When a Windows 11 problem beats you, the most direct help is a person who can see your screen. Quick Assist is the app Microsoft builds for that. It lets a friend, a relative, or a Microsoft support agent connect to your PC over a remote link, watch what you see, and take control if you allow it.
ZDNET’s writer, the family’s go-to fixer, calls it the first choice for support visits that happen at a distance. The writer rates it easier to use than Microsoft’s Remote Desktop.
Before you start
Both people need Windows 10 or Windows 11. If either machine runs an older version, ZDNET says you will need Remote Desktop or another remote control program instead. ZDNET also says each of you needs a Microsoft account, such as a Microsoft 365, Outlook, or Hotmail address.
Quick Assist now installs from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft’s instructions are to open Start, then All apps, then Microsoft Store, search for Quick Assist, and select Get or Install. A PC run by an employer or a school may block the download, in which case Microsoft points you to your IT team.
To open the app, type Quick Assist into the Start menu, or press Ctrl + Windows logo key + Q.
ZDNET’s advice is to set up a phone call first, so the two of you can talk through the whole session.
How to get help from someone you trust
- Ask your helper to open Quick Assist and select Help someone. The app shows them a 6-digit code.
- Your helper reads or sends you the code.
- On your PC, type it into the Code from assistant box and select Submit.
- Select Allow to start sharing your screen.
From there, your helper sees your screen but you still drive the mouse. That is the default, ZDNET explains, until the helper asks for control. If they select Request control, you get a prompt and can select Allow. You can take control back at any time with Cancel control. When the job is done, select Leave.
What the helper can do on your screen
Quick Assist gives the helper tools beyond control of the mouse. Microsoft lists a laser pointer, an annotation tool, and a chat box for typed messages.
ZDNET walks through the rest of the toolbar:
- Laser pointer and Annotation let the helper draw on your screen, in a colour they choose, to show you where to click.
- Chat opens a text window on both screens.
- Actual size and Fit to screen switch between two views of the remote display.
- Pause stops the session for a break. The person being helped selects Resume to carry on.
- Restart & reconnect reboots the remote PC. Once the person reopens Quick Assist, the session picks up again without a new code.
Help straight from Microsoft
You do not need a friend to use Quick Assist. Microsoft also runs a web version, which connects your PC to a Microsoft support agent over a remote link. The agent gives you a security code to enter, much as a friend would.
The scam to watch for
Quick Assist hands a stranger your screen, and scammers know it. Microsoft warns that tech support scams use scare tactics to sell people support they do not need.
Its rule is short. Only let a helper connect if you started the contact yourself by reaching Microsoft Support directly. A caller who rings you out of the blue and asks for a Quick Assist code fails that test. If you or someone you know has been caught, Microsoft runs a form for reporting tech support scams.
Microsoft’s own advice for friends and family is the same in gentler terms. The helper can see your screen and, if you let them, control your PC, so use Quick Assist only with people you trust.
