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Tech Support People Are Sharing The Worst Cases They’ve Seen While On The Job (45 New Pics)
While more and more people are becoming tech-savvy and can solve simpler issues on their own, the technology world still remains a mystery for many. Just think about the times your darling computer made weird noises, voiced all kinds of complaints, or, heaven forbid, showed the giant blue error you definitely did not want to see. Then, there’s only one place to turn — tech support heroes.
However, if you think all IT specialists do is tell you to hit the restart button or help you with that "major" issue with the printer that’s not even plugged in yet, there’s a whole subreddit that might prove otherwise. Enter Tech Support Gore, a community full of the worst cases professionals ever stumbled on while on the job and clueless people they had to deal with along the way.
Laptops drying in the oven, mold growing on headphones, and impractical shortcuts customers take without a care in the world are just a few of the monstrosities that employees had to witness. So get ready to scroll through some of the most nightmarish pictures Bored Panda has collected from the group. And if you’re in the mood for some more gadget madness, take a look at our previous compilations right here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Network Rack At A Public Institution - Before And After
RELATED:
#2
User Spilt Coffee On His Laptop - So He Put It In The Oven To Dry It Out...
Chucky Cheezburger 3 years ago
Well...It got dry didn't it? Never said they needed it functional.
Bobert Robertson 3 years ago
User needs to sell their house. Back away, and move to a cabin far away from society.
SirDigbyChickenCaesar 3 years ago
You think this person could survive without modern conveniences?
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Visco_Squirrels 3 years ago
Before reading the whole title I was like, “That’s some hot coffee!!”
Robert Chandler 3 years ago
I don't know if there's a way to post pictures on here, but I had a customer who left their laptop on their stove when it heated up so I have similar pictures
Kelzbelz79 3 years ago
What normal adult (actually children would know prolly know better) would even attempt this thinking it would work??!!
Pete from Cali. USA 3 years ago
They were probably like, "the lowest temperature of this oven will take too long..."
Bruce Ferrier 3 years ago
That reminds me of when someone put all of their money in the oven to make it Covid-proof
Daniel Motter 3 years ago
Well I’ve been saying it all along windows can burn in hell. I can die peacefully now
SapphireKing 3 years ago (edited)
not even like a blowdryer or something just an entire freaking oven
PixieCharles 3 years ago
Really??? I mean really, someone actually did that??? That's what microwaves are for.
Gladys Hayes Southerland 3 years ago
I'd blame it on my kids. Is be too ashamed to admit l was that stupid. He'd have done better to sit it in a pan of rice, (uncooked rice, if he doesn't know that.)
Gladys Hayes Southerland 3 years ago
I wdn't have the nerve to admit l did something like that. I'd have blamed it on my kids.
Lesli Allen-Artz 3 years ago
I’m the unofficially self appointed lifeguard for the gene pool. It’s time for some people to get out and move along. These are NOT the droids you are looking for!
Shelly Graham 3 years ago
As a former drinker, while inebriated I fell asleep spilling a glass of wine on my laptops keyboard. Even in my altered state I never considered the oven a viable option!
bob bruce 3 years ago
That can work if you don't want it dry in 10 minutes but there are much better ways. I've rinsed keyboards several times, and after shaking out as much water as possible they go on a folded towel on a radiator if the heat is on. With the heat off you just need to wait longer.
Hugo Santos 3 years ago
Actually you can dry electronics in the oven: electrical oven, max 50ºC.
Betsy Novack 3 years ago
Well how else does one dry out all those soggy crumbs of tortilla chips or those chocolate sprinkles that dropped off every donut eaten over the keyboard? Poor guy is still trying to get the plastic pans and the pepperoni that welded to the bottom of the oven because he didn't remove the two frozen pizzas before cooking.
SirDigbyChickenCaesar 3 years ago
Likely. They are often complete idiots about anything that doesn't directly relate to their specific field of expertise.
Load More Replies...
Angela Farley 3 years ago
I get paid over 190$ per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I never thought I'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 10k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. The potential with this is endless. Heres what I've been doing.. :) AND GOOD LUCK.:) HERE====)> https://www.hmjobz.com
#3
Static Ip
The Tech Support Gore subreddit has been around for quite some time. Recently, this online group celebrated its 10th birthday with all its 532K technology-loving community members. "You will cringe to the brink of passing out after a few minutes looking at this subreddit," the moderators wrote in the description and the content users post there serves as proof.
Nearly every post consists of the nastiest and most baffling incidents people somehow managed to accomplish. After all, we have the manuals, the internet, and, most importantly, our common sense for a reason, so it's easy to say they have a talent to fail this badly.
But let's face it, even if we consider ourselves to be really tech-savvy and proudly declare to know how to properly care for our gadgets, accidents still happen. Whether it’s thinking that fixing up your computer would be a cakewalk or that you suddenly came up with a brilliant new way to rescue your soaking wet device, nearly everyone could end up being shamed on this subreddit.
#4
Panel Fed From B Phase
Toujin C'Thlu 3 years ago
This is something you call a beekeeper for, not a computer repair guy
#5
One Of My Users Asked If I Had A New Power Strip They Could Use. I Said What's Wrong With The Old One
#6
Pretty
However, many pictures from this list prove how incompatible with technology some people are. But if the first thought that crossed your mind was that the older generations are probably responsible for such nightmarish slip-ups, recent research seems to indicate they’re not as technologically illiterate as many might believe.
According to Pew Research Center, while there are still notable differences between American adults under 30 and those 65 and older, tech use by those in the oldest age group has grown significantly compared to a decade ago. So as it turns out, the gap between the oldest and youngest adults has shrunk.
Researchers conducted a survey in 2021 by questioning over 1.5K adults by cellphone and landline phone. The results showed that 96 percent of those ages 18 to 29 own a smartphone compared with 61 percent of those 65 and older. So while it’s still a 35 percent difference, the gap has decreased from 53 points in 2012.
#7
Not Perfect, But A Good Start!
#8
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
Glen Ellyn 3 years ago
I'd be really angry if an alleged repair guy did this to my computer. I'd be expecting a new laptop from him. Oh, and by the way, that computer repair shop needs a new repair guy.
#9
All Our Datacenter Equipment Started Firing Off Temperature Alerts. Unrelated, Our Cleaning Staff Was Doing A Deep Cleaning Of Our Datacenter After A Flood
Smartphones aren’t the only piece of tech that old people are quickly starting to embrace. However, the situation with tablet computers is somewhat different. Those aged 30 to 49 were the most likely people to own one, and the ones aged 65 and older were the least likely to have a tablet.
When it comes to our beloved internet use, virtually all younger adults (99 percent!) now say they use the internet. Compared with the older generation, only 75 percent of participants reported being internet users. However, things were quite different in 2000. Then, the gap between the oldest and youngest groups of adults was 56 percentage points, and right now it has decreased to 24 points. So while not everyone was born into electronics, more and more people are leaning toward it. After all, it makes life better and generally more convenient.
#10
Customer States They Saw "A Couple Of Ants" Entering The Rear Vents Of Their iMac...
#11
Legendary
#12
Laptop Keyboard Is Not Working. Well There's Your Problem, Your Keyboard Is Creating New Antibiotics
#13
Disk Fragmentation At 15%...
Bored Panda previously reached out to one of the moderators of the Tech Support Gore subreddit, Coffeechipmunk, who revealed that the most popular posts are those that depict situations just moments away from exploding. "[It's] very dangerous, but very cool looking. They probably get so big because people post the pics and you think, 'Wow, that's just a bomb at that point.'"
"A lot of the content on the subreddit does rather well, except for people coming for actual tech support, they get redirected to the right subreddit. For actual tech support gore, though, it seems like broken screens and slightly messy wires are the current posts that don't hit too hard," the moderator added.
#14
Found This Somewhere And It Creeps Me Out
#15
No Charger? No Problem!
#16
My Gfs iPhone Charger Cable Which She Won’t Replace Because “It Works”
#17
If It Looks Stupid But It Works, Then It's Not Stupid
Glen Ellyn 3 years ago
Just wait until some heat melts that fork all over the computer's guts. 😬 It won't be pretty.
According to Coffeechipmunk, one reason their online group got so popular is simply that "it’s very fun". "In a time where most of the internet can be incredibly serious and most times saddening or angering, r/techsupportgore is fun because you go on it and you can laugh (and/or cringe) at the crazy posts. Where else can you see a post like, "Wow, these cables really are messy" to, "A lizard fried my motherboard" back to back? I love our growing community. They're a bunch of people that just enjoy tech and to some extent, the worst of it."
#18
Tablet Battery
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 years ago
That's... That's not good... That is about to go boom and make fire.
#19
Trying To Take The Elevator At 5am Then I See This. (No Out Of Order Sign)
#20
Only On Ebay. Graphics Cards Displayed On Outdoor, Damp, Gravel
UDERSERVELOVE! 3 years ago
Me:* Continuously smacking face on table* My friend: Are you okay Me:* shows photo * My friend:* joins me *
#21
I Am Literally Scared Taking Apart Cr*p Like This. Used A 45 Lb Kettle Bell To Keep The Panel Down Enough To Remove The Screws
The mod explained that the term "Tech Support Gore" refers to "stuff in the tech support or IT field that's a computer comparable version of gore," and added, "Instead of a heart ripped out, it's CPU pins. Slightly less awful." Coffeechipmunk also revealed that the most horrible cases they’ve seen on the community while moderating were "anything with bugs in it. That's the worst.” Well, we couldn’t agree more. As you probably already noticed from this list, they’re truly awful.
#22
Just Posting This...
UDERSERVELOVE! 3 years ago
I have hit my head so hard on the table I think I have a concussion.
#23
Merry Christmas!
#24
Yes That's On The Inside Of The Glass
#25
Computer Froze
#26
That's Always A Fun One To Clean, Isn't It
Keller Worthen 3 years ago
Baking soda and water 50/50 ratio, use with q-tip to clean off corrosion
#27
My Buddy Couldn't Get Into His Harddrive Through The Os, So He Decided To Brute Force It
#28
Found This Mummified Dualshock4 At Work, Anyone Knows Which God Of Egypt Used To Play With This?
#29
The Joys Of Being It Support At A Construction Company(This iPad Was In A Protective Case)
#30
Client: "It Was Working Perfectly Fine Yesterday, Probably A Windows Bug"
#31
Placed A Headset I Wasn't Using Into A Drawer For A Few Months. I Guess The Cup Material Kept Absorbing The Moisture Out Of The Air
#32
User: "Cpu Is At 100% And This Just Happened"
#33
This
#34
When 12 Screws Is Just Too Much To Remove The Hard Drive
#35
Customer Claims Nobody Ever Worked On His 2012 Imac, That This Is How It Came When He Bought It From Apple
#36
Was Looking For Old PC Parts And Found This
#37
This Is How Newton Discovered Gravity
#38
All In One
#39
Windows Be Like " Should Have Gone For The Head" Reported As "It Was Making A Burning Smell So I Threw It Out The Window" Joys With Working From Home And Providing It Support
#40
This Folks Is Why You Don't Leave Batteries In Electronic Equipment
Tom Hanlin 3 years ago
Go on. What kind of "electronic equipment" uses six AA cells? What the heck was that?
#41
Customer Tried To Fix A Connector For A High Power Studio Flash By Soldering The Wires Himself
#42
Mild Gore/Spicy Pillowness From Yet Another 7490. Thank You Dell!
#43
Just Cooking Lunch On A Athalon
#44
My "USB-C" 2tb Drive Came Today
#45
May I Present, My Gtx580
#46
A Galaxy Battery So Bloated It Has A Rings Around It
#47
Nephew Attempted To Build His New Machine Without Waiting For Today To Have Me Do It With Him. Bye Bye 3600x
#48
I Present To You The Morsemouse!
#49
Just Got Myself A New Mattress
#50
Swollen Battery....asked If We Need To Replace...
#51
Tool Of The Trade...
#52
The Show Must Go On
#53
Switch Not Working
#54
Found At A Local College. Paper Says “Leave Fan Pointed At The Servers”
#55
"It Suddenly Stopped Working". The PC Was So Hot The Liquid Spilled In It Caramelized
#56
The New iPad Air 2022 Uses USB-C - Customer Seemed To Have Not Gotten The Memo And Perhaps Tried To Repeatedly Put A Lightning Cable Into It - They Stated Their "Charging Port Was Faulty"
#57
Fiber Cleanup From My Dood Justin
#58
There Has To Be Some Useful Life Left In Them!
#59
Rage... Rage Against The Night...
#60
Figured Out Why Our Internet Went Out On Christmas Eve
#61
Customer States: Took Laptop Apart To Get Data Off And Could Not Figure Out How. Left The Screws Off For You To Make It Easier. Data Super Important!!
#62
Someone Purchased A Cpu From Me To Do An Upgrade. It Didn't Work And Then His Old One Wouldn't Either So He Sent The Laptop To Me To Have A Look. He Managed To Put The Cpu In The Wrong Way Round!
AniLiquorice 3 years ago
Always look for the small triangles on the cpu chip and the socket you can't go wrong following that advice unless the manufacturer made a mistake.
#63
Just Moved Into A New Apartment With The Router Looking Like This...
BluEyedSeoulite 3 years ago
Tbf, it seems like you just need a new cable. They are super cheap
#64
“Please Ignore The $1000 Wap Hanging From The Ceiling.” -Management
#65
My Razer Penicillium Came In The Mail Today!
#66
I Was Asked To Try Fitting A Desktop Heatsink To This Overheating Laptop To Get It To Boot
#68
4tb Of Ram For A Laptop! The Speed Might Be An Issue
#69
Before/After On Fire
#70
Translation: "The Manual For Thermal Compound Should Say To Not Use The Whole Tub"
#71
I'd Like To See What This Was Being Plugged Into
#72
This Fibre Was Running Half A School…
#73
Is This How A "Brute Force Attack" On The Network Works?
#74
Girlfriend Tried To Install Her Little Brothers New Hard Drive.... She Didnt Want To Bother Me...
#76
My Drawer Of Sad Apple Watches
#78
Narrator: It Wasn't So Good
Dav Carro-Ripalda 3 years ago (edited)
If the plug has got that many ports, it is assumed it can bear the load. Just do not plug both the switches on the same wall plug...
#79
" It Would Not Enter Into The Hdmi, So I Thought It Needed A Bit Of A Push. ;." A Pair Of Pliers And 2 Minter Later
#80
Left Is A Real iPhone. Right Is A Fake iPhone
#81
Well This Explains Why The UPS Was Freaking Out
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 3 years ago
How does that even happen? 32Hz? I don't even know how you do that.
#82
My Highschool's It Team Is Now Refusing To Fix Pcs In This Room. Guess Why
#83
"My Keyboards Not Working, Can You Help Please?"
Robert Thompson 3 years ago
No problem. Just compose an email detailing the issue and send it to the above address. Press alt+H to get a phone number if you are unable to compose an email.
#85
Customer States “I Fitted A Cpu Myself And Now My PC Won’t Turn On”
Jeremy Pierce 3 years ago
All these broken CPUs give me such anxiety and PTSD. I had gotten a new 4 channel ryzen cpu (when they were brand new) and my dumbass cat thought it would be funny to attack me. I bent a ton of pins, tried for a day to unbend. Yes i tried to unbend them. I still have the cat, not that processor lol
#86
My Friend Got A New Hdd
#87
My Sisters Setup
#88
When You See It
#89
Found An Old Hdd I Buried In My Yard When I Was Around 10
#90
How My Weekend Project Is Going
GraphicHealer 3 years ago
Ohhhhh i know the feeling... Ripped the camera connecter off my pi zero once.
#91
Found A Way To Level My New Shelves
#92
Where Did They Come From? What Are You Going To Do With Them? Just Why?
#93
If It Look Stupid, But It Works, It Ain’t Stupid
#95
Some Guys Did That In A Factory, We Specifically Asked Them Not To Replace Any Components. Now They Ask Why It's Not Working
Robert Thompson 3 years ago
That CR2032 in the picture is surprisingly important. I got a free tower (from the dumpster outside my complex) because it needed a new battery. Very clean (software and hardware).
#96
Uhh....
#97
I've Went Through 2 D Keys So Far, On A 2 Month Old Laptop
#99
Had A Friend Ask Me Why He Was Struggling To Screw In His Cpu? Smh
James Pasquini 3 years ago
You should have told your friend it's because it has reverse threads. lol!
#100
Client Said The Computer Won't Post....
Jeremy Pierce 3 years ago
Real question: How do you warp a ram chip? Ive seen broken, installed incorrectly, doesnt fit, but not warped 🤔
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What do you think ?
D. Pitbull 3 years ago
Aaaand this is where... "Behold... these demonstrate why it is smart to admit when you don't know 'the thing'... and get someone who does." - but of course... there'll be that person who was told all their lives they're so smart, so intelligent... and never understanding that doesn't mean they're smart in **EVERYTHING**. Yes, you may have X-number of degrees in theoretical physics... or chemistry.... but that doesn't mean you know how to fix your computer.......
LittleLiz 3 years ago
It was a shock to learn that I can be smart without knowing everything, but I'd rather have the Geek Squad laugh at me than cause irreversible damage to my computer.
Load More Replies...
Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
My mom was in a computer class one day with a woman who had never used a computer. The instructor looking at her monitor told her to move the mouse up to an icon he was pointing at. She lifted the mouse upwards off the mouse pad.
Susanne B 3 years ago
It is easy to laugh, but she just did what she was asked to do. The instructor needs to learn how to deal with beginners
Load More Replies...
*Displayname*=idk 3 years ago
I'm scared of lithium batteries now. The worst part is my sleep headband has a lithium battery. Should I continue to fear?
Phyzzi 3 years ago
Short answer: no. Longer answer: there are situations where pretty much any new technology can be dangerous, but for something like lithium batteries there has been years of development to make them safer. In fact, these pictures of lithium batteries are likely because something else in the computer cooked them, and while it's certainly not a great result, it's also not actually catastrophic. Even in the worst cases (like the Samsung Galaxy Note a few years back) the chances of a real problem were around one in several hundred thousand.
Load More Replies...
phil blanque 3 years ago
I took my daughter to work, on the day. I set her up with Harvard Graphics to play around. She got to my settings, and changed all the backgrounds and text to white. lived in a snowstorm the next two days
Nolgoth 3 years ago
Used to work for geek squad back in 06/07. Customer brought in computer saying it wasn't working properly. I connected it to monitor and power at the counter and sire nuff wont start. Pop open side of case and omfg so many roaches both dead and alive. Senior coworker very quickly got several large black trash bags put the pc in one then that bag in another bag and in another bag, handed it back to the customer and just said "nope". Lol
*Displayname*=idk 3 years ago
Dang. How did the customer react to "nope"?
Load More Replies...
Karen Lyon 3 years ago
This oddly.makes.me feel better about the work computers I have broken the last few years....just from dropping them (or being careless about how I toss my keys on my desk.) Yeesh.
Ann Harste 3 years ago
The time a coworker sent a laptop back to my husband because it had a virus. When my husband opened the laptop a wad of Kleenex was stuck to the keyboard.
LinaLovesBooks 3 years ago
I-I cant do this anymore. All chances of potentially having my faith humanity restored is gone.
Dillon Sizemore 3 years ago (edited)
The ome drilling into the computer is actually a thing at one point they started trying to make 'cool looking computers so they strap on plastic coverings for the metal so by changing the covering and a couple chips or the HDD you have another model to sell but tge company doesn't tell whoever they get to do the plastic work how big wide or many holes it needs to breath or even worse the holes in the plastic just go to metal. You can look at the last 2-3 alienware models and see that the interior is laid out the same but the newer models have more holes/holes in diffrent places.(don't buy alienware it's dell and dell charges for name instead of product)
jasper 3 years ago
Wrong. I work for 911. There are a lot of really, really stupid people out there.
Load More Replies...
D. Pitbull 3 years ago
Aaaand this is where... "Behold... these demonstrate why it is smart to admit when you don't know 'the thing'... and get someone who does." - but of course... there'll be that person who was told all their lives they're so smart, so intelligent... and never understanding that doesn't mean they're smart in **EVERYTHING**. Yes, you may have X-number of degrees in theoretical physics... or chemistry.... but that doesn't mean you know how to fix your computer.......
LittleLiz 3 years ago
It was a shock to learn that I can be smart without knowing everything, but I'd rather have the Geek Squad laugh at me than cause irreversible damage to my computer.
Load More Replies... Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
My mom was in a computer class one day with a woman who had never used a computer. The instructor looking at her monitor told her to move the mouse up to an icon he was pointing at. She lifted the mouse upwards off the mouse pad.
Susanne B 3 years ago
It is easy to laugh, but she just did what she was asked to do. The instructor needs to learn how to deal with beginners
Load More Replies... *Displayname*=idk 3 years ago
I'm scared of lithium batteries now. The worst part is my sleep headband has a lithium battery. Should I continue to fear?
Phyzzi 3 years ago
Short answer: no. Longer answer: there are situations where pretty much any new technology can be dangerous, but for something like lithium batteries there has been years of development to make them safer. In fact, these pictures of lithium batteries are likely because something else in the computer cooked them, and while it's certainly not a great result, it's also not actually catastrophic. Even in the worst cases (like the Samsung Galaxy Note a few years back) the chances of a real problem were around one in several hundred thousand.
Load More Replies... phil blanque 3 years ago
I took my daughter to work, on the day. I set her up with Harvard Graphics to play around. She got to my settings, and changed all the backgrounds and text to white. lived in a snowstorm the next two days
Nolgoth 3 years ago
Used to work for geek squad back in 06/07. Customer brought in computer saying it wasn't working properly. I connected it to monitor and power at the counter and sire nuff wont start. Pop open side of case and omfg so many roaches both dead and alive. Senior coworker very quickly got several large black trash bags put the pc in one then that bag in another bag and in another bag, handed it back to the customer and just said "nope". Lol
*Displayname*=idk 3 years ago
Dang. How did the customer react to "nope"?
Load More Replies... Karen Lyon 3 years ago
This oddly.makes.me feel better about the work computers I have broken the last few years....just from dropping them (or being careless about how I toss my keys on my desk.) Yeesh.
Ann Harste 3 years ago
The time a coworker sent a laptop back to my husband because it had a virus. When my husband opened the laptop a wad of Kleenex was stuck to the keyboard.
LinaLovesBooks 3 years ago
I-I cant do this anymore. All chances of potentially having my faith humanity restored is gone.
Dillon Sizemore 3 years ago (edited)
The ome drilling into the computer is actually a thing at one point they started trying to make 'cool looking computers so they strap on plastic coverings for the metal so by changing the covering and a couple chips or the HDD you have another model to sell but tge company doesn't tell whoever they get to do the plastic work how big wide or many holes it needs to breath or even worse the holes in the plastic just go to metal. You can look at the last 2-3 alienware models and see that the interior is laid out the same but the newer models have more holes/holes in diffrent places.(don't buy alienware it's dell and dell charges for name instead of product)
jasper 3 years ago
Wrong. I work for 911. There are a lot of really, really stupid people out there.
Load More Replies... You May Like 50 AI Art Fails That Are Both Horrifying And Hilarious 45 Old Gadgets That Were The Trendsetters Of Their Time
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