Even though I use my computer every day, if you asked me how it works, you’d be met with a deafening silence. I’d like to imagine it as a magic box (probably full of elves) that does as I say and instantly answers my most burning questions. While this might sound absurd, most adults are in a similar situation, as the majority only have basic skills that revolve around email and web browsing. That’s why tech support personnel often struggle to deal with us technologically challenged folks.
Luckily, a place online exists where they can vent their frustrations that accumulate on the job. Called the “Tech Support Gore” subreddit, it gathers all tech support guys and gals and encourages them to share the worst ways people have mishandled their technology. Scroll down to find the most abysmal examples that caused tech support workers to cringe inside, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that made you appreciate every IT professional.
While you're at it, make sure to check out a conversation with IT professional, technology consultant, and founder of Smart Space IT, Barry Wong, and Dr. Aderinsola Adio-Adepoju, founder of Skilled For Work Academy, a curriculum designed to teach workplace skills to literate Africans, including digital and technological ones, who kindly agreed to provide a few tips on how we can become more digitally proficient.
#1 Ticket: "The Switch Is Noisy And Reboots All The Time, Cannot Diagnose."
Image credits: DacianDan
#2 Queens, NY Is Not Somewhere I'd Like To Be A Phone Tech
Image credits: djspacebunny
#3 I Think It Needs A Little Bit More Solder
Image credits: Subclips
In today’s technological world, digital literacy is crucial to communicating, accessing information, and developing careers. In fact, 70% of all jobs worldwide will require their employees to be digitally skilled by 2025.
However, research shows that 40% of employers struggle to find candidates with the necessary technological proficiency, indicating that people in the year 2024 still are not up to par with their digital skills.
#4 High School Chromebook
Image credits: ItsRao
#5 Found On Facebook
Image credits: [deleted]
#6 I Found This Spicy Pillow At A Vet Clinic. Surface Pro 4, About 7 Years Old
Image credits: GreenEggPage
2021 data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that 2.9 billion people are still offline and have never browsed the World Wide Web. Unsurprisingly, 96% of those live in developing countries.
Even those 4.9 billion Internet users don’t have the opportunity to go online on a regular basis. Many who are digitally excluded may face challenges like poverty, illiteracy, accessing electricity, and lacking digital skills and awareness.
Dr. Aderinsola Adio-Adepoju, founder of Skilled For Work Academy, has witnessed the unfortunate consequences of technology mishandling in developing countries firsthand.
"Many Africans lack basic computer skills, making them vulnerable to security risks and limiting their employability. In fact, according to the African Development Bank, approximately 45% of Africans lack basic digital skills, and 70% of African youth lack the skills needed to succeed in the digital economy."
#7 The Network Is Down
Image credits: 80558055
#8 Its Still Running!!
Image credits: Technobullshizzzzzz
#9 Nothing Like A Little Game Of Chicken When You Need To Plug In Your Ethernet Cable
Image credits: pinkyepsilon
"I'm passionate about educating others about technology and workplace skills. As I mentioned in my previous post on LinkedIn, I've seen people spend years chasing certifications and degrees, only to realize they lack the clarity and skills needed to succeed in the workforce," explains Dr. Aderinsola.
"I created the Skilled For Work Academy - to provide Africans with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the digital age. My experience has taught me that technology education is crucial for economic growth and development in Africa. I've seen how it can transform lives and communities. According to the World Bank, every 10% increase in digital skills in Africa can lead to a 1.5% increase in GDP growth."
#10 User States "PC Runs Like Crap"
Image credits: OnnPurpose
#11 Grandma-Proofed Remotes
Image credits: sweylyn1
#12 The Coax Cable Is Broken? No Problem My Dear, Just Raise The Router With Lunchboxes And Use A Needle (It Actually Works!)
Image credits: themo98
Meanwhile, in developed countries like the US, only 7% of people never went online. This is strongly linked to age, as older Americans are the least likely to use the Internet. Education levels and income also contribute to people not being online.
Despite some people still being offline, the vast majority of the global population is now using the Internet. That said, according to the World Economic Forum, only 5% reach level three of digital proficiency—the highest level of skill. 14% were below level one or had a very basic understanding of technology.
Most people (28.7%) were at level one, which meant they could solve a problem using email and a web browser. A quarter falls into the second level at which they could complete a task using an online form and navigating through several pages and applications.
#13 Celebrate 25 Years With An Imac Graveyard
Image credits: ClassyTurkey
#14 Mac Bench
Image credits: secretslut991
#15 “Why Won’t My WiFi Work?”
Image credits: Fabio-the-proto-fox
Unfortunately, the general view of people’s technology proficiency seems bleak, which IT professional, technology consultant, and founder of Smart Space IT, Barry Wong, seems to agree with.
"A majority of my clients are self-employed, operate their own businesses, and are technologically challenged," he says.
One of the most common cases of technology mishandling that he has seen is not having important data backed up properly.
"A common misconception is that cloud backup is enough. However, what most people don’t realize is that backing up files into the cloud is not enough, and they're still at risk of losing data. A proper backup strategy includes 3 backups - 2 backups on different media (cloud storage and external hard drive, DVD, or USB drive) and 1 backup off-site.
If your backups are in the office and/or home, what will happen to them in the case of a fire or flood? That’s why it’s important to have 1 backup off-site. Ideally, the off-site backup would be in a safety deposit box," he advises.
#16 Friend Asked If I Can Recover Her Photos
Image credits: Lavadragon15396
#17 Cheap Solar Powered Portable Charger Took In A Little To Much Sun Light
Image credits: ThatsPurttyGood101
#18 Colleague Came Down To It Complaining Their Company Phone Wasn’t Charging Fast Enough
Image credits: kong_not_my_godzilla
Meanwhile, Dr. Aderinsola often sees people infringing on virtual meeting etiquette, like forgetting to mute their microphone or not using headphones. Or sending passwords via email and using AI to do academic assignments, which leads to plagiarism.
However, the good news is that we all personally can make improvements on this front, which can provide us with better job opportunities, personal development, and increased social engagement.
#19 Spicy Pillow Becomes A Hot Pocket. Causes Evacuation
Image credits: temperatechicken
#20 I Was On Vacation And The Restaurant Was Complaining Why Their Wi-Fi Wasn’t Working. I Wonder Why
Image credits: epic-drew16
#21 User Left Their MacBook In The Fridge Overnight Because It Was Overheating
Image credits: MrMattXD
Wong suggests starting by learning to secure private information. "It’s very easy to get scammed via email or have a home wifi network hacked. The easiest way for people to educate themselves about technology is to read the manuals for the technology they use on a daily basis. Visit the websites for the technology they use to learn how to secure them."
The best tip he has on being safe online is to refrain from clicking on any questionable links a person receives via emails or messages. "If the email is questionable, click the email address of the sender to see if it’s legit."
#22 Ticket Says "I Think The Projector Just Had A Heart Attack"
Image credits: FromPaul
#23 No Better Way To Do This
Image credits: Jugghead58
#24 I Was Wondering Why My Internet Was So Slow. Now I'm Wondering Why It Worked At All
Image credits: Hungry-Sir7892
"Just today I received an email from Apple Support in regards to a support call," Wong shares. "I didn’t have a support call with Apple recently, so I checked the sender’s email address, and it was clear the email did not come from Apple, even though the email content looked similar to an email from Apple. Be skeptical about the emails you receive and question articles and videos you see online. These days, AI can generate realistic content that may be false and dangerous," he warns.
#25 When You Aren't Confident Enough To Do A Bga Soldering
Image credits: Shommba
#26 I Had To Install A Gpu From 2012 In A 2018 Cyberpower PC And I Lost Screws So I Had To Improvise
Image credits: Sabbath_lives
#27 Me: "Has Your Phone Had Any Contact With Water?" Customer: "Not That I Know Of..."
Image credits: bubonis
Dr. Aderinsola recommends starting with basic computer literacy skills such as getting familiar with Google Workplace apps (e.g., browsers, documents, sheets) and taking programs that offer community support and mentorship (e.g., SFW Academy).
Lastly, she mentions that it's important to practice computer literacy skills in day-to-day activities and stay up-to-date with the latest technology trends.
#28 Disk Drive
Image credits: YourLocalKidney
#29 I Got A Gpu On Ebay From St. Petersburg, Russia Before The War Started And It Obviously Was Harvested From A Highly Secure (Ts?) Workstation
Image credits: Cellbuilder2
#30 Can't Tell If The Kids Wanted To Watch Dora Or Play Dark Souls
Image credits: ThatCurlyHairedGuy20
#31 My Friend Wanted To See The Inside Of His Phone
Image credits: Remarkable_Day7135
#32 Rate My Nas
Image credits: UsernamesAreHard97
#33 Is This An Acceptable Bend Radius?
Image credits: LevySkulk
#34 Dell Engineer "Fixed" My Desktop
Image credits: Visolas
#35 The Most Disgusting Still-In-Use Charger I’ve Ever Seen
Image credits: MagicPropaneMAN
#36 Costumer Came In Today Almost In Tears Asking Us If We Can Recover Her 5+years Of Work Data
Image credits: danikajak
#37 My Mil Was Due To Catch A Flight At 6.00am But She "Doesn't Trust Technology" So She Tried To Photocopy Her Digital Boarding Pass Off Her Phone. The Tech Support Question Was "What's Wrong With The Photocopier"
Image credits: CharlieDancey
#38 PC From A Pool Supplies Store ?
Image credits: Warymikey
#39 Customer Dropped His Camera In Salt Water, Rice It
Image credits: PRiMEFiL
#40 If My Mental Health Was An Ethernet Cable
Image credits: AffectionateToast
#41 My Motherboard Died
Image credits: leebishop2710
#42 Parents Had Flakey Internet And Had To Keep Restarting Equipment In Order So My Dad Built This Contraption To Start Them Up With Timers In Order
Image credits: Ksevio
#43 Being A Alarm Engineer This Just Brings Pain
Image credits: Imnotshankled
#44 This Was Brought To Us With The Words "This One Broke, We Need A New One."
Image credits: BroLegendCZE
#45 This Image Used By A Musicstore As A Form Of Ad
Image credits: Makys182
#46 Yes, That Is Fiber. Yes, They’re “Finished”
Image credits: misterfistyersister
#47 The Network Is Down
Image credits: krattalak
#48 “I Need The Data Recovered From This! Cost Is No Issue!”
Image credits: the123king-reddit
#49 Ladies, Gents, All Of The Above? None Of The Above! I Present: My Office's Ftp Server
Image credits: CubisticWings4
#50 My Friend Doesn't Have M.2 Screws, So He Used The Sticker From A Package To Hold His Nvme Drive In His Computer
Image credits: Tom60chat
#51 But Why?
Image credits: encephalophagous
#52 "Our Printer Is Printing Dark Pages."
Image credits: jstep32x
#53 Intruder Breaks Fan On Inverter Then Dies
Image credits: Vampire_Filip
#54 Random Access Point That Just Showed Up One Day. Is Not On Our Controller, But Has Been Configed To Use Our Ssid
Image credits: FKFnz
#55 Customer: Phone Fell Out Of Handbag
Image credits: Ariala96
#56 50 Bucks For Chromecast Audio?? No Thanks - I'll Gut My Google Home Mini!!
Image credits: kingganjaguru
#57 Who The Fsck Designed This Motherboard ???
Image credits: Fyver42
#58 What In The Exact F**k
Image credits: ARDACCCAC
#59 My Friend Thinks His Phone Is Fine, What Do You Think? (And Yes It Smells Like Lithium)
Image credits: Wolfbreeder7
#60 I Thought I Had Seen It All
Image credits: Ziege19
#61 This 3680w Timer Provided Power For Three Pioneer 65" Plasma Sets That Turned On At The Same Time
Image credits: [deleted]
#62 Residential Client Says They Need Data Off Their Old Hard Drive… (Pen For Scale)
Image credits: Joe1038h
#63 Very High Quality Apple Charger
Image credits: kastamonubamyasi
#64 One Of My Customers Having Fun With Their Water Jet Cutters
Image credits: Hollaz2alex
#65 My Friend Made A "File Server" - Then Asks Me Why He Cannot Access His Files
Image credits: Ryder17z
#66 After Seeing Some Posts About Fake Ssds Just Being 1 Flash Drive. So I Opened One Of My Fake Ones To Check. One Sacrificed Tool And Slightly Damaged Pocket Knife Later, A Micro Sd Card Hot Glued To A Circuit Board
Image credits: Shamblamkamlba
#67 “I Heard A Pop, And A Crack, Now My PC Won’t Turn On.”
Image credits: M40A3JAG
#68 Why Is My Projector Overheating?
Image credits: UltraCroc
#69 Our New Mascot, Student Sent This In Stating They Accidently Dropped Their Backpack From Their Second Floor Porch, Somehow I Don't Believe That. Now It's Our New Mascot Named Crash
Image credits: Kirbeh87
#70 My Wife Was Checking A Receipt While Cooking And Turned On The Wrong Stovetop
Image credits: m3rlin31
#71 Asked The New Guy To Make Sure The Printer Has Paper... [from R/Mildlyinfuriating]
Image credits: jasminesart
#72 Delidding A Ps3
Image credits: FalseStevenMcCroskey
#73 They Told Me That The Computer Wasn't Turning On
Image credits: Verygafanhot
#74 I Was Hoping Replacing The Coax With Ethernet Would Be Easy. I Was Mistaken
Image credits: theyarealone
#75 Just Received A Router For Repair. Wondering Why It Won't Turn On
Image credits: PaulR282
#76 Tried To Fix My Laptop, Heard A Pop
Image credits: BuzzLaiclere
#77 I ❤️ Public Schools
Image credits: cyproyt
#78 Shopping Mall Visitors Gradually Pick Off LED From The Panel
Image credits: kvior1
#79 Just Had My First Day Back In School Today. I Find This Outside Of My Classroom. It's So Tempting To Just Yank Out The Cable And Exchange It Atleast For A Shorter One. Please, God Help Me
Image credits: Karlsonreleasedate
#80 After Some Construction, Customer Complained About Poor Wi-Fi Signal
Image credits: iruber1337
#81 Guess What Happened When The Client Tried To Cook Again? Recipe Not Included
Image credits: 1Arcite
#82 Cpu Was Overheating With The Dinky Stock Cooler So I Stuck 2 Heatsinks Together. Dropped 10 Degrees Under Load
Image credits: 3DRAH33M
#83 Guy Comes Up To Me At Work, And Says He Wants A Car Charger. Then Proceeds To Show Me His Little Hot Pocket... :|
Image credits: alhamil82
#84 Built In USB Port On The Home Theatre Seats At A Friends House Is Outputting 30v And Has Killed A Phone, A Wii U Tablet And My USB Port Tester
Image credits: arkiser13
#85 This Hurts To Look At
Image credits: IIVindictiveII
#86 This Is How Two Tablets Came Back
Image credits: CreepyMarine
#87 I Trying Telling Them Not To. Rip 2012-2024
Image credits: RingPristine7474
#88 Customer Brought This. They Said After Repasting It No Longer Boots
Image credits: ChlupataKulicka
#89 Customer Brought This. They Said That Laptop Is Overheating And Something Might Be Loose Inside
Image credits: Wonderful_Chapter_73
#90 Monitor At A Fast Food Place
Image credits: salpairzzz
#91 Student Dropped An iMac
Image credits: d00d00frt
#92 Brand New Fortigate 60f
Image credits: Oldstick
#93 Yeah, That'll Work
Image credits: Koala_Hands
#94 WiFi Is Kinda Slow On The 3rd Floor Can You Check It Out?
Image credits: tucaninmypants
#95 Upon Disassembly, I Think I Can See Why This Rx580 Doesn't Work
Image credits: sapopeonarope
#96 How Amazon Shipped My Replacement Hdd's For My Nas For Work
Image credits: novalg
#97 I Will Kill All Of The Isps That Do This
Image credits: justdancepepi
#98 Good Ol Susan Complaining That Her Laptop Doesn’t Charge And That Her Docking Station Doesn’t Work. Well No Shit Here’s Why
Image credits: Ngeo10
#99 Not Today, Death
Image credits: jakedata
#100 I Brought My Computer To The Repair Shop And The Tech Guy Let Me Keep The Problem Child Part. It Seems Fine, Should I Put It In Some Rice?
Image credits: Anuyushi
#101 Customer States That The Wall Has Always Been There…
Image credits: Miniman1523
#102 Potting Compound Can't Stop Me From Finding A Shorted Capacitor
Image credits: Suspiciously_Ugly
#103 Someone Plugged A M.2 Sata Directly Into Sata Power (Found On Facebook)
Image credits: jojo9092
#104 Would You Remove It Or Leave It ?
Image credits: fruitgamingspacstuff
#105 User States Hdmi Plug Doesn't Fit. User Is Right
Image credits: stuffman64
#106 A Friend Called Me To Ask Why There's No Internet? (This Is What A Repairman From His Isp Did)
Image credits: FurryRevolution
#107 This Room At My School Doesn’t Have Ethernet Jacks, So Some Genius Decided To Disconnect The Access Point And Attach A Network Switch To The Ceiling
Image credits: atomicdragon136
#108 It's Called "Networking"
Image credits: advanttage
#109 Uncle Tried To Take Sim Card Out Of Phone
Image credits: slikreos
#110 Turning This Power Point Off Turns Of Internet For About Half Of My School
Image credits: The_BTC_man
#111 This Just Feels Wrong
Image credits: MasterDragonFly
#112 I Always Buy Thinkpads For My Mom Since She's Rough On Laptops And They're Pretty Sturdy. She Still Managed To Break This One Though
Image credits: NeverMind_ThatShit
#113 My Friend Payed 35$ For This Monstrosity
Image credits: RightTerrace30
#114 Boss Told An Unsupervised Very Junior Tech To Open Up A Customer's 27" Imac
Image credits: bubonis
#115 Boss Sent Me Down To A Clinic To See If Anything Was Salvageable
Image credits: Baked_Potato_732
#116 The Dumbest Thing I’ve Had To Do This Year
Image credits: Alytrium
#117 "My Mouse Won't Work On My Chromebook!"
Image credits: [deleted]
#118 DIY Phone Cooling Upgrade
Image credits: matrix7266
#119 Introducing… Power Over Duct-Tape!
Image credits: braveduckgoose
#120 My Psu Decided To Say No Today, Glad To Be Wearing The Brown Pants
Image credits: dagonb1
#121 At Least The Pins Are Still Straight
Image credits: UnboxAnalysis
#122 They Called Us, Electricians, To Check Why Their Servers Were Really Loud
Image credits: TwoCraZyEyes0
