The PlainManual

Everyday tech, explained plainly

The thing is broken and the instructions assume you already know.

No jargon, no screenshots of menus that moved two versions ago, and no pretending a fix always works. 16 guides to the problems people actually run into with their phones, laptops and accounts — written for someone who wants it working, not someone who wants to learn about computers.

Where to start

Most people arrive here in one of three situations.

Computers & Laptops

All 6 guides →

Machines that will not start, batteries that will not last, and computers that have quietly got slower every year.

Internet & Browsers

All 3 guides →

Wi-Fi that reaches some rooms and not others, and the pop-ups every site now shows you.

Phones & Tablets

All 4 guides →

Storage, backups, moving to a new handset, and apps that will not behave.

Staying Safe Online

All 3 guides →

Scam messages, passwords and two-factor codes — the small number of habits that prevent most of the damage.

Questions people actually ask

Taken from the guides themselves — each one links to the page that answers it.

Do one thing this week

Check that your photos are actually backed up — not just showing in an app, but stored somewhere that survives the phone being lost, stolen or dropped. It takes a few minutes, and it is the single failure people regret most.