How do I activate my Bitdefender Subscription?

This section covers one-click instant activation, the easiest way to activate your subscription.

1. Open the confirmation e-mail sent by Bitdefender upon completion of the online payment and click on ACTIVATE IN CENTRAL. See the image below for reference.

2. After clicking the ACTIVATE IN CENTRAL button, the default web browser will open and take you to Bitdefender Central where the subscription is instantly activated after login. If you don’t have a Central account, choose to create one.

Bitdefender Central is a centralized platform for managing all your Bitdefender products and services. Here, you can activate your subscription using the activation code purchased or received as a present, and install Bitdefender on any device. For more information, read – What is Bitdefender Central & How do I use it?

3. If prompted, choose how you would like to use the code, and then press the CONFIRM ACTIVATION button.

For instance, you can decide to add a separate subscription or to extend the current one. The latter option is only available if one of your current subscriptions is identical to the new one you are trying to add.

The subscription is now active in your Bitdefender Central account! If you have further questions about the activation process, check out the FAQ below.

This section covers manual activation. Manual activation means that you can use the one-time code from the purchase e-mail or retail box to activate your subscription, as follows:

1. Log in to your Bitdefender Central account at https://central.bitdefender.com/. If you don’t have an account, choose to create one.

Bitdefender Central is a centralized platform for managing all your Bitdefender products and services. Here, you can activate your subscription using the activation code purchased or received as a present, and install Bitdefender on any device. For more information, read – What is Bitdefender Central & How do I use it?

2. If you don’t have any active subscriptions in your Bitdefender Central account, as soon as you sign in you will be prompted to either activate your new subscription or to buy Bitdefender. Click ACTIVATE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.

If another subscription is already active in your Central account, access the My Subscriptions panel located on the left side of the page. Next, click + Activate with code.

3. Input the activation code from the confirmation e-mail received after purchasing Bitdefender. The code is displayed beneath the Want to use your activation code instead? section. In the image used as reference below, the code is IOTESTCODE.

If Bitdefender was purchased from a retail store, the code is printed on the card inside the box that Bitdefender came in.

ⓘ Note: The e-mail is received only upon purchase. If you already activated this code and your Bitdefender product expired, visit www.bitdefender.com/solutions to purchase a new one.

4. Click ACTIVATE to continue.

ⓘ Note: If you receive a “This key was already used to generate a subscription” error when entering your activation code, please check the My Subscriptions panel to see if your subscription is already attached to your Central account. If you encounter a different error when trying to activate your Bitdefender code, check out this article – Troubleshoot activation errors in Bitdefender Central.

5. Choose how you would like to use the code, and then press the CONFIRM ACTIVATION button.

For instance, you can choose to add a separate subscription or to extend the current one. The latter option is only available if one of your current subscriptions is identical to the new one you are trying to add.

The subscription is now active in your Bitdefender Central account! If you have further questions about the activation process, check out the FAQ below.

This section specifically discusses the process of auto-activation, which is only applicable to customers who have subscribed to Bitdefender on a recurring basis.

How does auto-activation work?

When you make a purchase through the Bitdefender website, the activation takes place immediately after completing the transaction. No further steps or actions are required on your part. Automatic activation is available only for current Bitdefender users who meet the following conditions:

• You have bought Bitdefender from our website before.
• You have previously activated a Bitdefender subscription in the same Bitdefender Central account.
• Your previous Bitdefender subscription is still valid.

If the new acquisition matches the name and seat number of a product already active in your Central account (e.g. both Bitdefender Total Security, 5 users) then the old subscription will be extended automatically. Otherwise, the new subscription is activated and added in parallel.

How do I know my subscription was automatically activated?

When the subscription activates itself automatically, customers receive a separate email, similar to the one below, informing them that the subscription has been automatically activated and associated with their Bitdefender Central account.

As a result, if a Bitdefender subscription is activated automatically, and you attempt to activate it using one of the activation methods described above, you will be prompted with the message “Your subscription is already active”.

For further questions about the activation process, check out the FAQ below.