Home General Tech Tips How To Fix “Avast Firewall Won’t Turn On” Issue In 5 Minutes

General Tech Tips

How To Fix “Avast Firewall Won’t Turn On” Issue In 5 Minutes

A firewall is essential to your OS as it protects your files from external attacks, makes them more secure, and protects them from vulnerabilities. Avast Firewall has multiple award-winning security suites available for PC, Mac, and Android, with its range of Free Antivirus, Internet Security suites, and Premier Edition programs. And if the Avast firewall won’t turn on, you must know how to fix this error.

If you’re facing the “Firewall Won’t Turn On” issue, you can resolve it by navigating to Avast via the Control Panel or Settings, then click on Modify/Change.

This action will prompt an Avast Setup window, where you should select the Repair option. Follow any subsequent instructions to rectify the issue entirely. Despite much of your effort, Avast Firewall won’t turn on. It could have happened due to changes in your system, corrupt registry or installation files, and malicious programs. If you are facing such an issue, keep reading to fix the problem.

Table of Contents

6 Ways to Fix Avast Firewall Won’t Turn On

Conflict with Windows Firewall

Avast Firewall won’t turn on when your Windows Firewall is active simultaneously while running Avast. You don’t need to run Windows Firewall when your system has installed Avast. Only one will work at a time, and running both will cause conflict between the two programs and even jeopardize your system. If you are running Windows 8 or later, do the following:

Go to Control Panel> System and Security> Windows Firewall.
On the upper left corner, click “Turn Windows Firewall on or off.”
Turn off Windows Firewall and click OK.

Go back and open Avast Firewall and see if it turns on. You might also have a hardware firewall apart from your OS Firewalls, such as your modem or router. Try disabling that as well. If you are having trouble finding it, you can contact your broadband operator, and they shall assist you with the same.

Remove Malicious programs

Malicious or malware programs are unwanted software that occasionally comes bundled with other software packages.

When you select Express to install and click on Agree and Continue, you unknowingly install these, which latches on to the programs on your startup list and might often take control of your Windows Explorer or your browser settings.

Although such malware isn’t as dangerous as other Viruses or Key loggers, they can significantly slow down your PC and ruin the user experience.

If you have inadvertently installed some malicious program on your PC, it might be why Avast Firewall won’t turn on.

The program might have run into issues with Avast Firewall. To get rid of this, install a malware removal tool like Malwarebytes.

The free version should suffice to clean and eliminate malware from your system. Open Malwarebytes and perform a deep scan to see if the problem exists.

The software will automatically locate and quarantine the malware. Once done, go back and see if Avast Firewall turns on.

Clear Registry entries

After removing any malware that might have been causing the problem, you should also do a deep clean of your PC and remove potentially unwanted files and invalid Windows Registry entries.

To do this, download CCleaner, a cleaning tool for PC. A free and a pro version are available, although the free version would work fine.

You might like to know that Avast took over Piriform, the maker of CCleaner, in July this year.

OS Reboot

Avast Firewall won’t turn on by removing malware and cleaning registry entries.

The problem might still stick around even after a deep clean. In such a situation, you should perform a manual reboot. After your PC restarts, launch Avast, and on the Firewall option, click “Start” to activate the firewall again.

If you have any pre-set app rules, you must clear them from the Firewall Menu, as this could be blocking Avast Firewall from opening.

Perform Avast Repair

Windows programs might run into issues over time. If Avast Firewall doesn’t turn on even after all the above steps, you might need to perform a repair of your Avast Suite. Sometimes, a simple repair is enough to fix the problem. To repair Avast:

Open Control Panel>>Programs>>Programs and Features.
Select Avast and click on Repair.

If there is any problem with the program, it will fix it, and Avast Firewall should be back and running.

Fresh Install

You might have followed the above steps but still find that Avast Firewall won’t turn on. In such an event, you don’t have an option but to perform a fresh install. But for that, you need to uninstall the program entirely. Follow these steps:

Download Avast Clear and save it to your desktop.
Download the latest version of Avast from here.
Start Windows in safe mode. (On most PCs, it is usually the Shift+F8 key. Keep holding them down both at the same time while rebooting)
Open AvastClear.exe saved on your desktop.
Locate the folder where you have installed Avast. (typically, it is the C:\Program Files folder)
Click Remove. (be careful to correctly locate the folder as it will completely erase the selected folder)
Reboot your PC. And Install the latest version of Avast that you had previously downloaded.

Reboot, and Avast should turn back on.

FAQS

Why is Avast Firewall not turning on?

Possible reasons for Avast Firewall not turning on are software conflicts, outdated Avast versions, incorrect Avast settings, or corrupted Avast installations.

How can the ‘Avast Firewall won’t turn on’ issue be fixed within 5 minutes?

Restart Avast Firewall: Open Avast, go to Protection, select Firewall, and click the Restart button to reset the Firewall. Update Avast: Ensure you have the latest version installed by checking for updates in Avast settings and updating if necessary. Check for conflicting software: Disable or uninstall other security software on your computer that may interfere with Avast's Firewall.

What should I do if restarting Avast Firewall does not resolve the issue?

If restarting Avast Firewall does not resolve the issue, you can try the other solutions. Updating Avast, checking for software conflicts, resetting firewall settings, repairing your Avast installation, or reinstalling Avast can often resolve the issue.

Can conflicting software prevent Avast Firewall from activating?

Yes, conflicting software can interfere with Avast's Firewall and prevent the Firewall from activating.

How do I reset Avast Firewall settings to default?

To reset Avast Firewall settings to default, follow these steps: Open Avast and go to Settings (gear icon in the bottom left corner). Select Protection and click Firewall. Scroll down and click the Restore Default Settings button. Confirm the action when prompted and restart the computer.

What should I do if none of the suggested solutions resolve my Avast Firewall issue?

If none of the suggested solutions resolve your Avast Firewall issue, contact Avast Support. It provides more specific guidance based on your system configuration to help troubleshoot issues more thoroughly.

Conclusion

I hope at least one of these methods worked for you. Avast can be a little difficult to work with and maintain. Thus you must ensure you use it carefully.

It is very advanced software with more efficiency than any other anti-virus. But it requires maintenance, as seen in this article.