tech support
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Toyota will share its patented hybrid vehicle tech for free
With more than 80 percent of the hybrid vehicle market, Toyota is undoubtedly a leader in hybrid technology. Rather than lock that expertise away, Toyota announced it will share nearly 24,000 patents with fellow automakers. According to the company, this is an attempt to promote electrified vehicles worldwide and combat global emissions -- a kind of rising tide lifts all boats approach.
FTC fines Office Depot $25 million for bogus virus scans
Office Depot agreed this week to pay a $25 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly lying to customers in order to get them to pay for tech support. The retailer offered consumers a free virus scan, which would claim to the person's computer was infected with malware even if it wasn't. According to the FTC, Office Depot scammed customers out of millions of dollars for computer repair services between 2009 and November 2016.
Dear Veronica: STEM gifts and holiday disasters
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-860048{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-860048, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-860048{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-860048").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Looking for that perfect gift for your sweet little munchkin this holiday season? We have some great ideas for the STEM-curious set out there!We also get suggestions for that perfect geeky getaway to San Francisco and Los Angeles from Morgan Webb and Broke-Ass Stuart Schuffman.Don't worry, we have a few more of your holiday tech support disasters. Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone!
Dear Veronica: Santa's little tech supporters
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-577584{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-577584, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-577584{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-577584").style.display="none";}catch(e){}You guys delivered when it came to tech support disasters over the holidays! Check out your worst stories, as well as those of the Engadget staff! You have so much more patience than I do, seriously.We also get a great response about how to get the best bass for your buck when it comes to earbuds! James Trew helps us out with his advice.And finally today, a little fun with my steps for determining whether or not the 5-second rule applies. Hey, you asked!
How to avoid the tech support search engine trap
Recently, a friend of mine was having troubles with his Epson scanner. He Googled Epson tech support and wound up talking to a technician who logged into his Mac and claimed to find viruses that were affecting the scanner's performance. He offered to fix the problems on the spot for US$200. My friend didn't call me in time, becoming a victim of search engine ranking that can give top search billing to firms that are often not what they appear to be -- in this case, Epson's tech support team -- and more often, simply con men. Ultimately, my friend's problem was misconfigured software. He shouldn't have let someone log into his Mac, but he thought -- mistakenly -- that he was talking to Epson. It's a common problem. Even doing a Google search on iPhone tech support gave me three non-Apple firms as results. Yes, most of us look at the web address of the link, but many people don't, and that makes this kind of scam profitable. And sure, there are third-party technicians who show up in the results and are often members of the Apple Consultants Network who could provide top-notch support. But many people have no idea who is genuine or bogus until it's too late. It's not just Google. I ran the same search on Bing and got similar results. While Google at least highlights the third parties as ads, Bing's page layout doesn't exactly make it easy to see what are ads and what are real search results. In fact, Epson's support page was the fifth item on the list of Bing results. I had a similar experience while trying to book hotel reservations. I wanted a room with a national chain, and the top search result looked legitimate. It wasn't, and all kinds of fees were added to what should have been an inexpensive set of rooms. I cancelled, booked with the chain directly, and saved $175.00. Many of our readers know this, but others do not. Search engines are in business to make money, and search results can be skewed by companies paying search providers for featured listings. If you need tech support for your devices, be sure to contact the manufacturer directly. And if you need local hands-on help, look for providers who are certified by a manufacturer. You'll often see the same misleading search results when looking for manuals and instructions. There are third parties that lead the search engines links, but then they want your email address for who knows what purpose, or you may be asked to pay for something you can download directly for free. Almost every manufacturer makes up-to-date manuals and instruction sheets available at no cost, so don't fall for scams that charge a fee for what could be outdated information. Both Google and Bing will show you the web addresses on your search. If a given result doesn't appear to be pointed to an actual manufacturer's web site, look for the proper link to save yourself frustration and potentially some money. If you have had similar experiences, be sure to share them with our readers. For more information about how web search works, there is a solid academic paper at the Stanford University website. And yes, I found it using Google.
Tech support heroes DO exist
Ahhhh, tech support. It's either really, really good, or it sucks. Usually, all we hear about are the situations where somebody spent four hours on the phone with someone in Mumbai who was reading a script, or the know-nothing person who decided to hang up on you after you suggested that they might want to actually learn something about the product they're "supporting." I recently had two completely different -- but very positive -- tech support experiences that showed me that some companies really do care about customers and go out of their way to make sure customers are happy. Securifi (Almond Router) I've owned a Securifi Almond Router for about 10 months now, and it just chugs away doing its job faithfully. A little over a week ago, I was working on a "how to" post for TUAW and it occurred to me that I hadn't checked for any firmware updates for the Almond since I bought it. So I walked over to the router, tapped on its built-in display and started the update process. Well, the Almond downloaded the new firmware, began loading it and then froze... Of course, it's not a good thing to unplug a device during a firmware update, so I waited. About 30 minutes later, I was beginning to get quite irritated since the router was down and I wasn't getting any work done, so I did the unthinkable and yanked the power cord. Big mistake -- after I plugged it back in, the device was stuck at the Almond startup screen. I called Securifi's support number and was talking to Ashok within seconds. I explained what went on, and then he walked me through a few possible fixes. At one point he asked me to unplug both the device and the AC adapter and leave them unplugged for about 15 minutes, and he called back in exactly 15 minutes to walk me through the next steps. Ashok quickly decided that a replacement device was in order, explained the replacement process to me and then verified my address. Within a few days I had the replacement, and a prepaid UPS shipping label was emailed to me to return the bad unit. Throughout the situation Ashok was the consummate professional, listening intently, asking the right questions and being very polite. This positive support experience made me much more likely to buy Almond's next-generation Almond+ when it arrives. Motrr (Galileo) Motrr's Galileo robotic iPhone mount is a great tool for taking moving time-lapse movies or taking immersive spherical photos using the Sphere app -- that's why I was upset when the darned thing decided to fail while I was on a vacation. It didn't seem to be holding a charge, and the usual "connect" process to pair with the iPhone (you twist the bottom of the Galileo) showed no results. No connection meant no automated Sphere images. Motrr doesn't have a phone number you can call, instead using a few support pages on its website as well as the Zendesk support ticket system. I turned in a request when I got back from my trip, and after a slight delay brought on by the holidays, I was asked by Eliza if I was plugging the Galileo into a wall socket or a computer USB port (it doesn't support USB port charging). I responded that I was using the wall socket and a standard USB AC adapter. At this point there was a bit of a delay, but I was so busy with our new editorial schedule here at TUAW that I really didn't even remember that I hadn't heard back. On Sunday, I thought about the Galileo again, pinged Eliza via email, and got a response yesterday morning with a sincere apology and a suggestion to check out the reset procedure on the support page. Hmmm... I hadn't seen that when I went out to the Motrr website. Sure enough, the reset process -- which is kind of odd as it requires you to short out a few pins on the bottom of the device with a bent paperclip -- worked, and the Galileo is now humming perfectly. As with Ashok at Securifi, all of the online encounters with Eliza were professional and to the point. Do you have any tech support hero stories? Now it's your turn. Honestly, we don't want to hear any stories of bad tech support nightmares because they're so prevalent, but if you've had an experience that made you wanted to jump up and cheer, let us know about it in the comments. Let's give those tech support heroes their gold medals, OK?
Disconnects and latency issues and Patch 5.3
No one likes high latency, least of all someone playing an MMO that can demand reaction time the way World of Warcraft can, especially in raids. But even out in the world, latency can be a killer. So when people started reporting issues with connections to World of Warcraft soon after patch 5.3 launched, it got a lot of players noticing. In a six page forum thread there's been a lot of lively discussion of what's going on - whether it's on Blizzard's end, or somewhere between the computers of the affected players and the Blizzard servers. If you remember the Lagpocalypse post, you know how complicated these issues can get. MVP forum poster Lissanna posted an interesting walkthrough of her own attempts to find the culprit today, and explained why despite some forum poster dissatisfaction that it is indeed helpful to run a traceroute and pathping and post the results to the tech support forums, since it gives Blizzard an idea of who to talk to about these issues. If they don't know who's being affected, where those people are, and more importantly where the issue is physically located there's not much they can do to help. So if you're having the same problem, giving Blizzard as much information as possible is definitely helpful in terms of getting this sorted out. I've seen people in my raids disconnect on every single boss so far while I haven't had the issue at all myself, suggesting the problem isn't on Blizzard's end but is out there somewhere in the path the data takes between Blizzard and the players. Hopefully it can be solved soon.
Guild Wars 2 boots up support and help forums
Those seeking help from the Guild Wars 2 pantheon of gods (and developers) now have an official source of help and information. ArenaNet brought online a portion of its forums for the game to deliver news and support from a centralized location. The new Guild Wars 2 forums include a place for official announcements, the dev tracker, account issues, technical support, and reporting game bugs. For those looking to talk about the game, ask questions, and share tips, ArenaNet's also opened a Players Helping Players forum to facilitate that discussion. [Thanks to Cecil for the tip!]
Samsung launches customer service app on Android as proof that it Cares
Worried that Samsung is too busy selling millions of devices to care about you, the individual consumer? Fear not, for the company has released an app to prove its unconditional dedication to your happiness, and it's appropriately called Samsung Cares. The program serves as a hub for online support, offering how-to videos, troubleshooting guides, FAQs and service ticket tracking. Oh, and for those who don't own a Samsung device but still want the sweet reassurance of the company's interest in your well-being (or perhaps you just use other products made by Sammy), the free app can be downloaded on any phone or tablet running Android 2.1 or higher. Head to the source to grab a copy for yourself.
Verizon updates Revolution with Remote Diagnostics, HTC turns to LogMeIn
Both Verizon and HTC are experimenting with remote diagnostics and tech support. Big Red will be offering the tool to owners of the LG Revolution first. The VS910ZV8 update delivers a number of changes, but the most notable new feature is the integration of Verizon Remote Diagnostics. Now, when a customer calls support, the technician (or script follower, as the case may be) on the other side can take control of the user's device to troubleshoot or demo apps. And, just in case you're paranoid about handing over the keys to your handset, the tool only collects info such as battery temp, OS version and what apps are installed -- your contacts and other personal data are safe from prying eyes. HTC plans to offer similar capabilities on its phones, but through LogMeIn Rescue. Future handsets from the company will come with the app preinstalled so that HTC's own technicians can diagnose issues and tweak settings. For more details on the Revolution update hit up the source link and check out the PR after the break for the low down on HTC's initiative.Update: It looks like the Droid Charge will also be getting an update soon that will install Verizon Remote Diagnostics. This could be a pretty quick roll out.
Microsoft launches AnswerDesk online, brings tech support to your basement apartment
Love getting others to fix your computer, but hate the nuisance of putting on pants and leaving your house? Great news! Microsoft has launched an online version of its in-store AnswerDesk tech support, letting customers get the help they need from the comfort of their own busted computer. You can go online to get live chat-based help from a selection of techs 24/7. The service lets you shop for assistants, based on experience for troubleshooting help. The first taste is free -- if you need additional support with things like remote virus removal or system training, however, it'll cost you. The service requires a Windows Live ID and can be found at the source link below.
Tech support for iPhone is cheaper than BlackBerry, Android
Research into IT administration has already shown that Macs are cheaper to manage than PCs. According to analytics firm ClickFox, the same is true of the iPhone versus its competitors. InfoWorld reports that ClickFox found the iPhone requires far less tech support from the carriers than phones based on the BlackBerry or Android platforms. ClickFox performed an analysis of support calls placed to call centers dedicated to the three platforms and discovered that multiple agents, multiple transfers, and often multiple sessions are required in order to solve BlackBerry or Android issues. By contrast, iPhone problems usually resolved in only a single call. Using the iPhone as a baseline, ClickFox found BlackBerry users required additional support (e.g., call transfers, followups) 37 percent of the time. Android users required more help a staggering 77 percent of the time. All that additional time on the phone with tech support adds up. With 11.5 million BlackBerry incidents and 24 million Android incidents requiring extra support, those costs spiral upward pretty quickly. Compared to support costs for the iPhone, ClickFox estimates the total cost of additional tech support is US$46 million higher for BlackBerry users and $97 million higher for Android users -- per year. Apple's focus on user experience is key to the iPhone's success, and if ClickFox's survey data is accurate, it looks like that's trickled down to lower support costs as well. That might be a contributing factor in the high iPhone adoption rates that firms like Good Technology keep seeing in the enterprise sector.
Survey: Apple's lead in tech support satisfaction is slipping
According to a survey [PDF] of over 4,000 customers, satisfaction with Apple's phone-based support is slipping, while other computer manufacturers like HP are gaining. Apple is still the undisputed leader with 58% of Apple customers saying they were "Very Satisfied" with their experience. Though higher than the 53% rate for HP and 47% for Dell, Apple's satisfaction rating has dropped 15 points since last year. It appears as if the automated part of the tech support process has people stymied. According to the survey, only 24 percent of Apple customers are "Very Satisfied" with automated support calls. In this category, Apple trails both Dell and HP whose customers are 30% and 46% satisfied with the experience, respectively. [Via TechCrunch]
AT&T U-verse Troubleshoot and Resolve app brings tech support via set-top box
The latest interactive addition from AT&T for users of its U-verse IPTV service isn't going to enhance Wimbledon or the Masters, but it might help fix picture issues. For things that just need a settings tweak, like the aspect ratio being off, it can walk users through the fix and for things that are more complicated it can request a call from tech support. There's a breezy video demo to give you an idea of what to expect embedded above or they can find it under the "help" menu once the feature reaches their area.
New Blizzard support site lets you track, edit, and update your GM tickets
Submitting a GM ticket has always been sort of an arcane process -- you're not really sure where your ticket goes, or to who, or what steps have been taken to resolve your particular issue. It's a pain! Thankfully, it's always been a long-term goal of the support department to demystify and improve the support process for players, and Blizzard has unveiled a big new step in that direction: a new support website. What's so great about it? Well, it collects all lines of communication for support in one place and attempts to provide automated help for your request where applicable, while you wait for a representative. The biggest improvement, though, is that the site lets you track the progress of your support requests. This includes tech support emails, billing inquiries, and yes, GM tickets. You can edit your ticket while it's in the queue, track it, and even update your ticket and place it back in queue after it's been closed if you feel it wasn't addressed properly. The full text of Blizzard's announcement is after the cut.
Google's Teach Parents Tech site to help mom and dad find the 'any' key this Christmas
It happens every December. You head home for the holidays only to be accosted by parents who need help fixing their computers. This year, it looks like Google will be lending a hand with its unannounced Teach Parents Tech series of public service videos. The Google-registered website teachparentstech.org still shows a "coming soon..." graphic and the videos remain unlisted on YouTube, but that shouldn't stop you from sending the source link below to your parents right now. At the moment, we're counting 54 cross-platform how-to videos hosted by real live Google employees. The videos are brief (less than a minute) covering topics as simple as "how to copy and paste" and "how to attach a file to an email" to more advanced sessions covering "how to setup an email autoresponder" and even "how to find cheap flights." Unfortunately, even Google can't explain to parents how to create a FAT32 hard drive partition. See what we mean after the break. Update: And it's live. Might as well get in the gift-giving spirit, eh? [Thanks, Nathan G.]
Laptop's 2010 tech support showdown reveals ugly truth: you're (almost) on your own
Dealing with warranties is one thing -- it's almost always a crap-shoot, and you're continually pressing your luck when trying to get something covered without any out-of-pocket expense. But how's about the tech support that's so whimsically promised with so many laptops these days? Our pals over at Laptop put in an inordinate amount of work in order to find out, pinging a full dozen manufacturers via phone and chat in order to measure hold time, level of support offered and overall satisfaction. Just about every major laptop maker was included (Acer, Apple, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Toshiba and Fujitsu, just to name a few), and an in-depth report of their findings was posted for each one. In general, though, they found that most companies wouldn't hang around long enough to answer those nagging questions that typically end up in forums ("How do I remove bloatware?"), oftentimes pointing the caller to a paid alternative that would actually take the time to address their issues. If you're considering a new machine, and you aren't exactly one of those nerdy go-getters who can troubleshoot everything yourself, you should certainly give the source links below a look. Just try not to get too depressed, cool?
Review: APB (Day 1: Welcome to San Paro)
Review Diary Day 1: Welcome to San Paro Day 2: Enforcers, get enforcin' Day 3: Choose your illusion Day 4: Cards on the table Reviewing an MMO is a famously tough thing to do. The things that make a good massively multiplayer game (a strong update schedule, a solid community, and a mechanic that supports gameplay across a wide audience) are tough to quantify in a one-shot writeup. Many outlets avoid the task completely, leaving the judgment of newly-released MMOs to their own communities. If an online game floats, it's good, goes the conventional wisdom. If it sinks, it wasn't any good anyway. But reviewing a game can shine a harsh light on its weaknesses, put a spotlight on its best features and help bring attention to lesser-known yet still deserving titles. Despite its differences from more traditional boxed products, don't MMOs deserve the same treatment? So, in that spirit, we're presenting a review for All Points Bulletin, the latest game and first MMO from developer Dave Jones and his Realtime Worlds. MMOs are an evolving investment in both time and money, so rather than a simple writeup, I'll have a few posts over this week to look at all of the different aspects of the game critically. Today, I'll install the game and create my character. Tomorrow, I'll talk about the actual grind and how it works. Thursday will cover the game's community and customization options, and Friday will feature APB's current state and Realtime Worlds' future plans for the title, along with final impressions and the overall review score. %Gallery-65497%
Walmart to rival Best Buy's Geek Squad with own in-home install crew
We've never truly been at ease with that Geek Squad crowd. Something about "the people" they hang with and "the places" they hang at just worries us, so we're pretty thrilled to see another mega-corp stepping in to take the place of the now-deceased Circuit City FireDog crew. Starting sometime before the holiday season, Wally World will be partnering with N.E.W. Customer Service Companies in order to offer in-home installation to customers buying anything from a wireless router to a HTIB. The service plans will be sold on prepaid cards ranging from $99 to $399 in value, and each install includes a "preliminary consultation and a tutorial after installation is completed." Granted, it may be a bit tough to get the dude looking to spend $5 on a new plasma to spring for such a service, but hey, it's not like competition is a bad thing. [Via Hot Hardware]
Issues with Mobile Authenticator get it pulled from the App Store
Blizzard's mobile authenticator updated recently, and as soon as it did, we started getting tips on the tipline saying there was a major issue. Apparently the update reset the code associated with your authenticator, which meant that if you applied the authenticator update (and had the authenticator connected to your account), there was no way to actually get a code to login to your account. In short, if you apply the mobile authenticator update, you won't be able to log in to your account until you take the authenticator off completely (I'd assume you can then reinstall and reuse the authenticator, though people will probably be a little more trigger-shy about that one). There are instructions for how to do all of this over on the forums.Of course it's a major issue, and in response, Blizzard has acknowledged the problem and apparently pulled the Authenticator from the App Store. So if (like me) you haven't updated yet, you won't need to worry about it, and hopefully the next version will fix the issue. But yes, if you have updated, you'll need to go through the steps above to remove the app from your iPhone and account, or just call Blizzard customer service at 1-949-955-1382 and they should be able to help you with the issue.Update: So far we've only heard about problems with the iPhone version, and of course the issue is when you go from the old to the new version. If you use another phone, or have only used the new version, you shouldn't have any issues.
