A Local Nerd for Houston
Houston, Pasadena, Pearland, Humble, Kingwood, Baytown, Missouri City and League City, then down to Galveston and Texas City. 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 Houston. If that could be you, we'd like to hear from you.
Nerd on Call is $14.99/mo and you can join in Houston today: the two remote sessions and the texting work right now. Your included in-person visit starts when we open Houston. 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
The back bedroom with no signal, the guest network nobody can remember, the router hidden in a closet doing its best. Usually the fix is placement, and your plan is fine.
Computers that have gotten slow or strange
Slow, cluttered, full of things you didn't install. We'll clean it up, get it current, and set up a backup that runs on its own.
TVs, streaming and “where did my channel go”
New TV set up, streaming apps sorted out, remotes that work, and one clear explanation of which button does what.
Phones and tablets, set up your way
New phone and everything is in the wrong place. We move it all across, sort the photos out, and make it readable again.
Learning it at your own pace
We'll slow down or write the steps out for you whenever you ask. Learning it once beats calling somebody every month.
Doorbells, cameras and smart home gear
Doorbells, cameras, speakers, thermostats and lights, set up so they notify the right phone and you can find them when you need them.
Printers that won't print
Wireless printers drop off the network all the time. We'll get yours connected, printing and scanning, and explain why it keeps disappearing.
Scams, pop-ups and “is this email real?”
If something on the screen is trying to scare you into calling a number, that's the scam. We'll clean it up and show you how to recognize it.
What tech help looks like around here.
The Heights and Montrose are old bungalows up on piers with the router wherever the cable came in decades ago, and the three-story townhouses going up beside them put the router on the ground floor and the bedrooms two flights above it. Out in Pearland, Humble and League City the houses are newer and spread out, which is its own Wi-Fi problem. Either way the fix is usually placement and a second access point, not a faster plan.
Patient, unhurried help, especially for the 55+ crowd.
Plenty of households here spent careers at the Medical Center, the plants along the Ship Channel or NASA out at Clear Lake, 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 Houston & Harris County.
Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Houston, and the hourly rate steps up the farther we drive. That is 47 towns across Texas, covering Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty and Chambers counties.
| Band | Towns | Rate when open |
|---|---|---|
| Within 25 miles | Houston, North Houston, Bellaire, Galena Park, Pasadena, South Houston, Alief, Missouri City, Channelview, Humble, Pearland, Stafford, Deer Park, Fresno, Sugar Land, Friendswood, Webster, La Porte and 10 more nearby towns | $110/hr |
| 25 to 50 miles | Huffman, Kemah, Bacliff, Dickinson, Mont Belvieu, Santa Fe, Dayton, Texas City, Liverpool, La Marque, Danbury, Hitchcock, Angleton, Galveston, Port Bolivar | $130/hr |
| 50 to 75 miles | Lake Jackson, Freeport, Clute, Brazoria | $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 Houston.
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 Houston ask us.
Does somebody come out to Houston?
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 Katy or The Woodlands. Which page is mine?
Katy, Fulshear and Cypress have their own page, measured from downtown Katy, and Conroe, The Woodlands and Spring have theirs, measured from downtown Conroe. Enter your ZIP when you book and it lands on the right one.
I'm in Galveston or Angleton. Is that too far?
No. Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Houston: Pearland, League City and Baytown are inside the closest band, Galveston, Texas City and Angleton are in the 25 to 50 mile band, and Lake Jackson and Freeport are in the outer one. This page lists every town by band.
How much does tech help cost in Houston?
Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session, and that's what works in Houston today. When in-person visits open here, they'll be $110 an hour within 25 miles of downtown Houston, $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 Houston with technology?
Yes, and please ask. We take our time and we don't assume you already know what a setting is. Tell us you'd like to understand it and we'll teach you as we go.
Do you fix broken devices, or just set things up?
We fix them. Slow, frozen, locked out, won't connect, won't print: that's the job. The one thing we don't do is open a device up to replace a screen, a battery or a part. If that's what your problem turns out to be, we'll tell you as soon as we know.
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 Houston involves or apply here.