Windows Defender is the default antivirus software on Windows 10 & 11. It’s powerful yet minimal and runs silently in the background to protect your computer from viruses, malware, and other threats. If your Windows Defender software is not working, not responding, showing a blank screen, or throwing random errors, resetting will help. In this tutorial, we’ll show you three methods to reset Windows Defender. Let’s get started.
Reset Windows Defender via the Settings App
1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
2. In Settings, navigate to Apps > Installed Apps page.
3. In the Install Apps page, scroll all the way down and click on System Components.
4. Click the three dots icon next to Windows Security and select Advanced Options.
5. Scroll down to the Reset section and click the Reset button twice.
This will fully reset your Windows Defender program. Once done, you will see a checkmark next to the reset button indicating it is done.
Reset Windows Defender Using Command Prompt
If you want to use Command Prompt to reset Windows Defender, follow the below steps.
1. Search for cmd in the Start menu and select Run as Administrator.
2. In the Command Prompt window, run the below command to reset the program.
MpCmdRun -ResetPlatform
3. Once that is done, close the Command Prompt window by clicking the X button.
Reset Windows Defender Using PowerShell
For those who want to use PowerShell, follow the below steps.
1. Search for PowerShell in the Start menu and select Run as Administrator.
2. In the PowerShell window, run the below command. It will reset Windows Defender for your user account.
Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.SecHealthUI* | Reset-AppxPackage
3. (Optional) If you want to reset Windows Defender for all users on your computer, run the below command instead.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Microsoft.SecHealthUI* | Reset-AppxPackage
And there you have it! By following one of the three methods shown above, you can easily reset Windows Defender. If you have any questions, comment below and we’ll answer.
