Computer Repair Lifespan

[nesrinamb]

@ RenmoteGeek

Depending on the part for the iPhones they range from 8-30 dollars and a repair usually takes less then 30 min and in my area a usual repair costs $60-69

On to other stuff.

I think we still got a lot of time left in the PC repair business.

I have done a few support jobs for Ipads now, as the slightly older generation start to use them I think we will be getting more support calls in this area.

I am also looking into getting basic teaching qualifications so I can move my business more into that area. I am finding that demand for desktop PCs has now increased, as a lot of the 2006 era machines I setup now need replacing.

August has been a funny month job wise, and the lack of viruses is hurting me but the work I have had has been extremely varied

I see technology training as a good industry. I have already started to look for an area where computer classes can be held. As well as looking at technicians that might be a good fit for teaching.

Also dont worry about not having to many virus calls as as long as making viruses is a profitable industry for the people making them they'll keep making them. Unfortunately its just a matter of time until the virus makers figure out windows 7 and windows 8 and you start getting a bunch of calls.

 

[Appleby]

Have you taken the time to analyze (or had someone do so) why this is the case? Might be informative.

Rick

Hey Rick, thanks for the reply. I'm a little confused though, analyze what? My income? If that's what you are talking about, I've done a ton of self-analyzing.lol I'd be glad to talk more about this via PM if you want. I'm always open to suggestions.

 

[sassenach]

As a very mature student, the "Technician" role could become much more varied if our college curriculum is anything to go by.

Component level repair doesn't even get a look in (possibly a very good earning potential niche in the very near future) and PC hardware diagnostics, troubleshooting and repair are less than 15% of the HNC course and almost non-existent on the 2nd year HND.

Network design, installation, set-up and maintenance, end-user support, in-depth operating system knowledge, virtualisation, database engineering and management, pen testing and cryptography and server admin are dealt with much more thoroughly and appear to be the way of the future.

 

[RemoteGeek]

@ RenmoteGeek

Depending on the part for the iPhones they range from 8-30 dollars and a repair usually takes less then 30 min and in my area a usual repair costs $60-69

Where is a good starting point to start learning Smartphone / Tablet repair? Where could you get Apple or Android training?

 

[onetech4all]

Re:

Here is something similar to this topic, I think:

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20369

 

[joydivision]

When I was at university computer repair didn't get a look in either. A bit of operating systems was covered though. But it was much more about networking, programming, web development and that kind of thing.

Heck we even learnt how do crap like Huffman encoding.

 

[MobileTechie]

As a very mature student, the "Technician" role could become much more varied if our college curriculum is anything to go by.

Component level repair doesn't even get a look in (possibly a very good earning potential niche in the very near future) and PC hardware diagnostics, troubleshooting and repair are less than 15% of the HNC course and almost non-existent on the 2nd year HND.

Network design, installation, set-up and maintenance, end-user support, in-depth operating system knowledge, virtualisation, database engineering and management, pen testing and cryptography and server admin are dealt with much more thoroughly and appear to be the way of the future.

What makes you think component level repair is a very good earning niche?

 

[sassenach]

What makes you think component level repair is a very good earning niche?

Not at the moment,maybe, but in the future I think it could well be a valuable niche because there will be very few that can do it properly and unless our education system changes drastically a lot of the younger population will probably not have the necessary skill set to even undo a case let alone work on the internals.

 

[joydivision]

I am certainly looking into repairing a lot more electronic devices. In most cases I will be simply be the agent like when I do DC jacks etc.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

Think of yourselves in the technology business not the PC business.

I'm not a programmer or developer so I don't lean that way but many of you can and should. If you are in the break fix business then Yes, you do need to work on laptops. Yes, you may be required to do power jack replacements, reflow/reballs. Yes, you can make some decent money doing component level repair on all boards: workstations, video cards, servers boards, laptops. Yes you can make decent money doing cat 5/6 cable installations. Learn networking if you do not already do it. Learn apple if you don't already do that. Learn smart phone repairs if you do not already do that. The world is getting smaller so you need to do more for the same revenues as yesterday. Might even consider becoming a Tmobile dealer fixing phones and selling service for residual income streams.

I see Geeksquad with larger trucks these days as they transition to installing surround sound, setup home theaters, data cabling and such. You can easily make $1000 per day just setting up surround sound. Our same suppliers of computer components sell LED tv's and surround sound cables and technology so we can add that to our retail operations.

Once a customer knows you and trusts you, he is your customer and you can offer him more and more.

If you don't keep up or stay ahead of the trade then you won't have the capital to catch up once your broke.

I envision some day setting up a refrig and central heat and a/c on the home network or replacing a nic and tcpip stack on household appliances after they fail. Or getting a call that the refrigerator is not sending the shopping list correctly to the smart phone and they need us to make that technology keep working. I don't know what tomorrow will bring I just know that I will be part of the that solution. I will probably be one of the highest paid providers so that I an afford to keep up with what comes down the pike. I will never be walmart of technology.

I just spent a day and a half with a client and her bill including a new system of $1699, totaled $3577, mostly labor and a good margin of profit on the hardware. She paid me cash on the spot. I know some of you think I am crazy for the prices I charge ($120 outcall per hour in a small 300,000 pop town) but I find the better level customers who are willing to pay me to hold their hand and keep them above the crowd in technology. Week before last I had a single home user pay me $4100 for doing pretty much the same thing. Three weeks ago a single client paid me $6300. Yes I have a hundred or so of the normal $180-390 customers a month but about once a week I have these deluxe customers who want and pay a little extra for everything and they want the best. Of course these people call me and I show up within 20 minutes because they are my platinum clients.

Are you personally prepared to deliver the best?

 

[ell]

I made the mistake of recommending a new cloud version of my clients business software to them, ever since they have switched they have had terrible trouble uploading batch files because of the slowness and the programmer at the company can't seem to figure out the problem. I feel responsible because I suggested it to them because the owner wanted to keep track of all the transactions of the office computers. I feel the cloud computing thing may be a while yet and yes, I'm getting calls from many customers wanting to dump their laptops for tablets, when I thoroughly explain the differences, they tend to change their minds. One customer called me yesterday furious his wife had bought him a ipad and he couldn't get it to sync with his pc. He's returning it. So my opinion is maybe 5 yrs or so down the road before I think we see any major shift.

 

[osho741]

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years as technology still evolves at an exponential pac, hence moore's law. I think that tables still only replace pcs from a consumtion vs production point of view. Tables are great for consumption, watching movies. Web browseing and so on but just suck when it comes to being productive on them.

 

[RegEdit]

I read something about Windows 8 being on a chip. If so that would seem to eliminate a lot of problems such as virus damage or corrupted files. Just plain less repairs will be needed.

 

[cloud9]

Do you think with the popularity of the MACs increasing, Apple will restrict/limit who can repair them?

 

[joydivision]

It wouldn't be legal in the EU I don't think, but they can make things difficult to repair, but they can't stop anybody from trying to repair them. I think they can invalidate the warranty if an authorised person repairs it, but that is true with anything. I DON'T Think Mac PCs are much of a threat anyway, the market share is still very small.

 

[Saddle]

I made the mistake of recommending a new cloud version of my clients business software to them, ever since they have switched they have had terrible trouble uploading batch files because of the slowness and the programmer at the company can't seem to figure out the problem. I feel responsible because I suggested it to them because the owner wanted to keep track of all the transactions of the office computers. I feel the cloud computing thing may be a while yet and yes, I'm getting calls from many customers wanting to dump their laptops for tablets, when I thoroughly explain the differences, they tend to change their minds. One customer called me yesterday furious his wife had bought him a ipad and he couldn't get it to sync with his pc. He's returning it. So my opinion is maybe 5 yrs or so down the road before I think we see any major shift.

Bandwidth limitations for small business and homes in general, not to mention 3g/4g networks I believe will be the limiting factor for any transition to tablets, phones etc. for any 'Real' work. Cloud computing sounds really nice, but unless the bandwidth is there, using it for business is a real problem. My last gig (17 years) people complained when things were slow through a 30mbps fiber connection. They want Gigabit LAN speed. Always...

Plus, small devices are convenient, but you take a girl that does data entry all day at 100+ wpm, and She would throw a tablet at you.

We will see more and more of them, some used seriously, but not in the paying business world.

However, a new income stream for sure. Because they are already established in the market.

 

[wtigger]

This "end of computer repair business as we know it" topic has been thrashed to death here many times... It's getting old

The reality of it all is, many people will go with the latest/greatest gadgets, but how many people can really DO the things that a desktop/laptop can on a tablet/smartphone? The death of the desktop has been bandied about for years. But after all is said and done, LOOK AROUND YOU. What are YOUR customers using?

Many of MINE are STILL on dial-up Internet, using 7-10 year old computers. Many have smartphones, but most do not. I service an area that is not a major population center. Many small towns that do NOT even have broadband... A lot of satellite Internet as well. Businesses using 10-15 year old laser printers because they still work... Older desktops as well. No cutting edge stuff here

I still am working to move out of break-fix someday, maybe programming again, or higher value business networking (Cisco or Sonicwall). Something or things where the herd is thinner (less competition and higher entry threshold)... That is the better strategy, move higher up the food chain

And the cloud? Geeze... Reminds me of the old days of dumb terminals and "central" servers. Might be good for some, but not all. And with all the hacking stuff going on, who CAN you trust with your data these days?

 

[BDPCR]

Looks like its time for many of us to wade in the waters of smart phone and tablet repair.

 

[ell]

Looks like its time for many of us to wade in the waters of smart phone and tablet repair.

yuck, kicking & screaming, tiny stuff irritates me, especially after a couple cups of java!! Plus I don't even own a tablet or android phone so I'm out of the loop for now.

 

[LauraW]

I can't see how there will ever be money repairing smartphones or tablets. They are disposable.
I think that setting up networks, configuring backups, server administration and educating users, may be the best bet for the near future. There are still many business in the Tampa area that run there own exchange servers, file and app servers.