How to Use Windows Quick Assist With Someone You Trust

When a Windows setting is hard to describe, it can be easier to let someone you trust look at the screen. Quick Assist lets another person see your PC, and they can request control only after you have agreed to share the screen. That makes it useful for help you arranged yourself. It does not prove that the person who sent you a code is trustworthy.

The safest rule is simple: open Quick Assist because you contacted a known helper, not because a caller, message or browser warning told you to. The six-digit code joins two Quick Assist sessions; it is not an identity check.

This walkthrough follows Microsoft's published Quick Assist guidance for Windows 10 and Windows 11. That page was last updated on 30 September 2025; labels can vary slightly with the app version.

Before you start

Arrange the help through a channel you already trust. Call a family member using a number saved in your phone, or contact your organisation's IT team using its usual help route. If someone unexpectedly calls, texts or emails to say your PC has a problem, do not give them a code. The US Federal Trade Commission's tech-support scam guidance says legitimate technology companies do not contact people unexpectedly to report a computer problem, and real security warnings do not ask you to call a number.

Prepare the screen. Save your work and close anything you would not want the helper to see, including email, private chats, password managers and banking pages. Quick Assist shares the screen you approve. If you need to enter a password or payment detail, end the session and do it yourself before reconnecting.

Check whose PC it is. On a work or school device, ask your IT team first. An organisation can block Microsoft Store installs or require a different support tool.

Start a Quick Assist session

1. Both people open Quick Assist. Search for it from Start. If it is not installed, use Microsoft Store to install the Quick Assist app. If the device is managed by work or school and the Store is unavailable, contact IT rather than installing a different remote-access app.
2. The helper selects Help someone. Quick Assist may ask them to choose or sign in to a Microsoft account, then creates a time-limited six-digit security code. Have the helper read it to you on the call you arranged, or send it through a private conversation you recognise. Do not post it publicly or give it to an unexpected caller.
3. On your PC, enter the code in the field under Get help and select Submit. Quick Assist asks whether to allow the connection and share your screen. Check that this is the person you expected, then select Allow only if you want to begin sharing.
4. Stay with the session. Explain the problem and ask the helper to describe each change before making it. They can request full control separately. You can decline that request and continue with spoken directions if that is enough.

The name shown for a helper is abbreviated to a first name and last initial, according to Microsoft's Quick Assist documentation . Treat it as a small clue, not proof of identity. Confirm who you are speaking with using the contact channel you already trust.

Decide whether to allow control

Screen sharing lets someone see what is on your display. Full control also lets them use the mouse and keyboard on your PC. Approve control only when you understand what the helper plans to do and can watch while they do it. If they only need to point out a setting, keep control yourself.

Microsoft's Quick Assist documentation says a helper has the same permissions as the person sharing the PC. Some actions can also bring up a Windows User Account Control prompt that asks you to respond. Read the prompt and decide for yourself. If you do not understand what it is asking, decline it and end the session.

Never read a password, one-time sign-in code or recovery code to a helper. If you need to sign in to an account, disconnect first and complete the sign-in yourself. A genuine support session should not require you to reveal your credentials.

End the session when the task is done

Disconnect from Quick Assist when the help is finished. Also disconnect immediately if the other person asks for access beyond what you agreed to, pressures you to act quickly, wants you to open a financial account, or asks for credentials. Microsoft advises people to disconnect if they suspect the helper is malicious.

Ending the session stops that remote connection; it does not undo changes already made. If you shared a password or payment information, use another trusted device to secure the affected account and contact your bank or organisation's IT team as appropriate. The FTC's tech-support scam guide explains how to respond if you gave a scammer access to your computer.

Quick Assist is a practical way to get hands-on help when you started the conversation, recognise the person connecting and can say no to extra control. If any of those conditions stops being true, disconnect and contact support through a route you trust.

Sources and further reading

• Microsoft Learn — Use Quick Assist to help users (last updated 30 September 2025): session codes, consent, permissions, privacy and safety guidance.
• US Federal Trade Commission — How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams (September 2025): warning signs and steps to take after a tech-support scam.