In this guide
Before you start.
- Find the renewal date and the amount in your McAfee account before you do anything else. The renewal is charged at the standard rate rather than the introductory price you first paid, so a renewal often costs several times the first year.
- Work out which email address the subscription is under. McAfee subscriptions are commonly bought on one address, or created by a PC manufacturer's setup flow on another, and you cannot cancel from an account the subscription is not in.
- Uninstalling McAfee does not cancel the subscription and does not stop the charge. Turn off auto-renewal in the account first, then remove the software if you want it gone.
- If the McAfee came preinstalled on a new laptop, check whether the trial was ever given a card. A trial with a payment method attached converts to a paid subscription at the end of the trial period, and that conversion is the charge most people do not see coming.
- Check for more than one subscription. McAfee sells Total Protection, VPN, identity monitoring and other products separately, and they can renew on separate dates.
- A subscription bought in the Android app is billed by Google Play and will not appear in your McAfee account. Check the receipt to see who took the money before you go looking for the setting.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel McAfee, step by step.
Turn off auto-renewal in My Account
This is the route for a subscription McAfee bills directly, including one that started as a preinstalled trial you gave a card to.
- Sign in to your McAfee account at the My Account page.
- Select Account at the top of the My Account page.
- Select Auto-Renewal Settings.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to turn auto-renew off for the subscription.
- Check the page again afterwards to confirm the setting has changed, and keep any confirmation email.
Turning off auto-renewal stops the next charge and leaves the current term running. It is not the same as a refund for a charge that has already been taken.
Cancel or claim a refund through McAfee support
McAfee handles refunds through its customer service rather than a self-service button, so a charge you want back needs a conversation. This is also the route when the account will not show the subscription.
- Open McAfee's customer support site and start a chat or find the phone number for your region.
- Ask explicitly for automatic renewal to be turned off on the named subscription, and for a refund of the charge as a separate request if one has already been taken.
- Give the charge date, the amount and the descriptor from your bank statement, plus any order number you have.
- Ask what refund window applies to your charge rather than assuming one, and ask for the answer in writing.
- Confirm afterwards in My Account that auto-renewal is off.
Ask for the cancellation and the refund separately and in the same contact. Agents will often action only what was asked for, and a refund does not necessarily stop the renewal.
Cancel a Google Play subscription
McAfee Security for Android sells its own subscription through Google Play. That purchase is billed by Google and cannot be cancelled in your McAfee account.
- Open the Google Play Store app.
- Tap your profile icon in the top right.
- Select Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
- Select McAfee.
- Tap Cancel subscription and complete the confirmation.
Refunds for a Play charge are Google's decision under its own policy. Google decides directly only within 48 hours of the charge, after which it passes the request to the developer.
What happens next?
- Turning off auto-renewal stops the next charge. The protection keeps running until the end of the term you already paid for.
- Check the account a day later rather than trusting the confirmation screen alone. The evidence that matters is the setting showing as off and a confirmation email in your inbox.
- Cancelling does not return a charge already taken. If money has moved, that is a refund request to McAfee support, and it is a separate conversation with its own answer.
- Removing the software is optional and separate. Do it after cancelling, never instead of it.
- If you cancelled one McAfee product, check the account for others. A second subscription renews on its own schedule regardless of what you did to the first.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
I removed McAfee from my PC and was still charged
This is the single most common McAfee complaint and the answer is always the same: uninstalling software does not cancel a subscription. The billing lives in your McAfee account, or in Google Play if you bought it there, and it renews regardless of what is installed. Sign in, turn off auto-renewal, and then take the charge to support as a refund request.
The renewal cost far more than I paid the first year
The first term is sold at an introductory price and the renewal is at the standard rate, which is why the second charge can be several times the first. There is nothing irregular about it from McAfee's side, so the useful actions are turning off auto-renewal so it does not repeat, and asking support about a refund on the charge that has already landed.
I never knowingly signed up: it came with my laptop
Preinstalled McAfee trials are set up during the first run of a new PC, and a trial that has been given a payment method converts to a paid subscription when it ends. Sign in to McAfee with the address used when the laptop was set up, which may not be the one you use now. If you cannot find an account, contact support with the charge details from your statement, because support can find a subscription you cannot reach.
I cannot find the subscription in my McAfee account
Check the email address first: a subscription bought on an old address, or created by a retailer or PC manufacturer's setup, sits in a different account. A purchase made through Google Play will never appear in the McAfee account at all, because Google is billing you. If neither explains it, support can look the charge up from the date, amount and statement descriptor.
Auto-renewal turned itself back on, or I cannot turn it off
Verify the setting on a computer browser rather than a phone, and check you are looking at the right subscription if the account holds more than one. If the setting will not hold, or the option is not shown at all, take it to support and ask for auto-renewal to be turned off on their side, then ask for written confirmation. As a last resort, removing the stored payment method from the account is a backstop, though it does not replace cancelling.
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I stop McAfee from automatically renewing?
Sign in to My Account, select Account at the top of the page, then Auto-Renewal Settings, and follow the instructions to turn auto-renew off. Check afterwards that the setting shows as off, and keep the confirmation email.
Does uninstalling McAfee cancel my subscription?
No. The subscription is a billing arrangement held in your McAfee account, and it renews whether or not the software is installed. Turn off auto-renewal in the account first, then uninstall if you want to.
Can I get a refund on a McAfee renewal charge?
McAfee handles refunds through customer support rather than a self-service page, so it is a request you have to make and that McAfee can decline. Contact support with the charge date and amount, ask what window applies to your charge, and ask for automatic renewal to be turned off at the same time.
Why was I charged when McAfee only came free with my PC?
A preinstalled McAfee trial that has been given a payment method converts to a paid subscription when the trial ends. The free period is part of a subscription rather than a separate thing, so it charges unless auto-renewal is turned off before the trial finishes.
Provider resources
- McAfee: change or cancel auto-renewal
- McAfee customer support
- McAfee Security on Google Play
- Google Play: cancel subscriptions
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of McAfee. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
