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Not sure how to record your screen for customer support? This guide covers exactly how to do it on any device in under two minutes. No download required.
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A support team has asked you to record your screen and you are not sure where to start. This guide covers exactly how to do it on any device in under two minutes — no downloads and no technical knowledge needed.
Why a Screen Recording Helps More Than a Screenshot
A screenshot shows one moment. A screen recording shows everything, what you clicked, what happened next and the exact error message that appeared. Support teams can watch your recording and understand the issue immediately instead of going back and forth trying to piece it together from a written description.
It is the fastest way to get your issue understood and fixed.
How to Record Your Screen on a Mac
Press Command + Shift + 5 on your keyboard
A toolbar appears at the bottom of your screen
Select Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion
Click Record
Show the issue happening as you normally would
Press Command + Control + Escape to stop
Your recording saves automatically to your desktop as a .mov file ready to send.
Tip: Use Record Selected Portion if the issue is in one specific area of the screen. It keeps the file smaller and easier to send.
How to Record Your Screen on Windows
Open the window or browser tab where the issue happens
Press Windows key + G to open the Game Bar
Click the Record button or press Windows key + Alt + R
Show the issue happening
Press Windows key + Alt + R again to stop
Your recording saves to your Videos folder as an .mp4 file.
Alternative: If Game Bar does not work on your device open the Snipping Tool from the Start menu, select Video and follow the same steps.
How to Record Your Screen on iPhone
Go to Settings then Control Center
Tap the + button next to Screen Recording
Swipe down from the top right corner of your screen
Tap the Screen Recording button
A 3 second countdown begins then recording starts
Show the issue happening
Tap the red bar at the top of your screen and select Stop
Your recording saves to your Photos app and can be shared directly from there.
How to Record Your Screen on Android
Swipe down from the top of your screen to open Quick Settings
Tap the Screen Recorder tile
Show the issue happening
Tap Stop in your notification bar
Your recording saves to your Gallery or Photos app. On Samsung devices the feature is called Screen Recorder. On Google Pixel devices it appears as Screen Record.
How to Record Your Screen on a Chromebook
Press Ctrl + Shift + Show Windows
A toolbar appears at the bottom of your screen
Select the Video option
Choose full screen or a selected area
Click Record
Show the issue happening
Click Stop Recording in your shelf
Your recording saves to your Downloads folder.
How to Send Your Recording Without File Size Issues
Screen recordings can get large quickly. Most email providers have a 25MB attachment limit which recordings often exceed.
The easiest solution is to upload your recording to Google Drive or Dropbox and share the link instead of attaching the file. This takes less than a minute and works every time regardless of file size.
A few other ways to keep the file small:
Record only what is necessary. Start immediately before the issue occurs and stop as soon as it happens. Thirty seconds is almost always enough.
Record a selected area instead of the full screen if the issue is in one specific place.
What to Include Alongside Your Recording
A short note alongside your recording helps the support team act on it immediately. When you send your recording include answers to these four questions:
What were you trying to do when the issue happened?
What did you expect to happen?
What actually happened?
Does this happen every time or only sometimes?
Two or three sentences is enough. Combined with your recording the support team has everything they need to fix the issue without asking you anything further.
If the Support Team Sent You a Link
Some support teams use tools like Bugtrotter that skip all of the steps above entirely. Instead of finding your screen recorder and managing a file you click a single link, record directly in your browser and submit.
Your browser, device and other technical details are captured automatically so the support team gets everything they need without you having to find any of it.
If your support team sent you a link, use it. It is the simplest option available.
Final Thoughts
Recording your screen is the fastest way to show a support team exactly what went wrong. Pick the method for your device above, keep the recording short and focused on the issue and you will get a faster resolution almost every time.
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