A Local Nerd for Hays
Hays, Victoria, Ellis, Catharine, Plainville, La Crosse and Russell, out to WaKeeney, Stockton, Hill City and Ness City. 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 Hays. If that could be you, we'd like to hear from you.
Nerd on Call is $14.99/mo and you can join in Hays today: the two remote sessions and the texting work right now. Your included in-person visit starts when we open Hays. 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.
Computers that have gotten slow or strange
Cleanups, updates, printers that stopped printing, files you can't find, and a backup so one bad day doesn't cost you years of photos.
Phones and tablets, set up your way
New phone and everything is in the wrong place. We move it all across, sort the photos out, and make it readable again.
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.
Hays is Fort Hays State and the hospital, with older brick houses near downtown and campus and rentals that turn over every August. The Volga German towns around it, Victoria, Catharine, Pfeifer and Schoenchen, have farmhouses built of post rock limestone, and a stone wall is hard on Wi-Fi. Between towns, out along I-70 and the two-lane roads, the first thing we check is what kind of connection the house actually has.
Patient, unhurried help, especially for the 55+ crowd.
Ellis County has a lot of families who have been on the same farm or the same street for generations, and whoever keeps the family photos would like them off the phone and somewhere safe. We sit down, go at your pace, and write things down if you want them written down.
Towns we reach in Hays & Northwest Kansas.
Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Hays, and the hourly rate steps up the farther we drive. That is 74 towns across Kansas, covering Ellis, Russell, Rooks, Trego, Rush, Ness, Graham and Phillips counties.
| Band | Towns | Rate when open |
|---|---|---|
| Within 25 miles | Hays, Catharine, Victoria, Schoenchen, Ellis, Walker, Pfeifer, Liebenthal, Gorham, Mc Cracken, Ogallah, La Crosse, Plainville, Russell | $110/hr |
| 25 to 50 miles | Paradise, Bison, Otis, Brownell, Natoma, Palco, Rush Center, Nekoma, Alexander, Wakeeney, Waldo, Olmitz, Bunker Hill, Damar, Albert, Bazine and 20 more nearby towns | $130/hr |
| 50 to 75 miles | Osborne, Morland, Glade, Logan, Kirwin, Tipton, Garfield, Hanston, Portis, Cedar, Gaylord, Downs and 12 more nearby towns | $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 Hays.
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 Hays ask us.
Does somebody come out to Hays?
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 WaKeeney or Stockton. Is that too far?
No. Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Hays: Victoria, Ellis, Plainville and La Crosse are inside the closest band, WaKeeney, Stockton and Ness City are in the 25 to 50 mile band, and Phillipsburg and Smith Center are in the outer one. This page lists every town by band.
How much does tech help cost in Hays?
Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session, and that's what works in Hays today. When in-person visits open here, they'll be $110 an hour within 25 miles of downtown Hays, $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 Hays 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 Hays involves or apply here.