BrowserDeskHelp › Add devices › C8
Remove BrowserDesk again — program and service
Just turn off the service, uninstall the MSI or remove everything without a trace — and then delete the device from the administration.
Preview this guide has not yet been clicked through on a real device. Button names and steps come from the program but may differ in details.
- For
- Private helper · Account administrator
- Applies to
- Free · Cloud · Own relay
- Right in the console
- Administrator rights on the device
- Controlled device
- Windows
- Control from
- Program (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- from version
- 20260912.8
What it is for
You no longer need BrowserDesk on a Windows computer — or only not the service that keeps the computer reachable at all times. There are three levels: remove the service, uninstall the MSI or remove BrowserDesk completely. Afterwards you delete the device in the console.
What you need
- Administrator rights on the Windows computer.
- For deleting in the console: an account as administrator of the access.
How to do it
Remove only the service
- Open BrowserDesk → EinstellungenFernzugriff (Settings > Remote access) → card Systemdienst (System service) → Dienst entfernen (Remove service).
- Windows asks for administrator rights.
Or via the BrowserDesk symbol in the notification area: BrowserDesk beenden (Dienst entfernen) … (quit BrowserDesk — remove service) — also with administrator approval.
The program stays; you can still open it and allow connections by hand.
Uninstall the MSI
If BrowserDesk was installed with the MSI, remove it like any other program in the Windows settings under the installed apps. This also removes the service tasks.
Remove completely
For the portable single file, and if nothing should remain: run the script from Fully uninstall a client in PowerShell as administrator. It removes service and watchdog tasks, processes, autostart entries, program, data and cache folders (for every user and in the SYSTEM profile) and checks at the end that nothing is left. With -KeepData identity and logs are kept.
Afterwards in the console
Devices → the device's menu → Delete (C7).
How you know it worked
- After Dienst entfernen (Remove service) the card Systemdienst (System service) shows „Status: Nicht installiert“ (not installed).
- After the script, the check at the end reports that no trace is left.
- The device appears offline in the console and can be deleted.
Good to know
- The service does not come back by itself. Since version 20260912.8, Dienst entfernen (Remove service) also removes the watchdog task that used to restart it.
- The service consists of two tasks in the Windows Task Scheduler:
BrowserDeskUnattendedandBrowserDeskWatchdog. Both run as SYSTEM. - Removing only the tasks also works by command:
& "C:\Program Files\BrowserDesk\BrowserDesk.exe" --uninstall-service. - What happens to your data: the script without
-KeepDataalso deletes the device password, the join to the access and the device certificate. If BrowserDesk comes back to the computer later, it has the same device ID, but a new password and no access any more — it has to join again (C2). - Mac and Linux: there is no guide of its own for removing yet. Write to info@browserdesk.de.
- Repair instead of removing if BrowserDesk only hangs: Repair a client.
If it does not work
| You see | Meaning and fix |
|---|---|
| After Dienst entfernen (Remove service) the status stays the same | The administrator approval was refused. Try again with an administrator account, or use the script. |
| The service runs again after a restart | Older version before 20260912.8. Update BrowserDesk and remove it again, or use the script. |
| The device shows up again in the console | BrowserDesk is still running on the computer. Remove it completely, or use Block & delete in the console (C7). |
| The script stops | Start PowerShell as administrator. |