Cowabunga is absolutely the best computer repair/service company in Honolulu. More specifically, their computer engineer, Elijah, is a cyber-tech genius at solving problems. I was totally stumped and he came to the rescue and solved my issues very quickly and remotely from his office. Cowabunga is worth every penny I pay to them in my monthly retainer fee! read more

Thank you Cowabunga Computers and Elijah for your prompt and efficient service! Elijah was communicative throughout the diagnostic process (which was @ no charge) and provided helpful suggestions. Highly recommend Cowabunga for your computer issues. read more

I have been working with Cowabunga for a few years. Great team and great service. Highly recommended!

I didn't need to use any of Cowabunga paid services. There was no issue or service needed on my laptop when I went in to see them. The issue was my lack of understanding. Cassie was so gracious and kind and took the time to explain the set up to this kupuna and didn't charge me. In the future, if my laptop needs servicing, without hesitation, I will call upon the services of Cowabunga. read more

Every time I go I get great Service! I recommend this place! Staff is very effective!

COWABUNGA DUDE! I been a long term client. Top notch friendly, and down to earth service without all the BS runarounds. I need some work done on my new system, Bios update etc. Brandon, Cassie and the crew took care of it. System is running like its brand new out of the box again. What can I say about them I haven't already... If you got problems, stop go no further forget the geeks and the 808's whatever else.... COWABUNGA COMPUTERS nuff said. read more

I did something super stupid, but Ripton at Cowabunga saved my life. I accidentally erased most of my files on my iMac (don't ask). I had put almost everything into trash, and emptied it. When I realized what I had done, I cried... I had countless graphic design files I worked hard on, dating back almost 20 years. (Before you judge me, I DID have a backup. But I messed that up too in this fiasco. I suck.) What I missed most were the special Christmas cards and birth announcements I lovingly created over the years for my own family, as well as my Christmas address list! Irreplaceable!!! I thought they were gone forever and my friends and family would never hear from us again. Ripton immediately came to pick up my iMac and external hard drive but gave me realistic expectations, explaining that he may or may not be able to retrieve all (or any of) the files but that he would try his best. I was so embarrassed about what I had done, but he was so understanding and kind. With the scope of work, it took him about two weeks, but HE RECOVERED EVERYTHING!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!!! I needed my computer back to work on an urgent project, and Ripton delivered it to me on a Saturday, which was his day off. He really went above and beyond. I hope I'll never do something this stupid again, but I feel great knowing that Cowabunga can save me! read more

GAMING RIGS DONT TAKE YOURS HERE! Had an okay experience here but was ultimately left with "we will only build all new or we cant figure out whats wrong". Nice employees and reasonable prices but they lack experience and time. I took mine to H Power Computing and had the exact opposite experience. They fixed my computer. Not these people. read more

I don't know what I would do without Cowabunga Computers. I can call anytime, and all the staff are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. They never make me feel like the tech dinosaur that I am! I recommend Cowabunga to all my friends, and can't think of anything but positive praise. Thank you to all of you! read more

Great team of knowledgeable staff! If you're having computer issues or need help with network set ups they are your guys. The owner is also super friendly! read more

Finally gets back to me. 2012 is when I last rated you losers. I never write negative things. You take the cake. 2012 hmmmm 6 years and how many gigs later. Simple sorry we will try harder works for me. Honesty, integrity, Kindness. It goes without saying the best work ethic. read more

Once again, Cowabunga comes through again! It seems that lately, I am fending off one cyber threat after another. The Internet is chock-full of unscrupulous scammers, who would just love to rummage around in your computer's files. Cowabunga, on 3 separate occasions in the last month, helped stop threats in their tracks, before they could inflict serious harm to my files and finances. I'm sure people have advised you to not open unfamiliar emails an especially, attachments associated with those emails. Well, live and learn! Cowabunga remotely accessed my computer from their office, and stopped these threats in their tracks. I am forever grateful. My advice to you is talk to Cowabunga about their monthly maintenance package, which is quite reasonable, and gives you immediate access to their assistance, (when you really need it)! They provided much needed help to me so many times, (on an immediate basis), that I felt it my duty to write this review. Aloha! read more

Friendly staff, technicians are professional, and they don't try to scam you. Their service was spot on, enough to make me write a review.

I've been a customer of Cowabunga for almost two decades, and have had nothing but positive experiences with them. Most recently, I noticed that my desktop PC was experiencing soft power up failures, which were getting progressively worse. Knowing that my computer had been well past it's prime, I reached out to Cowabunga with a brief description of the problem (after I'd exhausted my own attempts at solving the problem). Within 24 hours, they responded and, following a discussion of what I'd been experiencing, the decision was made to bring her in for an evaluation. Ripton and the entire staff were so very friendly and supportive. Ultimately, they determined that the motherboard was failing, and not worth repairing. I asked for replacement specification recommendations, and sought out a replacement PC, ultimately finding a great deal (at Costco). They took in my new computer, and transferred all of my needed files (photos, documents, etc.) to the new unit, as well as solving an external backup hard drive issue (and making a backup). All of this was done in a very timely manner, and for a very reasonable cost. At all times, they kept me informed, welcomed my questions and concerns, and treated me in the most friendly and receptive ways. I strongly recommend them for your computer problems, as well as long term maintenance. read more

Please confirm your account to post your review 11/10/2020 Aloha! I want to take this opportunity to thank Cowabunga Computers and your amazing Team for always being there to help me with whatever computer issue I have, which is many because I am a novice in the computer world. When first call in, you will meet Cathy who is always so pleasant and gracious! My greatest gift was to meet Leo Estrada. He has stood by my side with choosing a computer and printer to meet our needs, to installing the computer with all the network set-ups, and then to help me through the many computer issues I had (mostly due to my ignorance). Leo Has helped me so much, and I am so appreciative of his professionalism, patience and genuine care. He is on my speed dial, especially during this time when the computer is how we connect in so many ways. Leo truly understands and lives excellent customer service. He is MY Hero!! I fully recommend Cowabunga Computers as your Service Provider for your personal and/or company computer needs! I have been a Cowabunga Happy Customer for many years! Mahalo Leo! Mahalo COWABUNGA! T. Kam Happy in Kaimuki read more

I got scammed and my computer was compromised. I first called the Geeks but no response, so I got a hold of Cowabunga! They were easily accessible and were able to serve me right away. They even got the job done earlier than expected. My computer runs fine and I have peace of mind. I turned in another laptop for a free diagnostic. They didn't find anything wrong with it and even gave me a link to an adapter/cord since mine was in bad shape. I am very happy with Cowabunga, and will be going to them from now on. read more

I have an old toshiba external hard drive with all our family photos. I'm talking YEARS of photos. I somehow decided to transfer the photos to that hard drive without saving it on our desktop. One day I realized the toshiba hard drive no longer worked and I panicked. But due to the guilt of having lost all my children's photos I didn't think of bringing it in to be fixed because I felt that it was lost forever. Fast fwd 5 years - I went to Best Buy geek squad and they told me they would have to ship it to the mainland and starting cost is $500 with no guarantee of recovering all data. One day I saw a cowabunga car and inquired. They quoted me $180 to fix the hard drive I just needed to bring another hard drive to store the recovered photos. And was told there would be no charge if they're not able to recover the photos! I dropped off my toshiba hard drive today at 930am. Within 3-4 hours I received a call that they were able to recover my toshiba hard drive! They also gave me a wire since I could no longer find mine AND they saved the photos onto my new sea gate hard drive ! I am totally happy! Just looked at the photos - I can't believe they recovered every single photo! Thank you Cowabunga ! I am forever grateful! read more

My husband and I have been here a few times to get our computers looked at and we've always left pleased. I've had a few issues with some laptops over the year: my older one finally up and died but these guys saved my hard drive and all my important things; I then did something dumb along the lines of dropping my laptop and completely busting my screen... and it was fixed quickly. They had to wait for a part to come in with the last time but they were great at keeping in touch, answering all of my questions, and letting me know what was going on. They're also incredibly friendly! read more

I've been a customer for over 17 years. These guys and gal are super helpful. If you're a dell computer user check them out, they offer maintenance services too for personal and business. read more

My experience with Cowabunga at this location was excellent. I took my laptop in for a broken hard drive after I had dropped it. The staff was not overly friendly but courteous and patient. My computer knowledge is limited so they had to explain quite a bit to me. Turns out I was supposed to make a backup disc of the Operating System since I didn't receive one with the laptop. Therefore, I didn't have one to replace the OS after the hard drive was replaced. My OS is Vista so fairly obsolete because I had waited almost two years for the repair. Fortunately, one of the technicians was able to find a copy for me which saved the day. After installation he made sure to download all the updates (which took hours) and added free antispyware and antivirus programs. The price was $225.00 total (the original quote) which I'm not sure if it's a good price or not but seems reasonable to me. The work was completed within the time frame originally quoted of 2-3 days despite the complications. My only complaint is that they put ID stickers on the laptop and the cord to keep them from getting separated (a good thing) but the stickers were really hard to get off. Eventually, I found that a little hand sanitizer removed them easily. I will definitely use Cowabunga again if necessary. read more

Cowabunga Pearl Kai Steven rocks. ! He was so helpful and poised. Solve all the problems I had! Thank you again and I will definitely use your company again and again, read more

I own a small business and like most, our operations rely heavily on computers. Needless to say we always have Cowabunga Computers address our needs and they always get us up and running very fast. It helps that they have mobile service, allowing us to have them fix the problems at our location. The techs that have helped us in the past have always been courteous and competent. A pleasure to work with and everyone we've referred has shared my feeling about them. read more

Cowabunga! Computers has been around for ages, helping the local community around the island with computer related problems. The service provided here couldn't be better and the rates and quality of service can't be matched. If you are looking for a gem of quality service and affordable prices, look no further! read more

Cowabunga had to deal with my daughter's dying computer, which turned out to be irreparable... after a few conversations, they saved her data onto a flash drive, and I picked out up... While I was there, they looked over a battery installation on a Mac Air, even though not their specialty and we figured out the issue. I appreciate their honesty, thoughtfullness, and reasonable prices.. I'll be going back I'm sure! read more

I actually have an account with Cowabunga, that's how GOOD they are. Whenever I have any kind of problem with my computer, I call them. I used to go through this other company (can't remember the name) and they were good too, but not as GOOD as these guys. read more

This is a top drawer computer service and repair business. I've been with them for at least ten years and have no complaints. I've always received superior service from this work group. They're very friendly and reliable and they always get the job done. I'm trying hard to get them to go 24 - 7. Ken Austin, DCSW read more

They took my computer, erased some important files, and said they were done. They were unable to, so I have to admit I have a bad feeling about doing business with them. They said they didn't care, they have tricks to remove negative feedback. read more

I have used the services of Cowabunga for many years for my two computers. The staff is always very courteous, even with my very basic questions. Their patience with "mature" clients is amazing. Mahalo Cowabunga. Charlene B. read more

I have been dealing with Cowabunga Computers for the past few years, been there about four times with different laptops with virus related issues, system restore and recently with connectivity problems to a printer. Not only they fixed the problems but did them quick and answered all my "silly questions" patiently and thoroughly. I mostly dealt with Yasuo and this last time with Noah. So far I have nothing but good things to say about them. Thanks guys. read more

Update: Oh oh...Sam deleted his reviews from yelp since I submitted this review. Yikes! I'm truly happy that Sam A. had a good experience with this company. Unfortunately I can't say the same. I've read Sam's reviews of Super Geeks and Personal Touch Computers (PTC) and noticed his first concern was price, followed by trust/comfort with the people he dealt with. I agree, we all want to find a fee for service that is reasonably priced and be able to entrust our personal items (& data) to them to repair or provide to us their recommendation if it is not fixable. Not everyone is computer literate so we look to these companies such as Super Geeks, The Geek Squad, PTC, and Cowabunga Computers for assistance in their area of expertise in hopes they are fully capable and provide quality services. Personally I haven't dealt with Super Geeks or The Geek Squad, but I have done business with PTC and most recently Cowabunga Computers. Unlike Sam's 5 star review of this company, in my experience they should have gotten just 1 star, however in all fairness they got the 2nd star due to their proclamation to "correct everything". It all started with my Aunt calling Cowabunga Computers to fix a CD drive two of the office computers. Somehow, she got convinced she needed replace one of the office computers with a brand new computer. My Aunty is not a computer savvy person, if I had to grade her on her level of computer literacy...I'd have to say she's probably in Pre-K. So, based on the recommendation of Cowabunga Computer's technician my Aunt bought a brand new computer from Costco (w/Vista OS, of course), then was told she needed to upgrade her programs - MS Office 2007 and QuickBooks Pro 2009. And approximately $1,500 later, the technician couldn't get a few of the programs to work. One of the main programs that didn't work was the payroll program, which just wasn't compatible with Visa. How's that warm and fuzzy feeling of trust and comfort? Feeling it yet? Wait there's more, I'm not done yet (and mind you this is the condensed-censored version). I receive a call from a very frustrated, unhappy, and worried Aunty (who is sobbing by now.) telling me the computer is not working, the technician isn't there and he left a disk with instructions. I called Cowabunga Computers to find out what had happened, is she to expect the technician to come back, and why they hadn't provided her better guidance on the type of computer she needed. Long story made short, here are their responses: 1) Her old computer was still running and was at her office, but as for why a new computer, they needed to retrieve the tech's notes. 2) They created a back up DVD disk of her hard drive (I've seen the back up disk, which is a whole other issue that I don't want to get into) 3) Next day: Called to confirm reason - "the computer is outdated and old (5yrs) 4) Later that day: Another call - "the drive is not booting" (I get this call after they had taken the computer back to their office - recall, it was operational before, now it isn't. Well by now my warm and fuzzy feeling just went out the door and ventured into a whole new dimension. They later reported there were bad sectors and would be almost impossible to recover, but they'll do their best. By now we are asking for the computer to be returned. By the time the computer is returned back to the office, I had placed a call to an IT friend - by the way if you need computer repair services or just service in general, let me know & I'll get you in touch, he is GOOD. How good you ask? Well, within 2 days he was able to recover the entire hard drive, save it, duplicate it (clone) to 2 other hard drives, where each was placed into a brand new computer and the other to the old computer. Both are running wonderfully. It was an experience, a very expensive experience. Now I ask you...the next time you need assistance with your computer troubles...where's your warm and fuzzy feeling at? read more

Shoddy work. Paid $208 for laptop repair, and my laptop crashed again 6 weeks later, due to the same issues. The second tech examined the laptop and found errors by cowabunga! techs. They installed a bad hard drive, didn't put the system back together correctly (left loose wires) and didn't install the appropriate operating system. So I've now paid twice for the same problem. read more

Been here twice now. Once to discover my wife's laptop was fried, but recently to get a power issue with my desktop fixed. It took one business day and fifty dollars to take care of. Polite staff who explained what the issue was. Definitely my first choice for any further computer issues. read more

Always courteous, friendly, efficient and professional. And they get the job done. My husband's hand-me-down laptop that's about 9 years old is still working, thanks to Cowbunga. read more

These guys are awesome. This was my first time having PC issues to a point that I needed more experienced IT help. I spilled fruit punch on my laptop like a dummy and it wouldn't boot up after drying. I looked up PC repair shops in a panic and brought in my laptop to see if Cowabunga was able to bring it back to life. They opened it up on the spot real quick for an initial check and informed me it would be better to drop it off so they can take a look at it more in-depth without rushing (good idea! I'm sorry I was in panic mode when i dropped by initially!). They called me the next day and told me that they took it apart and looks like it may be the motherboard .... No luck in turning it on as well. He reassembled everything and referred me to another guy to try asking if they would be able to do anything more before buying another laptop. Cowabunga didn't charge me anything since they weren't able to fix it- but I truly appreciate you guys for taking a crack at it. Thank you again! read more

I found That Cowabunga computers repair quite amazing - the service was quite fast, Brandon was very helpful and to the point, he sent me a feed back on my phone(Email), the place is very close by, and they waited for me at lunch time to pick up my computer! Thank you once again! read more

Awesome, quick, professional service-I made the mistake of changing my password on my computer, and not leaving a hint. Needless to say, I was locked out of my laptop, and had a major paper due tonight. I called Cowabunga computers, explained my issue, and the very understanding gentlemen told me to bring it in. I was met with prompt, friendly service and I'm able to write this review!! I'll be a return customer for any computer issues. I am impressed with their service and definitely recommend them. read more

We had a network / phone line / internet / database /stupid phone company crisis in our business and we were down for 4 days. Our usual IT guy was unavailable so I called Cowabunga at 6:00pm at night. They scheduled us for the next morning at 8:30am. First thing is, "Ryan" showed up exactly on time and didn't ask a lot of stupid questions about where to park or how to find us. He was very bright, humble, even sweet and knew what to do. It was complicated and he dove in switching from computer to computer and switch to switch. He was focused and determined and got on the phone with Hawaiian Tel and our remote IT guy at a mainland location. Long story short he got us up in less than two hours. These guys are winners! I hate to share this with anyone...but fair is fair. Ryan is a 10. The guy who answered the phone (probably the owner) was intelligent and efficient and delivered. I will use them for everything from now on. read more

**UPDATE: Spoke to Brandon, Cowabunga's manager and we have resolved the issue. He was very professional and extremely helpful. In hindsight, I should have spoken to him when things started to escalate in my previous experience. I have never questioned or had any problems with their quality of work. But sometimes, just one bad customer service Apple may spoil the bunch. I stand corrected on my previous review. Thank you, Brandon and to your team on your kindness and willingness to resolve the issues I have, professionally and graciously. Do not come here for your repairs. Our home PC's operating system crapped out, so we decided to take it here. Mind you, we've been here for smaller problems, such as virus infections, which were repaired fine. Although it did take quite a while before we got our computer back. Anyways, back to the broken operating system. They were able to retrieve our data from the computer and reinstall a "new" OS, but within 5 weeks we were having problems booting up, with it saying it does not recognize any operating system. WTF? So we called them and whoever answered the phone was so rude. No help whatsoever. He said their warranty is only good for 30 days and if we're having problems with the OS, then maybe we can take our beef to the manufacturer. So we asked, if they do give us a new operating system, would they be able to pull out our data again and reinstall for a discounted fee. Nope! "We're not obligated to discount our services for other company's faulty products". Then I asked if they gave me refurbished or old parts and he got upset. He started getting defensive and when I told him I've been to them several times and am a loyal customer, he basically said, "Yes, I know. Not like I've never heard that before." Luckily, my husband was able to fix the problem temporarily and we were able to use the computer for another 4 months. Now, it's been acting up again. Same problem but this time my husband can't get the computer to detect the OS, although it's still there. We've called again and were given the same spiel. A "brand new?"OS less than 6 weeks old, giving us problems. Im not asking for hand outs or free stuff. I'm just wondering if they're installing subpar products or involving themselves in shady business practices. We are definitely never going back to them for any of our computer or IT service needs. And I'm sure they're not going to miss our business, since they've heard the "loyal customer" rant before. read more

I have my office across the hall from these guys so i am really familiar with them and how they do business. They always help me right away and quickly and easiliy solve complicated problems. I refered a friend to them when his lap top froze and they fixed it that day. The people there are fun and happy and seem to love what they do. I highly recomend them. read more

i dont know about the one in aiea, but the one in town sucks. really bad service, and after spending 270 for a new motherboard it still blue screens. oh i found out that the motheboard was USED... FAIL! try buy local.... read more