{
  "id": 16156761,
  "title": "Windows said modem worked fine. That unmistakable scorched electronics smell suggested otherwise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/windows-said-modem-worked-fine-that-unmistakable-scorched-electronics-16156761",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-23T05:26:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/personal-tech/2026/10/23/windows-said-modem-worked-fine-that-unmistakable-scorched-electronics-smell-suggested-otherwise/5304375"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Lachlan, a tech support professional, once assisted a senior executive who encountered issues with sending and receiving emails. The problem arose suddenly, making it difficult for the executive to continue his side hustle of writing essays for Japanese university students attending universities in the UK. In the era of dial-up connections, Lachlan suspected that the modem might be at fault. He began by checking the network settings, cables, and line with a dial tone. Everything appeared to be in order, so he proceeded to inspect the modem through Windows Device Manager. Using advanced settings, he sent a series of low-level AT commands to the modem, which returned responses indicating that the device was functioning correctly. Satisfied with the findings, Lachlan decided to replace the modem. However, as he opened the PC, he detected a faint smell of scorched electronics, suggesting a more serious issue. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a black soot mark on the modem, specifically in the shape of a voltage regulator chip. This chip, situated between the phone line and sensitive modem components, had been severely damaged. The voltage regulator chip's purpose was to protect the modem from the high voltage line used by BT to establish a phone connection. In this particular case, the chip had been vaporized due to an excessively high voltage. Lachlan inquired about the timing of the email outage and asked if the executive could recall any recent electrical storms. The executive revealed that the email stopped working while he was observing a particularly impressive lightning display. Lachlan concluded that the voltage regulator chip had sacrificed itself to safeguard the modem. The question remains: did Windows fail to detect an obvious fault, or did lightning lighten the executive's load? Either way, those interested in sharing their tech support stories can send them to On Call for a chance to be featured in a future Friday edition.",
  "summary": "Catching lightning in a tech support bottle",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}