Good questions, plain answers.

It's our membership for households that want a tech person on their side all year. For $14.99 a month you get two remote sessions and one in-person visit included each year, 20% off labor on any extra visits, and a text line to your Local Nerd. No long-term contract, and you can cancel when you like (see the early-cancellation adjustment).

Each membership year has two remote sessions and one in-person visit built in. They're tracked separately, so a remote session never uses up your house call. They reset on your renewal date and don't carry over. The house call covers the first hour at the $110 rate; if you live 25 to 50 miles from downtown you pay $20 more for that hour when you book, and $35 more from 50 to 75 miles.

No. Anyone can book a single visit at the regular rates, any time. The membership is for people who'll need us a few times a year: the included visits cover most of the dues by themselves, 20% off takes care of the rest if you book more, and you have someone to text when a small question comes up.

$14.99 a month, billed monthly, with no long-term contract. Cancel from your account whenever you want and the monthly charges stop. If you've already used an included visit, the early-cancellation adjustment may apply one time. The few fair-use details are laid out before you sign up.

Yes, the 30-Day Happiness Guarantee. Cancel within 30 days of joining and we refund your first month, provided you haven't used an included remote session or in-person visit. It's good once per household, on the first month's dues. After that you can still cancel anytime, with no contract; if you've used an included visit, the early-cancellation adjustment may apply once.

Remote help works anywhere by phone, with screen sharing through NerdConnect (or the Nerd on Call app on an iPhone or iPad) when it's useful. House calls go to the service address on your membership, wherever there's a Local Nerd, up to 75 miles from downtown of the Texas city that Local Nerd works from. The hourly rate steps up with distance: $130 from 25 to 50 miles, $145 from 50 to 75.

It's a courtesy line for short, simple questions, not full phone support. Anything that takes real troubleshooting, a screen-share or hands-on time becomes a remote or in-person visit, and members pay 20% less for those.

Yes. We interview every Local Nerd ourselves, and each one passes a background check run by an independent screening company, at our expense, before taking any job. They hand their details to that company directly, not to us. They also sign an agreement that covers how they act in your home, how they handle your information, and what they will and won't work on.

Not always. It comes down to who's free at the time you choose. If a Local Nerd who's helped you before is open, we match you with them again.

That happens, and it's fine. Call 713.325.5922 and we'll make sure that Local Nerd isn't booked with you again.

No. $39 books your visit, and that's the only charge that day. It isn't an added fee; it comes off the price of the visit. The balance is charged after your Local Nerd finishes. Cancel with at least 12 hours' notice and your $39 is refunded in full, automatically. A remote session costs $39 to start with, so booking one pays for it completely and nothing's left at the end.

When the job's done, your Local Nerd hands you their phone (or texts you a link after a remote session). It shows an itemized total: the visit, any extra time, your deposit subtracted, and the balance. You tap to confirm the work is done, add a tip if you'd like, and the balance goes on the card you booked with. If you have to leave before that screen comes up, that evening we charge only the balance you agreed to when you booked. Extra time and tips are never added that way; they only come from the sign-off itself. If something still isn't right, there's a spot on that same screen to say so, and someone from TexNerd will call you.

No, and please don't offer. Local Nerds can't accept cash or checks, so nobody should ever ask you for either. Payment goes through the app by card, and we take Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.

Sure. We charge the card you booked with unless you say otherwise, which is why no money changes hands at the door. If you'd like to use another card, tell your Local Nerd and they can run it on their device. It does have to be a card.

So we can charge the balance when your visit is over. We never see or store the card number; Stripe holds it, and we keep only a reference. It's a one-time authorization for the visit you booked, not a subscription, and it can't be used to charge you for anything else. Ask us anytime and we'll remove it.

Your time is held right away; there's no waiting on us to confirm. A confirmation text comes with your time and a link to change or cancel it yourself. Give us an email and you'll also get the confirmation there, with a calendar invitation you can add in one tap, and a separate Stripe receipt for the deposit. Nothing after a few minutes? Check your spam folder for the email, or call 713.325.5922.

A phone number and a sentence or two about the problem. For a house call we also need your address, so we know where to come.

That depends on which you chose. With a house call, a Local Nerd arrives at your address at the time you picked. Remote help always begins with a phone call at your scheduled time, and we fix it on the call or send a secure link to share your screen.

No. Every remote session starts with us calling you at the time you booked, and there's nothing to set up ahead of time. If we need to see your screen, we'll text you a link then.

At the time you booked. There's no call ahead to start the visit; they just show up on schedule. You'll get a text or push notification right before they head your way.

A friendly person who's good with this stuff, there just for you for the hour. Your Local Nerd arrives (or calls), works out what's wrong, fixes it or sets it up, and explains it at whatever pace suits you. Ask the same question twice; that's fine with us. No jargon, and no upselling.

Yes, using the link in your confirmation text (or email, if you gave us one). Changes and cancellations are free up to 2 hours before a remote session or 12 hours before an in-person visit, and the deposit comes back to you in full, automatically. A house call needs more notice because it holds a bigger block of a Local Nerd's day. Inside those windows the appointment can't be moved online. You can still cancel, but the deposit isn't refunded, since that time was set aside for you and couldn't go to anyone else. Nothing past the deposit is charged, and we'll send you a single-use code for 10% off your next visit, good for 90 days. Rescheduling in time updates the calendar invitation you already have, so you won't end up with two.

Open times go two weeks out. Need something later? Call 713.325.5922 and we'll set it up.

Often. Remote help is usually available within the week and frequently the same day. Pick the earliest open slot when you book, or call 713.325.5922 and we'll find the soonest time.

Remote help is $39 for the first 30 minutes. A house call is billed by the hour, and the rate depends on the city that serves you and how far your address is from its downtown: from $110 an hour within 25 miles, higher from 25 to 50 miles and from 50 to 75. Your ZIP shows yours before you book. There's no separate travel fee. Past the first block, you're charged by the half hour at that same rate. You pay a $39 deposit online to book and the rest when your Local Nerd is finished.

In straight-line miles from downtown of the city that serves your area, not from some point in the middle of Texas. The rate steps up at 25 miles and again at 50. Beyond 75 miles, we help remotely. Tap the location button when you book and we'll use your address to put you on the right rate.

Each Texas city on this site has its own page that lists the towns it reaches, and house calls go up to 75 miles from that city's downtown. Enter your ZIP when you book to see what's available at your address. Remote help by phone and screen-share works anywhere.

If a Local Nerd works near you, yes, anywhere up to 75 miles from downtown of the city that serves your area. Every Texas city page lists the towns it reaches and the hourly rate for each, so you can look up your own town before booking. Remote help by phone and screen-share is available anywhere.

We fix them. Slow, frozen, glitchy, locked out, not connecting, not printing, covered in pop-ups: that's our work, at your house or over the phone. Hardware repair is the one exception: no opening a device to swap a screen, battery or part, and no soldering. If it comes down to a broken part, we'll tell you straight and point you to a good hardware shop.

No. We'll hook the TV up and get the streaming and the rest of your devices set up, but we don't mount TVs, drill, or run cable inside walls. Parts and hardware are billed separately.

Most of the time. No picture, no sound, no signal, apps that won't open, a remote that stopped working, a streaming stick that won't connect: we handle those, and we set up new TVs and soundbars as well. We don't repair the TV itself. If the screen, the backlight or the power supply has gone out, that's a hardware repair or a warranty claim, and we'll say so before you've spent an hour on it.

No. Those are hardware repairs, and they need a parts shop. For everything else on a phone, call us: it's slow, it's full, it won't back up, the email stopped, you're locked out, or you've got a new one and want everything moved to it.

We can recover and back up files from a device that still works, and set up backups so you're covered next time. Physical recovery from a failed or dead drive takes a specialist lab, which we don't do, but we can point you to one.

Sometimes the cause is failed hardware, or something only the manufacturer can deal with. If so, we'll tell you and point you in the right direction.

Yes. Patient, one-on-one help at home or by phone, whether it's video calls with grandkids across the state, a grandson's Friday night game streaming on the tablet, or a brand-new phone. We go at your pace, explain each step, and never hurry you or talk down to you.

Yes. Job applications, benefits, insurance, Medicare, the DMV: anything that asks you to make an account, pick a password and upload a document. A Local Nerd sits beside you and stays until it's submitted. Type it yourself if you like, or we'll type while you read along.

We'll scan it, save it under a name you'll recognize, and attach it to the right form, then show you where it's kept so you can find it later. If it's stuck on an old computer or phone, we'll get it off there first.

We can, and we don't sell internet service or take a commission from any provider. We go over your bill with you, look at what's available at your address, and tell you whether switching would save money. More about internet help.