most reliable remote support

[pcpete]

I had no idea windows 10 had one built in. I would assume it would work pretty smoothly. Is there any downside to using it?

 

[Sky-Knight]

My only complaint is that it uses a PERSONAL Microsoft account, instead of my PROFESSIONAL M365 login. But otherwise, yeah, it works great.

 

[SAFCasper]

Yep the MS account requirement puts people off.

It's also quite basic in features.
- No unattended access
- No file transfer
- No video recording
- Can't send/receive your clipboard
- Can't elevate session to admin (UAC)
- Not sure it handles multiple monitors well
+ Various other "added features" that something like TeamViewer, LogMein etc would give.

Essentially it lets you see their screen and control their KB & Mouse. Nothing more... but a lot of the time that's all you need for a quick fix.


PS.
It's the person giving assistance that needs a MS account. The end user just has to open the app and type in a 6 digit code. Still annoying because I don't want my personal account on my work computer.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Note, the people receiving support do not need to login to Quick Assist. Only the people providing support do.

And, I could have sworn I've copy / pasted through it...

 

[SAFCasper]

And, I could have sworn I've copy / pasted through it...

It's not often I use QuickAssist so maybe they added that feature.

I know in the past I had to paste into the chat window then copy from there

 

[Sky-Knight]

It's not often I use QuickAssist so maybe they added that feature.

I know in the past I had to paste into the chat window then copy from there

I think they've added some recording functionality too... I'll have to look next time I fire it up. I don't use it very often, but when I need it I'm glad it's there.

 

[fincoder]

I don't want my personal account on my work computer.

It doesn't need to be a personal account, as far as I know, and it doesn't need to be associated with the Windows login. I actually do use a personal account that I created just for this purpose, one with a name that identifies me and my business. The end user must agree to allow "Joe B." to access, only giving first name and last initial, so I have an account with first name set to "me-company surname".

 

[fincoder]

I'll have to look next time I fire it up.

These are the only options available in a Quick Assist session:

 

[pcpete]

since typing "quick" into the search and giving us a number is so easy, why even have someone install teamviewer when we can do it so much easier. I think this will be our go to method to get teamviewer installed and connected to us

 

[kwest]

Simple help looks Interesting. Question. After the one time purchase they do updates. Have you paid again for updates after the first year? We have teamviewer corporate for free with our msp service that we can use with non msp clients but that is going to end this year so I need to find a solution. Teamviewer is the best but most expensive. We have used splashtop in the past which works but not as smooth. Simple help might be out solution.
Thanks in advance for any info you can give.

 

[Sky-Knight]

These are the only options available in a Quick Assist session:
View attachment 12193

Stupid memory being stupid again I guess. Though after poking at a test session I setup with my one equipment I remembered that yes... I can copy / paste but the remote / local clipboards aren't integrated. Since I have full control, I just stuff what I need into the "instruction channel", and then click on the icon at the top, and click the copy button there to get whatever it is into the remote clipboard.

It's not the most elegant process, but it works.

 

[VISA MC]

We have an old screen connect license and give about $600 a year for 3 concurrent sessions. It’s self hosted, originally hosted on a windows 7 machine in my home office some 8 years ago. Now runs on a VPS under our control. Has a group meeting environment built in, remote and unattended access. We went with them because it’s 100% customizable.

the fav icon, color of the tool bar, name of the program etc. is all branded to match our colors. Also they can join with a code or an email link. Very handy.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

For me...it's about the easiest one you can steer an unmanaged end user to..and have them click on something and you're in.
We use SOS Splashtop for our one-off remotes.
And with our RMM, Syncro, aside from their built in remote which is "so-so"...they integrate with Splashtop Business. Which we use for servers, or clients rigs we regularly remote to, and we resell it to clients.

Good performance and reasonable pricing...and good security features.

 

[Haole Boy]

I've been using Instant Housecall. I only have residential clients, I send them an email with the link to install it, and have been able to talk them through the install. On some customers the connections drops regularly, but I think that is just that particular customer's internet service.

Never knew about Quick Assist. It looks interesting for those that can't figure out where to click on the download.

I have a couple of customers who already have Team Viewer on their systems for their other IT folks. I like it as it's very fast compared to IH, but that could also be the internet speed of those customers. But TV is too pricey for me to convert all my customers to it.

Screen Connect was a nightmare trying to get installed via directing a non-technical user (what's a browser?) over the phone. I forget what the requirements were, but it was not unusual for it to take 20 minutes to talk the user through all the steps. Obviously, not a big deal if you can install the client yourself, but that was not how it worked for me.

 

[pcpete]

so far TeamViewer has been super smooth. The time saved and experience compared to out last software is worth the extra $120/month for the three of us.

 

[frase]

$120 a month damn, I use Splashtop SOS - cost is $US 199.00 P/A $AUS278.75

 

[pcpete]

$120 a month damn

That is just the difference, the cost for the Corp license is $199/month

 

[SAFCasper]

$120 a month damn, I use Splashtop SOS - cost is $US 199.00 P/A $AUS278.75

Not comparing apples to apples here though.

Splashtop SOS is on-demand only and that $199/year is for a single technician.

Teamviewer Corp also includes unattended access up to 500 devices and is valid for 3x technicians.

A fair comparison would be 3x Splashtop SOS Unlimited = $1,197 per year ($99.75 month)


I would also recommend @pcpete to put a little pressure on TeamViewer at renewal. Or threaten to leave with comparative quotes from Splashtop/ConnectWise. Not sure I can discuss pricing here but trust me... our latest renewal quote was significantly under what they advertise on the website.

 

[frase]

Not comparing apples to apples here though.

Splashtop SOS is on-demand only and that $199/year is for a single technician.

Teamviewer Corp also includes unattended access up to 500 devices and is valid for 3x technicians.

A fair comparison would be 3x Splashtop SOS Unlimited = $1,197 per year ($99.75 month)


I would also recommend @pcpete to put a little pressure on TeamViewer at renewal. Or threaten to leave with comparative quotes from Splashtop/ConnectWise. Not sure I can discuss pricing here but trust me... our latest renewal quote was significantly under what they advertise on the website.

Yes I understand that, though for myself that is what I use sorry.

 

[Haole Boy]

You can email a link to your ScreenConnect client or support page just as easily as you can with Instant Housecall or any other remote support system, and this is usually much easier than getting a user to go to a specific Web page any other way.

I wonder how many people end up at www.teenviewer.com and if there's any way to monetize that?

It wasn't the link to Screen Connect, it was the prereqs. Either .net or java. I refused to install Java and installing .net was a PITA with a non techie user.