If you or anyone you know are looking for a computer repair company with quick turnaround and a willingness to sympathize with your computer-related stress and drama, look no further! You have come to the right place! I am an indie filmmaker and I also work as a teacher with kids and teens helping them learn how to make films. In this case, I was tasked with doing some final edits of their work on behalf of the school, for their final screening. The unthinkable happened a week before the screening--my external 2 TB hard drive crashed. It's one thing for my project to go up in smoke, but the thought of letting down the kids was a nightmare..I had actual nightmares about what I was going to have to tell them. I also desperately wondered about which place to turn to. Most big computer repair places take far too long to quote and start the job and often outsource the repair work itself and are swamped, so you know they're not likely to get to repairing the drive the same day you drop it off--which was my only hope! Contemporary Computers quoted me immediately, gave me a fair price point and were honest in suggesting it might take awhile to recover the drive considering most of the files were .mov files, (large) and some prorez files (very large). They understood the urgency of the situation and started work immediately, and worked longer hours than they originally quoted but still held to the original quote. (How awesome is that?! Actual humanity!) With their skill and understanding of my plight, my entire drive was recovered in 3 days, allowing me to make my deadline. 3 days including drop off and pickup! They literally saved the show and the kids got to see their hard work and their families were not disappointed. I honestly believe if I hadn't approached Contemporary Computers and instead went with a big corporate repair chain that it wouldn't have been recovered in such a timely manner. So take note film industry editors, directors, producers and actors and everyone else! This is where you want to take your repair problems!! read more

From start to end the process to purchase my computer was smooth and effortless. All involved were transparent and delivered on their promises regarding timelines and cost. A week after taking the computer home, a Windows 10 Update interrupted access to the monitor. Contemporary Computers' tech Luiz connected to the computer remotely and got everything working correctly quickly. Contemporary Computers provided a better buying experience and better computer than I had with the large computer manufacturers ... and a better price! read more

EDIT: Since writing this review, I was contacted by the owner and sent an $84.75 cheque in the mail to make up for the service fee. After doing quite a bit of research on where I should go to have my laptop's hinges and backing fixed, I decided on this place - Contemporary Computers. It had great reviews, and they said my laptop would be ready in 3 days at the cost of no more than $130 when I called in. Unfortunately, I did not have a good experience here at all. Instead of having the laptop fixed in the three day period, it was "assessed" in two. What they had to assess when the top half of the laptop was clearly falling apart, I'm not sure, but I let it go. I spoke to them again, and they told me that the total cost would be $275. A lot higher than I had anticipated, but I'm a university student whose notes are all online, so I needed the laptop and said the price was fine. Again, I asked how long the repairs would take, now that they knew what had to be fixed. I was told 3 days. Once two business days were up, I called in to make sure that I would be able to pick up my laptop on time, since I hadn't heard from them yet. It was then that I was told that the parts they needed for the repairs wouldn't be in for another three days. That's when I got annoyed. Not only was I not able to download any notes, I had some work to do for an internship, which was due on the day the parts would come in. They did offer a loan laptop - at $9-$11 a day. However, the trip there and back would take an hour and a half and would cost me $6 in subway fees. As a student, I wasn't willing to pay any extra costs, especially when they gave me false information. Three days later, I get the call to come in and pick up my laptop. The total cost - $300 before taxes. When I went in to pick it up, I asked about the price mix-up, but all I got was a "Sorry that you were misquoted." I ended up paying $339 and waiting for 2 weeks. Definitely NOT what I was told the two times I called in. As for the laptop itself: It's not even the same backing. The broken one was flat and black. The new on is blue and bulky. When I did a check to make sure every thing was working (something I HIGHLY suggest doing before you leave the store) my webcam wasn't working. So they had to spend some time fixing that once my laptop was already supposed to be repaired. When I brought up all of these things, they didn't seem to think there were any problems with their service. The colour was just an aesthetic thing, the misquoting was unfortunate, and hey, they did offer me a loan laptop, but I didn't want it, so it was my own fault that I had to start my work from scratch. I was given a "consolation prize" for my patience; a stainless steel water bottle with their logo on it. To say the least, I will not be going back here, and the only suggestions about this place that I will give will be to avoid it. read more

This computer store was on the border once. Seriously. They shot scenes here. Today I needed some random stupid cable adapter and the guy had it for 8$. Awesome. I also tried to buy a PCI-E DVI out card while I was there, but he didn't have one. Less awesome. The Good: - conveniently close to my house - had the 'must have' kind of weird item I needed at a good price - phoned first and the guy double checked the inventory and had my cable ready when I arrived The Bad: - there is no stock in the front room. It's basically a waiting area where the guy has his desk. You have to ask for anything you're looking for and he goes in the back and gets it. It's like Consumers Distributing for computer parts. Only without the catalogue and tiny pencils. - I have no idea what he sells here. He clearly sells odd cable converters, but does not sell DVI video cards. Or maybe he does, just not today. Overall, I will definitely come here again when I need that 'one weird little thing that I need RIGHT NOW' but I probably wouldn't buy stuff here if I was pre-planning. I don't like shopping at the beer stores where you have to order from the menu, I like the walk-in ones. Kinda feel the same way about computer parts... I want to browse, not ask for specific items. read more

My hard drive crashed HARD, there was no hope of booting back in to my computer and I was worried I'd lost everything. These guys managed to retrieve all my files from my fried drive. What would have cost me $200 at Bestbuy or Future shop, cost me $120 here. When I got my backed up info, I was still missing a chunk of information, old photos, work files etc. and they took it back, found the missing files, all free of charge. Cant recommend these guys enough. read more

Just wanted to echo what so many others have said. Phil is a first-class professional, does work quickly, affordably, and doesn't take advantage of folks who know less about computers than he does. You can trust him with your computer. You can also trust his pre-builds / refurbished IBM computers - they're all far more affordable than similarly-specced units at Future Shop or BestBuy, for a fraction of the cost for far better quality. Especially if youre a "browser, facebook and email" kind of person, Phil will take care of you. read more

The hinges and entire backplate on my HP dv9000 came undone and having a laptop where the top doesn't stay up sort of defeats the purpose. I thought about buying a new lappy, but this one works fine and just needed a little TLC. I decided to look for a computer repair shop and, of course, turned to Yelp! My lovely friend Sarah L recommended Contemporary Computer and if she recommends anything remotely "techy", I'm there. Also, it was convenient to my house, too. I called to ask if they did this kind of repair and Phil knew instantly what model I had...apparently there was a hinge issue with this make/model. He told me they had the parts because it was so common, so I raced over after work to drop it off. He told me it would be a couple of days, but, lo and behold, got a call from him two days later telling me that they didn't, in fact, have the parts and would have to order them. That, he told me, would take two weeks. Needless to say, I was bummed and wished he would have checked before he told me he had the parts. I was able to use my work laptop at home while I was waiting for the parts to come in, and sure enough, about two weeks later, he called to tell me everything was done. My laptop is like new and the top stays up again. Score! Phil was super nice and I'm sure he didn't mean to make me wait so long. The prices were reasonable and I couldn't be happier. read more

Data Recovery : The team (Phil) here were excellent, after doing an initial review and investigation to identify the issue with my External Hard Drive, the explained what the problem was and the various options. In the end I had to do a full data recovery from the drive which they did at a reasonable cost and helped upload all to my Apple cloud account. Would recommend them if you find yourself with a data/hardware issue that is beyond your local repair shop. read more

I had a terrible time working with contemporary computers. They took over a month to end up telling me they couldn't end up fixing a simple repair. When I asked to take my computer back because it was taking too long instead of apologizing for taking so long they told me it wasn't fair that I take back my computer. I don't like to be guilted when I'm working with a company, I happily paid the diagnostic fees and everything else involved with having the repair started. I had no responsibility to continue working with them when it took so long to make any progress. This was really awkward and I think inappropriate. Worst of all I had to call to find out bad news about how the repair was going. The customer service wasn't proactive at all. With that said I really liked the woman at the front of house, she didn't seem like she wasn't diligent but instead like the people working on the computers weren't updating her about the progress. In the end they simply gave up on trying to fix it because they couldn't track down a dc jack. It was a huge waste of time and money. read more

Last year, Phil at Contemporary Computers did a little upgrade and cleaning of my laptop. He also completely revived our old desktop Mac. In both instances, I was very pleased with the results and decent costs for the work done. I didn't realise how obsessively attached I was to my MacBook Pro until I spilled water on it and watched it shut down! After removing the battery and letting it dry, I was pleased to find it working again after a couple of days. But there was no question I'd be bringing my laptop to Phil to make sure there isn't water left in there, slowly wreaking havoc. I find Phil professional and courteous and he obviously loves what he does - all of which makes for great service. He's clear about telling me what he can and can't do for my computer and what to expect. Phil has also been great about quick turn-around when I request it. I also really like that he's absolutely non-judgmental and doesn't make me feel like an idiot, regardless of the fact that I've done something idiotic... yeah! read more

They saved my daughter's laptop. Totally honest and trustworthy. No BS. The prices were fair, the service was great, and they were fast. I will be taking all my computer fix-it problems there. read more

Great service, great pricing, great people...what more can I say?! Saved my butt when my computer died and did it for a very reasonable price. From now on they are my goto guys for computer service. I HIGHLY recommend them. read more

Knowledge and service...FIRST RATE! I first contacted Phil & co. on the Sunday of a long weekend about a year ago. I have Primary Progressive MS. I was unable to get my computer to them. Phil picked the computer up, replaced the fan and cleaned it up in a matter of hours. I was very relieved and impressed given the day and time crunch, I was under. Six months later Phil built me a computer exactly suiting my very precise needs. Of the 10+ computers I have ordered or had built over my career it is by far the most superior unit, I have ever owned. Two weeks ago, I called re: a monitor upgrade. I required one with professional Film & TV industry specs. We carefully went through all the options available on the market.[ I put a lot of research into what I buy.] Two days later, Phil delivered, installed and set up a 23" monitor that more than rivals my custom ordered 48" main screen for visual integrity. EXCEPTIONAL is the service, cost and professionalism they have rendered me. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. read more

I first took notice of Contemporary Computers a few years ago when I was distributing promotional material for a non-profit. I went in and Phil was both friendly and enthusiastic about his then new business. I left him with some information and posters. I think that it was because of his approachability that I contacted Contemporary Computers a few days ago to get some help with hooking up a wireless printer that had befuddled the person who had offered to help me. Via email, I got some suggestions from Phil's employee as to how to solve the problem before proceeding further with them. I decided that I just wanted to solve my problem and get the printer working. An appointment was made and Phil came by today to not only swiftly and efficiently solve my problem, he also did this with some tips on how to make things easier for me in the long run. Really appreciate the professionalism and the service. Thank you so much! read more

Reason to go there: non working external hard drive. Experience: 1. The shop is pretty and front desk was friendly but that's about it. 2. Contemporary Computers charge 35$ plus tax for their "diagnostics". Other stores do this for free. Granted, that fee would be taken off the total cost if you choose to go for it. 3. After their quote was too high for me, I said I would come to pick up the hard drive and did so the next day. Only issue was, the hard drive was not ready to be picked up and there was no technician to get it ready. Front desk was sorry and all, called the tech but didn't reach him as he was at a site with a customer. So I had told them the day before I would pick up the hard drive yet they failed to have it ready - as in, put it back into its' box. They did offer to courier it to me once it was available again, but still. 4. After I got the hard drive back, I had someone else look at it and that technician stated it was never even opened. So of course I cannot judge whether this is true or not - but the 35$ diagnostic might be to plug it into a computer and listen to its sound, and then come up with a quote of over 500$ ? Wow. Two stars as front desk is really nice. But it seems that the shop, or at least their technician, as good as he might be (according to other reviewers), is quite disorganised and I also did not like the fact of being charged for diagnostics plus then hearing from another person that there was not a whole lot of diagnosing going on in the first place. I have never left a review on here before and I do not like doing it but this experience was just pretty lame and upset me quite a bit. read more

I have been tremendously disappointed with the services offered by Contemporary Computers. I have a 4 years old Toshiba that was not working well, so I took it to them for the first time last June. According to them, the lap top needed a new hard drive. I ended up getting a new battery and a power supply cable as well. When I got home I noticed that the power supply cable they sold me wasn't holding on to the laptop outlet. It was loose, so I returned there to get a refund on it. What I was told by the receptionist that the problem "must be my computer". Then one of the technicians walked in the conversation and, by accident, showed me why the power supply cable (they sold me) was loose and defective (he must have thought it was my old one). Even with that, the receptionist was persistent that it wasn't their equipment's failure, but that she could refund me. The way she said that was as she was doing me a great favor. In August, I had to go back, as my laptop was acting out again. It was turning off by himself a couple of times here and there and a blue screen - crash dump error - showed up. Phil told me the hard drive they had put on previously surprisingly was defective. They said something like that is very rare to happen, as they work with top brands and bla bla bla. 2 HD's in less than 2 months. In November, more problems. A black screen that didn't let me do anything. Phil said the HD was again failing and, as they had already tried 2 HD's, it was worth trying an SSD instead. But here was the catch: the SSD they would put on my lap top "with no additional cost" was less than half of its original memory. Even after everything I went through so far they would not put an SSD with the same amount of memory I used to have with no cost. I called Toshiba to ask about hard drives and they said the only hard drive that will work in my specific lap top is a SATA. Phil told me that was not accurate, but he could get me a SATA HD if I wanted. As he said that, I agreed to leave it at that. They landed me a loaner for that time, finally. A defective one that would only hold internet connection for 10-15 minutes, then it would automatically turn it off. They clearly did not test that lap top before handing it to me. Another trip there to switch loaners. One thing after the other and the nightmare continued. As I feared, last December 13th, I had to go back there with blue screen error and shutting off by himself all over again. The diagnose was "probably" a software issue. Something related to wrongful updates. Phil told me "that would hopefully solve the problem". I got the computer back 6 days later. Now, "probably", "hopefully"? Really? Aren't they supposed to know what they are doing? I have a 6 years old lap top that they can't fix right. I never experienced something like this before. How is that possible? As all that ordeal wasn't enough, on December 26, the battery icon started to show an alert of "consider replacing the battery". I called Phil right away and he said it could be related to windows updates, as he had to adjust some in order to avoid another crash. He said to email him what I said I found online about false alerts by windows and he would get back to me as soon as he gets it. How happy I was when I called, last Tuesday, and the receptionist told me he went in vacation and it's going to be back in two weeks. Of course no one knew what I was talking about. He didn't mention his vacation and definitely didn't bother leaving someone respinsibke to get back to me. Again, she mentioned if I'd like to "get a new battery" or what else. Still trying to profit, despite all this horror. She always blamed my equipment, my home internet. It's very annoying, not to mention unprofessional, for a company to blame the client instead of taking responsibility for its failures. Not even once I was told by the reception they would call me back with an update that they actually did it. I had to call if I wanted my equipment back. Their customer service needs urgent improvement. Now, I will try to fix this battery alert issue by myself. If I can't, it may be the battery (the one they sold me back in June) is already gone and their hardware has no warranty. Surprise, surprise. The worse mistake of my life was to take my computer to them. Of course they did not charge me for all this messy back and forth repairs neither for the loaners they provided. But that was the very least they could have done once they can't fix it . And it is not over yet. I will end up having to pay again to get it properly fixed elsewhere after spending money and an incredible amount of time. I would definitely NOT recommend this place to anyone who wishes a good job done in their equipment. read more

I found them deceptive and not true to their word which cost me time and money with simply wanting to give them business.

these guys took great care of me. none of that shady-mechanic type crap you can deal with at some repair shops. were transparent and did not push their own interests during my decision making process about whether my fix would be worth it or not, and were very reasonably priced for the diagnostics and labour. so relieved to have my situation solved, thanks! read more

I have used Contemporary Computers on two occasions. The first was for my laptop which had suddenly been caught in a 'blue screen of death' glitch. I was quoted $75 for the work and when I returned to pick up my laptop, I was told that although it had taken a bit longer and should cost more, they would still honour the original quoted price which I think was very reasonable. The second occasion was a flash drive that had become corrupt. The information on it was very important. The diagnosis time was a lot longer - it took a week but they were able to recover all of the information on it, and copy it onto a new drive for me. It cost about $150, which is pricey but was worth it to me to get the information back. The only thing stopping me from giving them 5 stars is my experience with the receptionist/person who answered the phones. She was pretty short over the phone when I called to request an update. She promised to speak to the tech and get back to me, which never happened. In addition, when I went in to get the information copied over to a new drive, she was not exactly friendly. I found her demeanour somewhat abrasive. Other than that I have had a good experience both times and would use their services again if needed. read more