Introduction
Deploying the Remote Help application in Microsoft Intune can be approached in several ways, and choosing the right method can make a huge difference in efficiency and security. If you have access to Microsoft’s Enterprise Application Management feature or a third-party solution like Patch My PC, you might opt for those to streamline packaging and updates. But what if you need to package it yourself?
In this blog, I took a hands-on approach in my test tenant, walking through the Win32App packaging process step by step. Along the way, I encountered some error messages and key considerations that are worth documenting—so you don’t have to go through the same trial and error!
One takeaway: If you’re packaging Remote Help as a Win32App, remember to refresh the package binaries every three months. While the app should update automatically, deploying an outdated version as the initial install isn’t ideal—both from a security standpoint and for ensuring seamless functionality.
Let’s dive into the details and make sure your Remote Help deployment is rock solid! 🚀
General Information
In this section is some of the information I retrieved from Microsoft on where to get the installer and where to find the source documentation.
Source Binaries:
Use the following link to download the latest binaries when packaging the application.
https://aka.ms/downloadremotehelp
Source Documentation:
Microsoft provides some documentation for the packaging of the application. We will use this as our guide to package this application.
Using Remote Help on Windows to assist authenticated users. – Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn
Test The Manual Install Routine
Accept the license terms then click Install.
An error message may appear indicating Setup Failed, in the description “This program is blocked by group policy”. Click log file to discover more information.
The installer did not elevate in the log, which is important for people manually installing the application.
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]i299: Plan complete, result: 0x0
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]i300: Apply begin
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]i010: Launching elevated engine process.
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]e000: Error 0x800704ec: Failed to launch elevated child process: C:\Users\KEVINK~1\AppData\Local\Temp\{387DF745-235C-448D-A7D1-E54C19C9A496}\.be\RemoteHelpInstaller.exe
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]e000: Error 0x800704ec: Failed to elevate.
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]e000: Error 0x800704ec: Failed to actually elevate.
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]e000: Error 0x800704ec: Failed to elevate.
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:08]i000: Unsetting variable ‘WixStdBARestartRequired’
[0964:0D3C][2025-03-08T10:20:09]i399: Apply complete, result: 0x800704ec, restart: None, ba requested restart: No
[0964:2724][2025-03-08T10:20:09]i052: Condition ‘WixBundleAction = 2’ evaluates to false.
[0964:2724][2025-03-08T10:20:09]i052: Condition ‘WixBundleAction = 3’ evaluates to false.
[0964:2724][2025-03-08T10:20:09]i052: Condition ‘WixBundleAction = 5’ evaluates to false.
[0964:2724][2025-03-08T10:20:09]i052: Condition ‘WixBundleAction = 7’ evaluates to false.
[0964:2724][2025-03-08T10:20:09]i052: Condition ‘WixStdBARestartRequired’ evaluates to false.
When I try to explicitly elevate the Remote Help installer, the system blocks its execution. This is likely because of a policy on a device, which is a good reminder. Try not to package on highly secured systems, as the security settings can complicate the process of installing and configuring the software. Always add security later in the process.
You can use commands like whoami to verify the account that is logged in, but more importantly, you can try opening a command prompt as an administrator, and you will get the same error so I can’t use a command prompt to circumvent the other prompt.
If you have administrator rights and no blocking policies, when you launch the installer and agree to the license terms, you’ll get a UAC prompt. Click Yes to continue.
When the installation is complete, click Launch.
Once open, you can use your company credentials to log in.
If the feature has not been enabled in the Intune console, you will see the “This app is not available for your organization” error.
To fix this, ensure the Remote Help feature is enabled under the Tenant Administration section of the Intune console. Specifically, click Settings to view the current state, then click Configure.
First enable remote help then select not allowed for helping unenrolled devices. We will leave disable chat as no and click Save.
Remote help will then show as Enabled.
The feature will enable quickly, so you can return to the Remote Help application and click Accept to proceed further in the first launch experience.
At this point, the Remote Help application has been installed and tested.
Detection Method
Microsoft recommends doing a file-based detection method. This can be done by using the C: Program FilesRemote Help folder and specifically using RemoteHelp.exe. Make sure the detection method checks for the specified file version or greater later.
Microsoft suggests searching for version 10.0.2247.1000, but that is a very old version of the app. I would go through the trouble of manually installing and verifying the base version you will deploy to your devices.
Make an Unattended Install.bat
It isn’t necessary to build an install script for this application, but the application’s documentation does point out this installation string.
remotehelpinstaller.exe /quiet acceptTerms=1
In the install.bat file this can be referenced as.
%~DP0remotehelpinstaller.exe /quiet acceptTerms=1
Make an Unattended Uninstall.bat
The documentation also outlines the uninstall routine so if you need to build a script the uninstall would be:
remotehelpinstaller.exe /uninstall /quiet acceptTerms=1
In an uninstall.bat file the command would be:
%~DP0remotehelpinstaller.exe /uninstall /quiet acceptTerms=1
Make The .Intunewin Package
Download the content prep tool from Github.
Select the IntuneWinAppUtil.exe.
In the top left corner click the download icon.
Copy the IntuneWinAppUtil.exe to the C:\temp\RemoteHelp-V10.0.2247.1000-R1 folder. Create a text file with notes for the detection method for the application and add an icon file in png format for Intune.
Additionally, make a RemoteHelp subfolder and place the following files there.
- Install.bat
- Uninstall.bat
- RemoteHelpInstall.exe
Using an elevated command prompt navigate to the C:\temp\RemoteHelp-V10.0.2247.1000-R1 folder and run the IntuneWinAppUtil.exe with no arguments. At the first prompt specify the RemoteHelp subfolder in the current directory.
For the install file, specify the install.bat file.
Specify the output folder as c:\temp.
Select N for no catalog file and press return.
You will get a success message when the process is done.
Creating the Intune Application
In the Intune console, select Apps, Windows apps, and Create.
Select Windows app (Win32) for the application type, then press Select.
Click Select app package file.
Select the file folder to add the .intunewin file you created in the C:\temp\RemoteHelp-V10.0.2247.1000-R1 folder.
Click OK to continue.
Enter the application name, describe it, and fill out the Publisher field. Also, fill out the application version field and assign the Category of Computer management to the application.
Feature the application in the company portal, then beside Logo, click Select image.
Select the folder icon.
I grabbed this icon earlier using https://images.google.com, but you can scroll to the end of this article and use the file on my GitHub. Select the icon, then open it.
Click OK.
Click Next.
Enter the install.bat, and the uninstall.bat for the Install command and Uninstall command, then click Next.
Make the operating system architecture 64-bit and select Windows 10 22H2 as the minimum operating system. Click Next to continue.
To create the detection method for the Rules format, choose Manually configure detection rules. Click + Add to add a detection rule.
You can build out this rule using the notes in your DetectionMethod.txt file.
Configure a Rule type of File and set the path to C:\Program Files\Remote Help. Use the file RemoteHelp.exe as part of the rule. Change the Detection method to String then the Operator to Greater than or equal to and use the version 10.3.10130.1000. Click OK when complete.
Click Next.
Click Next.
Click Next.
In the assignments page I’ll look for the Available for enrolled devices section then click + Add group.
Search for a group. In this case, I created a security group with a test user ahead of time. Once I find the group, I’ll select the checkbox beside it, and it will appear to the right. Click select to continue.
Click Next.
Click Create.
Make sure to wait as the application needs to be uploaded.
When the upload has completed the application will be created and made available.
Depending on the package size, it could take a while to become available in Intune. Generally, normal-sized Win32 packages will be available in 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the last device sync. Intune, by default, could take 8 hours to sync without user activity.
Conclusion
As you can see, the packaging process is fairly straightforward, but make sure to enable the feature ahead of time for the tenant to avoid confusion when testing the Remote Help feature. The initial state of the packaging machine was not desirable, and packaging was blocked temporarily, but my general recommendation is to have a machine in workgroup mode for repackaging most applications.
If you need to join the device to Entra or Active Directory, be aware of the implications of the security policies that might be in place. Generally, if you want to package an application first successfully, then look at the different testing scenarios, and towards the end-user testing phase of the process, you can focus more on testing under actual conditions where the application might not work with production device configurations.
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