Authorized Computer Repair

I was encouraged by their reviews and ad, plus the Unilocal deal that was available. I then brought my daughter’s laptop to them for repairs and they cleaned out viruses, replaced some stuff (can’t remember what now — sorry), but all seems fine with the HP laptop now.
My only issue was the amount of time it took. They kept the laptop for about a week…7 days.
I would recommend Authorized Computer Repair.

Cracked my computer screen. They repaired it same day while I waited! Awesome. Very courteous staff. Laid back, Berkeley kind of place. Saw at least 2 dogs wander thru the office. I’m really glad to know this place exists!

Brian at Authorized Computer Repair went above and beyond to fix a freaky Windows 10 disaster on my computer. Great work, appreciate the dedication and when there were more problems he kept at it into Friday night. Wow. 5 stars.

I’ve got nothing but positive reviews from my experience here! My 2008 Mac slipped from my hands and fell knocking out the screen completely. I took it to Tre (the hardware guy) and he told me that replacing the screen and other bits and pieces would cost me more than it would cost to buy a «new» used replacement computer. So that’s what I did. Bought a new one from eBay and brought it back to him. He replaced the memory and hard drive, cleaned it up and in a few hours I went back. They charged me only $ 40! I saved myself a ton of money not having to buy a brand new Mac and was so grateful for his honest professional opinion. Tre treated my computer and personal information with respect and care.
I will definitely recommend them to friends!
Thank you!

Love this place! They fixed my computer within two days, far faster than any other computer store I’ve tried in Berkeley. They clearly pride themselves on quality, my laptop (which had taken serious hinge damage) came out perfectly and they even replaced an additional part without extra charge. Definitely know what they’re doing. Free water and fizzy drinks in the lounge.
Service is also fantastic, very open about the process for fixing your computer, giving you an exact timeframe, and calling you to check up.
For serious manual repairs definitely the best price for what they do; tends to work out ~180. However a similar ~180 was charged when I had a software issue (also pretty serious, I’ve heard the prices are often much lower; they will be up front about it), and that may come more cheaply elsewhere.
Overall loved the experience!

Jonathan just deleted his previous response, where he admits that they tested my AC adapter by using their own «universal» AC adapter, which subsequently fried my logic board, and replaced it with this post, in which he reverts back to his original, false account. Just because I was never invoiced, does not negate the chain of events initiated, and performed by his employees, which resulted in my logic board being destroyed. My not being charged (for what? having the privilege of having someone destroy my computer?) does not absolve this company of its responsibility for the damage it caused to another citizen’s property. His reasoning is spurious. Put it this way, if Jonathan is right then I am flat out lying, and this would be libel, and he should sue me. But he won’t, because he knows I am telling the truth.

The head guy there was totally abusive, yelled at me for wanting to know when my computer would be repaired, did not call me back except to harass me for using their Unilocal coupon. The prices are low but I kept having the same issue, which I don’t after taking it elsewhere. Do not contact me Authorized computer repair. Rest assured I have no desire to come back. Jonathan never reached out to me as he claims, and I am a real customer who doesn’t want to deal with the angry defensiveness below. The above describes how I was treated as well as the person who picked up my computer.

Just had a great experience with them. My laptop fell onto a floor and the hard disc was damaged. Brought it soon after they opened the next morning. Person at reception was very nice and attentive. The tech who would work on it arrived just then, and he told me he would look at it right away. He called quickly with diagnostic results and offered to install a new HD immediately. By lunchtime the same day, he called to say it was ready for pick-​up. Not the most challenging kind of repair, I suppose, but flabbergastingly good service, and very reasonable repair cost.

Update:
After my initial experience. Authorized Computer Repair contacted me for followup. They were very attentive and cared about the customer experience. They explained that the fix that worked for me typically works rarely for others and that it’s company policy not to recommend something with so little chance of success. I understand and accept that. I do, however, wish that would have been communicated to me during the engagement so I could make my own choices around how to get it handled.
While it didn’t work out for my issue, I would consider giving them another chance. To make up for it, they refunded a part of my fees. Thanks, ACR.
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I was a bit disappointed by Authorized Computer Repair after all the great reviews. The diagnostic I received was right, but the solutions offered were lacking and I walked out with broken hardware and a referral to spend ~$ 2K for a solution that cost me $ 55 (if you don’t count the $ 80 I wasted with these guys).
I brought in an external USB 2TB external hard drive that had stopped working. It’s a small compact and very common WD My Passport drive. To get the drives that compact, Western Digital does some funky things, including hard soldering custom connectors in a way that this hard drive can’t be easily relocated to another enclosure.
Authorized Computer Repair repair took a look. They diagnosed the problem as a bad USB connector. They got the drive working briefly enough to get about 1% of the data on it. Apparently they got it working once? Enough to get 1% anyway. I suppose they thought it not worth their labor rate to repeat whatever they did to get to 100% recovery. Fair enough. But there should be other options, right?
They called to say there was nothing more they could do. WD solders connectors directly on the board and so they were out of options. They referred me to Drive Savers in Novato, where data recovery typically runs about $ 2k, give or take additional complications.
Sad at the news, I briefly considered forking over the money to get old pictures and important files (that went bad before my online backup solution had managed to get them backed up – argh! damn you, large data sets!). When I realized just how much money we were talking about, I stopped for a moment and googled to see what else I could do.
Within three minutes, I was watching a YouTube video walking me through how to fix the situation. I found out I could easily remove the drive from the circuit board with the attached connectors. I found a couple of OEM replacement options for that circuit board. The replacement board was $ 50. I spent another $ 5 on the right screwdriver to do the job.
Worked like a charm.
How on earth does someone that SPECIALIZES in computer repair and hard drive recovery not spend 3 minutes googling options when they hit a bump in the road? I would have easily paid Authorized Computer Repair a few hundred bucks for that job, we’d have all been happy, and I’d instead be writing a review about how these guys are mind-​boggling wizards with insane superpowers and urging you to trust them with all your needs.
Instead, I’m here telling you that if you’re mildly technical, you’re better off doing some research yourself. I could have saved myself the $ 80 I paid them to tell me they couldn’t do it.

The customer and technical services were not qualified enough. However, the manager well could deal with my pc issue, so I cannot fully recommend to ask them a repair only via emailing or calling since usually only one person deals with you and the person might not meet with your need, but if you directly visit this shop and communicate with the people, seemingly it works out well.

I almost forgot about this place, when I had an absolute computer crisis. I got hacked, my keyboard got sticky and my website crashed. These guys saved the day! (They have a «rush order» thing going on, totes worth it!!) They are reasonably priced and the service is top notch. Thanks again Jonathan and Shard! …I have a meeting with Vas, going to set up internet from them too, they do it all!

Thank you so much for fixing my Wifi problem, Jonathan!
I wasn’t able to connect to any wifi because my network access was being controlled by a Cisco VPN client I had installed for accessing campus databases. Jonathan spent probably about an hour over the course of two visits fidgeting with my network settings. Both visits were free of charge, though I spent $ 30 on a wifi adapter because we had initially thought it would solve the problem. Nevertheless, I’m super grateful for the amazing customer service and patience!

Had to stand around for a good while before anybody deigned to acknowledge my presence (same thing happened when I returned to pick-​up), but they did execute the needed repairs. The next time I needed a fix, though, I went to a competitor and ended up happier.

These guys are very good. Pricing is fair, and they’ve always been able to fix my machines. I’ve taken several different computers to them, so I have a fair amount of experience with their work.
In the one or two cases I had a better quote from somewhere else, Jonathan or Shard has been able to at least match the price.
A+ organization with skilled, experienced people who give service with a smile!

Took my MacBook in for some repair: broken trackpad, dead battery and charger. Got the estimate, parts ordered, and repair done in less than a week. Excellent customer service. Was always informed of steps being taken and costs to complete the work. We also had a great chat about other electronics to buy in the future. Really appreciate the time and thoughtfulness!

This place is the best. They fixed my SONY Vaio twice — once, when someone else told me it was «unfixable» — and they charge reasonable rates. Customer service is top notch. While I was waiting to get my old computer fixed, Chris even helped answer a few questions about my new computer, and helped me install a program I needed to play DVDs on the machine. I live in SF but happy to come to Berkeley for these folks — I really trust them with my machines (both PCs), and they’re super nice to boot.

Miracle workers, man.
I had a severe case of construction-​guy-​dropped-​our-​business-​server-​and-​broke-​it-​onsilitis. After spending far too much time on the phone with useless Drobo reps, it was time to take it to the professionals, and within five minutes on the phone with Jonathan from Authorized Computer Repair, I had hope once more. I dropped off the server, told him as much info as I could, and he and his team went on hacking their way into the corrupted Drobo file system. After much time and many well-​communicated emails and phone calls between ACR and Drobo, and ACR and I, they managed to recover every single file in perfect working order.
While the recovery was going on, Jonathan suggested that I go with a Synology NAS to replace the dead Drobo, and also gave me suggestions on local and cloud backup solutions. After doing a little research I decided to go with his suggestions and boy am I glad I did. The Synology (DS1812+) works brilliantly and the local and cloud backups are easy-​peasy to manage.
Jasper came out to do the final installation of all the new tech and I’m really pleased with how he set things up. He also gave me tips on even more things I could do to protect the system. Thanks, man!
This is the third time I’ve done business with Authorized Computer Repair (twice for my Mac Pro), and they’ve been great each time. I really can’t praise them enough for the work they did on our server. It’s not easy to run a business when all your vital files are hanging in the balance, but knowing that these guys were working on it made so much easier. I will definitely be going back to ACR for all my future tech repair needs.

kick-​ass #2 review of this place, and the magic they work! This time my hero Frank gets the love for making sure I was 110% happy with my new hard drive. My 3.5 year old HP was starting to get sluggish and disagreeable in its old age, taking forever to load internet pages and shutting down programs for no reason. I wasn’t ecstatic with the speed of my computer after I had brought it in for a tune-​up (and subsequent new hard drive), and I called to see if there was anything else I could do to help my computer pick up the pace. Frank had me bring it back in, and spent another day and a half turning it into the speed racer of computers, no charge. And was sweet through all of it.
I feel bad for not remembering the name of first rockstar who worked on things, as he gently counseled me through my indecision and despair in dropping $ 300 to help my elderly computer get brought back up to speed. He helped me feel comfortable and understand what the money was going towards, and I ended up feeling like I wanted to pay extra for the improv therapy session. He was extremely patient with my questions and helped brainstorm ways to repair my computer in the most cost effective way.
Seriously, these people are geniuses, but they’re so sweet and humble about it. I continue to be impressed with how well they communicated with me, calling me to let me know their progress, and putting extra time in so I could get my computer back by the weekend. Their prices are the best around, by far, and it’s always super fun to support local business. They care about their work, and have a supreme sense of integrity that has been refreshing, and consistent, through both my visits!

After Jonathan pointed out to me that I misquoted their price and reminded me how they gave me a 5% discount off labor just cuz they wanted to be nice, I decided to up their rating.

I took my computer into them last month for a number of different problems. There were some serious communications issues initially, but they worked with me and the computer was fixed.
But it took nearly a week.
I took the same computer in to a different place last week. The turnaround was less than 48 hours, they fixed a problem that Authorized said was unfixable, and it cost a quarter of what I paid last month. Authorized Computer can do fine work, but the communications didn’t work very well in this case. I would recommend them for their real willingness to work through problems. You don’t get that often enough.