Cannot install Support Assistant software on Windows 11 after uninstall

You have option not to install support assist.  It is Dell AI bloatware that often causes trouble such as suggesting unnecessary update download and causing no post afterwards etc. it may be a good thing to get rid of it.  I would not be worried about not having it on your pc.  Good riddance.

Dell’s SupportAssist has administrator-level access to Windows and is designed to automatically install updates to your computer.  It can pose a serious security risk.  The app, which Dell’s support page states is preinstalled on “most of all new Dell devices running Windows” and billed as “the industry’s first automated proactive and predictive support technology,” is vulnerable to hack.

@Acornavi  Lots of similar issues so read some of these.

Do  you have the latest Microsoft ".net framework" installed?

Hi,
I uninstalled latest Windows 11 updates and Support Assist works now. I have another problem with the unhoverable and unclickable right-hand toolbar icons due to Windows 11 latest updates. Hope new update will solve this problem.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

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@Acornavi wrote:

I uninstalled latest Windows 11 updates and Support Assist works now....

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Hi Acornavi:

Glad to hear you solved your problem.  It would be helpful to other Win 11 users if you could provide further details.

What are the KB numbers of the Win 11 updates that you uninstalled that allowed you to install SupportAssist?  For example, was KB5012170 (Security Update for Secure Boot DBX: August 9, 2022) one of the Windows updates you uninstalled?

Did this problem occur on your Dell G5 5000 desktop, and what is the current edition (e.g., Home, Pro, etc.), version and build number of your Win 11 OS shown at Settings | System | About | Windows Specifications? After your Windows updates were uninstalled, what version of SupportAssist (v3.11.4.29 or v3.12.1.1.80) was installed?  When you go to Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features what Microsoft .NET (Core) Runtimes are installed?  From my Inspiron 5584 / Win 10 Pro v21H2 laptop:

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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.1889 * Firefox v104.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2207.7-1.1.19600.3 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.14.210-1.0.1751 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6979 * Dell SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 * Dell Update Windows Universal v4.6.0 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.20.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

Hi, I am Riya the owner of the case. I see that the issue you reported is resolved now. Please do let us know if any further assistance is required or not?

Riya, I took your suggestion to click on the Help link and it didn't go well. It seems like the people on this forum are more technical than I am or the social media group that supports that Dell link. 

My issue was a little different. I'm setting up a Dell brand-new computer and I turned on Smart App Control (SAC) in my personal Desktop because it sounds like more control for malware and I trusted Microsoft and their partner's Dell Smart Assist, MS Defender, etc, so, why not trust SAC.

To my surprise SAC blocked Smart Assist "due to not being properly signed!"  A good reason in my book!  But Smart Assist was dead for testing and getting up to date easily!

 So, I downloaded the Microsoft "Download Troubleshooter (Quite the tool that sounds like it would fix all the things needed.). But that app was blocked too!

 So, the next thing I did was to go back to the oldest restore point to minimize setup work damage that is in progress (about 6 days), didn't help and some of my work was lost. 

Instead of stepping through removing all of my window's updates as recommended, above. 

So, I turned off SAC!  Now if I ever want to implement SAC again, I have to reinstall windows and there is no clean why of doing that anymore because Win11 has no options to not delete the user's apps on an OS reinstall!

I was able to get Support Assist running again, test everything and redo Dell updates.

But the triggers that might set SAC off can be repaired because the Micrsoft trouble shooter was still blocked. And I wanted this tool!  Because Edge and Defender and doing the same kind of things SAC is doing!  When SAC blocked the file came in and started to install and was blocked with a notification

The clean install 4 Dell Laptops being repurposed for a non- profit organization didn't have SAC and therefore had no problems with Support Assist!

Since I could not download this forum recommended tool, and Support Assist worked something else was a foot.  Looks like the new things in the web security and malware control is reputation -based protection settings. when this file was blocked, Edge was trying to deliver the file and download it into the PC.

In the laptops I had to turn off checking files or smart screen to let in a file from a trusted source with a believed false positive. Repeat testing didn't get consistent results. The switch use descriptions were unclear when trying to make definitive decisions and definitely not intuitive to a user.  There was one test where I discovered 3 dots I could choose to keep the file (might be the best choice, a warning with a choice). But I got my file downloaded and in my achieves.  

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One thing is for sure.  The partnership between Microsoft and Dell is out of control.  The people on your team, Rija should have your ear to the ground about the problem you clients are having and the reponses from the volunteer help addressing never ending changes, to identify a problem that is being caused by Dell's partners work ethic and getting the technical support people to come up with a dated standard fault pattern and workaround responses suitable for the home and small business clients and publish it in the forum.  All of us have little or no trained Microsoft support people.  Next steps would be escalation to Microsoft for Quality Control Improvement to reduce user counter-intuitive mistakes.  Or a book like what come in a car for all the recommended setting to keep the user from needing so much of Dell's resources.  Because I could not find a route into technical support to talk to right away like in the old days!

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@Earnesto2 wrote:

 ... I'm setting up a Dell brand-new computer and I turned on Smart App Control (SAC) in my personal Desktop because it sounds like more control for malware and I trusted Microsoft and their partner's Dell Smart Assist, MS Defender, etc, so, why not trust SAC.

To my surprise SAC blocked Smart Assist "due to not being properly signed!"  A good reason in my book!  But Smart Assist was dead for testing and getting up to date easily! ... So, the next thing I did was to go back to the oldest restore point to help and some of my work was lost...

Hi Earnesto2:

I have a Win 10 OS so I don't have any personal experience using the Win 11 Smart App Control (SAC), but the Microsoft support article What is Smart App Control? notes that Microsoft only enables the Smart App Control on clean installs of Win 11 to ensure there isn't any malware or "untrusted" apps already running on the device when Smart App Control is turned on. If you turn off Smart App Control and want to turn it back on there are instructions in that support article on how to reset your PC to remove all apps and custom settings while keeping your personal files.

That article also notes that when Microsoft turns on Smart App Control that it starts in evaluation mode. During the evaluation period SAC won't block anything it thinks is "untrusted" but will monitor your system to see what third-party (non-Microsoft) software is running on your system and determine if you're a good candidate for SAC. If you are a good candidate for SAC then it will be automatically turned on, but if you are not a good candidate it will be automatically turned off.

Microsoft also recommends that users should not turn on Smart App Control themselves. From that support article:

Can I Turn Smart App Control on Manually?

Yes, if it's available for your device, but we recommend you let evaluation mode do its job and determine if you're a good candidate for Smart App Control.

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@Earnesto2 wrote:

... One thing is for sure.  The partnership between Microsoft and Dell is out of control.  The people on your team, Rija should have your ear to the ground about the problem you clients are having and the reponses from the volunteer help addressing never ending changes, to identify a problem that is being caused by Dell's partners work ethic...Next steps would be  escalation to Microsoft for Quality Control Improvement ...

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I completely agree with you that there's no excuse for Dell to be releasing unsigned executables that do not have a digital signature and could be automatically blocked by the Win 11 Smart App Control as an "untrusted" app. As I noted in JohnnyRedShirt's 05-Sep-2022 thread SupportAssist Unable to Get Drivers / Missing Features After Re-installation, I personally don't like using SupportAssist- it's too buggy, consumes too many system resources, and the "system optimization" scans (Clean Files / Tune Performance / Optimize Network) are too aggressive and have the potential to do more harm than good. I have disabled SupportAssist on my Inspiron 5584 and manually run the Dell Update app once a week or so to check for available Dell software and driver updates for my Inspiron 5584. If I ever need to run a hardware scan I can still run Dell's F12 ePSA (enhanced Pre-boot System Assessment) hardware diagnostics from my BIOS, and my Windows 10 OS also has its own built-in hardware diagnostics at Settings | Update & Security | Troubleshoot | Additional Troubleshooters. You did not mention the models of your Dell computers but if you enter your unique Sevice Tag at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us?app=products you should be re-directed to the correct support page for your computer model, and the Drivers & Downloads tab will likely list the appropriate Dell Update / Alienware Update app that matches your Service Tag.

Assuming your service warranty hasn't expired yet, you should be able to start a support request from the Get Support tab of the SupportAssist interface as instructed <here> in the SupportAssist v3.11.4 User Guide. If SupportAssist is still not running correctly after your system reset you can also open a support request at https://www.dell.com/support/incidents-online/contactus as instructed in the support article How to Create a Support Request Online for Dell EMC.

There is a section titled "Provide Feedback" <here> in the SupportAssist v3.11.4 User Guide which notes that "When you close the SupportAssist user interface after completing an activity, a survey option to provide feedback on your overall experience with Supportassist for Home PCs is displayed" but warns that "The survey option for providing feedback is currently available only on certain PC models and in certain regions". I live in Canada and I have never been prompted to provide feedback about SupportAssist on my Inspiron 5584, but if this option is available to you you might want to send Dell feedback about your negative experience with SupportAssist and the Win 11 Smart App Control if no one from Dell responds to your comments in this thread.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v21H2 build 19044.2006 * Firefox v105.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2207.7-1.1.19600.3 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.14.210-1.0.1767 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.6979 * Dell SupportAssist v3.11.4.29 * Dell Update Windows Universal v4.6.0 * Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.20.0
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620