Defender Antivirus "turned off"

kirbster 1 135 Reputation points
2026-07-25T13:27:00.0666667+00:00

Windows 11 25H2 26200.8968 Release Preview

I keep getting notifications that Defender Antivirus is turned OFF. Every last toggle in Defender settings is toggled on, I get Antivirus updates, am able to run scans but I keep getting the notification window that Antivirus if off. I have notifications "toggled off" but still get the antivirus off notifications.

This is happening on a 2 day old Clean Install of Windows 11.

Any ideas why this is happening?antivirusoff

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  1. CrazyKats 20,295 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-13T20:55:25.0266667+00:00

    Hi Kriller,

    This is a Known issue and is purely

    cosmetic. It is really On.

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  2. Johnny55 5,240 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-14T02:33:31.4333333+00:00

    Another problem affects Microsoft Defender on all platforms, i.e. Windows and Windows Server. This is because you may see notifications saying that "Microsoft Defender Antivirus is disabled" even though the antivirus is working properly and showing as active in all settings. "These notifications can appear sporadically when Windows starts and after. They persist even if the notification settings are disabled."

    It is interesting to note that despite the same update, not everyone is affected. Here, too, Microsoft is working on a solution, which will then be fixed with an upcoming Defender update.

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