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IBM Customer Service

Phone Number & Contact Info

IBM's Best Phone Number

800-426-4968
Toll-free·Calls Customer Service·Most popular IBM number
Free tools for easier calling
Q:

How do I talk to a live human at IBM?

A:Calling this IBM number should go right to a real human being. Our free phone can also navigate phone menus to get a live human at IBM for you.
Q:

Does IBM offer 24 hour customer service?

A:Yes! This call center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The least busy day is Sunday, and the most busy day is Monday.
Q:

How long will I wait on hold?

A:We don't expect that you will have to wait to talk to a person. This is a direct line. You can skip the hold time for free.

IBM Customer Phone Numbers

Technical Support

800-426-7378
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Press 1, then 1, then 1 · For System X products, press 1. For all other products, press 2. · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

Purchasing

877-426-6006
Toll-free · 24 hours, 7 days · Calling this IBM number should go right to a real human being · If you know the location and extension of your party, press or say 1. For questions about your orders, inventory, invoice, or contract, press or say 2. For technical support, press or say 3. For questions about e-tools, press or say 4. For general inquiries not listed here, press 5. · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

How do I get through the phone menu to a live person?

Consider using our free service that calls and talks to customer service for you, then sends you a report. Or use our free service that waits on hold and tells you when a human rep is on the line. But if those options don't appeal to you, our team has also documented the phone menu for IBM below.

Let us call and talk to IBM for you

Our AI powered phone can dial, navigate the phone menu, wait on hold, and even talk to customer service for you, for free. You don't even need to learn about the path through the various phone options.

We can get a live person on the line for you

That same, free GetHuman Phone can call and navigate the menus and wait on hold for you, but you can opt to do all the talking. We notify you when a rep is on the line and ready to talk, so no need to worry about changing menu options and weaving your way through the maze.
Of course, we completely understand if you prefer to do all the dialing, waiting, and talking yourself. All of these free tools are optional.
GetHuman researchers routinely call this IBM phone number to document the phone system.
Here is how our research team describes the way the IBM phone system greets you: Press 1 to speak with an operator.
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest: Calling this IBM number should go right to a real human being
In fact, much of this information on this page is superfluous because this IBM phone number is a direct line to a human being. The line is well-staffed and you should anticipate a very short wait on hold or none whatsoever, as long as you are calling during business hours.
We don't know of any phone menus you would encounter when calling either.

What are the hours and when should I call?

IBM operates the call center for this 800-426-4968 phone number 24 hours, 7 days. The short answer is that you should call on a Friday. This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 101 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).

Automatically call when they open

When you use our free AI-powered phone to call and talk, wait on hold, or navigate for you, it will automatically wait until the IBM call center opens before trying to call. It will ask your permission before it places the call, so you can also further delay that scheduled call until you are ready. But that means you can "set it and forget it" ahead of time.
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this IBM phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like IBM staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.

The least busy time to call

The least busy day to call IBM is Sunday. The most busy day to call is Monday, which averages 525% more phone calls by comparison. Again, this is based on a sample of 101 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.
Sun
Quietest
Mon
Busiest
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

The shortest wait on hold

We measured the shortest hold times to be on Thursday. The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Friday.
But if you use our free call and talk for me or wait on hold for me service, you don't really need to worry about average wait times.

The best time to call IBM

In summation, the best day to call IBM is Friday.
Once again, please put this information in perspective because this phone number has no phone menu or long waits. It generally gets picked up right away if calling during their opening hours. If there is any way, it will typically be very short.

Calling this IBM Customer Number

I manage the IT for an older business, which is relevant because as an older business, some of the technology they use is also a bit older. That can make supporting it difficult at times because it's not as prevalent as other brands. The company that I work with happens to have System X servers which were originally created to be used with Microsoft Windows 2003. Therefore, when there is an issue I find myself reaching out to IBM for support and for help with potential patches or fixes for their older equipment. 

While IBM has a lot of servers, software and other similar networking systems to support, I always find their customer service is swift and this time was no exception. It probably only took me about 2 minutes to get through the list and actually talk to someone which was helpful. I have a case number from the first time I called about this particular issue so that also helped the agent get some background on why I was calling and probably expedited my phone call. 

When you first call IBM you are greeted with an odd message, but when you get over the first offsetting message the rest is easy. Instead of greeting customers, it says, "Your call will be recorded for quality purposes and may be retained for up to 60 days. The recording will not be shared outside of IBM. If you're calling about a Lenovo problem, including System X, press 1. For all other products and solutions supported by IMB, press 2." I needed help with System X so I went ahead and pressed 1. It then said, "For Think-branded products, press 1. For Idea-branded products, press 2. For all server, storage, and network branded software, press 3." 

Here I pressed 3 and then the voice assistant said, "If you have an existing case and have your case number available, please press 1. Otherwise, please press 2." As mentioned, I did have a case number available and I spent about 2 minutes on hold before I was connected with Shankur. He had an accent but spoke clear enough English that I was able to talk about the problem and the issues I had experienced since my last phone call. We worked out the problem together and I was able to hang up happy with the solution that I had to help get the server working at its full capacity again. 

Christian has been writing about long hold times and customer service call center experiences since 2010. He's been featured in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe.

Why Customers Call IBM

If you have time to do a bit of reading before you call IBM, we recommend you read over some of our problem-specific articles.

What is IBM?

IBM, short for International Business Machines Corporation, is a leading global technology company that provides a range of advanced technology and consulting services. Established in 1911, IBM has evolved into a company focused on delivering innovative solutions for businesses and organizations worldwide. As a pioneer in the fields of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain, quantum computing, and cybersecurity, IBM offers a diverse portfolio of hardware, software, and services. The company's offerings include cutting-edge advancements in data analytics, enterprise application development, infrastructure management, and digital transformation. IBM's mission is to harness the power of technology to solve complex challenges and drive progress in areas such as healthcare, finance, retail, and transportation. With a rich history of innovation and a commitment to sustainability, IBM continues to shape the future of technology and is recognized as a trusted and reliable partner for businesses across industries.

What is the IBM Watson platform?

The IBM Watson platform is an advanced cognitive computing system developed by IBM. Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Watson is designed to understand, reason, and learn from vast amounts of data. It enables organizations to extract valuable insights and make data-driven decisions more effectively. By applying natural language processing and deep learning algorithms, Watson can comprehend human language, answering questions, and engaging in conversations. The platform is also equipped with machine vision capabilities allowing it to analyze and interpret visual data. Known for its ability to process vast amounts of information within seconds, Watson is utilized across diverse industries such as healthcare, finance, retail, and more, enabling businesses to drive innovation, enhance customer experiences, and solve complex problems with unparalleled speed and accuracy.

What is IBM Cloud Video?

IBM Cloud Video is a comprehensive video streaming and content management platform that enables businesses to deliver live and on-demand video across various devices and platforms. It offers a range of features and services to help organizations create, manage, distribute, and monetize their video content. With IBM Cloud Video, businesses can easily host live events, webinars, and company-wide broadcasts, as well as store and manage video libraries and content archives. The platform provides robust security and scalability, ensuring smooth and reliable video delivery to global audiences. Additionally, IBM Cloud Video offers advanced analytics and integration capabilities, enabling businesses to gain valuable insights into viewer behavior and optimize their video strategies. Overall, IBM Cloud Video offers a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to engage and connect with their audience through high-quality video experiences.

Top IBM customer service problems

Click the link above to get answers to just about any IBM customer service question, including step by step guides for the most complex issues. You can also detail a new issue and get answers instantly.
Information about why customers call IBM is extracted from issues that customers have reported to GetHuman.
IBM issues reported to GetHuman

More IBM Customer Service Contacts

There are of course other ways to contact IBM customer service besides the phone. Below we list the best ones, by medium.

IBM Customer Service Live Chat

ibm.com - Technical Support
Use this link to connect with customer service via chat
If phone-based customer service is not available, or the wait times are long, many people prefer chat as a next-best option. Some even prefer it to calling on the phone. Luckily, IBM provides this option.

IBM Customer Help Desk / Web Support

ibm.com - Customer Service
Online customer service support
As a last, sometimes only, resort- IBM customer service can be accessed through their website. This can entail digging through help articles before finding a form and "being allowed" to submit a problem to their team, and rarely leads to a real-time conversation, which is why GetHuman does not recommend this unless it's the only way.

Conclusion and closing notes

This is IBM's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a IBM agent. This phone number is IBM's best phone number because 6,516 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 800-426-4968 include Where to buy, Complaint, Technical support, Repairs, Returns and other customer service issues. Rather than trying to call IBM first, consider describing your issue first; from that we may be able to recommend an optimal way to contact them via phone or web or chat. In total, IBM has 3 phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to IBM representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.

GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for IBM. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like IBM. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.

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