Computerland of Berkeley

Excellent quick service restored my laptop after a liquid spill. Extremely satisfied with the results.

I had a totally positive experience here this week. I take it from other reviews that they’re doing Apple business, but my issue was getting data off a hard drive from my Windows laptop that had just failed. Tech I spoke to (first off, nice to talk to an actual tech instead of a «front office» type) understood my issues, and clearly explained possible outcomes & charges. He promised results in a couple of days, and produced them in under 24 hours, for what I think I know are normal, regular rates (in my case, $ 80 for HD scan and cleanup and data extraction, $ 20 if they couldn’t extract, but they could in this case).
Until further notice, Computerland is my tech support source.

These people are life savers!!! The day that I had a 10 page research paper due my computer decided to shut down on me! I know what are the odds of this happening on the day my paper is due. I contacted apple and ultimately needed to take it in to get fixed and I was given their number. I took it in yesterday around 4:30 and it was ready for pick up today at 9am! Best part is that they were able to recover all my files, I don’t know what I would of done if I wasn’t able to recover that essay. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!

I was kind of reluctant to go through with a repair. I know computers and this laptop had water spilled on it. The motherboard was corroded and the tech was convinced he could fix it and interestingly enough he drove a hard bargain.
We spoke on the phone, twice, and he kept trying to sell me on the repair. We finally came to an agreement: $ 60 if the repair failed and $ 220 if the repair worked (I wasn’t going to commit to a repair that I was 80% certain wasn’t going to work).
It worked. I’m a fan.
Caution: these guys are geeks and a little disorganized. My feedback to them was: be MORE UPFRONT with what they’ll charge if you don’t have your machine repaired.
They wanted to charge me $ 80 if I didn’t go through with the repair, but hadn’t said that upfront — it wasn’t malicious, just disorganization. It’s what you get when you have a whole shop full of smart geeks who know how to fix computers :-)

I had my computer service at ComputerLand of Berkeley. My hard disk crashed and I lost all of my data. And they were able to recover all my data in a timely manner. The cost was very reasonable and lower than anyone else that I’ve been to. The staff was very was very friendly and professional. Highly recommend this place!

I wanted to update my previous 5 star review to reflect that I’ve been back two more times since my initial visit in June 2015. Both visits were 5 star experiences as well. I am so annoyed with my MacBook Pro (late 2011) and with Apple in general these days. ComputerLand is the polar opposite – I’m consistently impressed, and honestly a bit shocked that I haven’t paid more for their services. (They’ve revived my dead laptop 3 times, and my combined total to date is a single $ 40 diagnostic charge.) ComputerLand has saved me a lot of time, money, and stress. I am grateful to have these professionals in my community. Thank you!

Brought my 2012 MacBook Pro in after it stopped working one night. The manager was very helpful, knowledgeable, and he quickly told me my hard drive was busted. He gave me plenty of options and advice to fit my price range. In the end I decided to leave my laptop with them rather than take it to the Genius Bar. My repair was timely, and they installed a new hard drive that was larger than my old one, and also a bit faster. In addition they cleaned up the fan, replaced the hard drive cable, and installed the latest OS for me. Would highly recommend coming here if you need any repairs.

I went in there two times in the last 6 months. The first time my HP laptop was infected with viruses I could not even restore it on my own. Brought it in and the serviceman explained what needed to be done. They gave me a call the next morning saying it was ready to go. All my data was still intact which was a big worry for me.
The second time was last week. My laptop was overheating and would slow down after a few minutes and I could not figure out what the problem was. They told me that this time it was the hard drive that needed to be replaced. They gave me the quote and explained it would be a few days for the new part to be there.
I have it back and the laptop is running fast like it’s new again. I could not be happier with it.
Overall I am very satisfied with my experience dealing with these guys.

I had a cracked iPad Air screen replaced several months ago, and it must not have been installed correctly because it has now started cracking and breaking around the home screen button and I’m going to have to have it replaced again. I’m still giving two stars because the service was relatively good, but I am very disappointed with the low quality of the repair and will not be returning.

These guys were great! Macbook Pro suddenly died in the middle of a large project with a tight deadline, but the Genius Bar was booked until the end of the week. Took it over to Computerland instead, and they started working on a fix right away. In addition to their friendly customer service that kept me updated throughout (Gus rocks!), they also made sure I got a rebate for new parts from Apple, which saved me nearly 50%! They did a few other requested upgrades as well while they were at it, and I’m now happily writing this review from my better-​than-​ever laptop. Yay!

Great experience! Subscribed a new screen for replacing the water spilled one and dropped off lately. Unexpectedly retained original files on desktop. Plus, only took one day for repair!

In response to the manager’s claim that they’re sorry about my «less than great» experience. First of all, I’ve waited 3 months to post this on Unilocal hoping that Computerland would address my issues. 3 months for them to get in touch and exemplify their ‘great’ customer service. 3 months for them to reverse charges for services never performed nor requested. 3 months to admit their techs did absolutely nothing and this was a total scam on their part.
This isn’t about diagnostic fees. I would have been happy to pay the $ 80 fee as originally agreed upon had they actually attempted to recover the data but were unable to. But instead, they never attempted to recover the data, and charged a cleaning fee when nothing was actually cleaned. Yes, these photos were taken after their ‘services’ had been provided.
I did bring these issues up at the time of pick-​up and instead of admitting they did not do what was agreed upon, or work out a ‘deal,’ I was told to pay their ‘fees’ in order to get my property back. I called several times to speak to a manager and talk about these issues, and all I ever got was ‘The manager is out off the office/​unavailable/​helping someone else. I’ll leave a message and he’ll call you back.’ 3 months later and a Unilocal review and someone says they will now review all their files?! I can’t wait for them to actually respond in a meaningful way!
Anyone with Apple products should avoid this place. Wait the week for the appointment at the Apple store or find another merchant.

Computerland is a super alternative to the Apple Store for repairs. I walked in without an appointment on Wednesday morning and had my MacBook Pro back on Thursday afternoon with a brand new motherboard – 2 days before the earliest available appointment at the 4^th Street Apple Store. Thanks, guys!

Just got a call from John at Computerland about this review. To his credit, he offered to refund my money for the original fix. On the downside — he stayed in denial mode, saying that it must have been a mis-​communication, that his rep didn’t hang up on the Apple Store, that they don’t operate that way, that he wasn’t there, that that would be ‘crazy’. Even when I said that no, there was no mis-​communication, he never once validated my experience. At the end, he backtracked and said that of course they would review their processes and made adjustments where needed –but what I took away was that he wanted me to change my review. I declined his refund and the review stands.

For $ 40, they promised me a lot — a careful and individualized look at my computer problems. They knew I’d already had computer diagnostics done and that three others hasn’t been able to diagnose the problem. They promised me their technicians were better and would use their brain power.
I spent a lot of time explaining the problem to someone who promised me they would convey the information to the repair technician.
None of their promises bore fruit. They just ran standard diagnostics and didn’t consider the concerns I so laboriously laid out. I don’t really blame them for not doing a thorough diagnostic for $ 40, as that’s not a lot of money, but they should have told me that up front, and they should have communicated with the technician.

Nerko, the service manager was very accommodating when I needed to replace my MacBook’s battery. He made it speedy, personable, and, professional in under twenty minutes. The price I paid was well worth it!
Thanks, Nerko. You’ve earned my business!

My wife’s external hard drive stopped working, and it had YEARS of photos, music, and records for our theatre company on it.
From the point I walked in the door to drop it off, to when I was able to pick up the new drive with the old data on it, the team kept me informed, and were super kind patient. The price was EXTREMELY reasonable.
I had an incredible experience.
The only critique I have is that sometimes the person who called me left messages a little fast and quiet, so I never learned his name (yes, that’s my only complaint).
Again, they TOTALLY saved my bacon, and I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Save your time. This should not be an Apple approved repair vendor. The owner/​boss is rude, I called 3 times and was told it was $ 80-​$ 160…until I got there, then they asked if I had a hard drive to back it up into, I said, yes, back in Oakland, I called 3 times and no one said anything… that’s ok, we call sell you one! I’ll bet, then, they said, if I want to reinstall or update the OS, those are additional fees… So now we’re over $ 300 just to leave my computer with the guys-​no thanks! Save your gauging and condescension for some other putz that Apple sends through your door.

Wow! Wow! So impressed by the service! My iPhone completely crashed on me. Couldn’t get an appointment with Apple, so decide to go here. Spoke with Eduardo who is a super nice guy! He quoted me $ 20 for the diagnostic.
Messaged me back later that day with the quoted price which was $ 85 to fix the frozen screen and my long-​broken home button, which is super reasonable. Had it ready for pickup the next morning.
Would definitely refer anyone who is tired of getting over charged by Apple Genius Bar.

After spilling liquid on my Macbook Air, I wanted to bring my computer in immediately. All Apple Genius Bars in the Bay Area didn’t have availability for four days, which was frustrating because the longer you wait to get your computer fixed from liquid damage, the higher likelihood your computer will suffer additional damage from corrosion.
I was able to take my computer in to Computerland as soon as they opened after the weekend. Gus and the team kept me in the loop throughout the process and were very transparent about the cost. I was able to get my computer completely repaired more quickly and for less money than Apple Genius Bar would have charged.