Technical Tip: How to uninstall unlicensed FortiClient on Windows when the shutdown FortiClient button is greyed out

This article describes how to uninstall unlicensed FortiClient on Windows when the shutdown FortiClient button is greyed out.

If an unlicensed FortiClient is not managed by the EMS and needs to be uninstalled from the Windows machine, it is possible to follow these steps.

First method:

1. Make sure the FortiClient application is closed completely before uninstalling. To do this, right-click its icon and select 'Shutdown FortiClient'.
   
   

    

2. To verify if a related process is still running in the background, right-click the taskbar, open Task Manager, select the FortiClient process, and select 'End Task'.
3. Use the Windows Add/Remove Programs application or open the Run dialog by pressing Win + R on the keyboard. In the box that appears, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
4. From the list of installed programs, locate FortiClient and uninstall it.
5. After uninstalling, delete any remaining folders from the following locations:

C:\Program Files\Fortinet
C:\ProgramData\Fortinet
C:\Users\<AccountName>\AppData\Local\Fortinet or %localappdata%\Fortinet
C:\Users\<AccountName>\AppData\Roaming\Fortinet or %appdata%\Fortinet

4. Next, open Registry Editor and remove any leftover registry keys:

    

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Fortinet
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Fortinet

Second Method:

1. In the support portal, navigate to: Support -> Firmware Download -> FortiClient -> FortiClient version -> FortiClientTools_7.0.7.0345.zip.
2. Download and unzip the file.
3. Ensure that the FortiClient is completely closed, as outlined in Steps 1 and 2 of the First Method.
4. Run the FCRemove.exe tool to uninstall FortiClient.

Note: FCRemove tool is version-specific, so be sure to download the version that corresponds to the installed FortiClient version. To download it, see Technical Tip: How to download FortiClient and FCRemove.exe from support.fortinet.com.

If the removal options are unavailable:

If the Shutdown button or Remove option is greyed out, restart the Windows machine in Safe Mode, then run the FCRemove.exe tool again.

For more details, refer to: Technical Tip: How to uninstall a managed FortiClient in Windows Machines.

Third Method:

Alternatively, use the Microsoft Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter to remove FortiClient.

1. Close or shut down FortiClient completely, similar to Steps 1 and 2 in the First Method.
2. Download the tool from Microsoft: Microsoft Fix Tool for Uninstall Issues (Download)
3. Run the troubleshooter and select Uninstalling.
4. Choose FortiClient from the list, then proceed with the removal.

This tool can help resolve issues where FortiClient cannot be uninstalled through normal methods.

Related article:
Technical Tip: FortiClient has already been uninstalled, but the error 'A more recent version of FortiClient is already installed' still appears