A Local Nerd for Austin
Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander, Kyle, Buda and San Marcos, out to Georgetown, Bastrop and Lockhart. Type your ZIP when you book and the page tells you whether a Local Nerd drives to your address and exactly what the visit costs.
A 30-minute remote session is $39 and handles most computer, phone, email, password and account problems without anybody driving. In-person visits open here as soon as a Local Nerd is based in Austin. If that could be you, we'd like to hear from you.
Nerd on Call is $14.99/mo and you can join in Austin today: the two remote sessions and the texting work right now. Your included in-person visit starts when we open Austin. One-off remote help is $39 for 30 minutes.
If it plugs in and nobody can figure it out, we can help.
Ask anything you like. We'll explain what we're doing while we do it.
Wi-Fi that reaches the whole house
If it works in one room and not the next, that's a coverage problem and it's fixable. We start by moving things around, before anybody sells you a bigger bill.
Computers that have gotten slow or strange
Cleanups, updates, printers that stopped printing, files you can't find, and a backup so one bad day doesn't cost you years of photos.
TVs, streaming and “where did my channel go”
Getting a new TV going, tidying up the apps, and making the remote situation sane again. Then we show you the three buttons you need.
Phones and tablets, set up your way
Photos, contacts, passwords and the settings nobody can find. We'll get it set up the way you want to use it.
Learning it at your own pace
If you want to understand it well enough to do it yourself next time, tell us when you book. That's our favorite kind of visit.
Doorbells, cameras and smart home gear
Half of smart home gear gets installed by whoever sold it and explained to nobody. We make it work together and make sure the alerts reach you.
Printers that won't print
It worked yesterday and today the computer can't find it. That's a common problem, it's not something you did, and we can fix it.
Scams, pop-ups and “is this email real?”
We'll go through what's on there, get rid of what shouldn't be, and show you how to spot the next one.
What tech help looks like around here.
Hyde Park, Travis Heights and Tarrytown are older houses with additions from three different decades, and the router is wherever the cable came in. Round Rock, Pflugerville, Leander and Kyle are newer and bigger, and one box in a closet reaches half of them. Near UT and around Texas State in San Marcos the houses are rentals that change hands every August, and the network was set up by whoever moved in last.
Patient, unhurried help, especially for the 55+ crowd.
Sun City in Georgetown is a whole town of retirees, and plenty of Austin households spent careers at the state, the university or Dell and are now being told by a phone that their password is wrong. We sit down, go at your pace, and write things down if you want them written down.
Towns we reach in Austin & Travis County.
Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Austin, and the hourly rate steps up the farther we drive. That is 65 towns across Texas, covering Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties.
| Band | Towns | Rate when open |
|---|---|---|
| Within 25 miles | Austin, Mc Neil, Del Valle, Manchaca, Manor, Buda, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander, Cedar Creek, Kyle, Spicewood, Driftwood, Hutto, San Marcos, Dripping Springs, Elgin, Dale | $110/hr |
| 25 to 50 miles | Georgetown, Maxwell, Lockhart, Coupland, Wimberley, Red Rock, Bastrop, Taylor, Weir, Liberty Hill, Mc Dade, Martindale, Staples, Fischer, Rosanky, Thrall and 18 more nearby towns | $130/hr |
| 50 to 75 miles | Kingsland, Muldoon, Plum, Stonewall, Flatonia, Gonzales, Willow City, La Grange, Moulton, Schulenburg, Shiner, Hochheim | $145/hr |
Not sure which band you're in? Check your ZIP and you'll see the answer for your address before you book anything. Want to talk it through first? Have a Local Nerd call you first, free and with no obligation.
Help for a parent who lives in Austin.
Somebody two states away is worried that Mom can't get the TV back to normal, or that Dad keeps getting locked out of his email. You can arrange it for them. Book the session or gift a membership and we'll handle it with them directly, at a time that suits.
Send a NerdWhat people in Austin ask us.
Does somebody come out to Austin?
The ZIP check when you book answers that for your street: if a Local Nerd comes out to your address, the visit books at the rate shown. The list on this page marks every town a Local Nerd reaches today.
I'm in Georgetown or Bastrop. Is that too far?
No. Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Austin: Round Rock, Pflugerville and Kyle are inside the closest band, Georgetown, Bastrop, Lockhart, Taylor and Marble Falls are in the 25 to 50 mile band, and La Grange and Gonzales are in the outer one. This page lists every town by band.
I'm in Temple or Killeen. Is that this page?
No. Killeen, Temple, Belton and Copperas Cove have their own page, measured from downtown Killeen. Enter your ZIP when you book and it lands on the right one.
How much does tech help cost in Austin?
Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session, and that's what works in Austin today. When in-person visits open here, they'll be $110 an hour within 25 miles of downtown Austin, $130 in the 25 to 50 mile band and $145 from 50 to 75 miles, and the higher rate is how we pay for the drive. A $39 deposit will book an in-person visit, with the rest charged after your Local Nerd finishes and you sign off on the work. Nerd on Call membership is $14.99 a month and includes two remote sessions and an in-person visit a year, plus 20% off anything extra. You always agree to the rate before we start.
Do you help older adults in Austin with technology?
Yes. We go at your pace and explain things in everyday words. If you'd like to learn to do it yourself, say so when you book.
Do you fix broken devices, or just set things up?
Yes, if broken means slow, glitchy, locked out, or won't do what it did last week. We don't open machines up to replace parts, and we don't recover data off a dead drive. When that's the problem, we say so and don't bill you for finding it out.
Every town is better off with a Local Nerd who lives there.
We look for a Local Nerd who knows the area, likes people, and is good at explaining things. Set your own availability, keep the majority of every booking, and help your neighbors. See what being the Local Nerd in Austin involves or apply here.