HP Support Assistant System tray icon is showing an orange circle with a white exclamation mark

[Wiganken]

Question 1 - My machine has HP Support Assistant v9.11.106.0 installed but HP UK website shows only v9.10.85.0 as available for download. Any ideas how I have a later version than HP are offering?

Question 2 - System tray icon is showing an orange circle containing a white exclamation mark. Hovering cursor over the icon shows “Recommended action needed” but, when launched there is nothing showing that needs action? Seems like a bug but is anyone else seeing it?

[banhien]

@Wiganken 

Where did you get version 9.11.106.0 from ? My machine runs version 9.10.85.0 which is the same, up-to-date on HP page

           https://support.hp.com/au-en/help/hp-support-assistant

Regards.

[Wiganken]

See my question 1 - I think it updated itself but I don't know when this would have happened. I have had the machine since January 2021 and HP SA was already installed. I have not updated HP SA myself.

Maybe it is the very latest and contains a bug. The orange alert will not disappear even though there are no actions showing: -

[Wiganken]

Incidentally: -

a) HP website shows v9.10.85.0 for download but after the download is completed and then launching the installer it shows the version as v9.9.58.0. Another oddity!

b) Attempts to install software (a) results in the installation being terminated and message 'A newer version of HP SA is installed. Setup will now close' displayed.

c) HP SA is not showing in the 'Programs & Features' list on my machine but it is showing in the 'Start Menu' programs list. Yet another oddity!

[Wiganken]

I discovered the orange alert was because I wasn't signed-in. After signing-in the orange alert vanished.

I wasn't aware that I have ever been signed-in before so maybe it is due to the latest version 9.11.106.0 that alerts you using the orange circle. It's a shame that HP does not make it clearer that, in order to remove the alert, you need to sign-in by displaying a "Please sign-in" prompt when hovering the cursor over the icon.

[Mike-McC]

@Wiganken

I was also puzzled about the different versions. It seems like HP Support Assistant is updated through the Microsoft Store.

Downloading sp136195.exe from the US HP Support Assistant page showing Version 9.10.85.0, then installing, shows version 9.9.58.0 in the installation splash screen

but then when the app is opened, Settings > About HP Support Assistant shows 9.10.85.0

Then opening up the Microsoft Store shows the HP Support Assistant in my library.

Clicking on the Update button downloaded and installed HP Support Assistant Version 9.11.106.0

In Microsoft Store I then clicked "Get updates" (for all apps) and HP Support Assistant is then updated to 9.12.43.0

Perhaps these mechanisms are explained somewhere, but it doesn't seem very intuitive.

[Wiganken]

@Mike-McC - Thanks for the info. HP seem very disorganised.

Update: - Launched HP SA today and it was asking me to sign-in. I was signed-in yesterday but the app is obviously signing me out after a certain period of inactivity. What's interesting is that, although I am not signed-in, the orange alert is no longer showing on the notification area icon as it was previously. Still more confusion! Maybe the orange alert will show up again but at least I know how to deal with it now.

I'll look into updating to v9.12.43. 0 at some stage.

[Mike-McC]

@Wiganken

It sounds like your exclamation mark is a bit of a mystery! I agree that the web site offerings for product download and update are not consistent.

Just some more comments about the Microsoft Store:

Through the share link on my local Microsoft Store copy I found the product link https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9WZDNCRDRBFB for the HP Support Assistant in the Microsoft Store. That allowed me to directly install the 9.12.43.0 version on Windows 11.

I tried the same thing on Windows 10, where the Microsoft Store told me that the product was not compatible with my device 🙁 so I couldn't install on Windows 10 from Microsoft Store. I can't say if that is a general issue. The requirements say "Windows 10 version 10240.0 or higher" and I was trying from Windows 10 19044.1455 (21H2), so theoretically it should have worked.

I wonder is the Microsoft Store is the official way for automatic version updates of HP Support Assistant 9.x to work on Windows 10 and 11.  On HP Support Assistant 8.x clicking on "About" displayed a button "Check for latest version". I'm not seeing this on version 9.x. 

Summary

Running update in Microsoft Store on Windows 10 & 11 did update HP Support Assistant to 9.12.43.0.

I could only install (as opposed to update) on Windows 11 from Microsoft Store. It didn't work for me on Windows 10.

[Wiganken · Accepted solution]

 @Mike-McC - The orange circle came back showing “Recommended action needed” but no clue as to what they are referring to. I remembered your advice in your "Message 6" post so I launched Microsoft Store and clicked on "Get Updates" and it updated HP SA to v9.12.43.0. After restarting the PC the orange circle no longer shows.

Seems that this is the first thing one needs to do if there are no other obvious things that need doing, such as messages or updates but, why, oh why can't HP clarify what "Recommended action" they are referring to?

Thank you for your input.