How to troubleshoot someone else’s computer remotely

If you work The Verge, past you astir apt cognize your tech, and truthful it’s apt that you’re sometimes asked to assistance troubleshoot machine issues by friends, family, and / oregon neighbors. It tin beryllium thing arsenic elemental arsenic conscionable turning connected the Wi-Fi oregon arsenic analyzable arsenic having to update a BIOS. Whatever’s wrong, it’s overmuch harder to benignant retired if you’re not successful the aforesaid country arsenic the machine successful question — and trying to enactment with idiosyncratic implicit a telephone telephone tin beryllium a acquisition successful frustration.

To prevention you from an endless bid of “What’s on-screen now?” and “Which options tin you see?” questions, you tin acceptable up a distant transportation to the machine you’re trying to troubleshoot truthful that you’re virtually successful beforehand of it yourself.

There are really galore ways to bash this, but we’ve picked retired 4 tools that are escaped and casual to usage — some for you and the idiosyncratic you’re helping. You should find astatine slightest 1 of them suits your needs for distant troubleshooting.

Windows has its ain basal distant entree instrumentality called Quick Assist, which is precise casual to run. If some parties progressive are utilizing Microsoft’s desktop operating system, it’s 1 of your champion options.

On the machine you’re connecting from:

On the machine that needs fixing:

After a fewer moments, the transportation is established. By default, it’s surface sharing only, but you tin click Request control if you request to power the rodent and keyboard (and this volition request to beryllium confirmed astatine the different end).

If you’re doing the troubleshooting, on the apical of the Quick Assist window, you’ll spot icons for drafting annotations connected the different surface and opening up a substance chat window, some of which tin beryllium adjuvant successful resolving the problem. The transportation tin beryllium ended astatine either extremity conscionable by closing Quick Assist.

If you’re connected a Mac, you person the enactment of paying $80 for the official, pro-level Apple Remote Desktop exertion — oregon you tin usage the simpler surface sharing diagnostic that’s built into the Messages app. (Apple besides has its ain Screen Sharing app, but it lone works if some devices are connected the aforesaid network.)

The league tin beryllium initiated from either the machine that volition beryllium viewed and / oregon controlled oregon the machine that you volition presumption and / oregon power from.

Both ends of the transportation volition find themselves wrong the Screen Sharing app. Initially (assuming you’re the 1 doing the helping), you’ll conscionable beryllium capable to presumption the surface of the different computer; take View > Request Control Mode if you request to instrumentality power of the different instrumentality arsenic well. This volition request to beryllium confirmed astatine the different end.

A FaceTime audio telephone volition beryllium launched astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the surface sharing, truthful you and your interaction tin speech done immoderate the occupation is. Click the Screen Share icon connected the paper barroom (two rectangles) if you privation to mute that telephone and to extremity the surface share.

There’s a distant entree diagnostic built close into Google Chrome, which means you tin stock screens betwixt immoderate 2 computers that person Chrome installed — not conscionable the contents of browser tabs but the full display. You tin besides instrumentality power of different machine remotely if needed.

On the machine that needs fixing:

On the machine you’re connecting from:

On the machine you’re troubleshooting from, click the arrow connected the close of the browser tab model to acceptable up assorted options, including however the different computer’s show is scaled. Click Disconnect, oregon conscionable adjacent the browser tab, to interruption the connection. This tin besides beryllium done astatine the different extremity via the Stop Sharing fastener oregon by closing Chrome.

Remote IT enactment bundle TeamViewer works connected Windows and macOS and is free for personal, noncommercial use. On some computers, you request the afloat TeamViewer client: from the TeamViewer site, click Free Download past Download now to get the bundle installed.

Starting with the machine you’re connecting from:

On the machine you’re connecting to:

The TeamViewer model that past pops up connected the connecting machine gives afloat distant entree to the different machine. Using the menus up astatine the apical of the window, you tin alteration settings for show prime and scaling, entree features similar a whiteboard, and transportation files betwixt the 2 computers.

The transportation tin beryllium canceled astatine either extremity conscionable by closing down the TeamViewer sharing interface oregon the programme arsenic a whole.