I found that almost every line of communication requires you to jump through hoops before you can get any help at all. The representatives spent way too much time updating Windows or HP apps instead of providing simple answers to relatively straightforward questions. And those who didn’t focus on updates either got the answers wrong or took way too long to respond. Despite that, HP did quite well on some calls, so I won’t disparage the good ones. But there is a difference in support depending on what kind of laptop you’re buying, and that’s unfortunate for some consumers. Just because you’re paying for a lower-tier product doesn’t mean you should be met with incorrect answers or overly complicated support. Here’s how HP tech support reacted during my numerous encounters with them.
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HP tech support
Every year, we ask three or so questions to brands and one of those questions is a control question everyone at Laptop Mag uses. The control question this year was, “How do I change the touchpad sensitivity?” Meanwhile, I came up with four additional questions, one for each type of laptop. For the regular consumer laptop, I asked “How do I make the audio sound better?” (the Bang & Olufsen app). For the HP Spectre, I asked, “How do I cool down my laptop?” (the HP Command Center). For the HP Omen, I asked, “How do I change the performance?” (the Omen Gaming Hub). And finally, for the HP EliteBook, I asked, “How do I know if my laptop has HP Sure View?”
Web and social support
Despite being a journalist, I have social anxiety and I would rather not talk to people, so the first option I choose whenever I have a tech issue is to look it up online. When you’re looking for answers from HP, you can hop on over to the HP Support website (opens in new tab). This site can direct you to software and drivers, printer support, computer support, diagnostic tools, warranties and a section to contact HP directly. If you’re trying to diagnose your problem, the support page will have a list of common issues, but that’s more than likely not going to solve your issue. You can head over to the HP community (opens in new tab) page, which is filled with community asked and answered questions. Thankfully, the community is quite active, so when I typed in, “how to change touchpad sensitivity,” the forum had an answer with a link on how to do it. However, it’s still kind of a pain to actually get contact information for HP through its website. You first have to make an account and sign in, then provide the serial number for your laptop before you can even call or chat with an agent (outside of using a virtual agent). It shouldn’t take this much effort to get in contact with a tech support team — just put the appropriate numbers on the tech support page. However, now there’s a “Need Help?” tab in the bottom right corner that’ll put you in touch with a virtual agent quickly. HP’s latest Support Assistant app makes getting help so much easier. You not only get a bunch of troubleshooting and diagnostic settings to help you fix issues with your PC, but you also get options to call, chat and message a representative on Facebook. However, you still have to fill out a form just to get the number for a representative if you would like to place a call. After you create a case, it’ll give you the number. If your issue requires you to remain in contact with HP, you can also download the HP Support Assistant Mobile App. The app lets you see all of the HP devices that you own in one place as well as any cases attached to them and the length of their warranties. You can also contact the virtual agent via this app and check in on the health of the device components, like the battery, storage and security. There are also a bunch of troubleshooting guides. The app itself is basic, but it’s helpful if you are trying to fix that shiny new laptop you just bought and don’t have any other way to access HP’s app. The app will also lead you to contact information but you need to register the product with a memorable email address and password. If you don’t, the app may not help much. Even Googling HP’s tech support number proved to be difficult, as most links just took us to the support page which required a login, a serial number and a filed form. But because we asked for the numbers ahead of time, we already have a simple list. The main consumer customer support line is 1-800-474-6836 (located in Philippines and India) and the Spectre support line is 1-888-817-4633 (located in Bangalore, India). The Omen support line is 1-866-724-8628 and is located in Bangalore, India and Rio Rancho, NM, while the Elite support line is 1‐866‐625‐1175, and is only held up in Rio Rancho, NM. Is it that difficult to place these numbers in an easily accessible place on HP’s website? Using the HP Support Assistant app, I got in touch with an agent as soon as I requested one at 1:28 p.m. ET, and asked, “how do I make the audio sound better?” I was alluding to the Bang & Olufsen app. However, I received a swift response, stating “I’m afraid there is no way to adjust anything related to audio except the volume.” They were nice and quick to respond, but ultimately gave the wrong answer. I tried Twitter next, and asked at 12:36 p.m., “How do I change the touchpad sensitivity?” I received a reply at 1:27 p.m. asking me for the serial number for the printer. Yes, they said printer, which resulted in 20 minutes of back and forth before I gave them the serial number of the laptop. I waited an hour before they responded to me with a link on the HP Support website detailing how to adjust it. So, despite the confusion at first, it went rather well. I jumped to Facebook next, and asked at 12:34 p.m. (the following week), “How do I cool down my laptop?” For context, the HP Command Center does exactly that with fan control. I got a response at 1:07 p.m., asking me my exact product name and the serial number. I immediately gave them the number, but then at 1:54 p.m., they told me that number was wrong. There was a short back and forth about the number before I sent them a picture of the underside, at 4:17 p.m. The agent was so caught up in the serial number instead of answering the question that I didn’t even get the help I needed. However, they did respond to my question, correctly, five days later.
Consumer phone support
With the HP Pavilion budget laptop, I called the basic line for consumer tech support, which is 1-800-474-6836. Their call center is located in Manila and India. Let me just preface this by saying I hate virtual assistants. The control call took place at 11:41 a.m. ET, and it took roughly 2 minutes and 38 seconds to get connected to someone after tangling with the virtual assistant. Before I could even ask my question, I needed to give this person my name, number, email, serial number and product ID number. I then asked my question, “How do I change the touchpad sensitivity?” I was put on hold for a bit, so they could figure out an answer. Then they asked if it was OK to take control of my system. I let them, and they proceeded to update the BIOS of the notebook, which they said would improve the touchpad and sound. After that update, they proceeded to download new HP touchpad drivers. Then they downloaded an HP laptop user guide for me. After all of that was done, they finally took me over to the touchpad settings and let me mess around with the sensitivity settings while they were still connected to the call. From there, they attempted to sell me a full McAfee subscription and an upgraded HP warranty, but when I said no, they backed off. Then, for some reason, they wanted to connect me to their supervisor, so I stayed on hold until they arrived. The supervisor proceeded to ask if I was satisfied with the service and if the technician answered my questions. The entire call lasted a whopping 34:33. I’ve proven in this very report that this problem should take no less than a minute to solve. Sigh. My second call was at 4:26 p.m., and it took 2:55 to get connected to another person after going through a virtual assistant that, for some reason, needed my serial number. When I was connected, I was asked for my serial number again as well as my name and number. After that, I asked, “How do I make the audio sound better?” They were a little confused at first, but I guided them along by mentioning that I wanted to add more bass to the sound. However, after putting me on a brief hold, they were convinced that there’s nothing on the laptop to help, but that I could download third-party software to adjust it, clearly unaware of the Bang & Olufsen app included in almost all HP laptops. The call took 10:37. The first call wasn’t terrible, but it could’ve been a lot quicker, while the second call was just flat-out unhelpful.
Spectre phone support
With the Spectre, I called up the direct line for Spectre tech support, which is 1-888-817-4633. Their call center is located in Bangalore, India. My control call took place at 11:01 a.m. ET, and I was connected with an HP representative within seconds, then asked “How do I change the touchpad sensitivity?” My question was answered swiftly and correctly within a minute. The entire call lasted only 1:30. They didn’t even ask me about the serial number or anything – it was great. My next call took place at 1:22 p.m. ET, and I was once again connected with an HP representative within seconds. This time, they asked for my name, email address, serial number and product number. After that, I explained that my laptop was getting a bit warm, and if there was a way to cool it down. They told me to turn off my computer, and hold the power button for two minutes. After that, they asked to take over my computer, and then proceeded to update Windows 10. They then went to the HP Command Center and changed the setting to Cool for me. While this is the appropriate fix, they didn’t tell me what they did. Then for some reason, the agent disabled a setting that made Windows restart after a failure. We sat quietly for a long freakin’ time while everything continued to update. They had to restart the computer three different times before I could regain access. After that, they ran a performance tune-up check via the HP Support Assistant app. The entire call took 1 hour and 5 minutes (Ugh!). My first call was perfect, but the second call was too much help. They were well informed, but took way too many steps to get what I wanted and didn’t even explain the HP Command Center to me.
Omen phone support
With the Omen, I called the direct line for Omen tech support, which is 1-866-724-8628. Their call centers are located in Rio Rancho, NM, USA and Bangalore, India. The control call took place at 11:14 a.m. ET, and it took roughly 4 minutes and 40 seconds to get connected to a representative. I asked them, “How do I change the touchpad sensitivity?” They asked for my serial number, name and phone number before assisting me. It got a little weird when they began to clarify my request, and then said, “If only I understood how that would be useful.” After that, they guided me through the settings and fulfilled my request, but at the end of the call, they began to explain that the cursor should be called the pointer. The entire call, including wait times, lasted 8 minutes and 54 seconds. My next call took place at 3:12 p.m., and within seconds, I was connected to a representative. I asked them, “How do I change the performance of my laptop?” They told me it’s within the Omen Gaming Hub, but to help guide me through it they wanted to set up a remote session (Before that, they asked for my name, number, address, serial number and product number). When we connected, they asked what kind of performance I’m trying to prioritize. All I said was that I wanted to make it as fast as possible. They gave me a very concise and informative tutorial on the Omen Gaming Hub. After that, they told me to update everything in Windows and in HP Support Assistant to ensure that the PC is running as fast as it can. At first, they weren’t going to force me to stay on the line for all of the updates, but they ended up sticking around anyway. Due to all of the updates, the call did take 57:15. The first call was fine albeit a bit odd. The second call took quite a bit of time, but the representative was very informative and helpful throughout the entire process.
Elite phone support
With the EliteBook business laptop, I called up the direct line for Elite tech support, which is 1‐866‐625‐1175. Their call center is also located in Rio Rancho, NM, USA. My control call took place at 2:43 p.m., and it took only roughly 1 minute to get connected to a representative. Before I was able to ask a question, I needed to give them my name, phone number and serial number. After that, I asked, “How do I change the touchpad sensitivity?” Then they swiftly guided me to the touchpad settings. It was super simple, and the call lasted about 5:17. My final call took place at 4:53 p.m., and it took less than a minute to get connected to an agent. I asked, “How do I know if my laptop has Sure View?” (it didn’t). To check what model I had, they took down my serial number. Afterward, the agent made me test a few keys to see if I had SureView on the machine. We both discovered that SureView was not on the machine. They asked me if there was anything else I needed help with, and that was it. The call lasted a sweet 4:46. Both calls were amazing. Each representative was nice, giving me exactly what I asked for, nothing more and nothing less. They also didn’t make a big deal about filing a case like the other support lines did. Most importantly, neither tried to remote in to my computer and download updates for over an hour.
Warranty
All HP consumer and commercial laptops come with a minimum of one-year parts and labor warranty and a 90-day software warranty. However, certain configurations of HP commercial laptops can provide up to three-years parts and labor warranty support and up to five years non-warranty spare part support. HP laptops do not come with accidental damage protection, but you can purchase it for an additional cost and you’ll also get 24/7 tech support, pickup of damaged devices, in-home service for select devices and coverage for multiple incidents. In the U.S., HP covers shipping in both directions as part of all laptop warranties, but expedited shipping options are also available at an additional cost. Additionally, you can upgrade your laptop with no impact on your warranty, but only if you use HP-approved parts. Products that are sealed are not considered customer upgradeable, so that will void your warranty. HP also offers services like Absolute Home & Office, which protects your tech from theft, giving you the ability to lock, erase, locate and recover your PC for $40 a month. There’s also SmartFriend, which is a $15 monthly service that’ll give you 24/7 tech support regardless of your warranty status.
Bottom line
Across the board, HP’s social and app support isn’t very good, but if you have a more expensive laptop, their phone support can be excellent. There’s a whole argument to be made that people who buy cheap laptops shouldn’t be forced to deal with worse support than others, but that’s what you get with HP. HP’s basic consumer support sucks, plain and simple. Of course, HP’s Omen and Elite services were pretty great, so if you do buy a more expensive machine from HP, rest assured that your needs will be taken care of. Although, I wouldn’t rely on social media as much. Also, no consumer should have to deal with making a case number before they’re able to get your customer support number. Just call them with the numbers listed above that correspond with your laptop.
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