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.
- Onsite appointments (for those local to Alexandria, VA): USPTO Onsite Repair
booking page
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.
- Virtual appointments (for those outside 50-mile radius of Alexandria):
TEAP Virtual Repair booking site
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.
- Onsite appointments (for those local to Alexandria,
VA): USPTO Onsite Repair booking
page - Virtual appointments (for those outside 50-mile radius
of Alexandria): TEAPP Virtual Repair booking
site
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.