Message: "We have detected an incompatible version of Norton product. Please uninstall the existing version..." on Mac
To fix this problem, uninstall your Norton device security product, run the RemoveNortonMacFiles tool, and then reinstall your Norton device security product.
Before running the RemoveNortonMacFiles tool, make sure that you have uninstalled the Norton device security product on your Mac.
Uninstall your Norton device security product
Before you follow the below steps, ensure that you close your Norton application, if it is already opened.
- On your Mac, click the Finder icon
in the dock, and then click Applications in the left pane under Favorites section.
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Find the Norton application icon and drag it to the Trash.
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click Continue to allow your Norton product to remove the system extension.
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When prompted, type your administrator account password, and then click OK.
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In the window that appears, click Uninstall.
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When prompted, type your administrator account password, and then click Install Helper.
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Click Restart Now.
Download and run RemoveNortonMacFiles
RemoveNortonMacFiles removes all the folders that Norton installers created, and all the files within those folders including any that you have created.
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Download the RemoveNortonMacFiles.zip file.
- Click the Finder icon
in the Dock.
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In the Finder window, click Downloads in the left pane under Favorites.
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Do one of the following:
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If you downloaded the file using Safari browser, open the RemoveNortonMacFiles folder.
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If you downloaded the file using the Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browsers, double-click the RemoveNortonMacFiles.zip file to expand it, and then open the RemoveNortonMacFiles folder.
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In the RemoveNortonMacFiles folder, control-click the RemoveNortonMacFiles.command file, and then click Open with > Terminal (default).
To run this tool, you must be logged on with an Administrator account and a non-blank password.
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Do one of the following:
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If you have not uninstalled Norton application on your macOS 10.15.x or later, a message appears in the Terminal window that prompts to drag and drop Norton from Applications folder to Trash. Go to step 7.
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If you have macOS 10.14.x and earlier, OR if you already uninstalled your Norton product on your macOS 10.15.x or later, go to step 13.
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In the Terminal window, press return to open the Applications folder in Finder.
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In the Applications folder, select the Norton application, and then drag and drop it to the Trash.
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When you see a prompt, type your administrator account password, and then click OK.
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In the Norton installer window, click Uninstall.
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If you see a prompt, type your administrator account password, and then click Install Helper.
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When the uninstall finishes, run the RemoveNortonMacFiles.command file in Terminal again.
For more information, refer to the instructions in step 5 above.
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In the Terminal window, type your administrator password, and then press return.
When you type your password, no characters appear.
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To remove all Norton files and folders, type 1.
If you want to quit RemoveNortonMacFiles without removing any files, type 2.
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Press return.
RemoveNortonMacFiles tool removes all of the Norton files.
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When the RemoveNortonMacFiles tool finishes removing the Norton files, in the Terminal window, type y, and press return to restart your Mac.
Before you press return, make sure that you save your work in other open applications.
Download your Norton device security product
Before you download the latest installer setup file, make sure that you delete all the older installer setup files available in the Downloads folder.
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Sign in to your account.
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Type in your email address and password, and click Sign In.
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In the My Norton portal, click Download.
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In the Get Started page, click Agree and Download.
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When the download finishes, double-click the file that you downloaded to launch the Norton installer.
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Before you install, click Norton License Agreement to read the product license agreement.
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Depending on your operating system, select one of the following:
Install your Norton device security product on macOS 10.15.x (Catalina) or later
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Click Install.
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In some cases, your Norton product provides you an alert to join the Norton Community Watch that collects information about potential security risks from your computer and sends the information to Norton for analysis. Do any one of the following:
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Click Join Now to enable the Norton Community Watch on your Norton product.
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Click Maybe Later to join the Norton Community Watch later.
You can click Learn More to know more about Norton Community Watch.
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When prompted, type your Mac administrator user account password, and then click Install Helper.
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Click Restart.
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After you restart your Mac, in the Norton installation window, click Open Preferences.
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If you see the System Extension Blocked alert, click Open Security Preferences.
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In the Security & Privacy window, click the lock icon at the bottom.
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When prompted, type your administrator account password, and then click Unlock.
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Click Allow corresponding to the Norton message, navigate back to the Norton installation window, and then click Continue.
If you do not see the Allow button, then close and reopen the Security & Privacy window to view the Allow button.
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In the Norton installation window, click Continue, and then click Allow to allow your Norton product to monitor all the network activities and block malicious websites from accessing your Mac.
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In the Norton installation window, click Open Preferences to allow your Norton product to access your disk for better protection.
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In the Security & Privacy window, ensure that the Norton System Extension option is enabled. Navigate back to the Norton installation window and click Complete.
Install your Norton device security product on macOS High Sierra 10.13.x to macOS Mojave 10.14.x
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Click Agree & Install.
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In some cases, your Norton product provides you an alert to join the Norton Community Watch that collects information about potential security risks from your computer and sends the information to Norton for analysis. Do any one of the following:
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Click Join Now to enable the Norton Community Watch on your Norton product.
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Click Maybe Later to join the Norton Community Watch later.
You can click Learn More to know more about Norton Community Watch.
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When prompted, type your Mac administrator user account password, and then click Install Helper.
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In the Norton installation window, click Open Now or Click here.
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Do any one of the following:
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Click Allow corresponding to the Symantec message.
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If you have multiple software or vendor installed on your Mac that requires your authorization, then you see Some system software was blocked from loading message instead of Symantec message. In that case, click Allow, select Symantec in the list, and then click OK.
If you do not see the Allow button, then close and reopen the Security & Privacy window to view the Allow button.
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In the Norton Security installation window. click Continue.
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Click Restart to complete the installation process.
Install your Norton device security product on Mac OS X 10.10.x (Yosemite) to OS X 10.12.x (Sierra)
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Click Agree & Install.
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In some cases, your Norton product provides you an alert to join the Norton Community Watch that collects information about potential security risks from your computer and sends the information to Norton for analysis. Do any one of the following:
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Click Join Now to enable the Norton Community Watch on your Norton product.
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Click Maybe Later to join the Norton Community Watch later.
You can click Learn More to know more about Norton Community Watch.
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When prompted, type your Mac administrator user account password, and then click Install Helper.
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When the installation completes, click Restart. Your product installation completes after you restart your Mac.
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Operating System: Mac
Last modified: 12/18/2023