About 90 seconds, no admin password, no installer to babysit. The tricky part is the SmartScreen warning Windows shows for every new app — this guide walks you through it with screenshots of exactly what to click.
One step first
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~97 MB · single self-contained .exe · no installer wizard · no admin password
Expect a real download of about 97 MB. If the file that lands in your Downloads folder is much smaller than that (for example only 20 to 30 MB), the download was interrupted — delete the partial file and download it again rather than trying to run it. Already have the Companion installed? Its tray menu has a Check for updates… item that downloads and verifies any new release automatically, so there is no need to repeat this manual download at all. Want to double-check a file yourself? See the verification steps below.
Open your Downloads folder and double-click
the file you downloaded (WindowsHelperCompanion-….exe). The
Companion is a single self-contained file (~97 MB — bundles a
compressed .NET 8 runtime so you do not need to install
anything else). There is no installer wizard, no Program Files
entry, no admin password required. Running the file IS the
install.
On the first launch, Windows shows a blue dialog called Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. It appears for new apps that haven't yet built up a download history with Microsoft — and the PC Companion isn't code-signed yet. WindowsHelper is brand-new — to Microsoft's reputation database we look like every other indie app on day one.
The Companion isn't code-signed yet. Signing is planned before launch; it helps, but Windows can keep showing this warning until the signed app has built up a download history. In the meantime, the workaround below is a one-time click.
↑ This is what you'll see. Don't click Don't run — that hides the workaround.
You only do this once per PC. Windows remembers your choice the moment you click Run anyway — future launches start instantly with no dialog.
Open the WindowsHelper app on your phone and tap the
PC pill in the top-left of the home screen
(or PC Control in the bottom nav). You'll
see an 8-character pairing code with both
letters and numbers (example: 9TN2YFNP).
Type that code exactly into the Companion window on your PC
and press Connect — the input field
accepts both letters and digits and auto-uppercases as you
type.
Within a few seconds, both sides flip to Connected. From now on, a fix you tap on your phone is sent to your PC and runs there — routine fixes right away, and anything higher-risk pauses to ask you to approve it on the PC first.
The Companion sets itself to start with Windows automatically via Task Scheduler. Restart your PC and the green tray icon comes back on its own — your pairing survives reboots.
The short version: it listens for commands you tap on your phone, then runs them. The longer version:
For users who want to confirm the .exe wasn't tampered with in transit, every release publishes its SHA-256 in the companion-version.json manifest. Run this in PowerShell to compare:
(Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 (Get-ChildItem ~\Downloads\WindowsHelperCompanion*.exe | Sort-Object LastWriteTime | Select-Object -Last 1)).Hash
If the lower-cased output matches the
sha256 field in the manifest, the
download is byte-identical to the published binary. A mismatch
means the file was modified between download and verification —
redownload and retry.
Want the fuller picture — how pairing, encryption, and the threat model work, not just this one file? Read the Security page.
Right-click the green WindowsHelper icon in your system tray and pick Uninstall WindowsHelper. That:
If Windows blocks any step, the Companion tells you exactly what was left behind and how to remove it by hand.
Most install / pairing problems have a step-by-step recovery on the troubleshooting page. Common ones:
WindowsHelperCompanion), then redownload.