via the built-in troubleshooter.

1. Go to Avast Anitvirus.
2. Select “Settings” from the menu.
3. Click on “Troubleshooting” under general settings.
4. Under “Still having problems?”, click on “Repair App” and click on “Yes” to confirm.
5. Once the process is complete, click on “Resolve all” to fix all issues.
6. Check if you are still facing virus definition update issues.

Fix 3: Reinstall Avast Antivirus

If both above fixes failed to resolve the issue, you could try uninstalling and reinstalling the software. This solution is often used as a last resort.

1. Go to the control panel.
2. Under programs, click on “Uninstall a program” and search for Avast Antivirus.
3. Select Avast Antivirus and click on “Uninstall,” and confirm the changes.
4. Follow the instructions to uninstall the software.
5. After uninstalling, go to the Avast website to download and install the latest version of the software.

If nothing else works, it usually means there is some larger problem that a simple fix can not solve. In such cases, the best course of action would probably be to contact Avast customer support to solve the issue. Visit this site to contact customer support. They will guide you through the process of resolving this issue.

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FAQs on Avast Not Updating Issue

Here are a few questions we often hear when users face the Avast Not Updating problem.