Avast Driver Updater - FAQs

Avast Driver Updater is a PC performance tool that scans your hardware for broken and outdated drivers, then updates them to reduce and prevent problems with your PC.

Drivers are used by manufacturers to fix issues related to hardware and to ensure best compatibility with the operating system on your PC. Without the latest drivers, your PC may encounter stability problems and stop working properly. An outdated driver can also create security vulnerabilities and enable hackers to infect or access your system and personal data.

Avast Driver Updater scans the hardware devices that need drivers to work properly on your operating system. These devices can include printers, scanners, digital cameras, network and video adapters, as well as sound and graphics cards.

During an update, Avast Driver Updater downloads verified manufacturer's driver installers. Additionally, before updating drivers, Avast Driver Updater backs up all existing drivers and creates a Windows system restore point. This enables you to revert back to older, previously updated drivers, or use the Windows system restore point to return to the previous state of your system in case there are any problems with the newly updated drivers.

Avast Driver Updater automatically tests the components during the scan and after an update. If any issues are found, the problematic driver is marked with an Issue detected tag, allowing you to revert the driver back to the previous version.

For detailed information on system requirements for Avast Driver Updater, refer to the following article: System requirements for Avast applications.

1. Click the button below to download the Avast Driver Updater setup file, and save it to a familiar location on your PC (by default, downloaded files are saved to your Downloads folder). Download Avast Driver Updater
2. Right-click the downloaded setup file avast_driver_updater_online_setup.exe and select Run as administrator from the context menu.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to install Avast Driver Updater on your PC.

After installation, you may need to activate the product using your Avast Account or a valid activation code. For detailed instructions, refer to the following articles:

• Installing Avast Driver Updater
• Activating an Avast Driver Updater subscription

No. Avast Driver Updater is a paid product that requires a subscription to use. You can download Avast Driver Updater and use it for a limited time without a subscription, but when the free trial expires, you need to activate Avast Driver Updater with a paid subscription to continue using the application.

No. Avast Driver Updater requires a separate subscription to use. You cannot use another Avast product subscription to activate Avast Driver Updater.

Yes. Avast Driver Updater can be installed as a standalone application, without Avast Free Antivirus or Avast Premium Security installed.

You can activate your Avast Driver Updater subscription using either your Avast Account or a valid activation code. For detailed activation instructions, refer to the following article:

• Activating an Avast Driver Updater subscription

If you purchased Avast Driver Updater via a pop-up in another Avast product, you do not need to manually activate your subscription. Avast Driver Updater will automatically activate when you install it on the same device that you used to purchase the product.

Open Avast Driver Updater and go to ☰ Menu ▸ My subscriptions. The duration of your subscription is listed under Subscriptions on this PC.

No. You cannot use your Avast Driver Updater subscription on more than one device simultaneously. However, if necessary, you can stop using Avast Driver Updater on the current device and start using it on a new device. For instructions, refer to the following article:

• Transferring an Avast subscription to another device

For information about canceling an Avast subscription, refer to the following article:

• Canceling an Avast subscription - FAQs

To learn how to use Avast Driver Updater, refer to the following article:

• Avast Driver Updater - Getting Started

1. Open Avast Driver Updater and click See overview.
2. In the Ignored and skipped list, click the > arrow in the panel for the driver you want to update.
3. Select Stop skipping or Stop ignoring.
4. Click Update selected.

Avast Driver Updater now updates your previously skipped or ignored driver.

Some drivers require you to restart your PC to complete the update.

Avast Driver Updater automatically scans your hardware every 7 days and notifies you when it detects outdated drivers. To update your drivers, Click Update now on the notification, or open Avast Driver Updater and click See outdated ▸ Update selected.

To manage settings for Avast Driver Updater application updates:

1. Open Avast Driver Updater and go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings.
2. Select General ▸ Update Driver Updater in the left panel.
3. If you are using the latest version of Avast Driver Updater, you see the message: You're up to date.
4. To manage when Avast Driver Updater automatically checks for and installs updates, select your preferred option under Choose how you'd like to get updates.

It is important to be careful when updating your computer drivers, even with the help of Avast Driver Updater. If not done correctly, updating drivers can lead to issues such as loss of audio, problems with touchpad, mouse, keyboard, or DVD player, or problems with screen resolution and graphics quality. If such issues are encountered, it is recommended to either restore the previous driver version or to undo changes by restoring your PC to a previously saved Windows Restore Point.

For more information about restoring previous driver versions, refer to the following article:

• Troubleshooting issues after running Avast Driver Updater

If you see the message 'unsuccessful update', it means that something went wrong when Avast Driver Updater tried to update the driver. Click the > arrow in the panel for the driver to view more details, then click … More options (three dots) ▸ Skip update. Try to update the driver again later.

Avast Driver Updater will automatically mark a driver as skipped if the update fails multiple times in a row.

Avast Driver Updater stores a backup of each driver before updating it to the latest driver version. If any issues are found during an update, the problematic driver is marked with an Issue detected tag. To revert back to a previous driver version for troubleshooting purposes:

1. Open Avast Driver Updater and click See overview (or See outdated).
2. Click the > arrow in the panel for the driver marked with Issue detected, or another driver you want to revert back to a previous version.
3. Click Driver versions in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
4. Click Revert next to the driver version you want to restore.
5. Click Revert to confirm.

The selected driver reverts back to the version you selected.

Avast Driver Updater can only restore driver versions that were previously updated by Driver Updater. You cannot revert back to a driver version that was updated by your operating system or other third-party software.

For more information about restoring previous driver versions, refer to the following article:

• Troubleshooting issues after running Avast Driver Updater

Avast Driver Updater automatically creates a Windows Restore Point before updating your drivers. This helps you to undo recent system changes and return your PC to its previous state. In case you are unsure about which driver is causing the issue, we recommend that you use the Windows System Restore option.

For more information about using using a saved Windows Restore Point, refer to the following article:

• Troubleshooting issues after running Avast Driver Updater

Ensure that the activation code you are trying to use is for Avast Driver Updater. Avast Driver Updater is not included when you purchase Avast Premium Security, so you cannot use an Avast Premium Security subscription to activate Avast Driver Updater.

To learn how to resolve some of the most common activation issues, refer to the following article:

• Troubleshooting activation issues in Avast products

To learn how to uninstall Avast Driver Updater, refer to the following article:

• Uninstalling Avast Driver Updater

Removing Avast Driver Updater from your PC does not automatically cancel your subscription. For information about canceling an Avast subscription, refer to the following article: Canceling an Avast subscription - FAQs