How to Uninstall McAfee on Windows 11 and Stay Protected

Many Windows 11 laptops arrive with a McAfee trial already installed. To remove it, open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find the McAfee entry, select the three-dot menu and choose Uninstall, then follow McAfee's own uninstaller and restart. If that fails, McAfee provides a removal tool called MCPR. After McAfee is gone, Microsoft Defender Antivirus normally turns itself back on, and the last step is to confirm that exactly one antivirus is protecting the PC.

Before you start

Write down which McAfee products are listed. Settings often shows more than one entry, such as the main security suite and McAfee WebAdvisor, a separate browser safety component. Each is its own uninstall.

If you paid for a McAfee subscription, decide what to do with it in your McAfee account. Removing the app from this PC is a separate step from the subscription itself.

Save open work and close browsers. Security software often asks for a restart to finish removing its drivers, and you do not want that prompt to arrive in the middle of something.

Uninstall from Settings

Microsoft's uninstall steps:

1. Open Start › Settings › Apps › Installed apps.
2. Find the McAfee product, select More (the three dots) and choose Uninstall.
3. Approve the administrator prompt.

Settings does not remove the program itself. It starts the uninstaller McAfee registered, and that window is where the real work happens. Expect McAfee's own screens: it may ask you to confirm which components to remove, offer to keep you protected, or ask for a reason. Read each screen and continue with the removal. When it finishes, restart even if it does not insist.

If an app cannot be uninstalled from Settings, Microsoft points to Control Panel › Programs › Programs and Features, where you can right-click the entry and choose Uninstall. Both routes run the same vendor uninstaller.

Repeat for each McAfee entry, then check Installed apps again. WebAdvisor also works inside browsers, so open each browser's extensions page as well and remove any McAfee extension still listed there.

Why Microsoft Defender comes back

While a third-party antivirus is the primary product, Windows switches its own antivirus off. Microsoft's compatibility article describes Windows 10 and 11 home and unmanaged PCs: with a non-Microsoft antivirus as the primary solution, Microsoft Defender Antivirus goes into disabled mode automatically. It also covers the reverse: when it was disabled automatically, it can be re-enabled automatically if the other product expires, is uninstalled or stops providing real-time protection.

That is why you do not need to install anything after McAfee leaves. Microsoft lists an expired product among the cases too, but removing the trial makes the hand-over explicit instead of leaving it to the trial's end date.

Confirm exactly one antivirus is on

Microsoft's Defender overview gives two checks.

In the Windows Security app:

1. Open Start, type Security and open Windows Security.
2. Select Virus & threat protection.
3. Under Who's protecting me?, choose Manage providers.

The Antivirus section should show Microsoft Defender Antivirus turned on, with no McAfee entry left. If McAfee still appears, its removal is not complete.

In PowerShell:

Get-MpComputerStatus | select AMRunningMode

Normal means Microsoft Defender Antivirus is running as the active antivirus. If you see nothing useful, or Windows Security says no antivirus provider is active, restart once more and check again before installing anything.

The aim is one real-time antivirus, not two. Microsoft warns that if the Windows Security Center service is disabled, Defender cannot detect other antivirus products and stays active alongside them, which leads to conflicts and is not supported. Do not install a second product "to be safe" in the gap.

When the normal uninstall fails

If the uninstaller errors out, the entry stays in Installed apps, or Windows Security still lists McAfee after a restart, use McAfee's own cleanup tool. McAfee's support site has an article on removing McAfee products from a Windows PC; search for MCPR there. It describes the McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool (MCPR), meant for when the standard Windows removal did not work.

1. Download MCPR from McAfee's support site, not from a download mirror.
2. Run it, follow its prompts and let it finish.
3. Restart the PC.
4. Repeat the Windows Security and PowerShell checks above.

As its name says, MCPR targets McAfee's consumer products. A McAfee product that your employer installed and manages goes through your IT department instead.

How Mole for Windows handles it

Mole for Windows does not have its own way to tear out security software. Uninstall in Mole runs the uninstaller McAfee registered with Windows, in the least interactive form McAfee registers, and a per-machine install asks for administrator approval once. An entry marked as not removable does not appear in the Apps list, and Mole never forces one. Data the app keeps is listed for your review, and Mole handles only the items you selected, after McAfee's uninstaller succeeds; a cancelled or failed uninstall leaves the files alone. It does not replace MCPR when McAfee's own uninstaller fails.

For uninstallers that stall or windows that wait for an answer, see when a Windows uninstall fails. For what usually remains afterwards, see what apps leave behind after uninstall.

What not to do

• Do not delete McAfee's folders under Program Files or its drivers by hand. Security software installs services and drivers, and its uninstaller is what removes them.
• Do not disable Windows Security services to "make room" for McAfee or another product. Microsoft lists wscsvc, SecurityHealthService and WinDefend among the services not to disable, stop or modify.
• Do not keep two real-time antivirus products running side by side.
• Do not skip the restart the uninstaller asks for, and run the checks above only after it.

FAQ

How do I uninstall McAfee on Windows 11?

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, select More next to each McAfee entry and choose Uninstall, then follow McAfee's uninstaller and restart. If it fails, use McAfee's MCPR removal tool from McAfee's support site.

Is it safe to uninstall McAfee from Windows 11?

Yes. When a third-party antivirus is removed, Microsoft Defender Antivirus can turn itself back on automatically. Confirm it in Windows Security › Virus & threat protection › Manage providers.

Do I need antivirus after removing McAfee?

You need one active antivirus, and Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built into Windows. After the restart, check that Windows Security shows it turned on rather than installing another product.

Why is McAfee still showing after I uninstalled it?

Another McAfee component may still be installed, such as WebAdvisor, the uninstall may need a restart to finish, or the removal failed partway. Check Installed apps and browser extensions, restart, and use MCPR if it is still listed.