What a remote support session actually looks like, from the first message to the last click
Remote support has a trust problem, and it is a fair one. The words “let me connect to your computer” are the same words a scammer uses, and the technology is the same too. So before anything else, here is what a session with us actually looks like, step by step, so you can judge it for yourself.
Before the session: the first opinion
It starts the same way every job does. You tell us the fault, in your own words, and we tell you what it sounds like and whether a link can fix it. That first opinion is free. A good share of the problems people describe never need anyone at the door: a machine crawling, a program that will not open, email that has stopped arriving, a printer that says it is offline, a page that will not close, a sign-in that keeps failing, an update that loops. Those live in software, settings and accounts, and software can be reached over a link.
What cannot be reached is anything physical. A dead screen, a battery, a charging port, a drive that clicks, a laptop that will not turn on at all. If that is what your description sounds like, we say so, and we talk about a visit instead. Nobody honest will fix a cracked screen down a link.
If a session is the right answer, you get one fixed price for it before we connect. It does not change however long the session runs. You decide with the real number in front of you.
Starting the session: you approve it
A session is something you start, on a machine you are sitting at. Our connect page has the short steps for a Windows laptop or PC, a Mac, an Android phone or tablet, and an iPhone or iPad, and we talk you through them if you want. The connection runs through our own server in the EU, not through a shared public service, and it is a one-time link: it works for this session and no other.
Nothing happens until you approve it at your end. If you change your mind at that point, nothing has happened.
During the session: you watch everything
Once connected, you see every click we make, on your own screen, as we make it. We talk as we go, usually on the phone or in the chat, so you know what we are doing and why. If something needs a password, you type it; we do not need to know it and we do not ask for it. If we need to restart the machine, we say so, and the session resumes only when you let it.
You can end the session at any moment with one click. You do not have to explain why.
On an Android phone or tablet, the same applies with one difference: each thing we do needs your permission at that step, which is how Android works and is a good thing. On an iPhone or iPad, Apple does not allow remote control at all, so a session there is us seeing your screen and talking you through each tap. It is slower and we say so before you decide.
Ending the session: nothing stays behind
When the job is done, the session ends and the connection is gone. There is no way back in afterwards without a new session that you approve. Nothing is left installed that watches the machine, and nothing is left running.
We tell you what we found and what we did, in plain words, and if there is anything you should change (a password that was weak, a backup that was not running) we say that too.
What it costs, and what happens if it does not work
One fixed price per session, agreed before we connect, that does not change with the clock. If the session cannot fix the fault it was for, we say so plainly and tell you what it needs. If you are in the area we visit, we can come to you or collect the machine, and the session fee is credited in full against that visit, so one fault is never paid for twice. Further afield, the session fee is refunded in full.
The one rule that keeps you safe
Everything above describes a session you arranged, after you contacted us. That is the whole of the safety rule, and it is worth saying in one line:
Only ever let somebody connect to your machine when you contacted them, never when they contacted you.
We never ring anyone out of the blue about a problem with their computer. Neither does Microsoft, neither does your bank, neither does your broadband provider. A pop-up with a phone number on it is not a message from your computer; it is an advert dressed as a warning. If somebody rings you, or a page tells you to ring them, and asks to connect, the answer is no, and the next step is to hang up or close the browser.
If you have already let somebody like that connect, do not feel foolish, it is designed to work on careful people. Switch the machine off, do not pay anything they ask for, ring your bank if any payment was made, and then get in touch. Cleaning up after that kind of call is a job we do, and it starts, like every job, with the free first opinion.
When a session is the right answer
If your fault lives in software, if the machine turns on and gets online, and if you would rather it was sorted today from your own chair than carried anywhere, a session is usually the right answer. Tell us what it is doing. We will tell you whether a link can fix it, what the session would cost, and how to start it when you are ready.
Questions people ask
Is remote support safe? You can see my screen.
You can see it too, the whole time. The session runs on your machine, you approve it before it starts, you watch every click, and you end it the moment you want to with one click. Once it ends there is no way back in without a new session you approve. It runs through our own server in the EU, not a shared public service. The risk with remote access is not the technology, it is who you let in, which is why the one rule on this page is about who contacted whom.
What can be fixed over a link?
Anything that lives in software, settings or an account: a machine running slowly, a program that will not open, email that has stopped, a printer that has gone offline, a scare page that will not close, a sign-in that will not sign in, an update loop, a new device that needs setting up. Anything physical, a dead screen, a battery, a port, a drive making a noise, needs the machine in front of us, and we say so before we connect rather than after.
Can you fix a phone or tablet remotely?
An Android phone or tablet, yes: with your permission at each step we can work on the screen while you watch. On an iPhone or iPad, Apple does not allow remote control, so we see your screen and talk you through each step. That is slower, and we say so honestly before you decide.
What does a remote session cost?
One fixed price for the session, agreed before we connect, and it does not change however long the session runs. There is no price list, because closing a scare page and untangling a set-up across three devices are not the same job. Whether a link can fix your fault is part of the free first opinion, so you decide with the real number in front of you.
What if the session does not fix it?
Then we say so plainly and tell you what it needs. If you are in the area we visit, we can come to you or collect the machine, and the session fee is credited in full against that visit, so you never pay twice for one fault. Further afield, the session fee is refunded in full.
Someone rang me saying my computer has a problem and asked to connect. Is that you?
No. We never ring anyone out of the blue about a problem with their computer, and nor does Microsoft, your bank or your broadband provider. Hang up. If you have already let somebody connect, switch the machine off, do not pay anything, and get in touch; cleaning up after that kind of call is a job we do, and there is no shame in it.
A free first opinion
Not sure what your machine needs? Ask.
Tell us the fault and you get a first opinion, free: what it sounds like, whether it is worth doing, and what it is likely to cost. A photo of the screen or the machine helps. A £50 call-out if we come out, a fixed quote before any work, and no fix, no fee on the repair.
We do this in person across Leeds, West Yorkshire, Harrogate, Knaresborough and York, day or night, Sunday to Friday.
Not near Leeds? If it is a software, settings or account problem, we can often fix it over a secure remote link, wherever you are in the UK. Remote support.