REMOVAL GUIDE · ESET

ESET won't uninstall? The ESET Uninstaller in Safe Mode

Uninstall ESET the standard way first: search for ESET in Windows, select the app, choose Uninstall and follow the wizard, which asks for your settings or Parental Control password if you set one. The ESET Uninstaller tool is for when that uninstallation fails. It is a command-line tool that ESET says must be run with Windows started in Safe Mode, and one of its commands resets your network interface settings, which is why ESET tells you to export your ESET settings and back up the network adapter configuration first. Your subscription is not affected: ESET states that it remains active for its duration. Once ESET is gone, check that Microsoft Defender Antivirus or another antivirus is protecting the PC.

Updated 11 November 2026.

AT A GLANCE

Check	What it means	Reversible?
The ESET app is gone from the Apps list after a restart	The standard uninstall finished	Yes: download and install your ESET application again
C:\NetworkSettings.txt exists before the tool runs	ESET's own precaution: the /reinst command resets network interface settings	netsh -f C:\NetworkSettings.txt restores them
The ESET Uninstaller, run a second time, lists no ESET product	ESET's test that the removal is complete	Yes: reinstall your ESET application
Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, Manage providers shows an antivirus that is on	Something still protects the PC after ESET is removed	Read-only check
Your ESET subscription	ESET states that it remains active for its duration after you remove or install its applications	Not changed by uninstalling

The official way: the Apps list, then the ESET Uninstaller in Safe Mode

ESET documents the standard uninstall for its home and small office applications, and a separate article for the ESET Uninstaller tool, which it lists for cases such as a failed uninstallation.

Uninstall from the Apps list
Click the Windows search bar and type ESET. Select your ESET app, then Uninstall. In the Apps list, click the three-dot menu next to it and choose Modify. In the installer click Next, type your settings or Parental Control password if you set one, then click Remove twice and Finish. Choose whether to restart now or later; ESET then shows an uninstall survey.
02
Before the tool: back up your network settings
Run this in a Command Prompt opened as administrator. ESET warns that if you are prompted to use the ESETUninstaller.exe /reinst command, your network interface settings will reset; netsh -f C:\NetworkSettings.txt restores them afterwards. ESET also tells you to export your ESET settings before running the tool.
```
netsh -c interface dump > C:\NetworkSettings.txt
```
cmd
Restart in Safe Mode and run the ESET Uninstaller
Download the tool from ESET's article first. ESET states that you must start Windows in Safe Mode to run it. Double-click the uninstaller, read the warning and type y to confirm. Type the number of the ESET product to remove and press Enter, type y to confirm the product, and press any key when it has finished.
Run it again, then restart normally
ESET says to run the tool a second time to confirm that the product is no longer listed, then to restart in normal mode. The tool writes a log named ~ESETUninstaller.log next to the file you ran.

What can stay behind, and what to check

The ESET articles this guide is based on do not list leftover folders, services or scheduled tasks, so this guide does not name any. These read-only PowerShell commands show whether any program, service or scheduled task with ESET in its name is still registered, and whether Microsoft Defender Antivirus is running: Microsoft documents that AMRunningMode shows Normal, Passive or EDR Block Mode when it is enabled. A name match is a lead, not proof.

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*',
  'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' |
  Where-Object DisplayName -match 'ESET' | Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayVersion
Get-Service -DisplayName '*ESET*' | Format-Table Name, DisplayName, Status
Get-ScheduledTask |
  Where-Object { $_.TaskName -match 'ESET' -or $_.TaskPath -match 'ESET' } |
  Format-Table TaskPath, TaskName, State
Get-MpComputerStatus | Select-Object AMRunningMode

Usually safe to act on

The ESET app still in the Apps list after the uninstall and a restart: use the ESET Uninstaller in Safe Mode rather than deleting files by hand.
The network connection not working after the tool: restore the adapter settings you saved with netsh -f C:\NetworkSettings.txt.
No antivirus shown as on under Manage providers: turn Microsoft Defender Antivirus on in Windows Security, or install the antivirus you chose instead.

Your data and settings: keep

Microsoft Defender Antivirus, its WinDefend service and MsMpEng.exe: they are what protects the PC once ESET is gone.
C:\NetworkSettings.txt and your exported ESET settings, until the network works and you have decided whether to reinstall.
Your ESET subscription: it remains active for its duration, so uninstalling is not a cancellation.

What a restore point does and does not cover

Microsoft describes restore points as snapshots of system files, installed applications, the Windows registry and system settings, taken without affecting personal data. That also means a restore point is not a backup of your files. System Protection is not enabled by default, so on a PC where nobody switched it on, a request for a restore point fails; you turn it on under Create a restore point, Configure. And when an app asks for a restore point while one made in the previous 24 hours already exists, Windows skips the new one and still reports success. For ESET, the network settings file is the backup that matters: a restore point is no substitute for the netsh export ESET asks for before the tool runs.

How PC Tweaker Uninstaller helps

It lists each ESET app that Windows registers as its own entry and says how many other programs from the same publisher are installed, which is how a second ESET app shows up. Before anything runs, the brief shows the exact command each entry registered and whether it needs administrator rights, and the Removal Ledger records the method and the result. Its leftover scan matches folders, shortcuts and registry keys only when they are named exactly after the program, and pre-selects only items inside the install folder Windows recorded; anything matched by name alone is shown but never pre-selected. It does not list services or scheduled tasks, and it does not replace the ESET Uninstaller when the registered uninstaller fails. Cleaning leftover files and folders is free; cleaning registry keys and startup entries is Pro. Before an elevated removal it asks Windows for a restore point and records the outcome in the Removal Ledger. Because of the 24-hour rule above, Windows sometimes keeps an earlier point instead of making a new one. From version 0.13.8 the receipt says created only when it has verified a new point, and otherwise says that Windows reused the one from a given date; earlier versions could report created in that case.

Keep reading

uninstalling Kaspersky — Another antivirus whose removal tool deletes more than the program: licence information and settings.
uninstalling Avast completely — Another antivirus with its own removal tool, run in Safe Mode.
MsMpEng.exe, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus engine — The process that should be running again once the other antivirus is gone.
WinDefend, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus service — The service behind it, and why it is left alone.
how to completely uninstall any Windows program — The general order, and what to do when an uninstaller fails.
what PC Tweaker Uninstaller shows before a removal runs — The rating, the command and the permissions, before anything changes.

Common questions

When should I use the ESET Uninstaller tool?

When the standard uninstall from the Apps list fails: a failed uninstallation is among the cases ESET lists for the tool. It is a command-line tool, and ESET states that you must start Windows in Safe Mode to run it.

Will the ESET Uninstaller reset my network settings?

It can. ESET warns that if you are prompted to use the ESETUninstaller.exe /reinst command, your network interface settings will reset. Back them up first with netsh -c interface dump > C:\NetworkSettings.txt in a Command Prompt opened as administrator, and restore them afterwards with netsh -f C:\NetworkSettings.txt.

Does uninstalling ESET cancel my subscription?

No. ESET states that your existing subscription remains active for its duration after you remove or install its applications.

Is my PC protected after I remove ESET?

Check rather than assume. On Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft Defender Antivirus turns itself off while another antivirus is active, and Microsoft documents that it can turn back on automatically once that product is uninstalled or expires. After the restart, open Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, and under Who's protecting me? select Manage providers to check that an antivirus is on.

Try PC Tweaker Uninstaller

Single uninstalls are free, for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

What it shows before a removal Download PC Tweaker Uninstaller