How to uninstall Thunder (Xunlei) on Windows
Pause downloads and save the completed files you want to keep before removing Thunder. Copy wanted files to a separate location and verify they open, especially if a download directory sits under the program folder. This guide covers the Chinese Thunder 25.1.20.1642 machine-wide installer; local download history and downloaded files are separate things.
Use Thunder's removal window
Quit the application and tray, then use Settings › Apps › Installed apps › Thunder › Uninstall. In the tested window, choose Uninstall rather than Update or Repair. The local-download-history choice defaulted to keep; retain it if you need that history. The completed wizard opened a survey in the browser, which did not mean the app was running again.
The registered quiet-uninstall command still opened a visible window in this test, so complete the wizard rather than assuming it runs silently. Microsoft describes the Windows removal entry point; the Thunder prompts were observed locally.
Review retained folders
| Observed location | What to do |
|---|---|
%ProgramFiles%\Thunder Network\Thunder |
Let the vendor remove program files; save any downloads you placed inside first |
%APPDATA%\thunder |
Review retained application data and history before removing |
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Thunder Network and %ProgramData%\Thunder Network |
Review individual contents and ownership before deleting |
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Thunder Network |
Review retained settings and download-history state |
| Thunder Network under Common Files | Shared browser/helper components are not part of this removal review |
Keep your chosen download folders and other applications' browser integration separate. Uninstalling does not delete a Xunlei account, cancel membership or erase cloud-drive contents. More about retained local data is in what apps leave after uninstall.
Check the result
Get-Process Thunder -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id Thunder.Thunder --exact
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\thunder"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Thunder Network"
Test-Path "$env:ProgramData\Thunder Network"
No process output means Thunder is not running, and no winget match means the matching installation record is gone. True means the path remains and needs inspection; False means it is absent. Keeping history can legitimately leave data behind. A query error is not evidence of deletion.
If installed through winget
winget uninstall --id Thunder.Thunder --exact invokes the registered vendor uninstaller. Its history choice and visible dialogs still apply; this record used the official installer.
What Mole lists
The program folder, shortcuts, usage records, startup value, and app-owned protocols and context-menu registrations are selected by default. The observed Roaming thunder folder, Local and ProgramData Thunder Network folders and browser/history settings key are listed but not selected. Common Files helpers and browser registrations pointing at those shared helpers are not listed as this app's removable program registrations.
What this test covered
Tested on September 29, 2026 with the official Chinese Thunder 25.1.20.1642 installer, machine-wide scope, on an ARM64 VM. Every review item was selected and was removed or already absent after the vendor wizard. A separate vendor-only removal kept local download history and left data for review. Actual downloads, history restoration, login and cloud sync were not verified.