Elevate to Admin mode on Windows OS
During a remote session, attempting to perform admin-level operations, such as using Run as administrator or accessing any secure desktops like Windows UAC through the session, may cause screen freezing for technicians. To perform these tasks and gain admin privileges, the assist application must be elevated using the Elevate to Admin mode option.
Session Elevation Methods
Technician-Side Elevation
Elevate to Admin mode by entering the credentials manually
- Navigate to Session > Elevate to Admin Mode.
- Enter the credentials manually in the prompt as shown below and click Apply.
- The entered Admin credentials should be in one of the following formats:
<domain>\username
<machine_name>\username
username@domain
Elevate to Admin mode by using the Credential Manager
- Navigate to Session > Elevate to Admin Mode.
- Click Choose from the Credential Manager to choose the saved credentials.
- Select the appropriate credentials from the Credential Manager and click Apply.
End User Elevation
- Local Admin User Authentication
- Physical/Virtual Smartcard Admin User Authentication (in remote machine)
Things to note before elevation
The user credential provided in the Assist UAC dialog must be a member of the Windows Administrator group.
You must have access to %localppdata%, %programdata% & %programfiles (x86)% folder path with Read/Write/Execute/Modify permissions.
Local Admin User Authentication
- Once the technician console opens up, go to Session > Elevate to Admin mode.
- To elevate to Admin mode on the customer end, the Technician can click on the Prompt at the customer end where the customer can enter the credentials.
- A prompt will open on the remote device. The customer or technician can enter the remote computer's credentials. The technician will provide the local admin credential via Assist UAC.
- The technician needs to choose the pre-populated local admin names from the drop-down box or enter the local administrator credentials in the Assist UAC in the following format:
- <domain>\username
- <machine_name>\username
- username@domain
- If the proper credentials have been provided, they'll be validated against the Windows authentication mechanism, followed by the Windows UAC consent pop-up at the remote end as shown below. The end user needs to select Yes thereby approving to proceed further.
Note:
If the customer joins the session using an admin account, there's no need to provide the account credentials when the technician attempts to elevate the session. Instead, a UAC window will be shown as below for customer's approval. If the customer clicks YES, the session will automatically be initiated in the admin mode. If customer clicks NO, the session will commence in standard user mode and may need elevation if there are any admin-privileged tasks.
Smart Card
Physical smart card | Virtual smart card |
Protect private keys by using smart card media. | Protect private keys by using the TPM of the computer. |
The smart card must be configured on the remote device and inserted into the smart card reader before it can be used. | Virtual configuration must be done in the remote device via TPM. |