Never Hunt for a User Manual Again: Step by Step with OWNAMIC

Published by Adrian Vogel · Reading time: approx. 11 minutes · Last updated: October 2026

Before you start: The notes on manufacturers' obligations are general information, not legal advice. What applies in a given case depends on the product. And on when it was sold.

In short:

• In the end, every device has its manual as a PDF on the object.
• You need the type plate on the device and the manufacturer's website.
• Each device takes about five minutes.
• OWNAMIC does not look for or download manuals itself.

Why order and easy finding matter more than a plain list is covered in Digital Inventory Management: Order That Holds Up When It Counts. This article is the practical part for an everyday case: the dishwasher shows "E15". And the manual is somewhere in the cellar, in the recycling or nowhere at all.

What you should know

Model number and serial number are two different things. Both are usually on the type plate. That is the small plate or sticker with the device's data. The model number stands for the design, meaning every identical unit. It is what you use to look up the manual. Manufacturers call it different things: model, type, product number, and at Bosch and Siemens "E-Nr." The serial number, by contrast, exists only once. It stands for your single unit. You need it for warranties, repairs, theft reports and insurance. So note both.

Where the type plate is. The position varies by device and manufacturer. These places are typical:

Where manufacturers provide manuals. The larger manufacturers have a support or service page. There you enter the model number and get the user manual as a PDF. Bosch and Siemens also offer a search by photo of the type plate there. Many devices also carry a QR code, a square of dots that a phone camera can read. It sits on the device, the packaging or the quick-start guide. It leads directly to the digital manual. Websites that collect manuals from many brands are only a stopgap. They are not run by the manufacturer and often show advertising. And the version does not always match your device.

What the manufacturer has to include. Since 13 December 2024 a new EU rule on safe products has applied. It is called the General Product Safety Regulation, GPSR for short (Regulation (EU) 2023/988). Under it, manufacturers must supply two things with consumer products: instructions and safety information. Both must be easy to understand. This does not apply if the product can be used safely without them. May the instructions come in digital form only? The GPSR does not clearly settle that. German chambers of commerce (IHK) and specialist law firms see it this way: digital information adds to the obligation but does not replace it. At least the safety information should be included on paper.

For machinery, a separate rule applies from 20 January 2027: the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230. Machinery here means things like lawnmowers, drills or pressure washers. The regulation expressly allows operating instructions in digital form. Some conditions apply:

• If you ask for a paper version at the time of purchase, the manufacturer must supply it free of charge within one month.
• For machinery intended for consumers, the essential safety information must be supplied on paper.
• The digital instructions must be downloadable and printable. They must stay online for at least ten years. The ten years count from when the machine first goes on sale.

What this means in practice. More and more often the box only contains a safety leaflet or a quick-start guide. The full manual is online. But online does not mean in the same place forever. Manufacturers rebuild their websites. Brands are sold. Old models drop out of the search. Download the PDF on the day you buy the device and file it. Then you still have it in eight years, even if the website looks different by then.

Preparation: a short list (10 minutes)

Walk through your home once. Write down the devices whose manual you have looked for before or would look for. For example washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, fridge, oven, coffee machine, heating thermostats, router, TV, smoke detectors, tools and garden equipment. Start with three devices. Do the rest along the way, whenever you have a device in your hands anyway.

Step 1: Capture the device with its type plate

Is the device not yet in OWNAMIC? Then capture it in a way that brings the numbers along.

1. Tap Plus, then Photo/Video.
2. Choose Detail shots: up to five pictures of one object.
3. Photograph the whole device first, then the type plate. Hold the camera straight and make sure there is light. Get close enough that every digit is legible. A flash often reflects on metal plates. Hold a torch at an angle instead.
4. Under "What the photo cannot show" enter what no photo shows, such as the purchase date and price.
5. Let OWNY recognise it and save the object.

OWNY reads the brand, model and serial number from the picture when they are legible there. It only takes a serial number if it really is in the picture. It never guesses one. Then open the object and check the fields Brand, Model and Serial Number. If a single letter is swapped, the manufacturer's search finds nothing.

If the device is already recorded, go about it differently:

1. Open the object.
2. Enter the numbers by hand in Model and Serial Number.
3. Upload the photo of the type plate: Upload File, then Or choose the type yourself, Media & other and Object Image.

That puts the photo in the device's gallery.

Step 2: Make the model number findable

A detail that is easy to miss: the search in OWNAMIC checks an object's Name, Description and Tags. It does not check the Model field. It does not check the contents of attached files either. If you later type "SMV4HCX48E", the search only finds the device if the number is in one of those three places.

So add the model number as a tag as well:

1. Open the object.
2. Go to Tags.
3. Add the number there, separated by commas, e.g. Dishwasher, SMV4HCX48E, Manual.

The tag "Manual" helps you later. It lets you see at a glance every device whose manual you have filed.

Step 3: Get the manual from the manufacturer

1. Open the manufacturer's support page. That is its help page for customers. You will usually find it by searching for "brand user manual". Or use the QR code on the device or the box.
2. Enter the model number exactly as it appears on the type plate, with every character. At Bosch and Siemens it often ends with a slash and two digits. Enter those too. Some sites offer a search by photo of the type plate.
3. Download the user manual in your language. There is often also an installation or assembly guide, a data sheet and a quick-start guide. Take what you need. For example the installation guide for a future move.
4. Check the title page: does it show your model number or the series? Manufacturers sometimes have several versions for the same product name.

Searching with OWNY. In the chat with OWNY you can switch on a web search with Enable Google Search. OWNY can then look for the support page for your model and give you a link. Check the link yourself before downloading anything: is it really the manufacturer's site? OWNY does not download or attach the file for you. Questions to OWNY use AI credit.

Only have paper? Then scan the printed manual with your phone into a PDF with several pages. You can do this in the notes or files app, for example. Then upload that PDF instead of single photos. Make sure your scanner offers text recognition. It turns the picture of a page into real text. That text sits as an invisible text layer in the PDF. Only then can OWNY read the text later. A quick test: if you can select and copy a word in the PDF, it contains real text.

Step 4: File the manual on the object

1. Open the object. Under Attachments, choose Upload File.
2. The Add attachment window gives you two routes:
   • Let OWNY identify it: OWNY reads the file. It recognises whether it is a receipt, a policy, a warranty, a manual or a photo of the object.
   • Or choose the type yourself: choose Authenticity & manual and then User Manual. This uses no AI credit.
3. Tap Select File and choose the PDF. A photo, PDF or CSV of up to 100 MB is accepted.
4. After the upload, OWNAMIC shows which type the file is filed under. For example: "OWNY filed the upload as “User Manual”." If the type is wrong, correct it with Change type.

File the warranty card for the same device at the same time. It goes in as a Warranty document under Protection & warranty. File the receipt as a Purchase Receipt under Purchase & value. How that works for till receipts and invoices is described in Finding Receipts: Till Slips and Invoices Step by Step.

The link as well. In the Links field on the object you can save the address of the support page. That is where you will later find software updates, spare parts and newer versions of the manual.

Step 5: Find it again later

Through the search. Type the device name, the model number from your tags or the tag "Manual". Use the search at the top, Search objects..., or Search inventory… in the inventory list. Open the object and tap Files. There you find the manual with View and Download.

Through the device itself. On the object's detail page you can create and print a Finder QR. It is meant for things that can get lost. Whoever scans it can send you a message. If you scan it yourself while signed in, your object opens directly, manual included. A sticker inside the washing machine door saves you the search. Strangers who scan it see the object's name and a message form. They do not see your files.

Ask OWNY. Once a PDF manual is attached, you can ask OWNY. For example: "What does my dishwasher's manual say about error E15?" OWNY then searches the text of that manual for the relevant passage and summarises it. This only works for PDFs containing real text. In a PDF made only of photos, OWNY finds no text. And for anything involving electricity, gas or water: check the answer in the manual itself before you pick up a screwdriver.

Keep an eye on recalls. In a recall, the manufacturer takes a product back because of a fault. Do you want to keep an eye on that for a device? Then set up a feed under Object news with the topic Recalls & safety. A feed is a kind of news stream. OWNY then regularly searches for reports on the brand and model. This uses AI credit per run and is separate from the manual.

Video tutorial

How capturing with a photo works in general is shown in the video tutorial "Erste Objekte erfassen" (capturing your first objects). You find it in the help section on image recognition.

Common mistakes

• Searching with the serial number instead of the model number. The manufacturer's search usually does not know your serial number. Use the number labelled "Model", "Type" or "E-Nr."
• Filing only the quick-start guide. Error codes are often only in the full user manual.
• Wrong language or version. A look at the title page and the model reference takes ten seconds.
• Type not checked. If the manual is filed as "Other document", you will still find it among the files. Change type puts it in the right place.
• Number only in the photo. No search finds what only appears in the picture of the type plate. Enter it in the fields and tags.

What OWNAMIC does not do here

• OWNAMIC does not search for or download manuals itself. It is not connected to manufacturers' collections of manuals. You do the download. Filing it then takes seconds.
• There is no search through the text of all files. The search knows names, descriptions and tags. Within a single PDF, OWNY searches in the chat if the PDF contains text.
• OWNAMIC does not report new versions of a manual. Whether the manufacturer publishes a revised version is something you see on its website.
• OWNY's answers are summaries. They can leave something out or misunderstand it. The manual itself is what counts, especially for safety instructions.
• OWNAMIC does not replace the printed safety instructions. Keep whatever the manufacturer includes on paper with the device.

Checklist to take with you

• List of devices made, started with three
• Device captured with detail shots including the type plate, or photo added afterwards
• Brand, model and serial number checked in the fields
• Model number and "Manual" added as tags
• Full user manual downloaded from the manufacturer as a PDF, version checked
• PDF filed with Upload File as a User Manual, type checked
• Warranty card and purchase receipt filed at the same time
• Link to the support page saved in the Links field
• Optional: Finder QR stuck inside the device
• Habit: new device, manual filed the same day

Read on: Recording your home room by room · A Home Contents Inventory for Your Insurer: Step by Step · Like a service book, only for everything you own

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR), EUR-Lex: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R0988
• IHK Köln: The GPSR – new rules on product labelling (German): https://www.ihk.de/koeln/hauptnavigation/recht-steuern/produktsicherheit-6206448
• MCG: Operating instructions on paper – mandatory or digital? (German): https://www.mcg-gmbh.de/de/compliance-risk/betriebsanleitung-in-papierform.php
• Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery, Article 10 (obligations of manufacturers; German): https://gesetze.legal/eu/vo_eu_2023_1230/10
• Ebner Stolz: Digital operating instructions under the new EU Machinery Regulation (German): https://www.ebnerstolz.de/de/unser-angebot/leistungen/rechtsberatung/produktsicherheit-und-produkthaftung/digitale-betriebsanleitungen-nach-der-neuen-eu-maschinenverordnung-113022.html
• IHK Nord Westfalen: EU Machinery Regulation 2023 (German): https://www.ihk.de/nordwestfalen/innovation/eu-maschinenverordnung-2023-5903918
• Bosch Home Appliances: user manuals for washing machines, search by E-Nr. and type plate (German): https://www.bosch-home.com/de/service/support/gebrauchsanleitungen-waschmaschinen
• Siemens Home Appliances: where to find the E-number (German): https://www.siemens-home.bsh-group.com/ch/de/kundendienst/hilfecenter/problemlosung/unterstuetzung
• Ersatzteilshop: Which number from my type plate do I need? (German): https://www.ersatzteilshop.de/hilfe/fragen-zu-artikeln/das-passende-ersatzteil-finden/welche-nummer-von-meinem-typenschild-benoetige-ich

The position of the type plate and the name of the model number vary by manufacturer. The legal information reflects the position in October 2026 based on the regulations and specialist literature; guidance and interpretation by the authorities may change.