Thanks so much to Jason who came to my house this past weekend. I've got a Mac and several PC's networked via an Iomega NAS, and my long-term IT guy could not get the Mac to work on any consistent basis. One hour with Jason onsite, and his super laser focus on connection protocols and a host of other minor points that my regular guy, plus two Mac specialists, couldn't identify, set my system straight. I highly recommend Jason and the Tech Collective - incredibly patient, thorough, and detail oriented. read more

Quick service, reasonable rates, friendly staff. I had a hard drive that I couldnt retrieve data from. They managed to recover all my data and stored it on a new portable hard drive in a short time frame. I would definitely use them again. read more

While I am an ardent user of Yelp's services, I have never actually taken the time to write a review. However, my visit to Tech Collective today was so fantastic that I feel it is incumbent on me to a review in order to express my gratitude and to encourage anyone with computer problems to visit these helpful, friendly computer miracle-workers. I brought my computer into Tech Collective after I encountered a weird error message. Being computer illiterate (I had a typewriter through my freshman year of college), I had no clue how to fix the problem. On the advice of a friend, I brought my computer to Tech Collective and I'm glad I did. On arriving at Tech Collective, I was greeted by a very friendly gentleman named Yochai. Yochai took the time to fix my computer in very short order ... FOR FREE! "Holy shit," you might be saying, "FOR FREE?!?!" Yes, Yochai fixed my laptop and didn't charge me a penny. Also, during the time I was in the store, he provided free help to another customer who came into the store (although, unfortunately for the other customer, Yochai was only able to perform a free autopsy on his computer). I would recommend Tech Collective to anyone with computer issues. The guys are very friendly and knowledgeable. Thanks again, Yochai! read more

I had a dire emergency at work and needed one our computers fixed fast! I found these guys on Yelp and gave them a call. They were SUPER helpful on the phone and really nice. I went over to drop it off around 2:30 and they promised next day. They called me at 5 and it was done. THEY ARE AMAZING!!!! I would recommend them to anyone who needs tech service.. i cannot say enough about everything they did .. plus it was 100 bucks .. everyone else was quoting me upwards of $300 just to tell me what was wrong. I plan on using them for everything including personal and business from now on. THANKS!!!!!! read more

Well, I must admit that I didn't think that a computer repair store would push me down the slippery slope of joining Yelp. It turns out that having a functional computer is more important to me than any other exciting endeavors that have caused me to contemplate yelping in the past. My computer had only been functioning in Safe Mode for a while (should have been a big red flag). I had suspected a virus and downloaded approximately 20 antivirus programs to no avail. Finally my computer wouldn't turn on one day, so I took it to Tech Collective. After plugging my computer in, the guys at Tech Collective pleasantly got my computer to turn on without making me feel like I lacked an ounce of common sense. They then proceeded to uninstall my antivirus fortress and found a ton of viruses that had been feasting off of my computer for the past 6 months, then installed a better and free antivirus program. All for a well-spent $100. It's a bonus that the place is worker-owned, yet without any of the computer geek snobbery you perhaps would expect from a worker-owned computer repair shop up the stairs off a back alley in the Mission, San Francisco. My computer and I thank you, Tech Collective. read more

Friendly, competent, real, no-bullshit, and honest. This business deserves ten stars. When I brought my belabored mega-HP-laptop in, they gave me the straight dope: this laptop was recently the subject of a class action lawsuit because it literally melts down. The upshot: the tech guy I spoke with saved me the hassle of trying to get my piece of the settlement, as so many people filed, I'd end up with less than a dollar. All of this info was give free of charge, including checking my hard disk to confirm it was dying, and recycling my poor beast. These techs are not going to try to sell you services you don't need: they are all about real computer service. Hands down, the best experience I have ever had when my computer has just self-combusted. read more

After stealing, er, borrowing neighbors' WiFi for 11 months in my apartment, I decided it was time to finally get some help setting up my wireless network. My laptop was also conveniently missing a key, so I gave TC a ring to see if they could help me out with that as well. Not only did they order me a new key, install it and fix my wireless network up in 20 minutes, but they explained everything step-by-step, which was so helpful. The only reason I did not give five stars is because they were 45 minutes late. That said, they didn't charge me for labor because of the tardiness. I love these guys and will absolutely call them again. read more

found the guys at techcollective after they replied to my craigslist ad, asking for data recovery on my chip-modified-1st generation-xbox. Which is quite a tricky endeavor as the HD is using a FatX file system, unlike anything else out there. BTW, don't go to another professional data recovery in the city, i've had a terrible experience with them... Back to the point, it turns out Yochai was already familiar with the setup, which i thought was really cool... no need to further dig into his credentials, that alone showed me how much of a passionate IT geek he is. :) in any case, the work was done in a matter of days, with regular updates on progress and a bill for not too much. Thanks a ton Yochai!! read more

The guys that work here are awesome! My husband and I both had Vista problems with our laptops that we could not solve, even after many hours on the phone with Microsoft and with Toshiba and Sony, the respective manufacturers of our laptops. We finally gave up and took our laptops to Tech Collective; we should have done that right away and saved ourselves the aggravation of dealing with Microsoft's customer service! The guys at Tech Collective were able to fix everything, and even though it was a tougher job than they originally thought it would be, they still only charged us the promised $100 fee for a complete system restoration. My laptop finally works like it's supposed to; I almost forgot that it's running on the worst OS ever made - damn you Vista! If you need PC help, go to Tech Collective! read more

Best in town. Best ever, quite possibly. This was my third trip to this merry band of computer geeks, who patiently explained everything wrong and what to do about it in terms even I could understand. They made a complicated fix and even replaced my DVD drive free of charge --- AND when I said I didn't receive an estimate over the phone, they dropped the price by 1/3. By a third! They're the best. Don't go anywhere else for anything computer-related. Tech Collective is the best. read more

Brought my Acer laptop into TechCollective. (The laptop just doesn't turn on anymore) Was just going to toss the broken laptop when I decided to have TechCollective take a look first. FOR FREE: as a value added service to me to gain my future business, they trouble shot the laptop and determined that the power cord AND battery were broken. I will pick up a new power cord and give this laptop to my gf. Any place offering this LEVEL OF SERVICE is worthy of your business. They guys are great. Since they did not charge me, I told them I would give them my first YELP. So, here it is. You guys are great and I'm telling my friends about you. Thanks! PS - Geek Squad charged me $200 for data extraction. TechCollective would have charged me $35. read more

These guys are awesome! I mainly interacted with Tom and he was knowledgeable and informative. TechCollective offered the best price to transfer data from my old harddrive to my new computer and kept me informed every step of the way. They also offered the best price (less than half of what Apple wanted to charge me). I live in New York but would probably just come back to San Francisco for all my future tech problems just to use these guys! read more

Jason and the folks at TechCollective are efficient, professional, highly effective, convenient, and not expensive. They picked up my crashed hard drive at my office downtown, and in less than 24 hours had it returned to my office with ALL of the files in tact. The drive itself was actually okay, so they just extricated it from the enclosure and put it in a new enclosure (the part was only $25). For this service they charged a flat fee of $99, with a money back guarantee if they could not 'save' my hard drive. Keep up the great work! read more

I brought my computer in because it wasn't starting up anymore. (due to pop up ads and spyware) I called best buy, and their prices were really high, just to take a look at it, let alone fix it. I was recommended to tech collective, and was so glad i gave them a call! My computer was fixed in no time, and had no problems using it from then on! They even recommended a few ways for me to save space on my computer, without charging me for their advice.... I have a new problem with my computer, and i know EXACTLY who i will be calling in just a moment to fix it. read more

I have an issue with my old computer; so I call for an advice. Taron give me really good advices and explain me what was the problem that I have it. So he transferred all my files to an external storage in only one weekend; I dropped off my computer on Friday and he call me on Monday telling me that was all fixing and done only for $100. read more

These guys are quick, efficient and amazing smart. They get straight to the point and don't give you a load of *&%#$ like some other people... my friend found someone on here who isn't even around anymore (go figure) and charged him $40.... These guys only charged $35! My friend lost out in more ways than one, poor loser. Go to these guys, they are the real deal! read more

I was looking for simple rj45 connectors to patch my own Cat5 and no one in town had them. Best buy put me on hold for 10min until the person helping said- I didn't know what they were but we don't have them. By the power of the gods, I ran into these guys at TechCollective and one of the guys let me have a couple for free!!!! I then brought a laptop to see if they could help me so they have gained a customer for life. Not only are they helpful but they know what RJ45s look like!!! without opening a manual. Just an awesome place to go to chat about your techie problems. They aren't out to rip you off like most places. Super duper!!! read more

I e-mailed TechCollective about getting a quote on possible data recovery from a portable hard drive damaged during air travel and received a response within minutes. (He told me later he replied via phone while he was at the bank!) Within a half hour I was given an accurate assessment that my portable drive merely needed a new enclosure. Upon arriving at TechCollective, I handed my drive over and had it back in about five minutes, and was charged only for the enclosure ($20). While my drive problem was very minor, the very quick service and my subsequent discussion with the technician convinced me that if I were to have any other computer issues (most notably, data recovery), I would go back to TechCollective without hesitation. read more

I got fantastic---make that GENIUS---tech help and superior customer service from the guys at TechCollective. From my initial desperate call at 9 am Monday to picking up my Intel iMac Wednesday before 4 pm, I was treated with unfailing respect and good humor. AND I got my computer back with no loss of data! Definitely a miracle given that I had not backed it up in almost a year, and given that two previous attempts to read my click-click-clicking hard drive---one at the Genius Bar at The Apple Store and one at the TechCollective itself---had failed. But the guys at TechCollective tried something clever and unusual, and it worked. I ended up paying the estimated amount for a new hard drive and installation, plus much less for data recovery than I feared if I had to go elsewhere for that. Not to mention avoiding the hassle, time, and uncertainty of outside data recovery, or maybe even having to buy a new computer. I am a nut about customer service, and these guys get it: they provide expertise, professionalism, good humor, commiseration, with a little self-deprecation thrown in. It's all very understated and seemingly effortless---just what they do all day, every day. They let me know when my turn in the queue was likely to come, and called me back within the estimated time with a detailed, updated, fair (a big relief, actually) price quote. The highest recommendation to a well run, dependable shop. I wouldn't think of going anywhere else. read more

Yet, another Wonderful time at TechCollective Its been a few years since I had to have some work done to my computer and I have move out of the city in that time. But one thing for sure I still make that drive to have it done RIGHT. Tom who worked on my computer this time went way out of this way to get it right. And yes, the parking was from hell but I so enjoy knowing that I will not be rip off and the work will be done right I will drive those extra miles to TechCollective . Everything is up and running and so thanks guys and most of all thanks Tom for all your hard work. I really do like knowing that there are still great and honest people in my home town. read more

I contacted TechCollective in September to see if they could help us with our IT needs in the S-F area. I spoke to a person named Taran (who I believe is the owner) and it sounded like they could easily handle our needs. The next step was to get some paperwork in place and Taran was supposed to get that to us shortly. That did not happen. He sent a couple of emails explaining how they were very busy and would get to it soon. Then nothing. 3-4 weeks later, I sent him another email and he apologized for dropping the ball (said he accidentally archived our email thread). I voiced my concerns over this taking so long, wondering if his company were too busy to take on new clients. He told me that they were not and I decided to give it another shot if he could make sure we get this initial paperwork in place fast this time. So he sent me their 12-page legal contract, but scanned as an image (making it really hard to make any comments or other annotations, which is common practice with legal documents while working out the kinks). I wrote back and requested that he sent it to me as a regular PDF or Word document. He sent two Word documents, one which opened fine and one which could not be opened. I sent an email asking for the second document to be resent. He replied that he would get to that soon. Another week has now about passed, and I still have not received the contract. When the owner of the company cannot get such a simple, routine thing in place such as sending their own contract over in a standard format, and when he keeps dropping the ball like this, that is a pretty bad sign. Poor qualities at the top tend to filter down. This also makes me wonder about all those 5 star glowing reviews! Given their lack of follow-through and lack of ability to get this very basic step done in a timely fashion, I cannot help but wonder if they are fabricated. read more

It really, really pains me to write a non-5 star review for this place. I've used them before and they are great, and they are a locally owned group of tech-heads who are such a better option than the Geek Squad at Best Buy. I took a 2 year old, somewhat beat up netbook here because the mouse pad had oddly stopped working, or would work intermittently. I thought that it working intermittently meant that it was either a software/system issue or a wire had come loose, not a problem with the actual pad. I assumed that if it was the pad it would be an expensive fix. This netbook is what I use for most of my life/work stuff, and has alot of installed software etc.... Replacing it, while not an expensive process, would be a chore. I walked in and described the problem. I am not a tech geek and do not work in a tech field but 17 years ago I did graduate with a degree in computer engineering. I suggested that they check for a system/software issue, and without even checking the machine he just told me to replace it, that it would be cheaper than fixing it, and that it was definitely going to be a hardware issue. He also commented that my netbook looked worn and a new one would be better anyway. I left and came home and did what I should have done from the start, which is check around online. After about 10 minutes of searching I found some posts that said that alt-F-something turns the mousepad on and off. I tried it and it has now worked flawlessly for weeks. System gremlin? Who knows? But certainly no need to replace my perfectly sufficient, memory upgraded netbook, transfer my files and software, and send another piece of tech gear to Asia to be dismantled by a 9 year old in a sweatshop. read more

Incompetent. Wrecked a completely functional laptop that only needed the power jack repaired and then refused to either refund my money or properly fix their damage. Avoid Tech Collective for any laptop repair that involves HARDWARE. My laptop needed the power jack repaired. That was the only thing needed. This is a common problem with laptops. To repair it. The system must be opened and the motherboard must have a new power jack soldered on. Tech Collective took weeks to get the $6 part (which would always arrive "tomorrow") and then wrecked my laptop so that it is no longer stable. It woulod run for only a few minutes before freezing. They also did not even reassemble it properly the first time as the mousepad wouldn't work BECAUSE they had not reconnected it. After i returned the laptop to them to correct the issues, I received a laptop that would still randomly lockup and now also fails it's self diagnostic tests. INCOMPETENT. INCOMPETENT. INCOMPETENT. Let them screw with your software. Or plugin desktop PC hardware. But don't let them do hardware repairs on your laptop. You'll likely be sorry. After they broke mine they offered me the "opportunity" to buy a used replacement motherboard on eBay that they would not warrant for another $250!!!! Outrageous. read more

My boyfriend's Mac seized, and there was nothing he could do to make it work. I told him about TechCollective: They got the laptop working overnight, and charged him $35. read more

First things first. I am a huge computer nerd and I hate going into computer stores because I can't stand the morons that work there, basically always condescending idiots that can't tell their butt from a hard-reset switch. however, I have to say, after spending some time in THIS computer place, besides that they are all pretty awesome, I hate to admit that these guys know more than me. That annoys me to no end, but not so much that I don't appreciate that they managed to save my a**. First of all, this guy knew how to manually inject image loadpoints for drive volumes, and I didn't even know what he was doing. But thats not what impressed me most. What impressed me most was the tremendous initiative that Yochai was willing to take. I sent him an extremely cryptic message that made no sense, but I was about to get on an airplane. From a short conversation I had several months ago with him, he remembered something that allowed him to look up someone who could help him figure out what I meant, and then without asking me (because he knew he couldn't, as I was 10,000 feet in the air), he made a calculated risk decision to do something without asking me and in the process saved my butt. If he had waited to ask, it would have been too late for me. 99.999% of people in the world would have just had that been my problem. He made it his and solved it. read more

These guys are great! Friendly, fast and very fair. They are now open on Saturdays - yay!

Short story: This place is good if you don't know much about computers/don't want to deal with it and do not have a problem with hardware. They promised some things and did not deliver. My computer is worse off than when I gave it to them: somehow even more nonfunctional than before + there are screws missing. Long story: Although I know this review is going to get filtered and/or getting buried under the chorus of this place rocks, I just wanted to say that I was pretty disappointed with this place. It's definitely above the dismal bar set by chain service centers like Best Buy or Staples, but the service could use some improvement. I saw the amazing reviews for this place and I thoguht this would be my best option after the horrendous hassle with the computer manufacturer. The person who first took care of me was very nice and I apologize for not remembering his name. He assured me that Tech Collective would give me a full write up of the problems with my computer so I could use it for a warranty program. What I got was an invoice with one phrase on it, not even a sentence. In the end the warranty program didn't work, I took back my computer for no fee. But the laptop's in worse shape, there are screws missing, and before I could boot up to a certain point, now it's just a blank screen. I went in with a broken laptop. What I came out with was a more broken laptop and sadness that this local business was a major letdown. At least they didn't charge me like a chain would have done. read more

Blue Screen of death Foul language in the morning TechCollective restores sanity, fast and at good price. read more

It's like a geek emergency room. They know all, and can do all--five times faster than seems humanly possible. They make the Genius Bar seem like a convalescent home. read more

...i have used techcollective several times now and required a house call, also...after a discussion they do what they say they're going to do...i have zero complaints and have never felt charges were unreasonable...i appreciate their honesty around my situation...would recommend them to anyone... read more

If you think your PC is done and think that you need to replace it, GO here first!! I went to geek squad and got a quote on my Sony laptop and they said $350 or maybe more to get virus removed. The guy even told me to probably just get a new one and i thought that was so expensive so i'd just have to ask for other places. I was also 95% close to getting a new one but then when i went home I checked yelp and found this place with so many great reviews and i thought i should give it a try. It was easy to find their place and when i went in he checked what's wrong and even offered me a better solution so I don't have to pay much and ended paying 120 only. Wow. From 350 to 120 and after 2 days my laptop was fixed and i haven't had a problem since and its been over a month for sure so great job TechCollective! Definitely will come back here for PC repairs or enhances!! read more

These guys were able to recover the data off my corrupted (dumb) USB. I'm an idiot for trusting the USB in the first place but my own foolishness aside, they were able to do a very difficult job and recover about 75% of the data, which I desperately needed. It's not easy to recover data off a USB and I know it took them some time and effort. The cost was reasonable and they were very transparent about their hours. I went back to them to do some maintenance on my MacBook and they were great about giving me excellent advice and not just having me make unnecessary repairs. I'll definitely return to them but I hope I don't have to! (p.s. don't rely on USBs for your data) read more

I used TechCollective several years ago and had a great experience. I have reached out to them several times in the past few weeks to schedule another appointment and explained it was time sensitive. They are nonresponsive - terrible customer service. I will take my business elsewhere. ​ read more

Laptop died suddenly. I wasn't freaking out about it since I had just backed it up but I said - why not try to fix it and save one more new computer from being made? Wandered down to TechCollective before going to happy hour and thought I would just drop the computer off and hope it would eventually come back to me. Much to my surprise and delight, these guys did a super quick diagnosis of the problem, happened to have the parts in the office and fixed the computer better than before in 20 minutes....all for $100 bucks. Versus $5k for a new computer? Definitely worth it. And they even set my computer up to do a scan to clean up some other problems when I got it home. Good as new now! read more

cheung helped me for free and referred me to another person who also helped me... for free!! both fixed my broken shit and charged me nothing even in my weakened state. phenomenal! read more

TechCollective is awesome. They are super friendly, experienced, and fairly priced unlike most other places in town. Their advice alone is certainly worth paying for as they recommended a different data backup home and service setup that will be much better than what I had and is saving me money. Thank you TechCollective! read more

The person who answered the phone seemed annoyed, still waiting for a call back.

Have come to these guys with all manner of computer issues over the years - mainly relating to mac laptops, and they have been unfailingly AWESOME. They always take the trouble to understand the problem and your parameters for solving it (money vs. time &c) and talk you through the options. The folks who work there are solidly knowledgeable and able to adjust to different types of users - they are just as good with techie nerds as with clueless types. I highly recommend them. read more

I can't say enough positive things about this place and the service you get. My laptop got infected with viruses and malware and none of the downloadable scanners/programs were helping much. I searched yelp and found TechCollective and read all the positive reviews. Took it in and they thoroughly asked me about what problems I was having and whatnot and took my info and I was off on my way. Everything was fixed within a few days and the prices were very fair. When I picked it up, they went over what they had done and told me what programs they had added/removed to help keep my computer protected and running well. I really appreciate how laid-back yet professional they are... they explain things very well and listen to your problems and questions, offering useful advice. A few days later, my external hard drive was not being recognized by my computer and I was really worried I would have to send it off for uber pricey, vacuum-sealed room data recovery... I ran it by them first and they determined it was just the casing that had failed, and replaced it for an incredibly reasonable price... what I thought would take a week or two to fix was taken care of in a matter of minutes. I definitely recommend this place to anyone who had computer questions and needs. :) read more

There are not enough stars to give these guys!!!! They are awesome, knowledgeable, and have great attitudes. They explain things without making you feel like an idiot. They do great work with a fast, repeat fast turn around time. Best of all their prices are totally affordable. read more