A user insisted their "wireless" monitor was broken because it needed a power cord.
Posted by 1kmilo@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 261 comments
I work for a company that provides IT support for several small businesses. Yesterday, I got a ticket from a user with the simple description: "Monitor won't turn on." I called them, and we started the usual basic troubleshooting.
"Can you check if the power button is lit?" I asked.
"No, it's completely dark," they replied.
"Okay, let's check the power cable. Is it firmly plugged into the back of the monitor and into the wall outlet?"
There was a long pause. Then, the user said, in a tone of utter confusion, "What power cable?"
I patiently explained that all monitors need a power cable to function. The user then hit me with a line I will never forget: "But it's a wireless monitor. That's the whole reason I requested it! I don't want any cables."
I had to take a deep breath. "Sir," I said, "the 'wireless' capability refers to the video signal, which can be received wirelessly from a compatible computer. It does not mean the monitor itself runs on magic. It still needs electricity to power the screen, the wireless receiver, and the backlight."
He was genuinely indignant. "Well, that's false advertising! What's the point of it being wireless if I still have to plug it into the wall? I might as well have a cable for the video too!"
I spent another ten minutes explaining the fundamental difference between data transmission and power delivery. In the end, I had to dispatch a field technician to simply plug a power cord into the wall. The tech reported that the user watched the entire process with a skeptical look, as if we were performing some kind of dark ritual. Sometimes, I wonder how we ever transitioned from the abacus to the microchip.
Ryokurin@reddit
When Wi-Fi was new similar stories were a dime a dozen. Some people expected it to work everywhere like cellular service today.
The gems were people who cancelled their Internet service because they were going to use their new work laptop at home because it had wi-fi.
didyabringabeer@reddit
Years back a friend of mine had a customer who bought a new modem, she came back the next day to complain it wasn't working. When they asked what type of computer she had she looked at the blankly and said 'what computer? my friend said all I need to go on the internet is a modem'
Bonus for them they also got to sell a new system to her
After-Willingness271@reddit
my pseudo-stepdad was convinced that the whole tower was “the modem.” to this day i have no idea what he thought a computer might be
DarknessSurvivor@reddit
The monitor.
I-am-gruit@reddit
The monitor?
boogeyoftheman@reddit
About 20 years ago I had a friend that did that. He didn't have a computer, but he used his PS2 to game online. He said he spent 5 min arguing with the tech that came out to install it because the tech couldn't grasp that he had no PC but did have a router so both he and his wife could game together.
Tattycakes@reddit
What did she think the internet even was? Did she think she’d plug the modem in and get it streamed to her brain?
WildMartin429@reddit
That's what I'm seriously confused about myself. How did she know it wasn't working? What device was she trying to access the internet on?
benjymous@reddit
I'd imagine she put it down next to her TV, and expected "the internet" to appear as a channel, or something.
Pertolepe@reddit
Had a call on my first helpdesk gig where someone couldn't connect to their home wifi. Started basic troubleshooting only to learn they were in China. Their house is not in China.
Wendals87@reddit
Many people still expect it to work everywhere today
ggppjj@reddit
I was a level two wireless gateway tech for an ISP for a while 10 years ago, took about three or four of those calls.
"I want to cancel this is ridiculous, it said it was wireless!"
Punished_Revenant@reddit
Thank you for your service.
ggppjj@reddit
Thanks!
The amount of times that I had to explain that the customer's equipment was the only limiting factor to their advertised (and delivered) speeds was enough to permanently make me reevaluate the average person's capacity to learn about the things they use every day.
I started no longer needing chasms to get customers to their Ethernet properties page so that I could make sure they had the 10/100 card I knew they had based on their complaints.
I went from that job to grocery POS programming/maint, and consequently did not have to have it explained to me exactly why I needed to make duplicate shortcuts for both "Tomato, Roma" and "Roma Tomato" on a system that included a good text search.
Tatermen@reddit
We went through a similar roundabout a few years ago when FTTP started rolling out in the UK.
The amount of ancient junk that came out of the woodwork was unreal. So many people that had routers and firewalls that only had FastEthernet ports, and far too many businesses that ordered 500Mb FTTP and were still running on ancient Cisco PIXs or similar crusty firewalls that couldn't handle more than 20Mbps (never mind that they'd been filling in the PCI forms for years claiming to be compliant).
All of which was of course apparently our fault as the ISP for... not knowing they had ancient hardware or something.
derail15@reddit
It's wireless but not cordless!
DuckyDoodleDandy@reddit
I made a set of drawings (stick figure type) to explain to 4yo twins why their iPads worked at home but not in the car. It stopped the crying every time I had to drive them somewhere.
Sometimes you just have to explain it like they are 5 (or 4).
(They were “my” kids several days a week, but not actually mine.)
Wendals87@reddit
Lol. Now imagine trying to same to an executive or CEO.
"I don't care just make it work"
Id10t_techsupport@reddit
Cell phone Hotspot or puck
maito1@reddit
A long time ago I had a laptop with an internal 3G modem and a sim card with unlimited data. Lift the screen up, log in, it was ready to go. Like magic.
WildMartin429@reddit
Back in the mid-2000s I bought my mom a laptop and it had Wi-Fi 802.11g but more importantly it had a Sprint 3G cellular modem in it. So that she could take it with her on vacation or other places and get internet. Even then she still had to pay the cell phone bill for it.
CoppertopTX@reddit
Imagine being a low level IT person that was hidden in a non-IT department, being tasked with explaining to the C-suite level suits AT A TELECOM COMPANY why environmental response teams might need 3G modems in their field notebook computers.
The only part of the answer I am certain they understood was "Being able to access the internal network from the field is a condition keeping a $5 million fine from becoming a $25 million one".
SeanBZA@reddit
Would have added "and you standing before a Congressional hearing, and explaining why this $25 million fine should be paid by the company, and not you personally" as added benefit as well.
the_syco@reddit
Ugh. Company I once worked at bought 30 laptops during COVID with SD card slots that our company blocked their use, and 30 3G dongles. As opposed to selecting 30 laptops with the SIM slot rather than the SD slot. No price difference. The disadvantage of the pencil pushers thinking they knew better than IT.
SavvySillybug@reddit
My last laptop came with a SIM card slot and it was pretty cool, just got my phone provider to send me a second SIM card for my normal phone plan and was able to use it on the go without tethering to my phone first.
Sadly it ended up with bad memory and that was not user replaceable so now I got a Steam Deck instead.
Old-Class-1259@reddit
In the 2000s I installed a wireless adaptor for a friend. I wasn't a dongle, it needed a USB A-B cable.
"Well it's not wireless then is it?"
Fair, fair.
jimmy_three_shoes@reddit
When COVID hit and people went home to work, the amount of people that didn't realize you needed Internet to work was home was a lot higher than it should have been.
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
The number of people who "thought" that their employer would provide Internet access at home for them was depressing, too.
criggie_@reddit
It's 2025, 5 years post pandemic, and I've still got users with a (goodish) work laptop at home, which RDPs over the internet to a RDS gateway, which runs mstsc.exe on a different RDP server, so the user can connect to their desktop.
No, not my setup, I inherited it.
SanityInAnarchy@reddit
This is an interesting one. When I was in-office five days a week, I had an employer pay for not just regular Internet access, but a business line to my home. (Lower bandwidth, but more consistent.) New employer does hybrid, but doesn't really expense anything.
commentsrnice2@reddit
When my dad had a business line it was uncapped bandwidth
SanityInAnarchy@reddit
That too, but it wasn't especially high bandwidth to begin with, so I don't think that made a huge difference for me.
commentsrnice2@reddit
This was when Gig speed internet was becoming big. So the difference between a standard package and uncapped 1Gb+ was noticeable
jimmy_three_shoes@reddit
Yeah, we had a lot of stipend requests from people. I can understand it if you honestly couldn't afford it and now suddenly needed it for work, or needed to upgrade what they had to accommodate video conferencing and kids doing remote school. Those people could have used some help.
enaK66@reddit
Is it really that crazy to think the employer should cover it? When I worked construction, I didn't buy my own tools. I didn't drive my own car. My employer provided the tools I needed to do my job. The internet is just that for a WFH employee, a tool needed to complete the work.
jimmy_three_shoes@reddit
The difference is that you didn't take your work tools home to use for your own benefit later. So unless only your work laptop could connect to it between 8-6, and it only allowed you to access work resources, then sure.
enaK66@reddit
No I don't think it'd be reasonable for them to cover all of that. Maybe some small stipend for part of the electric costs if anything. I'd argue you don't need AC, heat, or water to do the job, technically, so that stuff is on you.
oscar_gomez@reddit
TBH most decent companies pay an extra amount for exactly these expenditures. You might also need to sacrifice a room or part of a room to make it your home office, which is also accounted for when you receive a WFH stipend.
Sudden-Pangolin6445@reddit
Or... Even better. The folks that wouldn't hook their work equipment up to their wifi for whatever reason... "but I pay for that. The company needs to pay for theirs." there were other reasons, that one was priceless.
SavvySillybug@reddit
Would be a genuinely good argument in like, 1998, when you were still paying Internet per minute.
wolfgang784@reddit
Or those rare people who don't really use the internet except for at work and so don't even have home internet. Ive known a few.
If you don't use the internet (most of these people did use cellular, just not home wifi) and have to get an entirely new utility plan just for work purposes that will only ever be used for work purposes, then it makes sense that work should be paying for it.
I also remember hearin about quite a lot of people whose internet was too slow for WFH requirements and were forced to upgrade in order to do their jobs. Id argue that the upgrade difference in cost should be a work reimbursement.
In those scenarios its not all that different than work paying for a work phone and a separate plan from your personal one.
siero20@reddit
One time I claimed my work paid for my home internet as I worked from home.
I claimed it because my shitty apartment complex was demanding to plug things in to my internet as some kind of "upgrade" and the easiest way to get them to fuck off was to tell them they'd have to contact my companies cybersecurity department to get access as I worked with sensitive company data.
They fucked off.
devbrain@reddit
in Italy the workplace has to provide you with it when working from home, also the desk, chair, pc and all the rest.
jimmy_three_shoes@reddit
Seems like that would be a deterrent for companies in Italy to allow remote work, but I don't know where Italy ranks with remote versus in-person positions compared to EU companies that don't need to provide office equipment. If you leave the company, do you have to give the furniture back? Are there standards on what they have to offer, or is a flatpack desk and metal folding chair sufficient? It is it more of a stipend they give?
devbrain@reddit
Mostly people don't request desk or chairs, and already have an internet connection, so it's not such big deal. Most people don't want a shitty flatpak desk at home I guess.
androshalforc1@reddit
I can half understand this.
If i didn’t have an internet connection before, and it was not a requirement of the job. Why should i be paying for a service that has been added after the fact.
That being said i would personally gladly pay for Internet to get the benefit of WFH
TheThiefMaster@reddit
We got a WFH stipend which would cover a cheap internet package
PepeBarrankas@reddit
I mean, they do, just not directly. My employer at the time reimbursed us for out internet bills and a part of the electric ones.
b0v1n3r3x@reddit
Mine did
Hebrewhammer8d8@reddit
The I'm not good with technology translating to I don't have good have good reading comprehension and can not learn new concepts.
OverjoyedMess@reddit
Wi-Fi is a stupid name.
Where I'm from people say WLAN as in Wireless LAN which explains the situation a bit better. (Of course, there are still people who don't know any better but still …)
Typical-Employment41@reddit
WLAN gets confused with VLAN and thats why I started using Wi-Fi
OverjoyedMess@reddit
People who think wireless means without any cable don't know about VLAN, I believe.
Typical-Employment41@reddit
True
shaggy24200@reddit
Even better the ones that buy a Wi-Fi router or modem with wifi, then throw away all the cords and expect them to work.
Geminii27@reddit
Yep. I had one caller who had apparently expected their work WiFi to follow them home.
They were a FIFO mine worker and lived two thousand miles away.
Stryker_One@reddit
AX.25 packet radio?
mycatpartyhouse@reddit
I think there was (and maybe still is) confusion about a device outputting wifi and a wifi-compatible device using that wifi.
DarknessSurvivor@reddit
For a while, the Gamestop of my town used to also sell used non-gaming hardware. I saw a man walking toward the cashier with a tablet in his hand.
"I bought this tablet yesterday! Now it won't turn on!"
The cashier put the tablet on the desk and verified it wouldn't turn on. Then he picked up a charger from under the desk, connected it to the tablet and a power outlet, and the tablet started charging. The cashier tried turning the tablet on again, and it started correctly.
The customer seemed to get angry. "What are you doing?"
"The battery was flat, I'm charging it."
"But you told me it was wireless!"
shecho18@reddit
I genuinely admire how confidently some people navigate life with such a limited grasp of reality. It must be liberating to misunderstand everything and still feel proud of it. Having had interaction with idiots I sometimes ask myself "Am I in the wrong" or "How easy is to live out their lives". Not a gram of worth from those grey cells.
Bitter-Astronaut2458@reddit
I mean wireless means no wires generally. Why couldnt it just use a battery like a laptop would?
Outta_phase@reddit
It's the sheer confidence that they're right that gets me. I wish I was that confident about things I actually know alot about
Widmo206@reddit
They call it the Dunning-Kruger effect. You're the most confident when you know almost nothing
NDaveT@reddit
You're smart enough to understand that you don't know everything and could be wrong. They are unburdened by that awareness.
shecho18@reddit
Arrogance and stupidity are powerful. Together they can level logic faster than any virus known to man.
Miles_Saintborough@reddit
These same people also drive, fuck, and vote.
MikeSchwab63@reddit
Idiocracy was not intended to be a manual.
crumpetxxxix@reddit
I upvoted because you're right.. but I wanted to downvote.. also because you're right.
Miles_Saintborough@reddit
It's been my mantra for years.
OverjoyedMess@reddit
I have some sympathy with these people because I also once was disappointed by something because I misunderstood something (or it was advertised rather badly).
But also: where have they been the past twenty or thirty years?
Creeping_python@reddit
Sonder is a lot more fun when you realise a lot of these people will NEVER be able to even think about another person in the same way as us. Like, it must be a whole different world for them.
__wildwing__@reddit
Upvote for the use of sonder.
Good grief, my autocorrect is illiterate, it wanted to change sonder to so derogatory
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
There's a reason that "ignorance is bliss" is a proverb.
zaro3785@reddit
Many of these people even manage to successfully receive a tertiary education!
MeInSC40@reddit
Ha. That reminds me of when flat panel monitors first started coming out and my company at the time was switching them out. Our vp of sales filed a ticket stating his new monitor was broken and when we went to see the issue he was poking the start button like it was a touch screen . We had to explain that he still needed to use his mouse.
CriticalMine7886@reddit
I used to work in education. I got a call from a department head.
"Thanks for the upgrade, I appreciate it. Everything is much faster now"
"Don't mention it Mr S - my pleasure"
The upgrade was to swap his CRT for a new fangled LCD - I'll claim the win though :-)
Hurricane_32@reddit
Which is ironic, because in the early days of LCD monitors, their size and weight was pretty much their only advantage
lesethx@reddit
Yep, the weight was the main reason I adopted LCDs so that I could bring 1 to a LAN party instead of CRTs
Schrojo18@reddit
Yeah 20ish kg for a 20" monitor was a lot
revchewie@reddit
More than that. Some of our users had 21” CRT monitors that were 90 lbs/41 kg. And let me tell you that carrying those up two flights of stairs was not fun!
Schrojo18@reddit
I had a 20" DEC monitor when I was growing up, back when 15" was standard an 17 was good.
Loudergood@reddit
Colors and motion blur were not great. Text was crispy though.
geon@reddit
My first lcd was great because there was zero flicker. The crt still had a tiny bit of noticeable flicker at 72 Hz.
Schrojo18@reddit
My first LCD was ok. But it was a bump up in resolution and I finally had space on my desk
syntaxerror53@reddit
Look on the bright side, with all that poking at least he didn't crack the screen (or did he?).
Head_Razzmatazz7174@reddit
Yep, that tracks for the mentality of some tech-challenged people. Some days you wonder how they manage to get by in life.
LLPF2@reddit
Velcro shoes and clip on ties.
Ich_mag_Kartoffeln@reddit
HEY! Don't you go knocking velcro shoes! They're not just for stupid people.
Some of us are lazy.
tinersa@reddit
elastic shoe laces may change your life
Ich_mag_Kartoffeln@reddit
Possibly. In what way do you feel elastic shoe laces are superior to velcro shoes?
st33p@reddit
Stealth.
tinersa@reddit
I like them because they allow you to just slip your shoe on and off without fiddling with anything while being just as secure as tied normal laces, but if you already have velcro shoes you like then that's also fine
DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC@reddit
Clip-on ties rule, too. But I hate wearing suits anyway.
Ich_mag_Kartoffeln@reddit
Suits and ties are both anachronisms that should be expunged from society.
turtle_mekb@reddit
but clearly there's a wireless garden hose so it must be real /s
EruditeLegume@reddit
No wires in my garden hose!
Its just a plastic hose. No reinforcing at all......
leverine36@reddit
Damn your garden hose is wireless? I still have to plug mine in to the outlet
CaptainIcy3433@reddit
120 or 240?
keepzor17@reddit
He was not wrong, wireless monitors are indeed not that great because they do indeed still need a cable.
Schadde7283@reddit
When I was a telecom worker, I went to this apartment to install a modem. Where they wanted it was about 10’ from the cable jack.
I beautifully stapled a cable from the jack to his chosen location, got the modem powered and running, verified it all worked, and left the job.
Thirty minutes later I get a call from my dispatch.
“This address you were at. Can you go back and check the modem? The customer called and says it doesn’t work.”
I finish my current job, and head back to the apartment. I look at the powered on, not working modem, and ask, “Where’s the cable I just stapled to the baseboard?”
“Oh… they said it was a wireless modem.”
facepalm
Future_Direction5174@reddit
Sounds like when my office went from batch input (paper forms) to “tap this button, type in what you would put on the form, tap this button, then input”. The only difference was you no longer wrote the numbers on the form. No longer could they (IT) misread a 6 as a 0. You were told as soon as YOU mistyped, it was no longer “your bad handwriting meant I misread it”.
I lived through this..,l,
Natural-Research6928@reddit
Soome people don't realize "wireless" doesn't mean "wirefree"
gluestick449@reddit
this was written by AI
relicx74@reddit
Can't wait for them to discover wireless speakers.
zennok@reddit
I can see my brain short circuiting one day like this. granted my reaction would be a facepalm at myself, but it can still happen.
TheRealAkitaNeru@reddit
TIL a wireless monitor is a thing
chaos9001@reddit
I worked a job doing phone tech support for Televisions years ago. I had a trainer tell me a story about how his LCD TV wouldn't turn back on after he tried to refill the liquid.
Apparently he thought the picture looked dingy and the Liquid Crystals needed refilled by pouring a pitcher of water into the vent on the top of the tv.
Zombie13a@reddit
ya know, I'd call this BS, but I went to school (in the US) with a person who did not believe Maine was a state. It took no less than 5 different people, including a teacher, to get him to admit we _might_ be right.... as a senior in high school....
I_Said_Thicc_Man@reddit
obviously you have to buy the proprietary liquid crystals
MiaowWhisperer@reddit
🤯
I bet you have a few stories!
ArtsyGrlBi@reddit
Often I wonder if people could have really considered CD drives as coffee holders.
Then I hear this kind of thing and am reminded, many people use their brains for hat racks...
Salamanticormorant@reddit
Why didn't you install a tesla coil and wireless electricity receiver? 😆
Leonie-Lionheard@reddit
I mean I just introduced my son to the lan cable for more stable internet connection. Or like he called it: "the wlan cable". 😅
Loading_M_@reddit
It is wireless - as in less wires, not wire-free.
DotBitGaming@reddit
To be fair, it probably shouldn't be called a "wireless monitor."
eccentric-Orange@reddit
Honestly, seems like a fair statement from someone who isn't a techie.
ArenYashar@reddit
A more fair question, though, which would show critical thought from the user: What batteries do I need for my wireless monitor, and how do I install them?
eccentric-Orange@reddit
Wouldn't you expect it to be pre-installed by IT?
ArenYashar@reddit
What is your ticket number?
Competitive-Bee-9564@reddit
Telecom here. 39Y 3 months and 11 days. When eveything was "dial up" and 56K modems had just come out. we got a lot of reports that "We can't get 56k but we just bought this modem and we get less" I told them that 56K was not guaranteed. If they did not get it iI said "Show me the modem's paperwork." I read down to a certain line then had them read it back to me. They read out " UP TO 56K speed.
AshleyJSheridan@reddit
Playing devils advocate here: if the person knew nothing of technology, and the "wireless" aspect was a major part of their purchase, this isn't too crazy.
There are plenty of badly named technologies:
None of these things are what they say, but most of us understand the alternative meaning that the technology emobodies. It's not wireless, it's fewer wires. It's not serverless, it's someone elses server. It's not a hoverboard, it's a sideways skateboard.
BenjPhoto1@reddit
Sideways?
AshleyJSheridan@reddit
Yes. Turn a skateboard 90° so that the wheels are still on the ground. Merge the wheels on each axis to become a single wheel and rotate another 90°.
The "hoverboards" don't hover, so the name is a complete misnomer.
NDaveT@reddit
Sometimes it seems like a bunch of people from the 19th Century were just plopped into the 21st with no orientation.
Key_Dust7595@reddit
Given the state of American science education, that’s basically where a significant portion of the population is.
Source: Am college science professor, and aghast what things my students arrive not knowing.
MikeSchwab63@reddit
All the Homeschool and charter school kids?
Key_Dust7595@reddit
All the kids from everywhere, except the very best schools. If its not on a standardized test they don’t teach it, high schools no longer require four years of science, independent critical thinking isn’t taught any more, and any topic that might make a parent call in angry (which is more and more of science these days, especially when you teach anything biology related) is covered very shallowly or avoided altogether even in the better public schools.
jamoche_2@reddit
The full version of my flair: Clarke's Law says sufficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from magic. The Clarke's Law Threshold is the point where a given person can't tell them apart. For some people, that's a lightbulb.
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
That's almost a line lifted from The Changes trilogy. It stuck in my mind, and I read that over 30 years ago!
I quite liked Ace's corollary to Clarke's Law. "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
jamoche_2@reddit
Cool! Never heard of the books, I came up with that a while back, figuring it would be the lowest level of commonly used tech for maximum insult :)
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
If you enjoy YA dystopian fiction, then it's worth looking them up.
Geminii27@reddit
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science!"
boli99@reddit
It is difficult to get someone to understand a process or procedure when they know they can easily get a break from work that they can blame on someone else by deliberatly not-understanding it.
megalogwiff@reddit
nah, you could explain it to a reasonable person from that time after they had some time to get more familiar with today's tech. Some people are just too stupid.
10PieceMcNuggetMeal@reddit
Ok I'll tell this story. When I was in the Army we had an Army IT guy in Iraq in our company. He was 25 series. He got a call from a Major up at battalion that her monitor and computer wouldn't power on. So he goes up and takes a look. Sure enough no power. The power cables were running to a cheap power strip, which was then plugged into itself. She thought it just had electricity in it
ilikerdjr@reddit
With things like this i always wonder how the hell do these people do this at home. Do they pay some one to plug in the light at their bed or something
Healthy_Chipmunk2266@reddit
I did tech support when cordless charging was new for cell phones. Same thing.
Cranky_badger@reddit
Way back in the late 90's, our hospital moved from crt's to flat screens that had power save. I was Lead desktop at the time, but covering on-call that day and was scrambling. A ticket came from a doc who said his monitor was dead. I had a bunch of actual critical issues and didn't get to him for a couple hours. Like almost all docs they think they are gods gift to the health care system. I walked into his office as he started bitching about how long it took and how he's a doctor so he should be priority. I leaned down and gave the space bar a slap and ping! The monitor comes on. He literally stopped midword looking gobstopped. I managed to blurt out "It's power saver, it'll power down when not in use" before I ducked into the hall and burst into laughter. I know he heard me because he gave me the dirtiest looks after that.
Hamibh@reddit
Plenty folk called their radio "the wireless" decades ago and they still needed power - it's not a new concept.
FnordMan@reddit
Well... With a strong enough signal and the right setup AM stations can be listened to without needing power.
Zestyclose_Space7134@reddit
Absolutely true. As a child I had a 101-in-one electronics kit, and one of the projects in the included manual was for an AM radio. No mains power, no battery. You powered the circuit from the antenna. Longer antenna meant louder output. My mind was BLOWN.
Hot-Fig-280@reddit
That's a crystal set, not a radio.
Zestyclose_Space7134@reddit
Potato potahtoe? What's the difference? Please educate me.
MikeSchwab63@reddit
It only works with very low resistance earphones.
Hot-Fig-280@reddit
Short for "wireless receiver", which is also what it refers to here
SpudzzSomchai@reddit
You missed the teaching moment how Edison ruined Tesla's dream of wireless energy. Then do a deep dive into why Edison was scared of Tesla and ruined him. Point out that because of decisions made a 100 years ago are now impacting are quality of life today. We are now suffering the consequences of Edison's hubris. Then tell them the plug the damn thing in while cursing the name Edison.
That's what I would do. Sure my methods may be considered unorthodox. I view every user interaction as a teaching moment. What the teachable is moment is never call me again with such a stupid.
MikeSchwab63@reddit
We broadcast Millions of watts for a TV signal and you can't use an antennae and rectifier to charge a capacitor from the received power.
Catkii@reddit
Sadly I think the common mouth breather today would confuse Tesla (inventor) with Tesla (Musk) and tell you you’re wrong in the process.
WayneH_nz@reddit
But then they will start saying Elon can do not wrong, he is not that old, why are you picking on him. Whiney annoying voice.
Near actual conversation on something similar.
I just had to stop myself and walk away..
CaptainIcy3433@reddit
Plugging into Tesla’s system too!
BadaSK2019@reddit
Hahahahaha I've actually said the phrase, "Yeah, well, since Edison wanted to be a jerk, we can't all have cool Tesla coils. So you still gotta plug it in." Doing basic tech support for computers. 🤣
chartupdate@reddit
Back in 1990 I had a hard time convincing someone that Ethernet did not "transmit through the ether".
WildMartin429@reddit
That at least kind of makes sense if you know what ether originally was. Think that's the case of being over-educated though, LOL
MikeSchwab63@reddit
At least the Michelson - Morley experiment is finally detecting gravity waves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson%E2%80%93Morley_experiment
ScareBear23@reddit
Had someone return their "just wireless" branded charger because they thought it was a wireless charger. The front of the packaging was clear so you could CLEARLY see what it looked like. It was like a $5 charger when even the off brand charging pads were $50
RogueThneed@reddit
Wait. The brand name was Just Wireless?
ScareBear23@reddit
Yeah. It was the Walmart store brand for phone accessories
clrlmiller@reddit
I did I.T. support for a TLA (Three Letter Agency) years ago and I seemed to be the ONLY idiot who'd volunteer to help when all the Managers went offsite for a 'conference'. These were just excuses to get out of the office, meet for a few, pitiful hours and then adjourn for a paid gourmet meal and drinks on the agency's dime. I ALWAYS brought my own little WiFi Router with a friendly, familiar name for the Execs to auto-connect their laptops.
I learned VERY quickly to reach out to the conference site's host facility I.T. Manager and tell them I needed a WIRED Ethernet Port in the conference room with access to the Internet. "Oh no, we have great WiFi already in place. Y'all can just use that!" My reply was "NO! I'm NOT going to try and explain to two dozen executives who make 5X my salary how to connect to YOUR WiFi and VPN back to our network." Usually, they relented after explaining that we'd expect their own staff to assist 24 clueless execs on different flavors of Windoze & Macs using two different VPN tools.
Chamomila-@reddit
I mean, it's not unreasonable to expect wireless things to be truly wireless. Like your phone, for example, or a laptop.
It could have an amazing battery for all that the customer knew. I don't think it's wrong to be indignant that it's not truly wireless, especially after spending some good cash buying something. And I don't think that the customer needed to be drilled about the difference between data transmission and power delivery, that's mostly transparent for users.
comthing@reddit
It is absolutely unreasonable to expect electrical things to work without electricity.
Your phone and laptop have batteries because they are designed to be mobile and power efficient. They still have to be plugged in to charge, so why would a monitor designed to remain in a static position ever benefit from having a battery if it has to be plugged in anyway?
Chamomila-@reddit
It's not practical for 99% of users to have a battery powered computer monitor, that's true. But that's a different conversation, it's not the same thing as "electronic equipment needs electrical power to work".
It's not impossible, not even unfeasible, to have a battery powered monitor. And you have phones and laptops as parallels of /true/ wireless devices that have screens. So I don't think it's particularly weird that some guy got confused when someone sold him a wireless monitor.
comthing@reddit
It's not practical at all, and the comparison to phones and laptops doesn't make sense.
Monitors don't do anything other than display what another device tells them to.
Phones and laptops are self-contained devices that don't need any other devices to function.
Portable monitors exist, but they just plug into the parent device via USB or similar. Since you need to be able to read what is on the screen, the devices will always be close together. And of course, if it is big enough to read from the other side of a room like a TV lounge set-up, then it's too bulky to be considered a mobile device and might as well be plugged into a wall socket.
Chamomila-@reddit
I don't understand your point. I agree it's not practical, I even said it, that it's impractical for 99% of use cases (I'm sure there's some weird situation where it's useful that I can't imagine right now).
What I'm saying is that it's not that big of a leap to think that since other wireless stuff you have /is/ truly wireless, that the monitor that was advertised as wireless would be /truly/ wireless.
I'm not saying that the assumption is correct, obviously. That's not my point.
comthing@reddit
My point is that they are not comparable devices. Phones, tablets, and laptops are comparable because they are all mobile computers, and are technically wired to a screen anyway.
Monitors are comparable to old TVs. Wireless versions exist with built-in receivers, but even modern TVs don't have wireless charging.
But more to the point, we were discussing whether it was reasonable. The assumption that a wireless monitor doesn't need any wires at all is certainly possible, but not within reason, especially not if you get all the way to the point of setting it up and calling tech support, then act indignant because you didn't read before buying.
It's a bit like that classic darwin award honourable mention where an idiot bought an RV and thought they could turn on cruise control then go in the back to make themselves a cup of coffee. People who don't read or listen, or ask questions, or don't contextualise their knowledge, cause their own problems.
Chamomila-@reddit
But look at how OP was responding. I believe the user felt he was swindled by whoever sold him the monitor. A wireless monitor with a mandatory wire, scandalous!
And you can feel the frustration in the words of OP, the one who was supposed to help him. It's not hard to imagine someone feeling annoyed and losing trust in the support person if they condescend you explaining things for no reason and treating you like an idiot. Did he really need to explain the difference between power and data for 10 straight minutes?
Btw, if anything, being a dumb monitor is better for a battery powered solution, since you have less internal components to power, heh. I'm being flippant, but I really don't think it's such a big leap to expect wireless stuff to have no mandatory wires, lol. At least if you're a random consumer.
comthing@reddit
Well, there is the possibility of false advertising or salespeople who will do anything to make a sale (if it was in-store, could've been online 1-click straight to the cart).
But I feel it's still a lesson for the user. Being able to think and do basic research is important for life in general. Given the tone set by the OP, it doesn't sound like the user was elderly either.
tiller_luna@reddit
the downvotes are disappointing
gromit1991@reddit
Agree. This is a sensible comment but obviously some neanderthals thought it deserved a downvote. But this is reddit!
Chamomila-@reddit
I know right! You will save yourself from a lot of bad energy coming from customers if you empathize with them and try to see things from their perspective. If you have their actual goals in mind.
They are not experts in IT and they don't want to be either (usually), that's why you're there!
gromit1991@reddit
Yes. Some people who have knowledge seem to love to take the piss out of those that don't.
And we've both got more negative votes. 🙄
Chamomila-@reddit
I honestly think they lack knowledge. Truly understanding users and customers is a skill! And I think it's a valuable one if you work in tech support.
gromit1991@reddit
I'm a retired eng and do occasional IT support but only for my parents and inlaws. Empathy is a must. Real IT support must need real patience.
opschief0299@reddit
The Stupid will always be with us, unfortunately.
Independent-Try5432@reddit
A few years ago I was working from home and needed to connect to co workers computer to transfer some files. His computer had gone to sleep so I called him and said just push the space bar and wake it up..... He said which one is the space bar? I gave up immediately and took care of the issue the next day when I went in. Again this was only a few years ago. It was his computer.. He used it every day.
readituser5@reddit
I’m not in tech support but my uncle is worse. The only technology he has is his phone which he barely knows how to use.
My mum needed a code that was texted to him. So she rings him up, tells him he’s going to get a text with a code and he needs to tell her what the code is.
She does it and roughly this is how it goes:
“I can’t see it. I’m on the phone to you.”
“You can still use your phone when talking. Press the button at the bottom to go back to your Home Screen and into Messages.”
“What button?”
“The back button. The one you use all the time to go back home or switch apps”
“I don’t see a button”
FFS. It’s not like he doesn’t use it every day. So we try calling him on the landline so he can use his mobile but it’s broken and drops out/doesn’t work. We call him back on the mobile.
“We’ll hang up and send the code and you just have to write down what the code is and ring us back and tell us.”
We end the call and we’re waiting and waiting. Eventually he rings back and starts rattling off the entire text and I don’t think he had the code not that it probably mattered if he did or not as the limited time was probably up by then.
We gave up and told him to drive all the way to his brother’s place so he could do this simple job of reading out a text.
NowareSpecial@reddit
The space bar is right next to the Any key.
Unique-Coffee5087@reddit
I've read that some people throw away the power adapter and cord for their new laptops because they think the battery will run it forever.
Such people should not have jobs that require such expensive equipment. A broom seems more their speed.
readituser5@reddit
It baffles me how people can’t question anything past what they perceive to be their own needs.
If they “know” they don’t need cords for their laptop, where’s the thought process to question why they’re in the box in the first place?
LightHawKnigh@reddit
Reminds me of the time when there was a hurricane and people had to take their computers home from their office which was in the flood zone to work on. Had a guy complaining that he wasnt able to remotely access his computer. Which was currently boxed up sitting behind him.
redsaeok@reddit
To be fair true wireless power, through IR is a thing. It isn’t fully developed or reliable, or as versatile as wired power, and is limited in current… but it exists and therefore the dream is alive.
Actually I’d count this as wireless over induction charging.
ThePugnax@reddit
Reminded me of when i was pulling cables at a big office buildings for wireless routers scattered around the building in the ceiling. Alot of people were confused by our answer to "what are you doing?" we said as we were pulling ethernet cables to the wireless routers that would be placed around the office, so they could get better coverage for the wifi"
Couldnt grasp that the router itself needed a cable to bring the signal to it, so it could wirelessly distribute internet to the user. The common answer was with a face of disbelief "But i thought it was wireless?!"
Some who got it did some ol wireless jokes and chuckled to themselves.
MyroIII@reddit
Could you have set them all up in a mesh network?
collinsl02@reddit
You don't want a mesh in a busy building as the signal channels will be overloaded - don't forget that, even with separate backhaul networks, they're still on the same wireless spectrum as the data channels. Busy buildings need all available channels to support clients in different bits of the building so that frequencies don't overlap on APs next to each other.
MyroIII@reddit
Good info! So mesh would be more useful for a less dense, more sprawled out location?
collinsl02@reddit
Yes, although I'd always recommend cabling in APs wherever possible.
ThePugnax@reddit
this was maybe 20 years ago, and i was a lowly apprentice doing the dirty work of pulling cables. I knew nothing
MyroIII@reddit
Totally fair :) been there
Mdayofearth@reddit
If anyone at work responded to me with wireless anything not needing some sort of power cord, I would immediately send them to their manager, or higher, and have them decide whether they should still work in the company.
WildMartin429@reddit
Counterpoint the most common wireless devices that you're going to hear complained about not working is wireless keyboard and mouse. Nine times out of ten the batteries are dead or the power switch is off the other one time is that they've gotten unpaired from the computer somehow.
DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC@reddit
My mom recently got the newest car she's ever had (2013 model). Rearview camera, touchscreen for radio, heated seats, independent climate control, keyless entry/start, etc. She called me one day freaking out because it wouldn't start.
Battery in the fob was dead.
WildMartin429@reddit
Oh I am so not a fan of the keyless cars. They've proven super easy to hotwire and steal because there's no hot wiring involved
DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC@reddit
This one is...it's like, you do pushbutton start it, but underneath the button is an actual keyed ignition switch.
JauntyYin@reddit
I've been playing with computers for over thirty years. It took me longer than I care to admit to realise that the batteries were fucked on my wireless keyboard.
WildMartin429@reddit
It always amazes me the number of people in an office environment with a desk that insist that they need a wireless mouse and keyboard and I'm like you wouldn't have these problems if you just had a normal corded mouse and keyboard you're using them at your desk the cords could easily reach your docking station and not be in the way. But no no those chords are just going to get totally in the way. 🙃 Like I get it if you're working from home from your couch or you travel a lot but give me a Wired Mouse that the batteries don't die on any day of the week.
CarlosFer2201@reddit
I hate dealing with batteries, so even my gaming mouse is still wired.
AlaskanDruid@reddit
User was right. There are real wireless monitors.
femanonette@reddit
"Right. Wireless, not powerless, sir."
wrincewind@reddit
"it's wire-LESS, not wire-FREE."
born_lever_puller@reddit
Wireless vs cordless
CatsAreGods@reddit
This also works for stainless steel.
BronL-1912@reddit
They should have called it wire-fewer then. :)
gromit1991@reddit
Fewer!
Silent-G@reddit
There are fewer wires, but there is also less wire.
gromit1991@reddit
😁👍
wrincewind@reddit
Fine, you can start selling people "wire-fewer" devices and see how that goes. ;p
Nazrael75@reddit
Well ah KNOW it aint wire free. I paid for it didnt i?
K1yco@reddit
This is better than mine, which was "WireLESS, not WireNONE"
Bountyclaw@reddit
I've never been able to imagine what it is like to be this level of clueless about a subject.
RemotecontrolZR@reddit
Tech reporting that he watched everything had me laughing. He must have been so skeptic and ready to act if he saw something not right with what the tech is doing.
paolog@reddit
Surely your job isn't to educate the uneducatable. I would just tell them a technician will be dispatched. Once it is all working again, the user probably won't care how many wires the monitor needs.
Tundra_Dragon@reddit
I used to work for a TV service provider. When we released wireless boxes, we had a surprising number of customers call in cussing because "I should be able to just stack all these ugly wireless set top boxes in the closet, and have them work. That's what the salesman said!"
Even worse were the poor morons in Apartments who wanted wireless STBs, and couldn't understand that the 2.4GHz spectrum only has 11 total channels, and only 3 of them are really useable, and looking in your gateway, I see 37 neighbors networks... This was more problematic for the field techs because the company told them wireless boxes would cut install times in half... So, they cut the amount of time allowed on an install in half, despite not being able to use wireless boxes in apartments.
somecow@reddit
At least there’s not millions of monitors running around with a mini nuclear reactor. Look on the bright side.
Xeni966@reddit
One monitor gets dropped by a clumsy person and suddenly we're in real life Fallout
dustojnikhummer@reddit
The row of cars near Flooded Metro in Capital Wasteland.
databoy2k@reddit
60's aesthetics were way cooler than what we have today.
zaro3785@reddit
I'll likely be alive for the 2060's, hope it comes back into fashion
Gabelvampir@reddit
With how fast fashion trends are getting that will last a whole 5 minutes
d1jeditech@reddit
I think if we had millions of monitors running around with a mini nuclear reactor, everything would be the "bright side". /s
Lower_Palpitation_82@reddit
I remember years ago, I was working in electronics, was brain storming with design guts and suggested wireless speakers…. They ridiculed me. They were a thing within 8 years! But I did feel silly at the time.
Lower_Palpitation_82@reddit
I meant design GUYS, but they did have guts.
Buddy-Matt@reddit
Tbh, in the modern world where everything has batteries, I can understand the confusion.
The fact you'd need a stupidly large battery and cable to charge the thing are by the by.
porpoiseoflife@reddit
Hells, there are times when I wonder how we got from counting on our fingers to the abacus.
Sinbos@reddit
Same mistake as op. ‚We‘ doesn’t mean everyone just our society. Not everyone has the same jobs or even capability.
bartoque@reddit
So Arthur C. Clarks 3rd law in the wild.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Nunov_DAbov@reddit
One of my favorites, but I’m starting to think there is an extension: any sufficiently stupid person is indistinguishable from a rock.
bartoque@reddit
It is good that our species is using its autonomic (aka involuntary) nervous system for the beating of our heart and breathing to name a few.
wiseleo@reddit
Wireless monitors with built-in batteries exist. An iPad can be used that way, for example.
NotATroll1234@reddit
I bet this person went back to using a corded phone since they couldn’t figure out how to keep it charged. Similarly, a customer whose house I had previously visited for a related issue requested wireless security cameras. However, their house has an enormous brick fireplace squarely in the center of their house. They balked at the suggestion that those cameras would need a Wi-Fi booster to properly communicate, claiming their brain would be “cooked by all the signals”.
BlkDragon7@reddit
MBA and department director. Could do massive, complex, macro fueled spreadsheets. Truly impressive work that even had some code snippets.
Yet....
Everything about how the computer worked. His complete inability to understand why those massive spreadsheets didn't work for others, no matter how I explained it.
As far as he was concerned. Pure eldritch sorcery and I was some magical diety.
Nice guy. Pretty smart. And yet....
PhantasyAngel@reddit
Didn't Disney showcase a wireless TV one year? Course who knows what that wireless power generator does to people nearby.
Also if you want to make a show of it you could have Warhammer 40k Seals and praying to the Machine God just before plugging in the power cord.
Huwbacca@reddit
"this is the most flagrant case of false advertising since the movie The Never Ending Story!"
MiaowWhisperer@reddit
That always annoyed me as a child. It was pretty darned short, too.
BlackFenrir@reddit
This is when you say "That's correct, but see, sir, this is a cable, not a wire. It's not cable-less"
codefyre@reddit
I hate to be the one to pull a "well, ackshewally", but I recently picked up an external wireless portable monitor to add a second screen to my laptop when Im travelling. It has an internal battery, supports wireless charging via charging pads, and has wireless video support, so "wireless" monitors ARE now a possibility in the real world 😂
i_like_jumpers@reddit
fully understand the frustration but in a world of ipads and tablets i actually don’t blame people for not understanding what a wireless monitor is and is not
antitheta@reddit
Reminds me of my job in IT at a bank back in 1994. Got a call from the Presidents Secretary (using the title at the time) and she said her "Computer was broken". I said "is it plugged in?" She of course yelled at me "Name, of course its plugged in, do you think I'm an idiot?" I said "no ma'am, but can you check if it is turned on?" She said "just get over here and fix it". Um, yeah... It was not plugged in. So while under her desk I said "LET ME JUST PLUG THIS IN FOR YOU". She was less of a bitch after that... :)
MyroIII@reddit
I used to work at bestbuy and someome came in and asked for a wireless cable. (I knew they meant adapter and got them what they needed) but the initial computation broke my brain
ChiefBroady@reddit
The wireless cables are the yellow ones.
Budsygus@reddit
It's one thing to not understand a newer technology. That's fine, no judgment from me there. It's an entirely different thing to not understand it but confidently insist everyone else on the planet is wrong about it. Not fine. Lots of judgment from me.
K1yco@reddit
Sir, your phone is wireless, correct? What do you do when the battery runs out on it and you need to charge it? Do you connect the charger, which is a wire/power cable that allows it to be powered?
centstwo@reddit
No, I set it on my laptop which charges it without wires, hello!
thesammon@reddit
Then the user just thinks that they can charge their computer monitor and will get angry when it turns off after they finish "charging" it (read: they unplug it).
glewis93@reddit
I had a teacher call me about a mouse not working. I went to her classroom, couldn't see her initially and there was a class full of kids working.
I guessed I'd just look at the PC at the front of the classroom to fix the issue since she wasn't there. Approached the PC. No mouse, at all. She walked back into the classroom and said "Oh, sir! Did you manage to get it working?"
"It looks like someone's taken your mouse, I'll go and get a replacement." I thought the issue was a broken mouse, not a lost one, but it wasn't a big deal.
"Oh, no. I'm sitting back there. It's on the back desk." she clarified, pointing to a stack of workbooks, a pen and the missing mouse. The USB plug at the end of the wire on the floor"
I stared blankly. Not comprehending what was actually happening.
"The mouse isn't working, I don't know what the range is but I need to be able to click through the PowerPoint for them." she explained.
"... But it's a wired mouse. It needs to be plugged into the PC to control it." I replied, almost doubting I was understanding her issue.
"I've definitely done this before though, in this room too." she insisted.
"Well... Not with this type of mouse you haven't." I said, in disbelief.
We didn't have any wireless mice in inventory. It's possible another teacher had their own and left it in the class which she used.
It then dawned on me that I'd spent time very recently cable tying all of the staff PC's wiring. She'd not only unplugged the mouse and moved it to the back of the room, she had cut the cable tie to do so.
I tried to explain this subtly to spare her blushes in front of a class and then she said "Maybe Kev (the Network Manager and my boss) can get it working. Can you send him down?"
After explaining to Kev the ticket and the sequence of events - which he thought I was joking about and initially responded "Yeah, alright" sarcastically - he went and told her the same thing. Just less subtly.
He walked back into the office shaking his head and sent out an email reminding staff not to cut cable ties.
Top_Box_8952@reddit
“From the abacus to the microchip” Got me 🤣
DaveAlt19@reddit
I can kind of see where they're coming from, seeing as we work so much from phones, tablets, laptops that are wireless other than for charging.
Thelastbrunneng@reddit
I see where he's coming from, despite being obviously wrong. If you truly didn't know any better, then "wireless" sounds like something with no wires ¯\(ツ)/¯
graywolf0026@reddit
I swear to fuck I had this same conversation with a client back when Wifi first came out.
She wanted everything wireless. Especially her Internet. So we got... Everything we could. Which back in 2005 was the keyboard, mouse, router and wifi card.
Go to set it up. Now there's even more cables. She gets indignant.
Explain that's not how any of this works.
She tells us to rip it out.
We bill her for time and restocking, etc.
Just so laughable.
drkimono@reddit
or transitioned from living in the trees!
HighOnGoofballs@reddit
Technically correct
I suppose a battery powered monitor would count?
Kaurifish@reddit
People who think that names are proscriptive probably engage in other magical thinking, too. 🤦♀️
Action_Man_X@reddit
I've had this same exact conversation except it was a Wifi router.
"What do you mean I need a cable? It's wireless!"
K1yco@reddit
I remember a customer claimed we sold him a faulty computer because he bought one without wifi (this was around 2017) . He kept making wild arguments as to why it's faulty.
First was he googled that 85% of all computers sold in 2016 come with wireless.
Told him yes which means you own the 15% that don't. He tried doubling down and the number decreased to 73% .
Then he tried saying a PC without wireless is like a Pizza without the dough. Which also makes zero sense because wireless is something you add on, so it would be more like adding olives or stuffed crust. The dough would be your motherboard with the CPu being the sauce /cheese.
ColumbusMark@reddit
I believe you.
Some people are just too damn stupid to be allowed anywhere near a computer.
deedeejayzee@reddit
I hate to tell you this, but they wouldn't have been smart enough for the abacus, either.
Opening_Finger_98@reddit
Had a friend think that wireless charging for her phone meant even the charger didn’t need to be plugged in. I had to explain that the PHONE doesn’t get plugged into the charger. Sigh. I’m 64 she is 38.
Frido1976@reddit
Let me guess.. America?
Gullenbursti@reddit
Tbe user would have sent a letter to tech support for the Abacus because it didn't automatically do the calculations.
NotCanada@reddit
My grandfather bought a “router” that turned out to be a Roku, and because it said wireless he thought that meant zero wires. So, when I arrive at his house all I see is a Roku sitting on the table with no input or power cables connected and a bewildered grandfather.
nighthawke75@reddit
ELI5
Then rinse and repeat.
Five times.
Dranask@reddit
Some of us did, some of us clearly didn’t, somehow the rest just muddle through.
-justkeepswimming-@reddit
The amount of times I've had to explain that wireless refers to the signal, and I don't even work in tech support.