How to Uninstall Killer Network Manager Windows 10

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Killer Networking has some of the best hardware in the business when it comes to LAN and Wireless Cards but the problem lies in their Killer Software, extension, driver.
Example, I would clean install Windows, install the INF Drivers only and specifically choose that I DON'T want the Killer Software, the moment I go online, Windows update downloads a Rivet Networks Extension which then installs the following services:

Killer Networking Service
Killer Bandwidth Control
xTend Utility

The moment those are installed, I feel my 500MBPS Down/50 MBPS up connection just got downgraded to quarter of its speed. I feel my web browsing isn't snappy anymore, and I definitely see it while downloading games from Steam, Origin, and UPlay. It's very obvious because I usually download games at full speed but the moment that cancer extension is installed my internet gets crippled.

To add insult to injury, the Windows store silently and without my consent installs the Killer Software app since it detected the Rivet Networks extension driver installed.

I did give it a chance, trust me, I went into the Killer Software app, set my bandwidth properly by allowing it to test my internet speed, then went into each app and give it a 1 priority (meaning max bandwidth) but still games wouldn't download at full speed and it was very tedious to be going to each and every app that I want and giving it a priority! Who needs this? We live in an age where 90% of the population has super fast blazing internet speeds that you don't need to prioritize anything to enjoy streaming movies or gaming for example. You could be downloading a movie in the background, watching YouTube, or perhaps playing a game and still not feel any slowdown in whatever task you're doing.

Heck, Windows has a feature to reserve bandwidth for other apps so no single app can choke your internet and this has been since the days of Windows XP, which is called QoS

Anyway, enough talking now and let's get into business.

Note: When you download ANYTHING, you must unblock the file or ZIP file before running it or un-compressing it otherwise all the files within will have a BLOCKED status which will lead to erroneous installs, you can see how to do that in this guide and also find the tweak to disable this auto file blocking from happening so you don't have to worry about unblocking anything you download.

"Are you sure you want to run this file?" [Yes or No]
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For computers that already has the Killer Software installed:

1) Download GeekUninstaller
2) Disconnect from the Internet by unplugging your LAN cable if you were connected via LAN or forgetting the current Wireless Network to prevent Windows from auto installing any drivers after you have uninstalled the current LAN/WLAN Drivers
3) Extract the ZIP File
4) Run it as Admin
5) Look for the Killer LAN and WLAN drivers listed, uninstall each of them but when prompted to reboot, DO NOT reboot yet in order to allow GeekUninstaller to clean up whatever leftovers they left behind
6) Run the Killer Software Uninstall tool, let it scan for any Killer Components, then let it remove them. Reboot then run it again and then click on Disable Killer from Windows Update then reboot again:

7) Uninstall the Killer Control Center from your apps then reboot
8) Proceed with the guide below.
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On a clean install Windows (meaning not a single driver has been installed yet):

1) Download the Killer INF Driver only and Bluetooth Driver and have the ZIP File Extracted to a folder and ready to use or better yet, here is a collection of the latest LAN/WLAN Drivers: Latest LAN-Wireless-Bluetooth Drivers
2) Download Winaero Tweaker
3) Run it as Administrator then type Driver in the search box on the top left and disable Driver Updates

4) Press the CTRL + R button on your keyboard to bring up the run dialogue box
5) Type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to launch the Group Policy Editor
Skip step 3,4, and 5 if you have Windows 10 Home since it doesn't have the Group Policy Editor
6) Navigate to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update
7) Double click on "Do not include drivers with Windows Updates" then set that rule to Enabled
8) Exit the Group Policy Editor
9) Download the Killer Uninstaller tool
10) Right click on it and choose Run as Administrator
11) Reboot
12) Download the Disable automatically installing suggested apps.reg then double click on it to merge it with your registry
13) Download the Turn off suggested apps install.bat then right click on it and choose Run as Administrator
14) Reboot
15) Now proceed to install all your drivers, the usually recommended order is: Chipset Drivers > Graphics Drivers > Audio Drivers > LAN > WLAN > Bluetooth > etc.
16) When you reach the point where you want to install the LAN/WLAN driver, I recommend you go to Device Manager then right click on the network adapter, right click on it, choose Update Driver, then point it to where you extracted the INF Drivers that you downloaded earlier. That way, we only have the Driver and none of the Killer Software components and services.

For Dell Machines or other OEM single package installers, don't blindly click next when install the LAN, WLAN driver, carefully uncheck any driver that does not pertain to your hardware and also ensure you are not selecting any Killer Software component as shown in the below illustrations:

Result: After running Windows Updates, you will only get Windows updates and not any driver updates and the Killer Control Center will no longer be installed automatically by the Windows Store

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Additionally, you can also run the Windows Update Hide Tool and run it BEFORE you check for updates, if it did find an update for the Killer Networking card(s), simply hide it and it won't be offered again!

Imagine the millions of people out there who are suffering from slow internet speeds not knowing what the heck is going on with their brand new shiny laptop with Killer Hardware!

The only thing that Killer Software does, is Kill your bandwidth! All this fluff they talk about bandwidth control, lower latency, lower ping rates, beat your enemies, bla bla bla, can go to heck!

Just to give you a real world example. If I don't have the Killer Networks extensions/app/services installed. Browsing to any website happens instantly, before I could blink my eye, the page is already loaded. If those extensions/services/control center was installed, it takes a couple of seconds before I actually see the webpage start to load. There is a huge lag.

Last edited: Jul 10, 2020
WhatsThePoint Notebook Virtuoso

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We probably all bought the Killer AX1650 because it was the first AX WiFi 6 card released and we wanted to see what WiFi 6 was bringing to the table.
Had the Intel AX200 been available at the same time I'm sure most of us would have opted for it over the Killer AX1650.The AX1650 had a full months lead time over the AX200.
I have my Windows 10 x64 systems tweaked similarly to yours including 3 versions of Insider Previews.
Good drivers are essential to good hardware performance and the software that runs on it.
I suggest members bookmark Ultra Male's post!
100% I would never give a dime to that Killer company but as you said, it was available before the Intel card was. Also this guide is not just for us enthusiasts, it's for any poor soul out there with a Killer Network card
Anticipating next post from mr. Killer rep here to come and tell us how great the Killer Control Center is and how it makes me beat my enemies with the super low ping rates and latency
Vanya Notebook Consultant

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Just finished your tutorial (However I could not install the WLAN driver through the extracted INF folder cause Windows kept saying "I already have the latest drivers installed".
After all, I ran Windows Updates and here is what I get...

Edit : I never had such horrible speeds... I'm downloading half my previous results :'( Bruh

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 30, 2019
did you make sure you check the box which says disable driver updates through Windows Aero Tweaker? You simply cannot have that offered through Windows update if you did that and have installed the blocking driver through the Killer Software Uninstaller
Vanya Notebook Consultant

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Yes I did it, the installation process is locked to 0% and it gives an error after several minutes. So Aera Tweaker does its job. On the other hand, my bitrates got hit pretty badly, and I have lots of slow-downs, (12 Mo/s to 5 Mo/s while downloading from Uplay or Steam). I had 25 to 30 Mo/s before.
I ended up following these steps and it recovered my bitrate.
I still don't have any proposal from Windws update lol, so might work as well !

"1) Uninstall the Killer LAN using GeekUninstaller and don't let it reboot when prompted so you get the option to clean out the leftovers by GeekUninstaller
2) Do the same for the WLAN Killer Driver
3) Reboot
4) Uninstall the Intel Bluetooth Driver
5) Run the Killer Uninstaller as admin, let it search for any drivers, then clean the leftovers (the button underneath the scan) then reboot when prompted
6) Uninstall the Killer Software (the Microsoft Store app) from the start menu
7) Reboot into Safe Mode
8) Run NSUDO then hit browse and guide it to Windows\System32\regedt32.exe and hit launch to run REGEDIT as a Trusted Installer
9) In the reg editor, hit EDIT then FIND and type Killer then hit enter, every time you find a key, delete it then hit F3 to look for the next key
10) delete all reg keys related to Killer Software, you will find more than 20 (so much for that Killer Uninstaller heh?)
11) Reboot back into Windows in normal mode
12) Install the latest Killer LAN/WLAN/and Bluetooth then reboot but make sure you always hit CUSTOM and uncheck the Killer Software (last option)
13) Run the Killer Uninstaller again but this time hit the "Disable Killer from Windows Update" button. If you get a message saying unable to install blocking driver, ignore that for now it worked for me after a few reboots when I was online."

The added part here is to uninstall anything related to Killer throught Windows Safe Mode, which I did.
macmyc Notebook Evangelist

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Thanks for this guide dude, i've been looking for something this accurate ever since i bought my laptop almost three years ago.
Freaking software ruined a lot of my time trying to understand why this and that was happening.
I don't need no bandwidth control yet they force it on you even when you install the drivers only version.
I had your same poor experience, gave it a try to their bloat application but at the end i disabled this crappy software.
Now i'm looking to do it the perfect way since you have posted this. I disabled their services but i wanna wipe all the crap out of this software lol.
Gamers don't need this kind of software, it gives more issues than anything. When i found out it was causing me huge lag and ping spikes in games, i was really pissed (i've posted something about this before in a Killer Networking thread).

Next on my list is Nahimic, stupid bloat that causes frametime issues unless you exit from it.
I only wish i had the right time to find the perfect Realtek driver to switch over from that mess, but this is another story.

Thanks again!
Fire Tiger Notebook Deity

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Excellent was just about to order the Intel card to get passed the fact the Killer control crap seems to be getting installed almost straight after I remove it. Will give this a go and report back. Thanks @Ultra Male
Even if you order the Intel card, don't forget you have the Killer Ethernet port built into the laptop, there is no escaping from this crap without this guide.
Fire Tiger Notebook Deity

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Forgot about that...... hopefully this guide will sort me out. Thanks again