I have an iMac that had been down for nearly three years, which was the last time I tried many different things to get it up and running. The long and short is it crashed halfway through an OS update and hasn't worked since. Julian contacted me after a Yelp query - I figured I'd retry and was ready to ship this thing somewhere for repair (again, I tried everything before with no luck). After I explained what was happening, he said, "We'll get you up and running, Tony, don't worry". He heard me out and sent me step-by-step triage and recovery instructions, which worked perfectly. He called about an hour later to check on me, and I was beyond happy he resolved the issue; I didn't have to leave my crib, and it was done within an hour (after letting it sit for years). Everything worked perfectly. I have my computer and electronics handyman for all future work. See my review distribution. I'm very fair and will call out less-than-desirable service. Likewise, when someone earns solid recognition for professionalism and providing the service advertised - they should get a shoutout. Julian, you rock! read more

Julian's Electric & Digital - Electricians Near Me - Lafayette, California

Julian did a fantastic job helping me with my old computer, which I thought was dead for good. I hadn't backed up all my photos (I know, shame on me) so was SO relieved when he was able to get it to start for me, transferred the images, and then helped me wipe it clean for proper disposal. Julian was equal parts professional, and personable. I really enjoyed working with him. read more

Julian was great to deal with - transparent, walked me through his thinking every step of the way. Easy to schedule too and reasonable. Would definitely work with him again. read more

I just talked with Charlie, a former neighbor of Julian, The Electric Handyman, about a very positive experience that he had with Julian. Charlie wanted to post a review of Julian, but did not have the ability to do so, so I am helping him out. Several months ago, Charlie was having trouble starting his car, a Nissan Altima, with his key fob. He called AAA and of course as soon as AAA came, the car started. AAA followed him to his mechanic where Charlie described what had happened and his on-again, off-again ability to start his car. His mechanic said he needed a new starter which was installed. The problem happened again and the mechanic installed another starter, but the problem kept happening. Charlie took the car to the local dealer who was unable to find and fix the problem. Then, about 1 month ago, Charlie described the problem to Julian who said, "I think I know what the problem is." Julian replaced the key fob battery and Charlie has had no more problems. 3 cheers for common sense and customer satisfaction!! read more

I have struggled with the disconnect between our internet provider and equipment and the private systems available to not only increase speed but provide stability. Julian provides this expertise and is extremely responsive. His consultations are not only informative but provided ideas and insights that (as non expert) was unaware of. Thank you for your help! read more

Julian, the Electric Handyman, did a great job helping me to figure out to approach my home network. He can do everything from spec'ing and configuring networking hardware to running cabling to even doing electrical wiring. He can implement indoor solutions, outdoor solutions, you name it! read more

Great customer care! Julian really cares about the success of his customers' projects. And no electrical project is too hard. He will go figure out the best way to achieve the customer's goal and get it done. In my case, the project was the installation of a 240V outlet for an electric car charging station, requiring work in a tight space and a crowded electrical panel. Car is charging like a charm now. read more

I've been building a garden office and needed some electrical work, so I called up Julian. He was able to run a new circuit from the panel in the house, through the crawl space then in a trench to the new building in the garden. He planned out all the needed conduit and wiring, which fit like a glove! After a couple short days of work, we had power in the shed! Also ran a direct burial ethernet cable in the same trench, so my new office has smoking fast internet as well. Well done! read more

I couldn't be more pleased with his listening ability. An outlet in our kitchen needed to be moved over an existing tile backsplash. I am handy as a DIYer, but this was above my skill level because a precision rectangle had to be cut in hard porcelain tile exactly next to a stud. Julian listened intently to the problem over the phone, asked good questions, and narrowed in on the issues very quickly. He "got it." Without even seeing it, he understood the layout of the wall, what could go wrong, and why I thought it was above my skill level. And then--with encouragement--he described what I could do to do it on my own, including tools, techniques, how I could practice on scrap pieces of tile. I tried everything he said today (Jan. 1, 2024), and it worked! I couldn't be more pleased. It is quite evident that Julian possesses a great deal of hands-on experience and is generous with his time. read more

Julian was quick to reply to my yelp outreach, had a great intro call, and he showed up when scheduled and resolved my issues then and there. Great experience, would happily hire him again. read more

I reached out to Julian for help improving the speeds on my home network and he was extremely helpful. I'm fairly tech savvy (but without much knowledge about networking) and with a phone conversation and a few emails with Julian, I was able to make big improvements. If I decide to go for the next level of improvements, I would not hesitate at all to hire Julian. Very knowledgable, practical, and generous with his time. read more

We live in a 110 year old home in Oakland and had been trying for years to get fast and stable wifi throughout including to our work studio in the yard. We tried: New routers,  adding wifi extenders, and lastly, increasing the speed ( and of course the expense! ) of our Comcast account. I called LMI Internet in Berkeley. Dan Callaway, one the owners, had known Julian and Integrity Electric for some years and was pleased to refer him to us, a local wifi network expert. Julian came over and assessed our situation. He patiently explained why we had had such problems and promised that he would fix them quickly. He explained that the process had two possible phases; if the initial phase was successful, there would be no need for a phase two. He taught us that while sometimes wires were necessary to supply branches (not sure if this is accurate verbiage) of our wifi coverage, the newer equipment is often successful without having to run any wires. We ordered the equipment that day but it took a while for our new printer to show up. Julian was kind enough to do the install on Memorial day. The process was super fast and the whole thing went off perfectly! It's been two months and everything works way way better than we ever thought possible. Julian is expensive, but you get what you pay for. read more

Beware. I don't believe all the other reviews. Really bad experience with ethernet cabling job. He said he doesn't come just to give an assessment for what would need to be done, but will do an initial visit for two hours during which he would do some work, and follow up with additional work later. Sent me a contract to sign for those two hours, which should've been a warning sign. Came for for two hour visit, during which he was gone for 15 minutes, and he fumbled around in the remaining time with some ancient meter and a 10+ year old MacBook. Short story, spent two hours and told me from where to where cabling would need to be done, but didn't do any actual work, set a time for the following week, and demanded payment for that day's work for two hours at $250. Then just refused to show up the following week. Said he didn't want to do the work, that he is a very high level networking "consultant" and works with another guy who does the actual work, and that guy is not available, and I should find someone else to do the work. So I wasted $250 just on some BS talk. Following all this, I got another another network company to do the work, and did they did the entire cabling job in half day, beautifully and without any issues.. read more

We have had a number of issues with the coax cable in our house over the years that had gotten to the point of no return, where the signal was terrible even with boosters. Julian worked with me to figure out the best solution for our needs, getting us up and running and in MUCH better shape for the future. I had a pretty hard requirement of not ever wanting to crawl under the house, so we went with a clean and simple method that turned out great and makes it possible for me to maintain if we ever run into issues. I could not recommend him higher. He's thorough, honest, efficient and easy to work with. read more

See all

Julian and I worked together on updating my home network, including installation of new Cat 5e ethernet, an 8 port switch, and new outlet in several walls within my house to support my symmetrical gigabit connection. Even with several delays due to COVID and scheduling, Julian was extremely communicative, helpful, and friendly throughout the process. He made recommendations to cut costs in areas where it made sense, and I never felt like he didn't have my best interests in mind. He's very knowledgeable about all the hardware, underlying protocols, and EE, and can be as technical or as broad as you want when discussing options. Would highly recommend him for any networking related work. read more

Julian installed an outdoor broadband cable for us. Price was reasonable, work was done quickly. Thank you!

Julian is a great dude. I originally hired Julian for the simple task of installing several ethernet jacks throughout the house. This included running several long ethernet cables through the tiny horrible crawl space under our house. One particularly cool thing was converting our old Comcast jack into two ethernet jacks. That process went very quickly and smoothly. That project eventually blossomed and grew into a truly huge (and officially permitted) project that included a service change from 70 amp to 100 amps, replacement of a main panel, demolition of an old and very dangerous subpanel, and installation of a new subpanel in a new location, and finally concluding with adding drywall to replace all the lathe and plaster in the closet where the old dangerous panel used to be. Julian does very high quality work and was careful about obeying local code. Where he was unfamiliar with the code, he did the research (free of charge) needed to make sure that everything was compliant. Overall, he spent quite a lot of unbilled time for needed preparatory work, and once when Julian made a mistake while we were setting up armored cabling in the crawlspace, he was happy to do the two hours of work for free needed to fix it. There were no surprises when we did our inspection, and Julian was able to anticipate and avoid any of the many potential problems, including relatively obscure issues like the need for a 30" x 36" working area outside our house where the new main panel was installed. There were other little things like this that were great, e.g. when plaster got on the floor under the tarp during demolition, Julian noticed and got his shop vac to remove the plaster bits to avoid letting it harm the finish of the floor. The cost of the project did go over Julian's original estimate by 20%, largely owing to some code issues involving exterior landscaping. When the cost got too large, Julian took time to teach me how to some of the electrical work myself to cut costs, and I've learned a great deal in the process. To reduce costs, he also did the drywall work at the end at a cut rate. Throughout he was very scrupulous about his accounting, and made sure to lay out potential costs as they appeared. He was also very generous with his tools, leaving a bunch of stuff with me so I could do some work on my own. Julian is a master electrician and not a master carpenter. Our job involved some very gnarly wall repair work (see pictures) with a very complicated set of things to juggle including mounting of multiple junction boxes for old knob and tube wiring. Since we were trying to save money, rather than hiring a 3rd party to do this tricky wall repair, Julian went far beyond the call of duty and spent 3 days working for a very low rate on the repair and teaching me as we went. I can't imagine many contractors willing to do this. One major plus of Julian is that even though we only really had a professional relationship, he was unafraid to be a real human being. I learned a bunch about his past, including his attempt at a photography career, tumultuous Bay Area upbringing, and appreciation for the Yuba River. Also got some free framed photography out of it. He also really likes that cat emoji with the heart eyes: https://emojipedia.org/smiling-cat-face-with-heart-shaped-eyes/ Thanks Julian! read more

See all

Great service. Thinks things through and is willing to teach you as much as you are capable of learning. Good communicator and shows up on time. He was able to help me figure out the best location and most efficient model for Wifi coverage in my house, and to help with ideas on increasing cell phone coverage. Will use again. read more

Needed help diagnosing electrical problems in a house built circa 1972, Mr. Steinberg provided it. He's generous with time, and was clear about what he knew, and what he needed to get information about. That's rare and valuable. He followed up with the info, and provided instructions that led to a low-cost, effecient solution. A swell guy who deserves credit. read more

This is your guy. Julian really is a wizard. Home networks are tricky. I've pretty good at setting stuff up from out of the box but it's really hard to get all the various routers and hubs and extenders from many manufacturers to work together. I easily mastered Basque but network language and all those crazy numbers drive me to despair. Julian helped me diagnose a bad Apple AirPort Extreme (I've got 2 running),checked my Xfinity connection, pointed out that the hub for my cameras was jamming my WiFi, explained that my range extenders weren't helping and showed me how to figure out which WiFi channels my neighbors are using. He saved me a lot of time and aggravation.I don't have to spend a lot more money on new hardware and my family is happier too! read more

I just want to thank you for your services that you provided over the phone. I have no clue about electrical issues in my home and you have eased my mind and worries. It means a lot to me because I don't have anyone in my life to help me with the house. Thank you for your patience, kindness, and advices. You're truly a one in a million type of person. I highly recommend Julian because he is honest and he really cares about people. Thank you! read more

Years and years of spotty wifi and unreliable connections... totally resolved in two visits from Julian. We'd tried umpteen routers, had installed extenders, used online tech support, etc. ourselves, to no avail. Julian dug into all the possible issues in order of priority, and meticulously handled them one by one. Worth every penny. We can finally count on having a strong signal for the entire house and yard whenever we need it. One less big stressor during work and school from home. Great follow up, too. Highly recommend Julian and Integrity. read more

It;s hard to find a good electrician -- "Good" meaning one who returns calls promptly, and perhaps even after working hours; "Good" meaning one who will come even if it sounds like a small job, and has the experience and skill to persist when it turns out to be a big job; "Good" meaning one who comes when they say they will and lets you know when they're on their way; "Good" meaning one who can and will explain what's going on, options for a fix, and the pros and cons of the options; "Good" meaning one who runs their business professionally, with work orders and invoices, and follow-up. But I found one, and now you have, too: Julian Steinberg, The Electric Handyman. I called him in the evening, for what seemed like a small problem -- a GFI and associated breaker that wouldn't reset. I figured if I was lucky, I'd hear from him in the morning; but no, he called me back that evening, told me he was booked for the next few days, but promised to call back. And lo and behold, he did call back -- two days later to say he could come in two more days. And he sent me a work order to approve. And he came when he said he would, and texted me when he was on his way. And he stayed with the job when it turned out to be a bigger deal than he'd thought it would be. And he patiently explained what he found in the electrical panel, and with the GFI and the circuit breaker, and worked hard to ensure I understood what was going on. (After the second time through I assured him, not quite honestly, that I did, even though there was no sign his patience was wearing thin.) So now I have a "good" electrician and, if you're reading this review, you need one, and he's it. read more

I've been remodeling houses for 15 years and have always done my own electrical, but was feeling intimidated about installing a new 200-amp main service panel on my own, so I hired Julian as a consultant. He inspected the house, reviewed my plans and helped me figure out all the code requirements for the new equipment. I felt confident doing the work supported by his experience and knowledge. We passed inspection first go. I'd also add that Julian clearly cares about his clients. He does quality work and isn't out there just to make a quick buck. High quality service. read more

We recently moved into a new home and had some major issues with internet connectivity - several dead spots, including my home office. I tried a few DIY solutions before calling Julian. Julian came out within a few days and quickly assessed the issue. He gave me a Plan A and a Plan B - I really appreciated that he took the time to walk me through everything and offered a lower-cost solution we could try first. He told me exactly what to purchase and then came back to initial it a few days later. We have had absolutely no issues sine the new equipment was installed. Thank you for your help, Julian! read more

This is the second time I have hired Julian - the first for electrical and now for computer work. I knew that I needed to upgrade and simplify my technology - but I was overwhelmed with where to start. I had an older iMac and 2 external drives, one from 2007 and one with GIGs of Time Machine Backups on it. Julian gathered all my issues, requirements, a list of all my technology and clarified my goals. He then created thoughtful and thorough recommendations - with flexibility for me to refine them to suit my personal choices. He provided very accurate estimates per time and money for the project and kept me up to date on progress throughout. One of my major problems was the internet speed in my home. The internet and wifi problem was diagnosed and resolved after Julian checked all the in house and entry to apartment building wires and we together called my provider. AT&T basically told me that my performance was fine which I would have believed if Julian had not been there to steer me to a provider who doubled my performance at the same price point. He then optimized the performance such that my page load speed is easily 3 times faster than what it was. We then went about implementation per the hardware, which included copying the data off of my old machine and drives, cleaning it and creating a plan to avoid creating a similar mess in the future (you know, hundreds and hundreds of files that are not sorted, looked at, just take up space, for example!) Julian really cares - he creates details plans, educates as he goes, follows up and delivers quality. He is patient, persistent and thorough. Julian turned a challenging project into a smooth implementation. I trust Julian with the most complex computer problems there are! read more

I had ongoing issues with a compressor and the manufacturer said the issues could be caused by electrical problems. So, I called a few electricians and Julian got back to me super fast. We scheduled a visit for a couple of days later. Julian came by and was super good at showing me what was going on that could be causing the problems with the compressor. Luckily, it turns out nothing was wrong with my electrical. Julian really did a great job troubleshooting the potential issues. I also learned a ton about my home's electrical. It's really cool that he takes the time to communicate what he's doing. Julian was also great at getting back to me by email. He even emailed me after the job was done to go over a few other things, showing that even when he's off the clock he is still thinking about his clients. He even saved me a bunch of money by telling me a certain thing wasn't really necessary for my situation. His prices are also very fair. I would definitely recommend Julian and will call him again for future electrical projects. read more

I wanted to add ethernet from the downstairs living room to my upstairs office. It's really tough finding someone that will work on smaller low voltage jobs! Julian was great. He was quick to schedule, very communicative and now I have fast internet in my office! read more

Truth be told, I live in a building that was built in 1894 and is now completely out of code with a number of structural and electrical issues. The reason I contacted Julien was because I was not receiving any signal from the main telephone line in my basement to my 2nd floor apartment, resulting in a loss of internet access. I encountered many issues trying to find an electrician who would work with me on this project since it's generally not something that many electricians take on anymore. However, Julien was different; after reaching out to five different contractors, Julien responded almost immediately, and consistently checked in. Moreover, he was professional, and "real" about my building situation. After speaking with some businesses about this project, Julien's professionalism stood out. There are many businesses that are capable of completing out of ordinary jobs, but not all of them are as responsive or effective in communicating their vision of what needs to be done in a timely manner; his service speaks for itself, and I would refer him with absolutely no reservation. The Electric Handyman is definitely worth checking out! read more

Julian was fantastic to work with! His communication was quick and very thorough. I was trying to install a modern doorbell transformer for a Ring Pro and ran into old knob and tube wiring. During execution of the project, he let he help him and taught me a lot about how my house is wired and what to watch out for in the future. The work was done quickly and the pricing was reasonable. I will definitely call Julian for my next electrical project! read more

Quick and friendly helpful advice which saved me a call-out fee. I had some dead outlets and Julian was able to help me fix them via the phone. I will definitely use him for any further problems. read more

I hired Julian to help me address my girlfriend's tenants failed wifi router. While we knew they shared our comcast connection, we couldn't figure out which wire was the bad one. Julian rapidly and methodically mapped out the wire runs which were a disorderly patchwork of work resultant from my own efforts and my predecessors. I knew of a hidden dumbwaiter space which turned out to be the perfect way to run a new line to the tenants unit. We worked as a team to run a new line and Julian speedily reset the tenant's router and optimized it's wifi to minimize interference from the numerous other wifi networks in the neighborhood. If you need network services, I highly recommend him. Not cheap but well worth it. read more

Julian brings a refreshingly clear and straightforward expertise to what had previously been a fog bank of mystery and gut wrenching anxiety for me. In my small law practice my IT system is as critical to my survival as the phones, lights and even clients! When my network crashes or one or another desktop computer is sabotaging the mission all I can imagine is angry clients and professional train wreck. Julian's efficient and experienced approach diagnosed and treated the problem quickly and successfully. So successfully in fact that I haven't had the need to call on his talents for over a year now! If your IT network is vital to your business life line or home life, call Julian, and get ready to exhale ! read more

We recently moved up from Southern California and into an older home in Orinda. We needed our telephone LAN line repaired. Julian investigated the entire house (4,000 sq ft) and was able to locate the problem. The previous owner severed the connection between the house and phone company. Julian was very professional as he educated me through the process. Also, in the process of fixing our phone line Julian detected a suspicious odor coming from the meter and advised me to call PG&E ASAP. I called PG&E immediately; PG&E arrived and confirmed that there were 2 gas leaks and worked on correcting the leak. Thank you Julian. He fixed my phone line and saved our family from a potential danger! read more

Highly recommended. Asked Julian to come to my home and evaluate some home networking issues with my home office. I also wanted him to take a look at our electrical setup. We noticed a slow roof water leak in a wall during the walkthrough. Julian went well above and beyond the scope of his intended consultation by climbing up into our attic and assessing the cause of the leak. I just wanted him over for an assessment of our home network and he identified a leak that, if not caught in time, could have ended up costing me a fortune. He never charged me a dime over what the initial consultation would have cost. Really a great guy and very knowledgeable. read more

We called Integrity because we were desperate for better Wifi coverage in our home. Julian was very quick to respond and has been in constant contact anytime we have needed his advice. We so appreciated how important our job was to him and how seriously he took our needs. He was very patient when explaining about our different options. We had problems with delivery of our Wifi system due to backups with UPS (COVID) and Julian was so flexible and easy to work with. He is a knowledgeable electrician and assessed our situation with ease. read more

The Electric Handyman earned all 5 stars. I highly recommend their services for your residential and small office networking. I called looking for a quote to extend our networking capabilities into a remodeled basement office. The scope was fairly modest: 1. Add a WiFi access point via Ethernet and extend the landline phone into the basement. Situate the Ethernet and phone ports in a professional looking outlet box. 2. On the main floor, relocate the current phone and WiFi router from a bedroom to an office room. I'm glad I called Julian. He's a one-man shop. He's got the know-how and the can-do attitude to tackle residential scale jobs. Although he was rather booked up, he found a way to review my scope notes, send me a quote, and then implement the work. Was it immediate? No, I had to get in line. Was it worth the wait? Oh yes! Julian and his "crew" of one helper were able to come on site, review the particulars, make some tweaks to the plan, and then execute it. By the time they left 3.5 hours later the new basement access point was broadcasting a new network name, and Ethernet and phone outlets were exactly where I wanted them. But then trouble! My PC became unable to resolve some web sites. Error messages became common. I tried rebooting, but the problem persisted. I called Julian. He quickly returned my call and then came back! He performed some quick diagnostics and determined that the network and phone were ok, and suggested some local PC updates and switching to the 5G option. I installed a BIOS update and switched to the 5G network, and the connection issues disappeared. Julian actually followed up two days later to find out the result. Now that's what I call customer attention! My advice for customers: - Identify your goals in advance. Get specific about what you'll need: a TV? Business-quality WiFi? Only casual internet? A printer? - Make a sketch. Draw out the layout of your home or office showing where you'd like outlets. The sketch doesn't have to be exactly to scale. The point is to communicate to the vendor (and yourself) what the end result should be. - Be patient. A good vendor may be busy. So get in line and be prepared to provide a concise description of goals and scope. That will make the process go as fast as is practical. When you understand the goals and scope, then you can intelligently communicate with the vendor. In Julian's case, the sketch helped him figure out that he could fit my project between some of his larger projects. And it helps for cost estimating, too. Julian, The Electric Handyman, is honest, results-oriented, and creative at figuring out how to reach good solutions economically. He willingly shared his process, providing useful information along the way. 5 stars for delivering results at a fair price point and going above and beyond to make sure my project worked as intended! read more

I have a 1890 Victorian that amongst many other things did not have a working doorbell. After reading many positive reviews, I was eager to hire Julian. He came out for a initial inspection of what the problem might be. Although we mutually decided that fixing the doorbell would not be worth the time and money, he was helpful throughout the process and referred me to a handyman that could help with the other pesky household tasks. He was prompt and was good at communicating. I plan on using him soon for kitchen electric work. read more

Very happy with The Electric Handyman. I can happily recommend his services Philip Anderson HDR Remodeling. read more

Julian Steinberg was terrific. He came when he said he would. He charged what he said he would. He explained what he was doing and why. Easy to work with and pleasant to have around. I happily refer him to anyone looking for an electrician. (Really! You won't be sorry.) read more