How to Resolve ‘Virus Definitions Update Failed’ in Avast Antivirus?

The ‘Virus definitions update failed. Downloading of VPS failed‘ error is encountered on Avast Security for Desktop and Mobile by users that are actively trying to update the virus definitions. The issue is reported to occur on both the Free and the Premium version of Avast.

Why does the Virus Definitions Update fails?

In most cases, this issue is caused by a bug that Avast already manage to resolve along with version 6.16. So the best chance at solving the issue clean and efficient, you should simply update your Avast Antivirus to the latest version available.

If your application is unable to update, it’s probably due to the fact that some files have been affected by corruption. In this case, you can force the application to repair itself via the built-in troubleshooter.

Method 1: Update Avast app to the latest version

As it turns out, the vast majority of os users reports claiming to encounter this error were actually being caused by an Avast bug that was resolved since version 6.16. The problem occurred due to a bad date that was being pushed along with the update.

This ends up forcing the virus signature updating function to display an error, even though the update installed correctly and the virus protection signature was up to date.

Since Avast already managed to fix the issue, the fix should be as simple as installing ensuring that you’re running the latest version of Avast Antivirus

1. Open Avast Antivirus and click on the Menu icon (top-right corner).
2. After you do this, click on the Settings menu from the newly appeared context menu.
3. Once you’re inside the Settings menu, select the General tab from the list of main tabs, then select the Update sub-tab.
4. Inside the Update sub-tab, just click on the Check for updates button and wait until the process is complete.
5. If you are prompted to restart do so, then open the application once again and see if the issue is resolved.

Method 2: Repairing the Avast application

A partially corrupted Avast application can also contribute to the apparition of the ‘Virus definitions update failed. Downloading of VPS failed‘ error. In most cases, the issue is reported to occur after an unexpected machine shutdown or after a security scanner ended up quarantining some items that were used during the updating function.

If this scenario is applicable, you can fix the issue by forcing the Avast application to repair itself via the troubleshooting menu.

Here’s a quick guide on repairing the Avast application using the built-in troubleshooter:

1. Open up Avast and click on the Action Menu from the top right-hand section.
2. From the newly appeared context menu, click on Settings.
3. Inside the Settings menu, select the General tab and click on Troubleshooting.
4. Inside the Troubleshooting tab, scroll down to the Still having problems? section and click on Repair App.
5. Click Yes at the confirmation prompt, then wait for the scan to complete.
6. Once the process is complete, click on Resolve all in order to resolve every issue that was identified.