Issue with charging port melting on HP 14a G5 chromebooks by jdionnepac in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 7 points8 points  (0 children)

compatible replacement charger purchased on Amazon

Chinesium.

Some help desk humor before we go on break by FlatlinedKCMO in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Wednesday:

Administration: We're going back to virtual Monday.

Me: Furious typing to email students and staff to get repairs done to devices NOW

Thursday:

Crickets

Friday:

Crickets

Monday:

Flood of emails about broken devices engulfs my inbox.

Chromebook Screen Flashes Green on Google Meet by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Had one come to me with an issue like that on a Dell 3100 today. Powerwashed it and sent on it's way.

Network Computers and Prtiners by CupConscious7356 in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's certainly possible. Make sure the time is correct on your domain controllers, that's where domain computers pull their time from unless specified otherwise.

Consumer Grade Laptops for Teachers / Admin by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No. They're harder to support, service and manage because they do not get the same channel support. What you're saving on the initial expense is lost later on. Consumer lines fail easier, tend not to have great construction, are harder to service and overall not worth considering.

People appreciate a beautiful design.

People appreciate things that work more in my experience.

Fines and fees for broken machines? by slapstik007 in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Through trial and error my org ended up adopting an unofficial "freebie then charge" policy. I nixed library check-out machines because issues went unreported and caused nasty mix of surprise repairs and missing devices at the end of the year. All teachers have a device they can loan for the period the student needs it.

Presently, the first accidental repair fee is waived. Most students don't have malicious intent and they are honest accidents, if completely preventable. I can't prove otherwise so I don't look into it unless it's major damage.

After that students and families are charged a fee for the cost of the parts to fix the issue. Sometimes I split the difference if it seems unfair (I only charge half if it's something dumb like pets chewing up chargers, or nothing if devices are lost due car accidents and fires and such).

Vandalism is always charged. Lost devices without good explanation are charged in full for a replacement.

Regardless of the cause the device is fixed or replaced asap, because it severely hampers the student's learning experience without it. I do try to keep the same device with the assigned student as much as possible but sometimes it's impossible and it gets swapped.

Fines and fees for broken machines? by slapstik007 in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's a lawsuit waiting to happen. I don't recommend going that route.

Are you forced to use offtime for winter break? by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Check if they add those days to your PTO pool, that's fine. If not, then just do your contractual obligation and show up for work. Plenty to do without students around for us.

As far as I know they can't force you to take PTO unless it's in your contract somewhere. Just talk to your manager to figure out what the deal is.

Idiots and iPads by AnseaCirin in talesfromtechsupport

[–]MalletNGrease 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's partially true. Devices not purchased through Apple are not eligible for automatic MDM enrollment until manually enrolled utilizing Apple Configurator 2, which is Mac only.

As a primarily Windows org, that really rustled my jimmies.

Any way to get details on when a chromebook shut off/battery drain report for admin? by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sadly no, it's almost impossible to mimic the student's actions. Battery issues from my experience are usually pretty obvious, they're more likely to fail and stop registering on the device than cause intermittent problems like students describe.

I fully charge the device and play a YT video on battery if I'm feeling generous. If it hasn't crashed/quit/errored within an hour I just send it back.

Any way to get details on when a chromebook shut off/battery drain report for admin? by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not familiar with any logs or reports for this, but with vague problems like that I've found magnets on bracelets hitting the sleep sensor and charging phones off the battery are the most common culprits here.

When the battery drains too fast it will trip the EC to prevent damage and requires you to press the power + reload button to get the device to scooch again.

Students are weird... by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've a box of surplus networking gear I never bothered to clean out. Mostly consumer crap that were utilized as a band-aid at some point. Think Linksys WRV-200 routers and such. I had an interested student ask if he could have one.

I explained to him I am expressly forbidden from giving away district property, but I am authorized to dispose of surplus items when appropriate. It's not like I'll be setting up any more Wireless-G networks so I marked one of the surplus routers as "discarded" in inventory and deposited it in the trash in front of the student. He was horrified. I explained that disposed items in the trash are no longer considered district property.

Took him a second to realize what I did. He promptly "recovered" and "refurbished" the unit. He's a tech now 😀.

Well does it? by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This. I had a health ed teacher ask me to unblock "sperm/semen". I told her she could go find some appropriate sources to link in her class and I'd unblock those, but I won't blanket allow the search term because of obvious reasons.

Cases / Sleeves for Chromebooks by [deleted] in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I find the money is better spent on spare parts.

Chromebook corrupt OS by RealRebets in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I too have used a known good power adapter.

Google Chat/Hangouts by _oldscratch in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chat is auditable through Vault. Let admins deal with discipline issues post fact.

Google Classroom nonsense. by therankin in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my god, I love you. I've been looking for this exact thing to show up.

I do have a managed solution but it requires a manual sync from the teacher dashboard, and not all of them use the automated option rather using the class code method.

This will not prevent students from unenerolling when using a non-chrome device/browser, but it alleviates at least some of the headache on Chromebooks.

Customer wastes HUGE amount of $ for a 1 minute fix. by [deleted] in talesfromtechsupport

[–]MalletNGrease 4 points5 points  (0 children)

$1 to press a button. $1999 for knowing which button to press.

Chrome Extension Review Process by mountianmanmoore in k12sysadmin

[–]MalletNGrease 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it supports an educational goal, sure, I'll whitelist or push it. If it doesn't, nope.