A Local Nerd for Emporia
Emporia, Americus, Hartford, Olpe, Cottonwood Falls, Strong City and Osage City, out to Council Grove, Burlington and Yates Center. 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 Emporia. If that could be you, we'd like to hear from you.
Nerd on Call is $14.99/mo and you can join in Emporia today: the two remote sessions and the texting work right now. Your included in-person visit starts when we open Emporia. 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
The back bedroom with no signal, the guest network nobody can remember, the router hidden in a closet doing its best. Usually the fix is placement, and your plan is fine.
Computers that have gotten slow or strange
Slow, cluttered, full of things you didn't install. We'll clean it up, get it current, and set up a backup that runs on its own.
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.
TVs, streaming and “where did my channel go”
Getting a new TV going, tidying up the apps, and making the remote situation sane again. Then we show you the three buttons you need.
Printers that won't print
It worked yesterday and today the computer can't find it. That's a common problem, it's not something you did, and we can fix it.
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.
Scams, pop-ups and “is this email real?”
Pop-ups, fake warnings, emails that want you to click. We'll clear it out and show you what to look for so the next one doesn't get you.
Doorbells, cameras and smart home gear
Cameras you can pull up when you need them, a doorbell that rings the right phone, a thermostat that keeps its schedule. We set it up and explain it once.
What tech help looks like around here.
The streets off Commercial and around Emporia State are a century of brick and plaster, with the router wherever the cable came in, and the rentals near campus get set up again every August. Out in the Flint Hills the ranch houses sit at the end of long gravel roads, and the first thing we check is what kind of connection reaches the house at all. Either way, Wi-Fi that won't reach the back bedroom is usually placement, not your plan.
Patient, unhurried help, especially for the 55+ crowd.
Chase and Lyon counties have a lot of people who have ranched or farmed the same ground for decades, and grandkids in Wichita or Kansas City who want to video call. We sit down, go at your pace, and write things down if you want them written down.
Towns we reach in Emporia & the Flint Hills.
Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Emporia, and the hourly rate steps up the farther we drive. That is 44 towns across Kansas, covering Lyon, Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Morris, Osage, Woodson and Anderson counties.
| Band | Towns | Rate when open |
|---|---|---|
| Within 25 miles | Emporia, Americus, Neosho Rapids, Olpe, Reading, Hartford, Admire, Allen, Strong City, Cottonwood Falls, Madison, Lebo, Lamont, Osage City | $110/hr |
| 25 to 50 miles | Elmdale, Matfield Green, Gridley, Council Grove, Burlington, Hamilton, Wilsey, Melvern, Waverly, Cedar Point, Burdick, Virgil, Cassoday, Le Roy, Neal, Eureka and 7 more nearby towns | $130/hr |
| 50 to 75 miles | Welda, Colony, Severy, Fall River, Buffalo, New Albany, Longton | $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 Emporia.
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 Emporia ask us.
Does somebody come out to Emporia?
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 Council Grove or Burlington. Is that too far?
No. Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Emporia: Americus, Olpe and Hartford are inside the closest band, and Council Grove, Burlington and Yates Center are in the 25 to 50 mile band. This page lists every town by band.
How much does tech help cost in Emporia?
Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session, and that's what works in Emporia today. When in-person visits open here, they'll be $110 an hour within 25 miles of downtown Emporia, $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 Emporia with technology?
Yes, and please ask. We take our time and we don't assume you already know what a setting is. Tell us you'd like to understand it and we'll teach you as we go.
Do you fix broken devices, or just set things up?
We fix them. Slow, frozen, locked out, won't connect, won't print: that's the job. The one thing we don't do is open a device up to replace a screen, a battery or a part. If that's what your problem turns out to be, we'll tell you as soon as we know.
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 Emporia involves or apply here.