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Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant for Office or Microsoft 365 is an application introduced by Microsoft that helps users fix problems within Office 365 applications like Outlook, Power BI, and Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) through a few simple steps.

 

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How Does It Work?

The tool uses a predefined repair and recovery algorithm to solve problems in Office 365. Support and Recovery Assistant helps reduce engineer tickets for Office or Microsoft 365. With the Support and Recovery Assistant, most problems are automatically resolved, but if the assistant is unable to find a solution, it lists a series of additional steps you can take. As problems arise, the tool is frequently updated with new patches.

 

8 Steps to use Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant for Office apps

1) Download the Support and Recovery Assistant

Download the tool here. Note that you must install the Recovery Assistant on the affected machine in order for it to properly diagnose and troubleshoot the issues you’re experiencing.

 

2) Launch the Assistant

Once the assistant is installed on your machine, launch it.

 

3) Select the Application that Needs Troubleshooting

Select the application that you are having issues with from the list, and click Next. We’ll select Outlook as an example.

Select the Application

 

4) Select the Problem You’re Having

Select all problem descriptions that match the issue you are experiencing, and click Next.

Select the Problem

 

5) Work on the Affected Machine

Select “Yes” when asked if this is the affected machine. Click Next to proceed.

Work on the Affected Machine

 

6) Log In to Your Office 365 Account

You should now see a login page for Office or Microsoft 365. Sign in with your email and password. Click Next to begin the diagnosis.

Log In to Your Office 365 Account

 

7) Let the Assistant Fix the Issue

Once Microsoft has checked all possible solutions to your problem, it will display a diagnosis report and a summary of actions the tool performed on your device.

Let the Assistant Fix the Issue

 

8) Advanced Diagnostics

If your problem was not fixed automatically, you can choose to obtain advanced diagnostics from Support and Recovery Assistant to generate a detailed report. Note that this option is currently only available for Outlook and Exchange.

Step 1: Launch the assistant and select the “Advanced diagnostics” option. If you’re working with a Microsoft support agent, you can also check the option at the bottom that reads “I am working with Microsoft support personnel on this issue”.

Advanced diagnostics

 

Step 2: Select your Outlook type from the options. We’ve selected Exchange Online to illustrate.

selected Exchange Online

 

Step 3: Select the first option to check your Exchange Online connection. If the tool doesn’t find anything, you’ll need to check the second option to perform an authentication check on your email ID.

check your Exchange Online connection

 

Step 4: once the Support and Recovery Assistant finishes its validation, it will show a detailed diagnosis report like the one below, which you can share with a Microsoft support technician for a better understanding of the problem.

detailed diagnosis report

Still Having Problems?

If Support and Recovery Assistant was unable to identify or fix the issue with your system, please get in touch with a support service.

 

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Written by The Sherweb Team Collaborators @ Sherweb