tech-support

(royalconstantinesociety)

Linksys: Where A 1-Year Warranty Sort Of Isn't A 1-Year Warranty
By Laura Northrup on May 9, 2012 12:30 PM   73 Comments
Yes, Linksys products ostensibly have a one-year warranty, but there's a catch. When Cody tried to contact them to replace a router, he learned that in order to actually use that original warranty, you need to pay extra. Specifically, after the first 90 days, you need to pay for either phone or chat support to talk to a real person who can authorize the return of your defective router. More »

How To Lose A Customer Forever With Just One Faulty Router
By Laura Northrup on April 19, 2012 12:45 PM   90 Comments
Jessica is a network engineer, so she has some idea of when a piece of networking equipment isn't working properly. Her Netgear router isn't working properly, so she called up their tech support. She patiently sat through all of the normal troubleshooting procedures that are used for people who can barely tell a router from a toaster. Then she learned that they weren't going to accept the router for repair or replacement after only eight months. So she did the only sensible thing: went out and bought a router made by a different company after being loyal to Netgear for more than a decade. More »

(Mike Stringer)

HP Pretends Linux Voids Netbook Hardware Warranty
By Laura Northrup on February 11, 2011 8:00 AM   153 Comments

Installing a different operating system on a computer does not change its hardware. This is a simple enough concept...unless you work in technical support for HP. Their phone tech support have joined their Geek Squad brethren in insisting that a Linux-infested laptop was no longer under warranty.  

Kyle didn't want to put Windows back on his netbook just so his problem would fit phone support's standard script. He tried to make tech support see logic...and eventually they did. (Or gave him a new battery so he would go away, but the end result is the same.)  More »

My "Blackberry" Isn't Working, Man Tells Fruit Vendor
By Ben Popken on December 23, 2010 5:00 PM   17 Comments
Good for a laugh, here's a sketch from the BBC "The One Ronnie" show with a man seeking tech support from a fruit vendor for his "blackberry" which is "frozen." A series of fruit and gadget puns ensue and it's worth sticking around for when it gets a little saucy. One thing that you should know before watching the clip is that "Orange" is a cellular network in Great Britain. Yes, you can see where this is going... More »

(yoshiffles)

Laptop Borked By Dell Tech Gets Replaced After Consumerist Post
By Ben Popken on December 15, 2010 5:00 PM   48 Comments
Angel is happy to report that after his story went up on Consumerist, Dell reached out to him and will be replacing his laptop. More »

(matt.nicklas)

"On-Call" Dell Tech Takes Over 7 Hours To Screw Up Your Laptop, Makes You Miss Your Date
By Ben Popken on December 14, 2010 12:00 PM   106 Comments
Angel's patience was worn down to the quick after waiting for a on-call Dell tech to come and fix his high-end laptop, only to have the guy bungle the repair, screw up his hardware, and make him miss his date. More »

(viZZZual.com)

Netgear Tech Support: Pay Geek Squad $139 To Troubleshoot Your $79 Router
By Laura Northrup on September 29, 2010 8:00 AM   97 Comments
What should you do when you have trouble with your Internet connection? N. tells Consumerist that his combination DSL modem and wireless router from Netgear simply won't work. According to the ever-helpful technical support team at Netgear, there's nothing left that they can do, and his only option left is to call the Geek Squad to perform a house call. If it didn't require a $139 house call to troubleshoot a $79 device, N. might go along with this plan. More »

Mozy Wants To Explain Wireless Internets To You
By Chris Walters on August 16, 2010 12:30 PM   83 Comments
You might think that a company like Mozy, which sells secure online backup services, would be able to troubleshoot common technical issues that are directly related to its business. After all, surely Heather isn't the only customer to have problems with her initial backup hanging for several days in a row. But instead of offering useful assistance, Mozy's tech support person told Heather that the problem was that "wireless internets don't like lots of files flying through the air." Wow, that must really cause problems with Mozy's business model. More »

(madpoet_one)

Acer And Gateway Have Crappiest Tech Support
By Ben Popken on August 9, 2010 5:00 PM   42 Comments
If you need to call tech support, you don't want to be holding an Acer or a Gateway, a new Laptop Mag study finds. More »

Dell Responds To Crazy Story Of Nudie Pic-Stealing Tech Support Guy
By Chris Morran on July 30, 2010 4:00 PM   61 Comments
Earlier today, we wrote about the woman in California who contacted Dell's tech support hotline and then watched as naked photos of her were downloaded remotely by the employee. After seeing the story, Dell has written Consumerist to let us know they're taking it seriously. More »

Woman Watches As Dell Tech Support Swipes Nude Pics From Her PC
By Chris Morran on July 30, 2010 10:00 AM   178 Comments
So it looks like it's not only Geek Squad staffers that scour customers' computers for free porn. A woman in California has recently gone public with claims that she not only watched as a Dell tech support worker downloaded nude pics of her remotely, but that he also set up a website featuring the photos. Oh, and he used her Dell credit card to buy stuff for another woman. More »

Don't Call In To Complain About How You Can't Steal Wi-Fi
By Chris Walters on March 1, 2010 11:46 AM   171 Comments
Someone named Jennifer called in to the Leo Laporte show a week ago and asked for help on how to get back online. She'd been able to access a Wi-Fi hotspot for over a year and a half from her apartment, but "that's disappeared now for three weeks." She bought a wireless extender and that didn't solve the problem at all. Laporte gently tries to point out that she's being a freeloader, but she's not buying it. More »

(Photo: NBC-2)

Woman Accuses Dell Tech Support Of Launching Her Webcam Without Permission
By Chris Walters on January 25, 2010 5:47 PM   81 Comments
I always keep a little sticker over the webcam lens on my netbook when I'm not using it, because I don't trust that I know enough about computers to be 100% confident my webcam is off when I want it to be off. And if you think that's being too paranoid, look at what happened to Dianne Annunziato earlier this month when she called a Dell support line for help with her laptop. More »

(Photo: Moses)

Verizon Hold Times Inspire Song On M.I.A.'s Next Album
By Chris Walters on January 12, 2010 5:48 PM   20 Comments
According to Rolling Stone, when M.I.A.'s new album comes out later this year, there will be a track on it called "I'm Down Like Your Internet Connection"—and it will feature "Filipino Verizon workers singing the hook." More »

Call Drop Rate For iPhones In NYC Is 30%, Says Apple Genius
By Chris Walters on September 30, 2009 10:37 PM   66 Comments

—>Hey AT&T, maybe you should offer some sort of congestion pricing on your iPhone plans in places like New York City. We've heard/read all sorts of anecdotal reports on dropped calls before, but today Engadget reported that an Apple Genius said a 30% drop call rate is average for the area. If that's true, it seems like false advertising to charge for a full-time calling plan that you can only use about two-thirds of the time.  More »

Apple Has The Best Tech Support, Dell, HP, Acer Have The Worst
By Carey Alexander on August 8, 2009 8:00 PM   198 Comments

—>After calling every major computer maker with two basic questions, Laptop Magazine determined that Apple has the best overall tech support, while Dell, HP, and Acer have the worst. Though the results aren't surprising, the depth of the PC makers' incompetence is truly disappointing...  More »

Need Your Apple Product Fixed? Try TechRestore Or iFixIt
By Chris Walters on June 10, 2009 9:08 PM   25 Comments

—>I've always relied on TechRestore for cheap upgrades or repairs on any Apple products I've owned, but if you prefer DIY repairs, try the new iFixit website, which will sell you the parts and then provide detailed guides on what to do with them.  More »

Has Comcast Hired ELIZA For Customer Chat Support?
By Chris Walters on April 8, 2009 6:42 PM   56 Comments

—>This English-as-a-second-language tech support guy just wants to help Noah out, but the weird combination of formal exchanges and misunderstandings make him sound like an AI program. We don't think Jullan even realizes that his good-natured attempts to help are only annoying the customer more. In theory, we like the idea of a tech support guy "extending an extra mile," but maybe next time he should stick to tech support and leave billing questions unto the billing department.  More »

EA Games Tech Support Actually Listens, Bends Rules To Help You Solve Problem
By Alex Chasick on January 6, 2009 5:00 PM   56 Comments

—>Mike had an increasingly rare experience with EA Games tech support: the customer service representative listened, empathized, and made an exception to the rules in order to please a customer.  More »

Nintendo Repairs Out-Of-Warranty Wii In One Day, For Free
By Chris Walters on September 12, 2008 7:57 PM   64 Comments
I have a first generation Nintendo Wii and I recently bought the game Boom Blox for it. When I put the game in to start playing it would often lock up at the health warning screen and I would have to restart my Wii by unplugging it since no other method would work.  More »

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