Fix a computer, phone or app problem with AI, safely

Use it when your laptop, phone, printer, Wi-Fi or an app shows an error or stops doing something it used to do, and you want help working out what is wrong and what to try.

Not when the device is physically damaged, smells of burning, is swollen or got wet, or holds the only copy of something you cannot lose and you have no backup. Turn it off and go to the maker or a repair shop. On a work device, go to your IT team first: their rules come before any chat answer.

You need the device in front of you, the exact error text or a screenshot, and about 20 minutes. The steps and the order below are our suggestion.

Why you go one step at a time

Assistants can sound sure and still be wrong. A CHI 2024 study checked ChatGPT's answers to 517 programming questions from Stack Overflow, a question-and-answer site for programmers: "52% of ChatGPT answers contain incorrect information". Participants in its user study "overlooked the misinformation in the ChatGPT answers 39% of the time" (Kabir et al., 2024, peer-reviewed). It tested the free GPT-3.5 version, which newer versions may beat, but a confident answer is still not a checked one.
Models (the AI systems behind chat assistants) invent things that look real. In 576,000 code samples from 16 models, "the average percentage of hallucinated packages is at least 5.2% for commercial models and 21.7% for open-source models": names of software that does not exist (Spracklen et al., 2025, USENIX Security, peer-reviewed).
Menus and settings move between versions, so steps written for one version of Windows, macOS, Android or iOS may not match yours.

So ask for one small step, check what happened, and keep a way back.

Steps

#	Step	Who	Time	Check
1	Write down the device, the system and its version, the app and its version, the exact error text, when it started, what changed just before (an update, a new app, a move), and what you already tried.	Person	5 min	Someone else could picture the problem from your note alone.
2	Hide anything private before you paste or upload: passwords, recovery codes, product keys, serial numbers, account names, email addresses, Wi-Fi names and passwords. Crop or cover them in screenshots. See What not to paste.	Person	2 min	You looked at every line and every corner of the image.
3	Paste the prompt below (the instructions in the box) with your note. Ask for the likely causes and the safest step first.	Person and AI	2 min	You got one step, what it does, the risk and how to undo it.
4	Before any step that changes settings, deletes, resets or updates, back up what you would hate to lose, and note the current setting so you can put it back.	Person	5 min	You can name where the backup is.
5	Check the step against the maker's own support page for your exact version.	Person	3 min	The menu names and steps match what you see. If it fails: follow the maker's page, or tell the assistant what you actually see and ask again.
6	Do the one step. Report the result back word for word, including any new error.	Person and AI	2 min each	You know whether it worked before you try the next one.
7	Stop when the problem is fixed, or when a stop rule below applies.	Person	1 min	You wrote down what fixed it, or why you stopped.

Tech problem prompt · v1.0

Help me fix a problem with my <DEVICE>.

System and version: <SYSTEM_AND_VERSION>
App and version, if it is an app problem: <APP_AND_VERSION>
Exact error text: <ERROR_TEXT>
When it started and what changed just before: <WHAT_CHANGED>
What I already tried: <WHAT_I_TRIED>
My skill level: <SKILL_LEVEL>

Rules:
- List the most likely causes first, in plain words.
- Give me one step at a time, safest and easiest first. Wait for my result.
- For each step, say what it does, what could go wrong, and how to undo it.
- Warn me before any step that deletes data, resets the device, changes
  security settings or needs administrator rights, and tell me what to back up.
- If a step needs a command, explain every part of it before I run it.
  Never give me a command that downloads and runs a script.
- If your steps may be for a different version than mine, say so.
- Tell me when to stop and contact the maker or a repair shop.

Replace the following:

<DEVICE>: such as Windows laptop, Android phone, home printer or Wi-Fi router, with the make and model.
<SYSTEM_AND_VERSION>: such as Windows 11 24H2 or iOS 18.1. Your device's settings show this under "About".
<APP_AND_VERSION>: the app's name and version, or not an app problem.
<ERROR_TEXT>: copied exactly, with any error code, or attach a screenshot with private details hidden.
<WHAT_CHANGED> and <WHAT_I_TRIED>: short lists, such as installed an update last night and restarted twice.
<SKILL_LEVEL>: such as I have never used a command line.

Worked example (illustrative). A printer stops working after a laptop update. Step one: restart both and check they are on the same Wi-Fi. Step two: remove and re-add the printer. Step three, which fixes it: install the driver (the software that lets the laptop use the printer) from the printer maker's own download page.

Commands: ask first, paste later

The same caution protects you from a scam. Microsoft describes "ClickFix", where web pages trick people into running malicious commands, often by having them paste text into "the Windows Run dialog box, Windows Terminal, or Windows PowerShell", sometimes behind a fake check that you are human. It reports campaigns "targeting thousands of enterprise and end-user devices globally every day", and one aimed at Mac users in June 2025 (Microsoft Threat Intelligence, August 2025). If a page asks you to paste anything to prove you are human, close it.

Tech support scams

A pop-up that says your device is infected and gives a phone number is the classic start of a tech support scam. Official guidance is plain:

FTC. "Real security pop-up warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number." "Legitimate tech companies won't contact you by phone, email, or text message to tell you there's a problem". Scammers also try "to get their websites to show up in online search results for tech support" (FTC).
Microsoft. "Microsoft error and warning messages never include phone numbers." (Microsoft Support)

If you already gave someone access, the FTC says: "Update your security software to make sure you have the latest protections." "Run a scan and delete anything it identifies as a problem." "Change your passwords and turn on two-factor authentication to protect your accounts." (FTC). If you paid, Microsoft advises calling your credit card provider "to contest the charges" (Microsoft Support). Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US. For scam emails and texts, see AI-written phishing: stop looking for typos, set up passkeys.

When to stop

Stop and contact the maker's support, a repair shop or your IT team when:

Three safe steps have not helped, or each step brings a new error.
The next step would erase the device, reset it to factory settings, reinstall the system or change start-up or firmware settings, and you have no backup.
The step needs administrator rights or a security setting turned off, and you are not sure why.
The device is still under warranty. Ask the maker before you try anything beyond the basics.
There are signs of hardware trouble, or it is a work device or account.

The FTC's own advice for when you need help: "If you need help fixing a problem, go to someone you know and trust." To hand the problem over well, bring your note from step 1 and the list of what you tried, as in Describe the failure: reports an agent can act on.

How to tell it worked

The problem is gone when you repeat what first showed it, and no new one appeared.
Settings you changed are back or written down, and your backup is still there.
You ran nothing you could not explain, and nobody you did not contact had access.
It has failed if you followed a step that did not match your screen, or if you skipped the backup before a reset.

Sources

Kabir S, Udo-Imeh DN, Kou B, Zhang T. Is Stack Overflow Obsolete? An Empirical Study of the Characteristics of ChatGPT Answers to Stack Overflow Questions. CHI 2024. Peer-reviewed study. Link
Spracklen J et al. We Have a Package for You! A Comprehensive Analysis of Package Hallucinations by Code Generating LLMs. USENIX Security 2025. Peer-reviewed benchmark. Link
Microsoft Threat Intelligence. Think before you Click(Fix): analyzing the ClickFix social engineering technique, August 2025. Vendor security report. Link
FTC. How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Tech Support Scams. Regulator guidance. Link
Microsoft Support. Protect yourself from tech support scams. Vendor guidance. Link
FTC. What To Do if You Were Scammed. Regulator guidance. Link

Changes

v1.010 Oct 2026first version