Contacting IBM Software Support

IBM Software Support provides assistance with product defects, answering FAQs, and performing rediscovery.

Before you begin

After trying to find your answer or solution by using other self-help options such as technotes, you can contact IBM Support. Before contacting IBM Support, your company must have an active IBM software subscription and support contract, and you must be authorized to submit problems to IBM. The type of software maintenance contract that you need depends on the type of product you have.

For information about the types of available support, see the Support portfolio topic in the Software Support Handbook.

Procedure

Define the problem, gather background information, and determine the severity of the problem. For more information, see the Getting IBM support topic in the Software Support Handbook.
Gather diagnostic information. For more information, see Collecting data with IBM Support Assistant and IBM Support Assistant Lite.
Submit the problem to IBM Support in one of the following ways:
- By using IBM Support Assistant.
- Online through the IBM Software Support site at http://www.ibm.com/software/support/probsub.html or the Passport Advantage® website at www.ibm.com/software/howtobuy/passportadvantage/pao_customers.htm.
- By telephone. For the phone number to call in your country, go to the contacts page of the Software Support Handbook at techsupport.services.ibm.com/guides/contacts.html and click your geographic region.

Results

If the problem that you submit is for a software defect or for missing or inaccurate documentation, IBM Support creates an Authorized Program Analysis Report (APAR). The APAR describes the problem in detail. Whenever possible, IBM Support provides a workaround that you can implement until the APAR is resolved and a fix is delivered. IBM publishes resolved APARs on the IBM Support website daily, so that other users who experience the same problem can benefit from the same resolution.

What to do next

Be prepared to work with the IBM technical-support representative by using IBM Assist On-Site, which is a remote-assistance plug-in that you can download to your computer. The IBM technical-support representative can use IBM Assist On-Site to view your desktop and share control of your mouse and keyboard. This tool can shorten the time that it takes to identify the problem, collect the necessary data, and solve the problem. For more information, see IBM Assist On-Site.

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