A Local Nerd for Manhattan
Manhattan, Junction City, Fort Riley, Ogden, Wamego and Riley, out to Clay Center, Onaga, Herington and Marysville. 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 Manhattan. If that could be you, we'd like to hear from you.
Nerd on Call is $14.99/mo and you can join in Manhattan today: the two remote sessions and the texting work right now. Your included in-person visit starts when we open Manhattan. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Learning it at your own pace
Some visits are all teaching, and that suits us fine. We go through it with you until it makes sense and you can do it on your own.
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.
What tech help looks like around here.
Manhattan is K-State and Fort Riley, so a big share of the town moves every August or every PCS season, and the Wi-Fi gets set up in a hurry by whoever moved in. The older houses between Aggieville and downtown have plaster walls; the newer ones on the west side and out toward Tuttle Creek are bigger and spread out. Past Wamego and Clay Center it's farm country, and the first question is which internet service reaches the house.
Patient, unhurried help, especially for the 55+ crowd.
Plenty of people here retired after a career at K-State or in the Army and stayed close to Fort Riley, and they'd like the new phone to behave the way the old one did. We sit down, go at your pace, and write things down if you want them written down.
Towns we reach in Manhattan, Junction City & Fort Riley.
Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Manhattan, and the hourly rate steps up the farther we drive. That is 62 towns across Kansas, covering Riley, Geary, Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee, Clay, Marshall and Washington counties.
| Band | Towns | Rate when open |
|---|---|---|
| Within 25 miles | Manhattan, Ogden, Saint George, Fort Riley, Riley, Olsburg, Wamego, Milford, Junction City, Westmoreland, Fostoria, Leonardville, Alma, Mc Farland, Belvue, Wakefield, Randolph, Alta Vista, Paxico, Dwight | $110/hr |
| 25 to 50 miles | Chapman, White City, Green, Onaga, Clay Center, Woodbine, Blue Rapids, Havensville, Waterville, Barnes, Frankfort, Herington, Vermillion, Morganville, Palmer, Greenleaf and 9 more nearby towns | $130/hr |
| 50 to 75 miles | Axtell, Clyde, Hanover, Baileyville, Oketo, Seneca, Morrowville, Summerfield, Hollenberg, Agenda, Oneida, Haddam and 5 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 Manhattan.
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 Manhattan ask us.
Does somebody come out to Manhattan?
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.
Do you come on post at Fort Riley?
Tell us when you book that the address is on post, and we'll sort out gate access with you before the visit, so nobody's stuck at the gate. Whether a Local Nerd drives there today, the ZIP check answers.
I'm in Clay Center or Marysville. Is that too far?
No. Our service area is measured in miles from downtown Manhattan: Junction City, Wamego and Ogden are inside the closest band, Clay Center, Herington and Marysville are in the 25 to 50 mile band, and Clyde and Seneca are in the outer one. This page lists every town by band.
How much does tech help cost in Manhattan?
Remote help is $39 for a 30-minute session, and that's what works in Manhattan today. When in-person visits open here, they'll be $110 an hour within 25 miles of downtown Manhattan, $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 Manhattan 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 Manhattan involves or apply here.