Support iOS mobile devices now with Visual Guidance

You’re trying to provide remote support to a person using an iPhone. If you’re working in remote IT support, you’re probably all too aware that your options are limited. You want to remotely control the device? Unless you’re Apple, unfortunately not.

Basically, the only thing you can do is talk the end user through what they need to do. The problem is some users simply aren’t that tech-savvy, and you can’t really know if they’re following your advice. When it comes to guidance, they need a little more than voice support.

And you’ll be able to deliver it now that we’ve added unique Visual Guidance functionality to our free QuickSupport app. This allows you to finally share clear visual guidance with users of mobile iOS devices. As a result, they can grasp your directions much more easily and you can solve their issues with much less back-and-forth.

In this article:

• The iOS remote support gap
• Introducing Visual Guidance for iOS mobile devices
• The benefits of Visual Guidance for mobile iOS devices
• Summary

The iOS remote support gap

Right now, almost three out of ten users worldwide are using iOS mobile devices. This is a significant number—as well as a significant hurdle to delivering comprehensive IT support. With increased device diversity and as more and more users switch to iOS, the problem—a kind of iOS support gap—keeps getting bigger.

Our Senior Product Manager Massinissa Menas described the problem like this: “When connecting to an iOS, there is no possibility to remotely control it or use a whiteboard to annotate on the screen (except if you are Apple) ... leaving the supporter with only voice and screen sharing.”

This iOS support gap means that IT support workers are extremely limited in how they do their work. You can share your screen, and you can direct them through voice guidance. But the option of remote control—really getting into the device and figuring out the problem—is off the table.

As a result of this iOS support gap, you’re often unable to provide the kind of support you’d like to provide. You lose time due to miscommunication. Being able to describe a technical problem, after all, demands a level of technological literacy that some people simply don’t have. According to a recent EU study, approximately 32 % of Europeans still lack basic digital skills.

And this challenge appears all of the time. Massinissa put it to me like this: “When you are supporting someone on the remote device, most of the time the person is not tech savvy, (and) even what seems to be an easy task can sometimes become cumbersome.” All of which means a lot of extra work for the IT supporter, which often leads to an increased need for support staff.

Introducing Visual Guidance for iOS mobile devices

In response to this clear need in remote IT support, we developed Visual Guidance for the TeamViewer QuickSupport app. This is a smart, unique, and free feature that allows you to give and receive remote IT support to iPhones and iPads while also adhering to Apple’s strong security guidelines.

Visual Guidance works by creating a small screen-within-a-screen on the end user’s mobile device, just like the one you see with minimized multimedia content. This screen shows the end user exactly what the expert is doing in real time. They can then follow along with the expert’s guidance on their own device.

For experts and users alike, the Visual Guidance feature will help to avoid miscommunication—saving time, money, and a whole lot of frustration. Through it, communication is crystal clear, because both expert and user have a shared view of the steps needed to resolve the issue.

At the moment, no other solution (aside from Apple) offers this level of support for iOS mobile devices. And as part of our QuickSupport app, it’s completely free both for people who want help and those who provide it.

The benefits of Visual Guidance for mobile iOS devices

First things first: The main benefit of this feature is that it will help you to provide a much better level of support for users with iOS mobile devices. The small “expert” screen automatically zooms into specific areas. This means you’ll be able to identify issues much more quickly, saving time and reducing the likelihood of errors.

Another benefit of the feature is the security and reliability of the connections. Within the TeamViewer QuickSupport app, it delivers uninterrupted connections while also maintaining data privacy. Speeding things up further, it uses on-device rendering to conserve bandwidth.

The Visual Guidance feature also offers truly global functionality. As part of the QuickSupport app, it supports users all over the world—including the EU.

Importantly, the feature is optimized for iOS devices and it’s fully compatible with them. This means that using it gives you a competitive advantage when delivering remote IT support.

The biggest benefit of all, though, comes from filling that iOS support gap. Until now, plenty of users have been falling through that gap and feeling like their needs weren’t being fully met. Visual Guidance can help deliver happier customers and clients—and ultimately, a better customer experience with your company.

Summary

Until now, remote support of iOS devices was limited to voice guidance and screen sharing. But our unique new feature Visual Guidance offers a smart workaround. The neat mini screen on the end user’s screen allows them to see exactly what the expert is doing and follow along. No more describing icons—instead, you can show them exactly what you mean.

If you’re working in remote IT support, Visual Guidance will help you to deliver comprehensive support to your customers. And if you have an iOS mobile device and regularly need support, this will make it so much easier for you, too. Why not try it by downloading the QuickSupport app—for free—today?