A Local Nerd for Colby
Colby, Oakley, Brewster, Rexford, Levant and Gem, out to Goodland, Atwood, Hoxie, Oberlin and Grinnell. Type your ZIP when you book and the page tells you whether a Local Nerd drives to your address and exactly what the visit costs.
A 30-minute remote session is $39 and handles most computer, phone, email, password and account problems without anybody driving. In-person visits open here as soon as a Local Nerd is based in Colby. If that could be you, we'd like to hear from you.
Nerd on Call is $14.99/mo and you can join in Colby today: the two remote sessions and the texting work right now. Your included in-person visit starts when we open Colby. One-off remote help is $39 for 30 minutes.
If it plugs in and nobody can figure it out, we can help.
Ask anything you like. We'll explain what we're doing while we do it.
Wi-Fi that reaches the whole house
If it works in one room and not the next, that's a coverage problem and it's fixable. We start by moving things around, before anybody sells you a bigger bill.
Phones and tablets, set up your way
Setting up a new one, moving everything across, photos, passwords, and making the text bigger without breaking anything.
Computers that have gotten slow or strange
The machine that takes four minutes to start, the file that vanished, the update that won't finish. We sort those out and set up a backup while we're there.
TVs, streaming and “where did my channel go”
Streaming is confusing and there are too many apps. We'll get it working and leave you with something you can run without a manual.
Learning it at your own pace
If you want to understand it well enough to do it yourself next time, tell us when you book. That's our favorite kind of visit.
Printers that won't print
Wireless printers drop off the network all the time. We'll get yours connected, printing and scanning, and explain why it keeps disappearing.
Scams, pop-ups and “is this email real?”
If something on the screen is trying to scare you into calling a number, that's the scam. We'll clean it up and show you how to recognize it.
Doorbells, cameras and smart home gear
Doorbells, cameras, speakers, thermostats and lights, set up so they notify the right phone and you can find them when you need them.
What tech help looks like around here.
Colby is the Thomas County seat and a stop on I-70, with a community college and the stores a lot of the northwest corner drives in for. In town it's ranch houses and older frame houses with the router wherever the cable came in. Out on the farms around Rexford, Brewster and Levant the houses sit a mile or more apart, and the first thing we check is what kind of connection the house actually has.
Patient, unhurried help, especially for the 55+ crowd.
Out here people have farmed the same ground for generations, and the grandkids who set up the new phone often live hours away. We sit down, go at your pace, and write things down if you want them written down.
Towns we reach in Colby & the Northwest Corner.
Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Colby, and the hourly rate steps up the farther we drive. That is 34 towns across Kansas, covering Thomas, Sherman, Logan, Rawlins, Decatur, Sheridan, Gove and Wallace counties.
| Band | Towns | Rate when open |
|---|---|---|
| Within 25 miles | Colby, Levant, Gem, Rexford, Brewster, Monument, Oakley, Winona | $110/hr |
| 25 to 50 miles | Edson, Atwood, Selden, Grinnell, Hoxie, Mc Donald, Ludell, Goodland, Bird City, Grainfield, Dresden, Herndon, Oberlin, Park, Jennings, Wallace, Gove | $130/hr |
| 50 to 75 miles | Quinter, Saint Francis, Kanorado, Sharon Springs, Clayton, Norcatur, Lenora, Weskan, Norton | $145/hr |
Not sure which band you're in? Check your ZIP and you'll see the answer for your address before you book anything. Want to talk it through first? Have a Local Nerd call you first, free and with no obligation.
Help for a parent who lives in Colby.
Somebody two states away is worried that Mom can't get the TV back to normal, or that Dad keeps getting locked out of his email. You can arrange it for them. Book the session or gift a membership and we'll handle it with them directly, at a time that suits.
Send a NerdWhat people in Colby ask us.
Does somebody come out to Colby?
The ZIP check when you book answers that for your street: if a Local Nerd comes out to your address, the visit books at the rate shown. The list on this page marks every town a Local Nerd reaches today.
I'm in Goodland or Oberlin. Is that too far?
No. Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Colby: Oakley, Brewster and Rexford are inside the closest band, Goodland, Atwood, Hoxie and Oberlin are in the 25 to 50 mile band, and Sharon Springs and Norton are in the outer one. This page lists every town by band.
How much does tech help cost in Colby?
Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session, and that's what works in Colby today. When in-person visits open here, they'll be $110 an hour within 25 miles of downtown Colby, $130 in the 25 to 50 mile band and $145 from 50 to 75 miles, and the higher rate is how we pay for the drive. A $39 deposit will book an in-person visit, with the rest charged after your Local Nerd finishes and you sign off on the work. Nerd on Call membership is $14.99 a month and includes two remote sessions and an in-person visit a year, plus 20% off anything extra. You always agree to the rate before we start.
Do you help older adults in Colby with technology?
Yes. We go at your pace and explain things in everyday words. If you'd like to learn to do it yourself, say so when you book.
Do you fix broken devices, or just set things up?
Yes, if broken means slow, glitchy, locked out, or won't do what it did last week. We don't open machines up to replace parts, and we don't recover data off a dead drive. When that's the problem, we say so and don't bill you for finding it out.
Every town is better off with a Local Nerd who lives there.
We look for a Local Nerd who knows the area, likes people, and is good at explaining things. Set your own availability, keep the majority of every booking, and help your neighbors. See what being the Local Nerd in Colby involves or apply here.