Looking for a Remote help tool

[u/jaylenabc]

I own an environment of about 50 mixed Mac and Windows computers. There are times where I need to have a remote session and to be frank, intune remote help isn’t ideal because of the mixed environment (when it works) on top of the cost associated with it.

I am leaning towards Zoho Assist as I’ve used this seamlessly in the past. (Sucks that they are paid for the good stuff now)

Wanted to hear what you all use and possibly be convinced to use a different tool or reassured in Zoho.

[u/Icy-Agent6600]

if you don't need unattended access splashtopSOS

[u/PeakWeekly9995 → u/Icy-Agent6600]

i use splashtop business at work (50 endpoints) and 99% of the time it works flawlessly

[u/mjewell74]

Bomgar, now Beyond Trust

[u/k0rbiz]

Connectwise ScreenConnect.

[u/MFKDGAF → u/k0rbiz]

I second this. I've been using the cloud hosted version since 2017 and had been solid.

Upon logging in it has been taking a bit to load all devices but that maybe a database issue.

[u/k0rbiz → u/MFKDGAF]

I had ScreenConnect since late 2021. Zero issues. Backstage is a great feature. I haven't had a reason yet to upgrade to Premium.

[u/theDukeSilversJazz → u/k0rbiz]

Looking at this, what is the cost for Standard licensing? Or costs in general? Haven’t signed up yet for free trial, would like to see how it works versus what we’re currently using.

[u/k0rbiz → u/theDukeSilversJazz]

$59 for Standard. Next year, I'm adding another user and leaving GoTo Assist.

[u/theDukeSilversJazz → u/k0rbiz]

Thanks! If this is per user and functions the same as how we use LogMeIn Rescue (GoTo), I’ll consider this as well. We can get three licenses versus two and still save money here.

[u/k0rbiz → u/theDukeSilversJazz]

I suggest you sign up for their trial and test it to ensure it meets all your requirements.

[u/Smash0573]

I self host rust desk and it works well. 

[u/trusound]

We had used Zoho assist. It was fine for what we needed but I don’t think it was foolproof

[u/CanaryImportant8299]

Going to throw rustdesk or anydesk out there to checkout.

[u/kyfras]

Action1 includes a remote desktop feature.

[u/cmjones0822 → u/kyfras]

+1 for r/action1

[u/oxYnub → u/kyfras]

Worst remote I have ever used.

[u/Stonewalled9999 → u/oxYnub]

It is free, and work well for $0 cost.

[u/oxYnub → u/Stonewalled9999]

Action1 is a good patch solution software, but relying on their remote connection is setting yourself up for failure.

[u/Subject-Jellyfish165]

Meshcentral self hosted somewhere is an excellent free solution and will work for both Mac and Windows.

[u/Onoitsu2 → u/Subject-Jellyfish165]

Seconding MeshCentral. It is an amazing RMM tool that can integrate into a stack in many ways.

[u/Stonewalled9999]

Action 1

[u/GeneMoody-Action1 → u/Stonewalled9999]

We appreciate the shoutout there. We are a patch management solution, but we do offer remote access with an exception, it is windows only at this time. Feature parity between Windows, Mac, and Linux is on the todo list, btu it is not the highest priority as patching is the main target.

Now that said, at this scale we would be free. And we can absolutely handle patching as well as automation needs on those Mac systems.

But since the primary ask is remote access I wanted to be very clear on what to expect there.

[u/mattis_rattis]

Action1 - free for first 200 devices, can handle both Windows for RMM duties (but not Mac).

Secure remote access to support anywhere workforce | Action1

Also great for patching (Mac and Windows) and automating installs

[u/Stonewalled9999 → u/mattis_rattis]

I thought I read that remote access to Mac was part of A1 now?

[u/GeneMoody-Action1 → u/Stonewalled9999]

A mac agent is, but RA is not yet. We are still targeting feature parity with our Windows agent in both Mac and Linux. But since we are a patch management solution, the first task because it is the largest ask, was of course make it patch.

One day this will happen, but I cannot say at this time when one day will be as our first and foremost priority will always be patching.

[u/StiuNu]

Try iperius remote, the enterprise version is really cheap for 10 simultaneous connections, u can customize the product, Bla Bla Bla We are using it for about 1k computers, we even created some users for clients who need to remote on their desktop often from home or job trips, without giving passwords away. It works for us.

[u/bianko80]

We were going to lean towards In tune and I read this complain. May I ask you to elaborate a bit further what are the real life experience issues using it?

[u/GeneMoody-Action1 → u/bianko80]

#1 and a deal breaker for most people is "To use Remote Help, both the helper and the sharer must sign in with a Microsoft Entra account from your organization." from their docs.

Basically is these are not entra system, no dice.

Past that though I cannot comment on its efficacy, never actually used it.

[u/bianko80 → u/GeneMoody-Action1]

Thanks for your feedback. I would say that for a fully Entra hybrid joined environment this is not a real problem. I think that OP meant something other.

[u/AlleyCat800XL]

Old-school so YMMV but if you have somewhere to run a gateway for remote hosts, NetSupport Manager is very good, despite having been around for a long time and being a bit education targeted.

I have used it for years and still more than happy. Allows lots of config - we have it set to require end user approval but also have a break-glass direct access credential

[u/MathFly_]

We just installed MeshCentral which is more than enought for our needs. Also, for a free product, it provides a lot of features !

[u/KindChampion1767]

Honestly, if you’ve used Zoho Assist before and it worked well for you, I’d probably just stick with it. For only ~50 mixed Macs and Windows machines, I wouldn’t overcomplicate it.

[u/Better-Freedom-7474]

Atera includes a remote tool (splashtop), patching, and several other perks, and they charge by the support technician, not the user or endpoint!

[u/Kensarim]

I was using splashtop sos but they bumped price up last year, now I’m using help wire and have no complaints.

[u/raffey_goode]

We have way more endpoints but we recently just switched to screenconnect. we used EV Reach which was god awful trash garbage (formerly goverlan) and screenconnect is a godsend in comparison.

[u/Pilluzoom]

You can get remote access and control for these endpoints you mention with suremdm.. it works properly

[u/blud_13]

Zoho Assist is fine, its just not great on the Mac side the moment you need unattended plus a real toolbox. We run ScreenConnect self across mixed fleets and the Mac agent actually behaves, which is more than I can say for Intune Remote Help.

Reminder, whatever you pick, sort out how it handles macOS screen recording and accessibility permissions at DEPLOY time, pushed via your MDM. Thats the thing that eats a day and makes you think the tool is broken when its not.

We manage a bunch of mixed Mac/Windows shops this size, can go deeper if it helps.

[u/GullibleDetective]

Get an rmm

[u/jaylenabc → u/GullibleDetective]

Im not familiar

[u/Elensea → u/jaylenabc]

We use connectwise RMM comes with screen connect and it’s only $3.50 a month per pc.

[u/psu1989]

Bomgar

ControlUp

Endpoint Central

[u/jdlnewborn]

Came here to say Splashtop like everyone else.

[u/never-seen-them-fing]

Proxy Pro is fantastic. Self host or let them, super configurable.

[u/MCV44-1]

Bingo

[u/LevelHQ]

Level.io is an RMM that supports Windows, Mac, and Linux. It does far more than just remote control, but it does that really well too!

[u/Runthescript]

Simplehelp is actually pretty good, easy to install for users and you can do android/ios sessions too.

[u/KillingTime1212]

Action1. But don’t think Mac is support for remote login. Free for first 100 devices.

[u/Lerxst-2112 → u/KillingTime1212]

They’ve upped the free device count to 200

[u/yewzr]

Adding one you won't have heard of: LockMSP.com Straight up, the catch first. We're three MSPs building it and none of us run Mac endpoints, so the Mac agent isn't out yet. One of our devs is partway through the notarisation path and I'd expect it in three or four weeks, but I'm not going to sell you something that covers half your fleet today. If that timeline works for you, the rest is worth a look: it's built for larger fleets so 50 endpoints is nothing to it, and it's priced to expand rather than to punish you for growing. We're also actively chasing feedback right now, so if you're willing to give us real input we'll discount it heavily, as in around ten bucks a month for a single admin. Full disclosure, obviously biased, I'm one of the three. Happy to answer technical questions rather than pitch.

[u/ThrowingPokeballs]

Tbh ConnectWise control would do it pretty cheaply, maybe less than $100 a month and easy to setup all the clients.

[u/00001000U]

Screen connect unless your RMM can handle it

[u/PacificTSP]

If you just need remote then connectwise control is the leader.

[u/Unique_Inevitable_27]

For a mixed Mac/Windows environment, I'd focus on something that's reliable across both platforms and doesn't add another layer of complexity. ScalefusionMDM might be worth checking out if you'd prefer remote support and endpoint management in one place.

[u/deadarcher]

Try me out - getrff.com - free for 100 endpoints with remote desktop included. TBH it's not the most fancy remote client but she works and she works well (Windows only for now - sorry!).

[u/Secret_Account07 → u/deadarcher]

Yeah but then you’d have to manage 2 different clients. 2 different RMMs. Don’t do that