Norton - Reviews and experiences

Opened a news story and bam — a huge ad overlays everything. That's been happening on and off the last week with my Norton subscription. I've used Norton for years because I need decent protection for work laptops after a bad malware scare, so I want it to just do its job. When it behaves it's fine — scans, updates, all that. But these ad blocks popping up and vanishing randomly are annoying. I reported it. No real fix yet. Mildly disappointed, but still hoping they’ll sort it.

constant pop-ups, no heads-up about auto-renewal and no invoice. I called for a refund and service fixed it in about 15 minutes, so points for support, yet the marketing kept bugging me.

All in all, it actually worked out in the end — and I'm kind of relieved. I started right in the middle of a chaotic chat where the single-sign-on and subscription screens were acting up, and the session dropped a few times, so yeah, it was annoying. Still, the rep stuck with me, fixed the billing confusion and straightened out the subscriptions. I've had worse with other firms, so I'm honestly grateful they followed through, even if it took a while.

I eventually got my refund, but it took way too long. I bought the trial because my laptop was getting slow and I'd had bad experiences with cleaners before, so I was cautious. I never really used the tool and asked for a refund a couple times. Spent ages on chat with a bot, got an RMA, then silence. I pushed again, a human finally stepped in and the $26-odd was returned. Not great process, but solved.

Funny thing — I only started to feel relieved the day a rep actually called back. I’d changed my phone number and kept getting codes sent to the old one, so I was locked out for weeks. I first noticed Norton on my sister’s laptop and signed up because she swore by it; I even tipped a coworker to try it. Anyway, I called 800-745-6034 a bunch, stuck on hold forever, and when I finally got through the conversation was clunky — hard to follow at times because of the accent — but the rep walked me through a workaround and I got back in. Not smooth, but it works now.

I’m close to cancelling because this has been one long, useless runaround. I paid for a year of Norton services — roughly $250 — because my laptop is ancient and I figured it would help keep the thing usable for another season. Now I’m locked out and basically stuck. Here’s what happened and why I’m fed up. A few weeks back I changed my phone number and didn’t realise their sign-in needs a verification code texted to that old number. So no code, no access. That’s been three weeks now. I can’t log in to change the number, can’t update contact info from my phone (there’s simply no option), and even if I could get in I don’t know the path to edit that field. I tried the support line. The automated system kept cutting me off or looping — said things like “if you’re reaching Norton call this number,” and then hung up or made me start over. The only time I ever got a human was when I said the word “cancellation.” That got me through, but it didn’t fix anything. The rep said they’d escalate, gave me a case number, and promised a callback. I waited. I called back a bunch of times — honestly, five, seven times — and the escalation apparently never entered my new phone number, so no one could reach me even if they tried. There aren’t notes showing attempts, even though I have the case ID. The cancellation team then told me they wouldn’t refund six months of unused service. That felt unfair; I can’t use the product because I’m locked out and they won’t help me fix the login properly or refund the unused time. They also said they could transfer the account to another email I hardly use, which might be a workaround, maybe I’ll try that, but it doesn’t inspire confidence. I reached out to Gen Digital (the company that now owns Norton LifeLock) and the whole experience made me worry about quality control. The reps I did speak to seemed undertrained and sometimes struggled with English. I don’t want to sound petty, but for a product that guards personal info — credit cards, passwords and so on — I want people who know the systems and follow procedure. I’m not asking for miracles, just other verification methods (email, last digits of an ID, something besides one single phone-based code), better phone options, and follow-through on escalations. Meanwhile my computer sits unprotected, I can’t use it for banking or daily stuff without worrying, and that’s a real inconvenience. I’ve even been told to contact the BBB, which feels like passing the buck. If Norton/Gen Digital wants to keep customers they need to either fix their support flow and staffing or bring support closer to where they can manage quality — North America, whatever — because this is not working. I’m disappointed, honestly a little anxious, and ready to cancel if it’s not fixed soon.

Right when I was ready to hang up — 30 minutes in, stuck in the bot loop — I finally said "Cancel" out of frustration, and that’s when things turned. Wen picked up, actually listened, pulled up my account and pointed out Norton had been charging me twice for a couple of years. I use this on my home laptop and my partner's work machine, so the charge mattered. I don't know why the automated system didn't flag it, or why it took a third-party number and a raised voice to get through, but once Wen was on it she handled the refund and calm came back. Still annoyed at the hassle, but glad it got sorted in the end.