Intune Remote Help - Black Screen When Entering Admin Credentials

Rugved Rajendra Vaidya 41 Reputation points
2026-08-24T04:53:05.6433333+00:00

Current Setup -

  1. License - EMS E3
  2. Intune Remote Help Custom Role + Scope and Assignment (Check attachment.pdf)
  3. Intune Remote Help Tenant Setup (Check attachment.pdf)
  4. All users are Standard users.

Issue -

When our IT admins attempt to take remote control of an Intune-managed device for administrative tasks, they encounter a black screen at the point where they need to enter local admin credentials.

Workaround -

I understand that disabling Secure Desktop (via the "Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation" policy) would resolve the black screen issue, does it compromise security too much?

Microsoft Security
Microsoft Security

A suite of security solutions designed to protect identities, devices, and data across organizations. Including Intune, Entra, Authenticator, Windows Autopilot, Microsoft Defender, and more, it offers advanced threat protection, compliance management, and secure access to resources.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-08-24T04:53:22.9333333+00:00

    The black screen is expected behavior when a UAC prompt appears on the protected screen. Remote Help cannot display that secure desktop, so the helper sees a black screen while elevation is being requested.

    For Intune Remote Help, the documented control that affects elevation is EnableSecureCredentialPrompting:

    • If EnableSecureCredentialPrompting is enabled, it blocks the elevation process during Remote Help sessions.
    • To allow elevation in Remote Help, disable that policy.

    A related accepted Microsoft Q&A explanation states that when a UAC prompt appears, Windows switches to a protected screen, so the remote technician cannot see it. It also notes that with Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM), approved actions can be elevated by policy without exposing raw admin credentials, which avoids the black-screen moment for those covered actions.

    Based on the available information:

    1. The black screen itself is normal for secure UAC prompts.
    2. Disabling the secure credential prompting policy allows elevation during Remote Help.
    3. If avoiding credential exposure is the goal, EPM is the documented alternative in the provided material because approved actions can run elevated by policy instead of requiring admin password entry.

    The provided material does not include a security-risk assessment comparing secure desktop enabled versus disabled, so no supported conclusion can be given on whether that compromises security “too much.”

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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