System 411

Monday Jul 22, 2024

Current Events

July 22, 2024 – 6 P.M. ET

Current Status

As of 6 p.m. ET, over 4,700 USPTO computers remain offline due to the faulty CrowdStrike code, with over 800 addressed today.

Onsite Assistance

Onsite resolution has moved much more quickly than anticipated and we are able to accommodate significantly more employees. Therefore, if your duty station is within the 50-mile radius of Alexandria headquarters (Remote 50, routine, or situational telework programs, or a non-teleworker assigned to Alexandria), we will have enough capacity to resolve all impacted employees by the end of the day, Tuesday, July 23. Whether you have an appointment or not, you should plan to come to headquarters in Alexandria tomorrow to resolve the issue.

Note, at this time, in-person appointments are not available at any other USPTO locations, including regional offices.

Virtual Assistance

Virtual resolution unfortunately has moved significantly slower than anticipated and we have several hundred TEAP employees with appointments that were unable to meet with a technician today.

We are shifting some technicians to increase support for virtual assistance and our goal is to reduce the backlog tomorrow by 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 23. Starting at 1 p.m. tomorrow, we will begin accepting new appointments for virtual repair. We appreciate your patience as we work through the virtual appointments.

 

For detailed information about scheduling in-person appointments for Alexandria vicinity employees and virtual appointments for TEAPP employees, please see the guidance posted to the System 411 page at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, July 22.

Timekeeping Guidance

Guidance on accounting for time was shared via USPTO Broadcast earlier today, Monday, July 22. Supervisors and managers are being instructed to be flexible in approving outage time to limit negative impacts to employees. Once you regain access to your email, please contact your supervisor if you did not receive the email or have questions.

Scam Caution
 We understand some employees are being contacted by scammers impersonating IT personnel.

To avoid being scammed, please ask the technician to confirm your workstation ID before proceeding with the call. Our IT technicians will NOT charge you for assistance, so please do not provide payment information.

Next Update

We will publish our next update tomorrow, Tuesday, July 23 to the System 411 page.



July 22, 2024 – 4 P.M. ET

As of 4:00 p.m. ET today, USPTO computers remain offline due to the faulty CrowdStrike code. 

Resolution Status

We have quadrupled technical support and technicians are currently providing in-person and virtual support to those with appointments. Affected employees are able to make an in-person or virtual appointment based on their duty location. Guidance is further below.

Guidance on accounting for time will be shared with all employees later today, Monday, July 22. This guidance will ensure you can complete your timesheet appropriately for any down time while your workstation was impacted.

Walk-In Support Available

If your duty station is within the 50-mile radius of Alexandria headquarters (Remote 50, routine, or situational telework programs, or a non-teleworker assigned to Alexandria) and DO NOT have a confirmed appointment, then walk-in service will be available tomorrow, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 23. Walk-in support will be on a first-come, first-served basis

Additional Appointment Times and Locations

We know many employees have not been able to make an appointment. We are working to increase the number of IT technicians available to open more appointments. There are appointments currently available for Tuesday and Wednesday. Once all available appointments are booked, please check back now or tomorrow morning after 10 a.m. ET for additional availability.  

At this time, in-person appointments are not available at any other USPTO locations, including regional offices. Again, more in-person and virtual appointments will be added as more IT support personnel become available. We ask for everyone’s patience as we continue to work to mitigate this issue.

Scam Caution

We understand some employees are being contacted by scammers impersonating IT personnel. To avoid being scammed, please ask the technician to confirm your workstation ID before proceeding with the call. Our IT technicians will NOT charge you for assistance, so please do not provide payment information.

In-Person Appointments for Alexandria Vicinity Employees*

If your duty station is within the 50-mile radius of Alexandria headquarters (Remote 50, routine, or situational telework programs, or a non-teleworker assigned to Alexandria), you are now required to make an in-person IT technical support appointment to resolve the issue. In-person resolution is anticipated to take less time and will allow virtual technicians to assist colleagues further afield. 

To reserve an in-person appointment, please visit the USPTO Onsite Repair booking page using your mobile device or personal computer. 

Upon making an appointment, you will receive confirmation via the email address you provided.

In addition to the confirmation email, please bring your computer and PIV badge to the appointment. Support personnel will be available in the Jefferson Building lobby to direct you to your appointment location. 

*Limited exceptions will be made for employees who are sick or working elsewhere. Employees with an exception should book a Virtual appointment using the directions below.

Virtual Appointments for TEAPP Employees

If your primary duty station is outside the 50-mile radius of Alexandria headquarters (TEAP, Remote 50 to a Regional Office, or assigned to a Regional Office), you are now required to make an appointment for virtual support. In-person appointments are not currently available at any regional office location. 

To reserve a virtual appointment, please visit the USPTO TEAPP Virtual Repair booking site using your mobile device or personal computer.

Upon making an appointment, you will receive confirmation via the email address you provided. You will need access to your computer during your appointment.

During your virtual appointment, confirm your call is legitimate. When your virtual appointment begins, please have the IT technician read you your workstation ID. 

If your meeting time passes without the IT technician joining, they are likely behind schedule. They will call you as soon as they are available via the phone number you provided in your appointment intake.

What You Need to Book an Appointment

You do not need access to the USPTO network to book an appointment. To book, you need to provide:

  • Your workstation ID (see green sticker on your device, for most employees, the ID begins with the letters “EGU”) 
  • Confirmation that you have rebooted your computer before your appointment (we need to confirm that the blue Recovery screen persists upon a reboot)
  • An email address you can access without your work computer
  • Personal phone number where you can be reached if needed

Please only book one appointment. Because the process to fix the problem is complex, we need all employees local to the HQ area to work with an IT technician in-person, while virtual appointments are prioritized for those employees outside the HQ area. 

Service Desk Voicemails

If you have already called the Service Desk and left a message about this issue, we ask that you now please make an appointment to repair your computer. Please do not leave additional voicemails. 

We are focusing all available IT personnel on assisting employees via the appointments system. 

Next Update

We will publish our next update tomorrow, around 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 23, to the System 411 page.

 

Posted at 08:00PM Jul 22, 2024 in Current Status  | 

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