If Windows Defender is not working, your system is exposed to many vulnerabilities. Usually, when the threat service has stopped, you can click on the Restart button, but this doesn’t always work. Luckily, we put together this article to help you resolve this issue.

Why has Windows Defender stopped working?

The most common reasons for Windows Defender to stop working are:

Conflicting antivirus programs – If you use many different antivirus solutions, one of them is likely causing the Microsoft Defender threat service to stop. Organization restrictions – If you’re using a work or school account, your organization may have enforced Group Policy settings that prevent you from making some changes. Corrupt user profile – Your current user profile may be corrupted, especially if someone made changes to the registry. Viruses – It is also possible that a virus infection has taken hold of your computer and overpowered Microsoft Defender threat service hence why it has stopped.

How do I restart the Windows threat service?

Try these basic workarounds before moving to the complex solutions below:

Disable or uninstall your third-party antivirus. Ensure to remove any software leftovers. Check for updates. Make sure that your computer is receiving updates from Microsoft through Windows Update. Run an anti-malware scan on your computer. Run the DISM and SFC scans. Restart your computer. A restart can sometimes clear up issues caused by software and hardware settings.

1. Restart Windows Defender service

2. Disconnect work/school accounts 

3. Repair Microsoft Defender 

4. Reinstall Microsoft Defender 

5. Create a new user account 

Once you log in to the new profile, test it and check whether the Microsoft Defender threat service runs smoothly. If it is, you can conclude that your previous profile was corrupt and take the necessary steps to repair it. SPONSORED

6. Re-enable Windows Defender

7. Delete Group Policy restrictions

Deleting the above registry entries will disable the settings managed by your organization and give you more control of your system. You may receive errors when running some of them, but this should not cause alarm as it just means those entries are not on your PC. We recommend performing a System Restore if you’ve tried all these solutions, but none seem to work. This can help you roll back to a previous point where Windows had no issues.  If you had not created a restore point, try a clean install of Windows. This could help you restart Windows afresh with no issues. With such issues, it is important to consider whether Windows 11 needs an antivirus program. Let us know if you have solved this issue in the comment section below.

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