When a friend or colleague has an issue with their computer, it’s easy enough to help out. You can sit down, take the reins and get to the root of the problem. When you can’t be there in person, however, things quickly get difficult. Explaining exactly what to do without direct control can be incredibly frustrating. Enter Quick Assist in Windows: a tool that grants you remote access to their PC.
What is Quick Assist?
Windows Quick Assist is a tool for remote assistance in Windows 11 and Windows 10 based on Microsoft’s successful Remote Desktop Protocol. It lets a user take control of another computer without the need to touch it physically.
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Windows 11 Quick Assist is often confused with “Windows Remote Assistance”, a tool offered in earlier Windows versions that has similar functionality. Quick Assist does have some minor upgrades, however, including the ability to use the helper’s keyboard layout and a pause button for the help session.
Critically, Quick Assist is very simple to use for both users. Today, we’ll be showing you how to set up Quick Assist in Windows 11 from both ends, as well as how to use Quick Assist once you’re connected. Let’s get started:
How to Set Up Quick Assist in Windows 11 or Windows 10
One of the major benefits using Quick Assist to take control of another computer is that it’s very fast to set up. Getting connected should only take a minute.
However, as a person receiving help, you do need to make sure that you fully trust the person who is repairing your computer. There are many scammers that use Quick Assist to show you false reports of viruses. A popular technique is to use the “tree” command in CMD and pretending its output means there are viruses.
If you believe you are being scammed, you should hang up immediately and consult this FTC page for guidance.
With that important warning, let’s get on with the guide:
- Open the Microsoft Quick Assist app
To do this, press the Start button on your taskbar, then “Quick Assist” and click the top result.
- Under the “Give assistance” heading, press “Assist another person”
- Enter your Microsoft account email and press “Next”
Sadly, there’s no way around it – you do need a Microsoft account to provide remote assistance in Windows 11 via this tool.
- Enter your password and press “Sign in”
- Choose “Yes” or “No” on the “Stay signed in” screen
Choosing “Yes” will prevent you from having to sign in every time you help somebody, but can be the wrong option if you’re using somebody else’s PC.
- Press the “Copy to clipboard” text underneath your security code
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- Message your friend or family member with the code
You can paste the code by pressing Ctrl + V on your keyboard. You may also want to save it to a notepad or WordPad file in case you need it again later.
- If you’re being helped: How to connect to Microsoft Quick Assist
Press the Start button, type “Quick Assist”, and then press the top result, which should read “Quick Assist”.
Remember, you must have a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC to be able to use the Quick Assist app.
- Enter the code in the box under the “Get assistance” heading and press “Share screen”
- Press “Allow” on the “Share your screen” permission pop-up
- Choose whether the helper can take full control of your PC or just view your screen
Press “Continue” once you have chosen.
How to Use Quick Assist in Windows 11 and Windows 10
One of the major benefits using Quick Assist to take control of another computer is that it’s very fast to set up. Getting connected should only take a minute.
However, as a person receiving help, you do need to make sure that you fully trust the person who is repairing your computer. There are many scammers that use Quick Assist to show you false reports of viruses. A popular technique is to use the “tree” command in CMD and pretending its output means there are viruses.
If you believe you are being scammed, you should hang up immediately and consult this FTC page for guidance.
With that important warning, let’s get on with the guide:
- Open the Microsoft Quick Assist app
To do this, press the Start button on your taskbar, then “Quick Assist” and click the top result.
- Under the “Give assistance” heading, press “Assist another person”
- Enter your Microsoft account email and press “Next”
Sadly, there’s no way around it – you do need a Microsoft account to provide remote assistance in Windows 11 via this tool.
- Enter your password and press “Sign in”
- Choose “Yes” or “No” on the “Stay signed in” screen
Choosing “Yes” will prevent you from having to sign in every time you help somebody, but can be the wrong option if you’re using somebody else’s PC.
- Press the “Copy to clipboard” text underneath your security code
- Wait for the “Copied to Clipboard” screen
- Message your friend or family member with the code
You can paste the code by pressing Ctrl + V on your keyboard. You may also want to save it to a notepad or WordPad file in case you need it again later.
- If you’re being helped: How to connect to Microsoft Quick Assist
Press the Start button, type “Quick Assist”, and then press the top result, which should read “Quick Assist”.
Remember, you must have a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC to be able to use the Quick Assist app.
- Enter the code in the box under the “Get assistance” heading and press “Share screen”
- Press “Allow” on the “Share your screen” permission pop-up
- Choose whether the helper can take full control of your PC or just view your screen
Press “Continue” once you have chosen.
How to Use Quick Assist in Windows 11 and Windows 10
Once you, the helper, have connected to a user’s PC, you’ll have several tools and options at your disposal, you can follow the steps below to learn how to use its features:
- The helper will be presented with this Remote Assist UI
- The person being helped with see a box reading “Screen sharing on”
- Annotate on the screen for both parties with the pencil button
This allows the helper to circle what the person in need of assistance should press or explain their actions.
- Press the form icon to open Task Manager
This button is useful because pressing the usual shortcut will likely just open Task Manager on your own PC.
- Press the circular arrow to restart the computer you’re controlling
It’s important that you remember that this button restarts the PC rather than refreshes the connection. Thankfully, the Quick Assist connection will automatically re-open once the restart is complete, so you won’t lose too much time if you do press is accidentally.
- Press the pause or stop button to pause or stop the connection
- To stop receiving assistance, press the “X” or pause icon in the Quick Assist pop-up
Extra: How to Use DISM and SFC Scannow to fix Windows problems
If you’re providing remote assistance in Windows 11, you may want to provide yourself with the DISM and SFC Scannow tools via our dedicated guide.
Another useful tool in a technician’s arsenal is the ability to perform a clean boot in Windows 11 or Windows 10. Our clean boot guide will show you how to eliminate potential drivers and software conflicts and find out which service is causing an issue.
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