How to troubleshoot before asking for tech support

Before you pick up the phone, send an email or text – try a few things yourself.
You will save everyone some time if you do! Many times, it only takes a restart to get things rolling again.

But if you do have to contact tech support, have this information handy:

  1. Document what you were doing when the issue happened
  2. What software or browsers were open
  3. Did you try turning it on and off again
  4. Know what operating system you are using
  5. Is everything updated?  Your OS, your browser, the app, etc?
  6. If it is an internet issue, can you use another browser?  Are you connected?
  7. Know who to call for what type of issue.  (Which vendor handles what)
  8. Have you used tools like anti-virus, spyware removal, disk cleanup or defrag?
  9. Did you write down the actual error message or take a screenshot of the message?
  10. Has anything changed recently on your set up?

The more you can share with tech support the faster the solution will appear.  It is worth the time to spend getting to know more about the tech you are using every day.

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