Well, I did it this time.. Some how I managed to set my settings to Spanish on my TV and haven't been able to get them back to English. I indeed reached for my owner's manual but it was so complicated that I just set it down and started guessing what to do next. So, have you ever had to reach for your owner's manual for anything? Did you get it right? How long did it take you? Oh, it's still in Spanish - about 3 months now.
Usually when I have a brand new device or appliance I always check the manual first just for the heck of it. But for the most part whenever something goes wrong that unplugging and resetting won't fix, I tend to check the manual first and then the internet.
I throw out the manuals immediately when I get a new electronic device. The fact of the matter is that the manuals are available online, and most tech devices aren't that difficult to figure out. Most televisions, smartphones, tablets, and computers are all the same after all when it comes to settings and whatnot.
I have a habit of trying to "fight through" without reading the manual, like a lot of guys do. If I was a bit more sensible about it I would make the effort upfront and save myself a lot of time in the process!
I don't think I have ever picked up a owner's manual before, seriously I'm not joking. The only time when it is mandatory is when I have to find the code that pairs the remote with the TV or the cable box. Whenever someone in my house gets a new device, they call me because I will get it working in about 10 minutes most of the time less). I have been known to keep the manuals as fun reading material though; the one for my smartphone is still in the plastic.
I initially couldn't think of reason to reach for an owner's manual, but then you reminded me that this did happen to me once before as well. I once somehow changed my tv to another language and had a bit of trouble changing it back to English so I did go grab my owners manual and successfully was able to change it back after a good few minutes of frustration.
I always lok through it because I'm not good with electronics. I try to follow the directions very carefully so I don't mess things up and waste too much time trying to get it set up. Often I don't even know what all the buttons are for until I check the manual.
I ... haven't sufficiently studied 'owners'-manuals' to say "how they are or -are not," but I can guess that they're written one of two ways: 'a description of the way your product should operate' or (the way that seems "right" to me) 'a list of possible-problems & ways-to-solve-them'---sort of like my computer's OS ... it DOES outline 'the right way the OS should work,' but also has the 'search'-function where you give it a little of 'what is wrong' and it tries to help you find 'how to make it right.'
