Reboot and Safe Mode

You can restart an Access device from the console or from the viewer, and follow it as it goes down and comes back. You can also restart it into Safe Mode with Networking for repairs that need a minimal Windows. Remote reboot is for Access devices only.

Your role needs Reboot for a normal restart, and Safe Mode reboot for Safe Mode. The Technician starter role includes Reboot but not Safe Mode reboot.

Reboot from the viewer

1. In an Access session, select Power in the toolbar.
2. Choose Reboot, or Reboot into Safe Mode with Networking.
3. Read the warnings, then select Reboot now.

Leave Reconnect automatically when it’s back online on (the default; this browser remembers your choice) to have the viewer start a new session as soon as the device is back. If you started in Backstage, the new session opens in Backstage too, unless the device came back in Safe Mode.

While the device restarts, the viewer shows Rebooting with the device name and how long it has been offline. When it is back, it reconnects, or shows Reconnect if you turned automatic reconnect off. If the device is still offline after 15 minutes, choose Keep waiting or Close.

Reboot from the console

1. Open Access.
2. Select the power icon on the device’s row, or open the device and select Reboot….
3. Choose the mode and select Reboot followed by the device name.

The console shows Restarting… and then Rebooting · offline on the device, and tells you when it is back online.

What a normal reboot does

Windows restarts in 5 seconds and force-closes all programs. Anyone signed in loses unsaved work. Active sessions on the device end.

What Safe Mode with Networking does

Windows starts with only essential drivers and services, and Blink connects in Safe Mode so you can keep working.

• Wi-Fi usually does not work in Safe Mode, so the device needs a wired network.
• There is no audio, and the display runs at basic resolution.
• The next restart returns to normal Windows.
• If Blink cannot reach your Blink address within 10 minutes, the computer restarts normally by itself.

While a device runs in Safe Mode, the console shows a Safe Mode badge on it and a Reboot normally button in its details. A device set to start in Safe Mode at its next restart shows Safe Mode next boot.

Warnings to watch for

The reboot dialog adds warnings when they apply:

• BitLocker is on. For a Safe Mode reboot (or a normal one that clears the Safe Mode setting), Blink suspends BitLocker for that restart. Keep the recovery key at hand in case Windows asks for it.
• Windows updates are waiting to install. The restart can take much longer, and Safe Mode with pending updates can end in Undoing changes.

The device’s details also list any Pending restart (Windows Update, component servicing or file renames) and the Last reboot with who requested it and how it ended.

If the reboot does not happen

If the device does not confirm the request, the viewer tells you and keeps the session running while it waits to see whether the device goes down. If the device reports an error, the message says at which step it failed. A device that is not back after a while is marked not back yet (may be installing updates) in its details.