DriverFix Review

Overview

DriverFix on PC is a driver update program for Windows. It monitors your hardware and searches the internet for the most recent driver software. 

In short, drivers are the middlemen between your hardware  (i.e., sound cards, mice, hard disks, etc.), and your operating system.

As Microsoft Windows advances and your system itself evolves, the hardware manufacturer will patch security vulnerabilities, add new features, and ensure ongoing compatibility. Therefore, it’s important to use something like the DriverFix utility to keep things running smoothly.   

For this DriverFix review, I tested the program on a modern Windows 10 desktop computer. It hasn’t actively had its drivers updated in a couple of years.

DriverFix doesn’t have a Mac version or version for any other operating systems, though similar solutions exist. 

How Does DriverFix Work?

DriverFix is a straightforward computer program that doesn’t bog you down with unneeded features. Its primary function is scanning your system for outdated drivers and then locating the latest ones from its regularly revised database.

You don’t have to worry about handling this yourself, as it will download any relevant drivers directly through the software’s interface. The scanning itself takes place as soon as you open the program. It takes less than a minute to complete. 

The only issue with the way the DriverFix software works:

If you don’t update right away and you leave the program open, every so often you’ll receive an annoying popup encouraging you to complete the process. Yes, updating drivers is important but that’s a little too intrusive. 

To solve this, you can always close the DriverFix app and update later at your own pace.

DriverFix Features

Let’s take a closer look at DriverFix’s simple yet effective features:

Fast Hardware Scanning

DriverFix scans all your hardware in less than a minute. 

When first opening the software, it will begin scanning right away, although you can click Stop if you wish. By default, this is a Driver Fix online scan that consults with its internet databases.

Your results show in a pop-up summary. When you close this, however, you will see your full list of drivers. Those that need updates are at the top.

Easy Updates

Although the DriverFix free version restricts you, updating is easy for paid users. Its developers claim to have a database with 18 million of the latest device drivers. And, while this cannot be independently verified, it took seconds to discover six outdated drivers on the test system. Some of these were just a few months old, suggesting DriverFix is well on top of updates.

Licensed users can hit Update and then choose the automated method. This will automatically download and install new drivers.

Download Manager

The in-built download manager allows you to download all new drivers in one go, showing the progress of each file. This is where it can take some time because some drivers, particularly those for graphics cards, can be quite hefty in size. 

DriverFix Safe Backups

A convenient feature to fix corrupt installations or if you otherwise wish to roll back to a previous driver is Driver Backup. Find this tool at the top of the scan results page, then select the individual or complete set of drivers to back up.

To save space and keep everything together, DriverFix compresses drivers into a Zip file.

The chance of an update going wrong is quite rare because your downloads restart if interrupted. It’s a nice failsafe to keep DriverFix safe, however, especially if you’re having problems with hardware after an update or corruption occurs.

Even so, these backed-up drivers are not remembered by the software and there’s no import feature. Therefore, if you do need to revert back, you will need to reinstall the driver yourself manually. 

Furthermore, because the DriverFix driver repair tool can replace corrupt or missing drivers with the latest releases, you won't really need to use the backup feature for new drivers. Just repeat the scan and try again.    

Schedule Scans

Paying users can schedule driver scans for a time of their convenience or on a repeating schedule. Otherwise, the software will run on system startup, which can become annoying.

On the other hand, if you never turn off your computer you may forget about updates altogether. 

Other Settings 

Find other helpful settings under the cog icon. Using checkboxes, you can choose whether to: 

• Launch on startup – open and scan whenever you startup Windows.
• Show removed devices – devices with drivers that aren’t currently connected.
• Allow automatic driver backups – all drivers are backed up before being updated.
• Enable driver filtering – filter drivers in your list based on their type. For example, show only pointing devices.
• Allow automatic reboot – automatically restarts your system after driver installation when appropriate.
• Minimize DriverFix to the system tray when clicking the X.
• Keep Driver History – between one week and forever.

One setting that doesn’t seem to function as anticipated is the update driver notifications feature. It sends alerts every 48 hours by default. During my test, however, I dealt with multiple reminder pop-ups in a single day. It’s not clear how the company defines ‘update notifications’.

The app also supports 17 languages. 

In addition, you can select the folder where your drivers are stored. By default, this is within the top directory on your main disk drive. 

Under Internet Settings is only one option. This is to allow or disallow Concurrent Driver Downloads, which means downloading all your outdated drivers at the same time rather than one by one.

You’ll find a list of your previous scans under History, revealing the number of drivers and their update status. 

DriverFix Driver Repair Tool

The DriverFix driver repair process doesn’t require any extra steps. If it detects a corrupt one while scanning, it will simply download the latest release and replace it as normal. 

Interface and Ease of Use

The app is extremely easy to use. 

First, simply download the web installer from the official site. Then it will connect to its servers and download and install the latest release. 

The Windows 10 PC didn’t detect anything untoward. In addition, a separate antivirus scan agrees that it’s safe to proceed.

Immediately after installation, it will complete its first scan in seconds. An incredibly simple and modern interface follows. Since the program’s core function is not that complicated, you won’t run into any problems with the UI.

There is just a main window, while all the options are down the left-hand side. This includes the scan section, update center (where your driver downloads are listed), and a settings area. 

Everything is intuitive and self-explanatory. If you need more info about a driver in the list, there is an aptly named link for it.

DriverFix Pricing

The DriverFix cost is based on the number of PCs you can install it on. Note, despite the website listing its monthly prices, you’re actually billed annually. Here’s what you get:

• Free: One PC, manual-only driver installation.
• Personal Pack: $19.95/year – One PC, full access
• Family Pack: $29.95/year – Three PCs
• Extended Pack: $39.95/year – 10 PCs

There is no DriverFix trial outside of the free software version, so you cannot directly test the automatic installation process without paying. However, if you are not satisfied with the software, you are entitled to a 60-day money-back guarantee.  

DriverFix Support

The official DriverFix website is not the best and its Help page link appears to be broken. In terms of written guidance, there are only two brief guides. 

First, there’s a page explaining how to manually update a driver. Second, there’s a fairly pointless guide on how to uninstall the software. There’s no special procedure, you do so in the way you would any Windows program.

Nonetheless, if you need to contact support staff directly, the necessary methods are there. You can send a regular email, use the email form, or try the 24/7 live chat. Its contact page also alludes to a support phone number, but I couldn’t actually find this anywhere on the site.

As part of the testing process, I sent a question to the live chat. There was an almost immediate response and there was no more than a couple of minutes between the following messages.

DriverFix Review – Verdict 

Is DriverFix safe? Most definitely.

The app is also easy to use. It can automate scanning, downloading, and installing drivers. Besides, there are just enough settings to give you control over things like start-up launching and tray minimizing. 

Although the free version requires manual installation, it is still a step above what Windows itself provides. 

As far as premium plans go, it’s somewhere in the middle. Driver Reviver charges $29.99 for just a single license. IObit Driver Booster is cheaper, however, at $22.95 a year for three licenses.  

So, is DriverFix any good? While it is certainly a basic program without any additional features, that’s not a bad thing. If you’re a regular Windows user who decides it’s time to stay on top of your driver updates, this piece of software does exactly that. Nothing more.