Microsoft has spent a considerable amount of time, money and effort developing and marketing Windows 10. Some of its manufacturing partners, however, apparently aren't as enthusiastic about the new operating system as Laptop Mag recently found out.
The publication runs an annual feature in which they reach out to tech support from various manufacturers to gauge the advice and overall level of service they receive. This year, the team encountered multiple agents that weren't exactly sold on Microsoft's latest OS.
In a call with Dell to ask how to change the touchpad scrolling direction on an Inspiron 15 5000 that was recently upgraded to Windows 10, a rep named Jalvin said they've received a lot of calls from Windows 10 users and recommended reverting back to Windows 8.1.
The editor was transferred to another agent who added that Windows 10 has a lot of glitches. Ironically enough, the "issue" they called about wasn't even related to Windows 10.
In a separate 57-minute-long call to HP regarding how to enable the CoolSense utility on a Pavilion x360 that had been upgraded to Windows 10, an agent by the name of Kate remotely logged into the machine to have a look. After not being able to get the utility running, she recommended rolling the system back to Windows 8.1. During the rollback (which ultimately failed), the rep said she doesn't recommend customers upgrade to Windows 10.
The publication also reached out to Lenovo to ask how to enable Cortana's always-listening mode. After having to explain exactly what they wanted to do to two different agents, the second person, Cherylnn, asked why they didn't just set the microphone to always on.
As you may know, that's not even an option in Windows' audio settings. When asked how to do this, the rep said they'd need to spend $19.99 per month on a software support program to find out.
When later asked about the situation, both Dell and HP stood behind their agents' recommendations. At the end of the day, HP VP of Customer Experience Mike Nash said, the person's job is to get the PC running. Given the scenario, he added, it might have been the most expeditious thing to get them back to a known good space.