Microsoft support options

What kind of support do you need?

Whether you are looking to resolve a product issue at home, searching for technical expertise at work or wanting to develop product solutions, Microsoft provides a variety of assisted support services to meet your requirements.

For Home
For Work

Self-help support

  • Find it myself
    Find automated solutions, step-by-step instructions, and product updates to download.
  • Ask the community
    Get support from other users and experts in the Microsoft Community.

Support for software that was supplied with your PC

If Microsoft software was preinstalled on your computer (OEM software), your supplier may be the most appropriate resource for technical support. Find out how to get support from your computer supplier.

Support for Microsoft software you purchased separately

If you purchased Microsoft software separately, like in a nylon wrapped box or case or as a download from Microsoft Store, you can contact Microsoft directly for support. For a number of products, like Windows or Office, and issues like installation problems, you can get a limited number of support incidents free of charge. At Microsoft we call a problem with software a support ‘incident’. Whether your product and issue are eligible for free support or not, you can find out on the Get Live Help page. Also when contacting us we will tell you clearly whether support will be free or whether you need to pay, and how much.

Microsoft technical support is provided 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays. During these hours you can reach us on the phone. On the web you can contact us anytime, and we will come back to you during our hours of operation. Response time will depend on severity. Submit an incident online to get started.

Support for Small and Medium Business, IT Professionals and Developers

Self-help support

Professional support

Professional Support provides you with access to Microsoft experts, to help you address problems encountered with the development, deployment and management of Microsoft software in commercial environments. Professional Support is available on a per incident basis, over the phone or via the web.

Microsoft Professional Support provides support in one single incident or “Pay-per-incident” (PPI)

  • PPI during business hours (Telephone and online)
    • $259 USD for one (1) incident
    • $1,289 USD for five pack (5) of incidents
  • •PPI for business critical after hours (Telephone and online)
    • $515 USD for one (1) incident

Professional PPI is available during normal business hours: 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays. Response time will depend on severity. Submit an incident online to get started.

Professional Advisory

Microsoft Professional Advisory services provide advice for questions not covered by problem resolution services (break/fix). Typical cases involve providing recommendations and best practices for design, development and deployment, leveraging Microsoft products and technologies. These scenarios include topics such as:

  • Migration
  • Product customisation
  • Performance degradation analysis
  • Deployment training
  • Scaling infrastructure
  • Server recovery
  • Optimisation
  • Supportability
  • Architecture

Microsoft provides Advisory Services for the same price as a support incident. The delivery time for Advisory Services is expected to be similar to problem resolution services (break-fix), typically 2 to 3 hours. Requests may be rescoped to ensure service needs are met. Simply call us, stating that you are calling for Professional Advisory Services.

Note: Advisory services are designed for Developers, IT Professionals and SMB customers to provide advice and information to enable you to deliver your own solution. They do not include Microsoft hands on configuration, writing custom code, onsite consulting, root cause analysis or account management.

Programmatic Support

Click on the appropriate link to find out whether you are entitled to no-charge telephone or online support incidents if:

Support from Microsoft Partners

Microsoft Pinpoint helps business customers find technology experts, software applications and professional services that solve specific business issues and support long-term goals.

At the same time, Pinpoint helps developers and technology service providers get applications and professional services to the customers who need them. Whether you’re searching for expert help or offering it, Pinpoint helps you create business opportunities that contribute to your success.

Support for Premier Customers

If your business requires 24/7 premium-level support, with a designated Technical Account Manager to help define custom support options that align strategically with your IT landscape, learn about Microsoft Services Premier Support. If you are already a Premier customer and you require support, please visit Microsoft Premier Online.

Support for Microsoft Partners

If you are a Microsoft partner looking for support options that enable you to provide your customers with the highest possible level of service, please review your options by visiting the Microsoft Partner Network.

Microsoft Consulting Services

If you are looking for IT strategy, development and infrastructure services to help you design, implement and deploy leading edge Microsoft technologies in your business, please visit Microsoft Consulting Services.

Last Review : May 29, 2013