How to Reinstall McAfee Antivirus on Windows or Mac

Reinstall McAfee antivirus on Windows or Mac without your activation code. Sign into home.mcafee.com to download and reinstall your subscription anytime.

You don’t need your original product key to reinstall McAfee — just sign into My Account at home.mcafee.com and download it again whenever you need to. Whether you’re setting up a new computer, recovering from a system reset, or troubleshooting a broken installation, your subscription stays safely linked to your account and is ready to reinstall at any time.

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Reinstall McAfee by Platform

Windows

Follow these steps to cleanly uninstall and reinstall McAfee on a Windows PC:

1. Uninstall McAfee via Control Panel

   Open the Start Menu and search for Control Panel. Go to Programs → Programs and Features (or Apps & Features in Windows 11). Find McAfee in the list, click it, and select Uninstall. Follow the uninstall wizard to completion.

   If McAfee doesn’t uninstall cleanly, use the McAfee Removal Tool (MCPR) — see the tip below for details.

2. Restart your PC

   After the uninstall completes, restart your computer. This clears any remaining McAfee processes from memory and ensures a clean slate before reinstalling. Do not skip this step — installing over leftover files can cause the new installation to behave incorrectly.

3. Go to home.mcafee.com and log in

   Open your browser and navigate to home.mcafee.com. Sign in using the email address and password associated with your McAfee account. Your active subscription will be visible on the dashboard — you do not need your original activation code.

4. Download the McAfee installer

   On your account dashboard, locate your subscription and click Download or Install on this Device. McAfee will download the appropriate Windows installer for your subscription. Save the file to a location you can easily find (such as your Desktop or Downloads folder).

5. Run the installer and sign in

   Double-click the downloaded installer file and click Yes if prompted by Windows User Account Control. Follow the on-screen installation wizard. When prompted, sign in with your McAfee account email and password to activate the reinstalled software. The installation typically takes 5–10 minutes.

Mac

Follow these steps to cleanly remove and reinstall McAfee on a Mac:

1. Move McAfee to Trash and empty it

   Open Finder and navigate to the Applications folder. Locate the McAfee application (it may be named “McAfee Endpoint Security” or “McAfee Total Protection”). Drag it to the Trash, then right-click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash to permanently remove it.

   For a more thorough removal, you can also use McAfee’s dedicated Mac removal tool — contact mcafee.com/support for the download link.

2. Go to home.mcafee.com and log in

   Open Safari or another supported browser and go to home.mcafee.com. Sign in with your McAfee account email and password. Your active subscription will appear on the dashboard automatically.

3. Download the macOS installer

   Click Download or Install on this Device next to your subscription on the dashboard. Make sure your Mac meets the system requirements: macOS 13 or later, at least 2 GB RAM, and 1.3 GB of free disk space. Save the installer package (.dmg or .pkg file) when prompted.

4. Install and grant permissions in System Settings

   Open the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to install McAfee. During installation, macOS will ask you to grant several permissions — including Full Disk Access, Notifications, and VPN configurations. Grant all requested permissions to ensure McAfee functions correctly.

   You can find and verify these permissions at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

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If McAfee doesn’t uninstall cleanly on Windows — for example, if the uninstall wizard freezes, throws an error, or leaves behind files and registry entries — use the McAfee Removal Tool (MCPR). This dedicated utility performs a deep, complete removal of all McAfee components. Download it directly from mcafee.com/support and run it after a standard uninstall attempt fails.

Reinstalling McAfee does not use up another activation or consume a device slot on a limited-device plan. Your subscription is tied to your McAfee account, not to a specific device installation. As long as you sign in with the same account credentials during reinstallation, your subscription remains intact and unchanged.

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Reinstall FAQs

Will reinstalling McAfee delete my settings?

A full uninstall and reinstall will reset McAfee to its default settings. This means:

• Custom scan schedules will be removed and will need to be reconfigured
• Firewall custom rules (if any were set up) will revert to defaults
• Quarantined files may be removed during uninstallation
• Password Manager data syncs to your McAfee account, so it should restore automatically after reinstalling and signing in
• VPN settings will reset to defaults but reconnect to your subscription automatically

Before uninstalling, make note of any custom settings you want to recreate. After reinstalling and signing in at home.mcafee.com, your subscription and most account-based preferences will be restored.

How do I reinstall McAfee without the CD or retail card?

You never need your original CD, retail card, or activation code to reinstall McAfee. Your subscription is permanently linked to your McAfee account from the moment you activated it at mcafee.com/activate.

To reinstall without any physical media:

1. Go to home.mcafee.com on the device you want to protect
2. Sign in with your McAfee account email and password
3. Click Download or Add Device on your subscription dashboard
4. Run the installer and sign in when prompted

That’s all there is to it. Your subscription remains valid for the remainder of its term, and reinstalling does not reset the expiration date.

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Related Help

Activation Code Not Working

If you’re seeing activation errors after reinstalling, troubleshoot your code here.

Contact McAfee Support

Get personalized help from McAfee’s 24/7 support team if your reinstall isn’t going smoothly.