All of these are great resources, but a small character or number typo can ruin your results. While Google may have been your first instinct, you'll find much more success with both a name and model number. If you enter both correctly, you'll usually get official results. However, you can sometimes run into third-party sites that don't let you access or download the manual easily. To solve this, try filtering your search results by using site:[manufacturer's website] [device name] instructional manual.
As a note, make sure you avoid adding a space between the site, colon, and the website address. This advanced Google search operator will only search the specific website for the keywords you're using. To illustrate this, take a commonly searched for item. If you were to lookup an older but still popular item like a Samsung Galaxy phone, you could enter site:samsung. All my results were from the manufacturer, and I didn't have to go through any unofficial channels.
For more ways to customize your results, use the best Google search cheat sheet to get more tips, commands, and operators. With Archive.
If you have time to spare, it's a great way to rediscover lost manuals. It also features many filters to trim down the over , results. If you couldn't find a model number, filtering by year lets you trim to the most precise margin. Whenever you arrive at the desired manual, you can flip through the full text, see the contents across different views, and sometimes have it read aloud to you. For all manuals, you can download it in a variety of formats for free.
The site divides it's over ,00 manuals into twenty main categories that are then broken down into their device types. If you know what brand you're looking for, you can also tailor your manual search. If you prefer to use your model number, just type into the search bar. If there's a manual that matches, you'll see it suggested before you even finish typing. It's seamless to just click on the suggested result. Then once you've found a manual, you can preview it on the site, open it as a PDF, or print it by the push of a button.
If you don't find your manual there, you can also put in a request via the site's support system. ManualsLib boasts an impressive collection of over four million free manuals converted into pdfs. Join , subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
You just have to find them. Device manufacturers often release manuals through their websites—sometimes readable online, sometimes downloadable as a PDF.
For example, I was able to find the instruction booklet for the Game Boy Advance which came out in They often get buried deep in the bowels of company websites. For manufacturers who just make a few devices—like Nintendo—the process is straightforward enough. For manufacturers that produce hundreds of different products, though, finding the right manual can be a monk-like exercise in patience.
The first step is to work out what device you actually have. First, just check out the device itself. If the brand and model number are not written clearly on the outside, check for any hidden stickers or labels on the back, underside, or even inside the device. On many fridges, washers, and dryers, for example, you can find the model number on a sticker inside the door. If you bought it from Amazon or another similar site, you can try going back through your order history to see what you actually bought.
If you bought it from a brick and mortar store, they may even have records of the purchase—especially if it was a big ticket item like a fridge. You might have to dig deep into the search results, but you should hopefully be able to find out what you own by comparing the images from Google to the device in your home. Once you know what you device actually own, you can start looking for the manual online.
Our favorite is manualslib. The days of the paper manual are over. While this is definitely an improvement, no one has ever claimed corporate websites are well designed.
Browse All iPhone Articles Browse All Mac Articles Do I need one? Browse All Android Articles Browse All Smart Home Articles Customize the Taskbar in Windows Browse All Microsoft Office Articles Most manuals are available in PDF format. Note that products like sewing machines might require more specific searches — there are dedicated websites that may prove more useful than these more broad-based resources.
Happy hunting! Jamilah Le. LOG IN. Menu HOME. Search Query Submit Search. By Jamilah Le. Facebook Twitter Flipboard LinkedIn. Finding that elusive user manual online. View 1 Image.
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