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Some Azure support plans include Priority Community Support (PCS) as the first line of support in the Azure portal. This feature was introduced on February 12, 2025, as part of an ongoing effort to streamline support services and provide faster, more efficient assistance for customers using Microsoft Azure.
What is Priority Community Support (PCS)?
With Priority Community Support, customers get high-quality answers to technical Azure-related questions directly on Microsoft Q&A. Azure engineers, Community Experts, and Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) manage this service, allowing knowledgeable professionals to address these inquiries.
Customers can expect responses within eight business hours for Severity C requests, maintaining the same initial response time as before. This adjustment efficiently addresses "how-to" inquiries and common technical questions in a public forum, so the broader community benefits from shared knowledge.
For complex problems that can't be resolved through the Q&A platform, engineers seamlessly escalate the matter by creating a support ticket on the customer's behalf, ensuring that more intricate problems receive the attention they require.
This approach brings several key benefits:
- Faster responses. Get responses within eight business hours, improving response efficiency.
- Expert knowledge. Azure engineers, Community Champions, and MVPs with deep subject-matter expertise provide technical insights.
- Knowledge sharing. Other customers can see the answers, helping the broader community find solutions faster.
- Seamless escalation. If an issue requires further investigation, engineers escalate the case and create a support ticket on your behalf.
Access Priority Community Support (PCS)
Customers can access PCS in two ways.
In the Azure portal:
- Go to Help + support.
- Select Create a support request.
- Choose Ask the Azure community.
On Microsoft Learn:
- Sign in with the account linked to your Azure support plan.
- Post your technical question on Microsoft Q&A with the appropriate Azure service tag.
Customer-specific data and privacy
Some technical problems require sharing sensitive information, such as logs, account details, or confidential data. To protect privacy, we follow these best practices:
- Private messages: If you need to provide extra details, a Microsoft engineer can reach out to you privately to collect the necessary information.
- No public data sharing: Never share sensitive customer information publicly on Microsoft Q&A. If needed, engineers will guide you to a secure channel for troubleshooting.
What if my problem requires a support ticket?
Most "how-to" questions get resolved within Microsoft Q&A. However, some complex problems require deeper investigation.
For these problems, engineers create a support ticket on your behalf. This process ensures smooth escalation without requiring you to initiate it manually.
Existing support tickets continue as usual, but you must still post new technical inquiries on Microsoft Q&A.
Can I still create a support ticket for non-technical issues?
You can still create tickets for non-technical issues, including problems with:
- Billing and subscription problems
- Quota increases
- Service limit adjustments
PCS availability and global coverage
- Business hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM local time (Monday through Friday).
- North America extended hours: 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pacific Time.
- Global coverage: The Azure expert team operates worldwide, ensuring timely responses across different time zones.