14 DAY TRIAL // Contacting tech support when something goes wrong should be the last entry on your options list, and as far as Microsoft’s own services are concerned, we all know that you should expect the worse to happen when getting in touch with an engineer.
But when it comes to Windows 10, tech support engineers don’t seem to be well trained to aid customers in fixing issues or setting up specific features, and most of them actually recommend the complete removal of the OS and the downgrade to Windows 7 or 8.1.
Laptopmag performed a test to determine how tech support services respond when asked about Windows 10 problems, but surprisingly, the answer was in every case odd and unexpected.
Dell, HP, and Lenovo support engineers have one by one recommended users to uninstall Windows 10 and go back to their previous Windows version, be it 7 or 8.1.
“Why don’t you keep the mic always on?”
In Dell’s case, when the support service was contacted for instructions on changing the touchpad’s scrolling direction on a laptop running Windows 10, the engineers at the other end of the line complained about the operating system’s performance and transferred the call to another “expert” who recommended removing Windows 10.
As for HP, the support engineer not only tried to resolve the reported problem to no avail but also attempted to downgrade to Windows 8.1, saying that she “doesn’t recommend customers to upgrade to Windows 10.”
And last but not least, Lenovo’s staff had no idea about Hey Cortana and advised the caller to keep the microphone always on in order to be able to launch the personal assistant at any given moment.
While all these suggestions are clearly against Microsoft’s policy of encouraging everyone to move to Windows 10, Mike Nash, HP's VP of customer experience, had a very good answer when asked why support staff tell users to downgrade: “at the end of the day, the person’s job is to get the PC running.”