How To Get Rid of Adobe AIR (Windows)

So here’s the situation: You have this app that needs Adobe AIR, but you’ve had enough and want to uninstall it. Easy, right? Just go to Add/Remove Programs and remove the app. But wait, Adobe AIR is still there, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to uninstall it. Talk about frustrating!

But hold on a sec: The latest version of AIR actually has an Add/Remove entry that pops up after it’s installed. Unfortunately, older versions don’t have this option. So if you’re running an older version, keep reading to find out how to uninstall AIR.

Now, the big question is: Can you really uninstall Adobe AIR completely? Lucky for you, the answer is yes! And here’s how:

1. Get rid of all your AIR apps.

Since you’re done with AIR, go ahead and uninstall any apps that rely on it. You probably know which ones they are, and they can all be uninstalled using Add/Remove Programs.

2. Download the AIR installer executable file.

When you download the file, it will be called AdobeAIRInstaller.exe. Make sure to download it directly to your desktop. You’ll find out why in a bit.

By the way, if you double-click on this file, it won’t uninstall AIR. It will just update your existing installation. Sneaky, right?

3. Open up Command Prompt.

Click on that Start button, then click Run, type in cmd, and hit OK.

Now you’ll see something that looks kind of like this:

Step 4: Now, let’s move on to the next step. Type cd Desktop and hit Enter on your keyboard.

When you do this, it will appear like this:

Step 5: Let’s move on to the next command. Follow closely and enter it exactly how it’s shown:

Here’s how it should appear:

To uninstall Adobe AIR from your computer, follow these steps:

1. Type the command “AdobeAIRInstaller.exe -uninstall” in an elevated prompt. To open an elevated prompt, type CMD and then press Shift+Ctrl+Enter.

2. Move the installer to C:\ from your desktop.

3. Manually delete the ADOBE AIR folder located in the “COMMON FILES” folder. You can find it by searching Windows for ADOBE AIR.

4. Use a program like REVO UNINSTALLER (available at http://www.revouninstaller.com) to clean up the Registry entries and any remaining data related to ADOBE AIR. Select the ADOBE AIR entry from the list and click the UNINSTALL button on REVO’s window. Choose the Advanced Uninstall option and delete all the Registry Entries that appear during the process.

5. If you encounter an error, simply click OK and the uninstaller will continue.

If you still have trouble, try using an elevated prompt. Open the prompt by typing cmd and then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to get an elevated (Administrator) prompt.