The following guide provides you with next steps for common issues encountered with Hofy equipment, an explanation of Hofy's warranty and repair policy, as well as some basic troubleshooting guides.
If you are having issues with your equipment, you can reach out to our Hofy Support please fill this contact form and select Deel IT.
[ACCORDION] What do I do if my laptop isn't switching on?
- Shut down the laptop.
- Unplug the laptop from your charger
- Hold the power button down for 30 seconds - during this time you may hear the laptop's fans power on then off again
- Continue holding the power button for another 15 seconds
- Turn on the laptop as normal
[ACCORDION] What happens if my laptop breaks?
If you're having issues with your laptop, please report this to Hofy Support as soon as possible.
Our dedicated IT Support team will then be on hand to troubleshoot any hardware problems - and if your laptop requires repairs, we will collect it and send you a loaner laptop (depending on your company's contracted services), free of charge, to mitigate the time your work is interrupted.
Once your laptop has been repaired, we'll ship it back to you and collect the loaner. If your laptop is faulty or damaged beyond repair, there's no need to place a new order. Hofy will send you a replacement.
Please understand that the ability to repair and to offer loaner devices are not available in all regions. Should a repair not be available, we will send out a replacement device in lieu of the repair and will organize a collection of the faulty device. (Repair and replacement fees will apply to damages caused by the user.)
[ACCORDION] What happens if my monitor/keyboard/mouse/headset is faulty or damaged?
Please report any faulty or damaged equipment to Hofy Support as soon as possible. Our dedicated IT Support team are on hand to troubleshoot any hardware issues you might be having with your IT equipment.
If an item needs to be repaired or replaced, there's no need to place a new order. Hofy will facilitate this for you to make sure you always have functioning equipment. (Repair and replacement fees will apply to damage caused by the user.)
[ACCORDION] Is the equipment covered under warranty?
Please note that this is an explainer memo and does not replace the sections of our Terms of Service. Section 3.7, Section 8, section 9 and Section 10.3, and 10.4 of the Equipment Subscription Service:
Delivery:
- Hofy guarantees that the item delivered is the item you ordered, unless a substitution has been confirmed.
- Hofy will also ensure that the item is working upon delivery. We will repair/replace any item that is delivered and not in working order. This usually means a direct replacement sent ASAP, and collection of the item that has been damaged. We will work with users to ensure minimal disruption to their work.
- The only condition is that damage like this is reported within 5 days of delivery. We feel that this is a fair consideration.
- Any reported damage outside of this time will be treated the same as an in-life repair or replacement review.
In life repair and replacement
- A team member can reach out at any point to let us know if their item is not working.
- Hofy will review the item with the user via troubleshooting guides or via a video call.
- If Hofy IT team/troubleshooting guides are able to repair the item, we will liaise with the user to repair the item directly.
- If the device is a laptop and is unusable we will always offer to send a loaner laptop so that the user has minimal downtime.
- We will arrange at that point for either a repair or replacement of the item depending on the issue. This may involve shipping item back to our centres, or an on-site technician being required to attend.
- We will sometimes send a replacement item where it is not possible to repair the item.
- The above process covers faults that are covered by standard manufacturer warranties but exclude faults caused by the user.
- Repairs or replacements caused by the user would be chargeable to the company at cost.
Examples, in broad terms, of issues that may be considered as being covered by manufacturer warranty (unless later found to be caused by user):
- Laptop not charging
- Laptop screen not working
- Hardware failure
- Sit-stand desk control unit malfunction
- Chair gas-stem malfunction
- Magic mouse/keyboard not holding charge
- Headphones with malfunctioning microphone/speakers
- Wifi issues with laptop
Examples, in broad terms, of issues that may be considered as being caused by the user or otherwise would not be covered by the free repair and replacement service:
- Water damage almost always means that warranties are voided, in this case Hofy would need to charge the company the cost of the repair
- Dropping/crushing the item
- Reporting damage during delivery over 5 days from delivery being marked as received by Hofy
- Software issues (locking self out of laptop/issues installing software) - we would do an assessment to ensure that the issue is not hardware based
- Issues caused by poor wifi in user's location
- Theft or loss of the item
- Issues caused by any other incorrect usage by the user
Common issues and basic laptop troubleshooting
[ACCORDION] Poor battery life
If a new laptop is experiencing poor battery life, this could be caused by one of following:
There could be too many processes running in the background. A heavy application (like the Adobe series, Photoshop, InDesign, etc) might be draining the battery.
A change in the system settings may be causing the battery to drain quickly.
Your system may be running on high brightness or other advanced options.
This could also be caused by a faulty driver or too many peripheral devices.
If you have explored the causes listed above and are still experiencing issues with your device's batter, please contact Hofy Support.
[ACCORDION] Laptop is slow
The following things can cause the slowing down of your computer’s performance:
- Running out of RAM (Random Access Memory)
- Running out of storage on the machine
- Too many background programs running at once
Quick Fixes:
- Restart your machine
- Check if your storage is full, and if so, delete files or apps to make space
- Make sure you are running the latest version of your software
[ACCORDION] Application keeps crashing
The following things can cause crashes:
- Lack of RAM
- Lack of OS support
- The application needs updating
Quick Fixes:
- Check if any updates are available for the apps that keep crashing
- Make sure that the app is capable of running with your exact machine
- If you have a lot of apps running in the background, try quitting some and see if that makes a difference
[ACCORDION] Laptop heats up/hot to the touch
The following things can cause your machine to heat up:
- Obstructing fans
- Closing intensive applications in the background
- Using your machine in hot environments
Quick Fixes:
- Make sure to not use your laptop on a pillow or another surface that can cause the fans to be obstructed. Always try to use it on a flat surface
- Close any ‘intensive’ applications in the background (like Adobe Photoshop or Final Cut Pro) when not in use, as these can cause your machine to heat up more than usual
- If you are using your laptop outside of its normal operating temperatures, this will cause the laptop to get very hot and it may even shut down
[ACCORDION] External screen is flickering
The following things can mitigate external monitor flickering:
- Before anything, restart the machine along with the monitor
- Check the wired connections. Replace the cable connection from display to laptop. E.g., try to connect from HDMI to USB-C instead of USB-C to USB-C
- Try connecting to another monitor, or another display such as your television, to establish whether it’s an issue with the laptop or the monitor
[ACCORDION] Magic mouse and magic keyboard won't connect
Sometimes devices can become disconnected from Bluetooth.
Quick Fixes:
- Connect the lightning cable that came with your Magic Mouse or Magic Keyboard to your Mac and see if this mitigates the issue
- Turn the Bluetooth on your Mac off & on again to see if it connects successfully
- Remove the Magic Mouse and/or Magic Keyboard from your system preferences, then re-pair them both
[ACCORDION] PC keeps saying it "needs to be updated"
Manufacturers/software companies often release important updates to security and features.
Quick Fixes:
- Make sure that you have ample power in your machine before applying the update, and always stay powered by a charger during the update
- Having a good internet connection will make the process smoother and less time-consuming
- Make sure that your machine has enough storage to apply the update
[ACCORDION] I can’t download an application
Some applications might be incompatible with the version of software you are running.
Quick Fixes:
- Make sure the application you are trying to download and install is compatible with the version of software you are running
- Make sure you are downloading the correct application for your respective platform. E.g., macOS/Windows
- If you are downloading an application from the official Apple App Store/Windows Store, it may ask for your login details. Make sure you know these so that you can successfully start the download.
[ACCORDION] Built-in camera is not working
While it may sound obvious, a first step is to ensure that there is nothing blocking or obstructing the camera lens
In October 2023, Dell has noticed this to be an issue during the recent software update. Here's an article that may help resolve the issue for you. If the issue persists, please contact us.
[ACCORDION] Camera not working on Zoom
The following things might cause your camera not to work on Zoom:
- Zoom does not have permission to access your camera
- Your machine requires a restart
- The Zoom application needs to be updated
Quick Fix:
- On a PC, navigate to settings > Privacy > Camera. Make sure Zoom is turned on to have access to your camera
[ACCORDION] Headphones aren’t working
Sometimes devices can become disconnected from Bluetooth.
Quick Fixes:
- Ensure Bluetooth is on and enabled, and check the status of it in your settings
- Sometimes restarting both your headphones and your machine can mitigate the issue
- Delete the headphones from your Bluetooth settings, then re-pair them to your laptop
[ACCORDION] Charger stopped working
For Apple devices, please check the following and reach out to Hofy Support:
- Is the laptop charging via MagSafe?
- Is the laptop charging via USB-C?
- Have you tried to use the charger on another laptop and see how it behaves (if possible)?
- Have you tried to use another charger on the laptop and see how it behaves (if possible)?
For Windows devices, please check the following and reach out to Hofy Support:
- Test an alternative charger on the device
- Test the charger on each of the Laptop's USB-C ports
- Test the charger on another device
- If the charger breaks down into separate parts (Country Adapter, Charger, USB-C Cable) - Try to swap the parts onto a known working charger to identify what part of the charger is not working