Can't comment on their service since they never even looked at my printer even though it was in their shop for 3 weeks. When they accepted it he told me it would be ready in a few days. When I went to pick it up he said they'd had to move it to the back to make room...how hard would it have been to pick up the phone and let me know they weren't going to even look at it??? Save yourself the trouble and skip this place! read more

JP has fixed my computers over the years. I can't thank him enough for his honesty, his professionalism and the fact that he always pinpoints what may be wrong with my machines and fixes them. He is extremely reasonably priced and explains exactly how the machine operates and what is causing the problem. I have also had him build me a new computer, my daughter a new computer, my sister a new computer. If you want straightforward honest place to bring your computer then this is the place! read more

I had been through several computer repair spots before I found JP at Powerlight Systems. He is amazing. He not only fixed my computer that day (while I waited), he explained to me everything he was doing. Let's just say I'm not the most advanced when it comes to hardware or software, so the fact that I actually understood what he was saying was fairly exciting for me. He's great, he's local Alameda (via Europe) and he follows through on his promise. I highly recommend him! read more

Beware of Bill at this location, he is ultra sensitive if you question his work or ask him to explain what he has done or will do. If you don't go with his recommendations he will not stand behind the work. He treats women as if they are an object to be talk to and not with and will call you "Lady" instead of using your name. I have never before had such unprofessional service from a vendor. The owner, JP, never once tried to mediate the situation but rather tossed his own "gasoline" on the fire. Sadly, I came to this place by way of a referral. Since then I've heard nothing but negative things from other computer techs in town and other customers who have used their service. We don't even know if our system was fix but do know they said they would never work on it again. Which means they do not stand behind their service. Consumer beware! read more

After reading the above reviews, I had to double check to see if this was the same place that we took our computer to. Unfortunately it is. My wife took our Dell computer to PowerLight to have a virus removed. We chose PowerLight mainly because we did not want to go to Geek Squad, we thought that an independent establishment would provide better service, and usually such places do. My wife was told that if the virus was only on the operating system then our files such as pictures, music and school papers would be saved. My wife was also told that it would not take long to fix. Actually, we did not care so much about the time, just as long as they could get rid of the virus and save our files. After a few days my wife calls to check on the computer, the owner tells her he's found the virus and all our old files should be fine, the computer should be ready in a day or two. Well, a few more days pass, she calls again, the owner can't even remember who she is. After reminding him what computer it was, and what we brought it in for he starts to remember, well its not ready yet and he's behind because one of his technicians is out. Well, now we are starting to get a bit annoyed as this is starting to go on for a week now. We reminded ourselves that as long as our files are intact who cares how long it takes. About 4 more days pass and we call to find out that they have taken the virus off, and our files are OK. The owner tells us that we need to bring in the Windows back up disc. Now, we have a Dell computer and Dell's do not come with a backup disk - it is on the hard drive. We called Dell's tech line and they said that there is an icon on the desktop that allows the technician to access the back up software. Well, the geniuses at PowerLight erased it! We spent almost an hour on the line with Dell trying to see if we could have them send us a copy of the disc, which they did. Dell also said that the repair person we were dealing with should have known this before they erased it. So we drop the disc off, and wait. The owner claimed he would have it ready right away after he received the disc. Two days go by, my wife calls and again they act as if they do not know who she is, after he finally remembers who she is he tells her that the computer still is not ready because he sent his technician to fix his friend's computer!! I did not make that up, he actually told her that after he's had our computer for two weeks now! Well, again our main concern was that we get our old files intact. The next day my wife calls again, she is told that it will be ready at the end of the day and all is well with the computer - virus gone, files intact. She told him she would be by around 5 o'clock (PowerLight closes at 6) and got there about 5:30 to find a locked door. This guy knew she was coming there straight from work to pick up a computer he's sat on for two weeks and decides to close early? Luckily, she could tell someone was in the back and after banging on the door for a few minutes he decides to let her in and finally pick up the computer. Well, hey it took a while but he said our files were OK so no harm right? Well actually no. Out of about 13,000 MP3's we had on the computer, we now have about 20 or so. It does look like most of our pictures are intact. School papers, nowhere to be found. They've also done something to our sound card or its driver, we have no sound, and all the bells and whistles that came with the original computer, all gone. We now have a shell of what our computer used to be. I have never, ever, dealt with such a not just an incompetent, but just absolutely careless outfit like PowerLight. I heard all the horror stories from folks who took their computer to Geek Squad but this absolutely takes the cake. These liars and rip-off artists should''t even be allowed to service an AM clock radio! Don't waste you time or money with these people. We are truly sorry we selected PowerLight, don't make the same mistake we did. read more

I found this place to be fine for my needs. I needed a new power supply installed and they did it the same day and didn't charge me an arm and a leg. read more

These guys have been very helpful in fixing my computers. I have also bought a used computer here and they transferred everything over from the old computer. Great prices and honest, friendly service. read more

These guys are great! I had a big, bad nasty virus on my laptop. Plus, I am a graduate student and I had all of my thesis research and etc on my computer and my bibliographic files. Just lots and lots of important stuff. JP and George were wonderful and helpful and informative. They fixed everything, saved all my important work and got my computer running good as new. And they were very fast! I highly, highly recommend Powerlight Systems! Thanks you guys! read more

I read the very negative review of Selekta M. He sounded so computer Savvy that he could have fixed the computer himself. He must have had a second hand negative information about the Geek Squad too. I have dealt with the owner and employees of Powerlight and I have always had straight forward answers. It seems that this guy Selekta likes to tell people what to do because he lets his wife do all the inquiries for him and then he takes credit for it. Seleckta took a lot of time to write his negative comment which more than likely came from his wife's frustration. Bottom line is that a company can't stay in business without taking care of the customers. Powerlight has been in business over 14 years and surely along the way mistakes will be made. Powerlight is an Alameda Neighborhood Computer Store and relies on "word of mouth" to expand its customer base. I believe that Powerlight will continue to do their best to serve Alameda and its neighboring cities. read more

I've used PLS Computers for several years now; I had them check over and update each of several laptop PCs that I bought and use out of the country, where service is often unreliable. They have done an excellent job, at minimal cost, and have saved me a lot of anxiety over time. Recently, I needed to replace an older desktop PC, and they custom assembled an ideal computer for me on the spot, and at a remarkably low price. It has withstood the perils of shipping, and is now in reliable use in my office in Central America. read more

I have found the owner and staff to be knowlegable and prices, especially on used computers, to be great. Very reliable and easy to do busines with. Great place. -- John Cunningham read more

I absolutely love JP. I've been going there for almost ten years now. They have fixed my computer when it was full of viruses, I've bought refurbished laptops from them and I've never been disappointed in the service. JP takes time with all the customers, his employees are very nice and they do a great job. I tell everyone to go there and I've never heard of a bad experience. read more

These people are extremely limited in their knowledge and ability to do much with computers. You would do better waiting your turn with Geek Squad than to put your energy/computer in this place. We lost a lot of valuable data when we purchased a refurbished machine and they did a data transfer from our old system. The guy "Bill" that works there isn't even an Engineer....who knows what his credentials are yet he does a lot of the work when people bring in their units.....not to mention he is one of the rudest people I've ever met. He's absolutely disgusting with how he responds to people saying he's too busy etc. Unbelievable. When you're a paying customer and you have concerns or questions, then are answered with "I'm too busy"....are you kidding me! So you can't get Bill to help you much then you can't get the owner to stop talking. You cannot have a normal conversation with John Pierre (the owner). He litterally talks non stop. You can't get a word in edgewise. This place really messed up our data transfer from the old disk drive and we wish we could take them to court but it probably wouldn't be worth it. If you're reading this review because you're considering using them, DON'T ! read more

I hate to write a bad review, because I think they try hard here, but I did not have a good experience. I have a computer now that needs repair now, which prompted me to recall my experience with Powerlight Systems (PLS) on High Street. I took my computer in a couple years ago because I got some kind of computer virus, it was running very slow. They didn't call me to tell me it was ready so I called a few days later and the owner said it was ready, was working fine, he had checked it out himself. So I went to pick it up and he starts explaining what was done, and he says casually that he "put in a new hard drive," and I was like "what?!" It turns out that they replaced my hard drive, and didn't bother to call me about it. He said that the old one had died and all my data was completely lost. I told him it was working when I brought it in. He seemed confused about this, he assumed I brought it in because of broken hard drive, but the paperwork clearly said it was a virus issue and the computer was running. He said they were unable to save any data from the old hard drive, and all my files were gone. I was very upset to say the least. I had brought it in to remove a virus, and they claim my hard drive just happened to die too as they were checking it (they admitted it was not virus-related). The guy who actually replaced the drive was there, so we started speaking to him. He said he tried to save some of my files but was not able to do so. I ask him to show me exactly what he did, so we go to the computer he used to try to transfer files from my old computer, and lo and behold many of my files are on their computer, including many photographs of my famly! He was wrong. They just didn't bother to transfer any of these files to the "new" hard drive they put in my computer (which was actually a used hard drive). So I have to sit there another 30 minutes or so as they transfer a bunch of my own files from their computer onto my computer with the "new" drive. I was able to save many photos and some Word docs, but lost most of everything else including all my MP3s. Completely incompetent service. I give them 2 stars instead of one because they are sincerely trying, and the owner seems like a nice guy; they just are not terribly competent on several levels. I am told that the owner's background was not really in computers, but in television repair, and that he switched to computers several years ago (the shop definitely has a sort of amateurish feel to it). Not sure if that's true or not, but I would not trust my computer to PLS anymore. read more

I've been going to Powerlight for years and I love them. They've always done a great job, JP is a really sweet guy and I can trust them. I bought my last laptop from them and am urging a friend to do the same. read more

My son's laptop stopped working so I decided instead of going to a large box store, I would give the business to a local shop near my house to help help support small businesses. HUGE mistake! They claimed they were not able to fix it so my son went in to pick it up. When he got there he was pushed into a hard sell tactic for one of their used/repaired units that are totally outdated. When he refused they returned his laptop to him and as promised, didn't charge a fee since they couldn't fix it. Upon examining the laptop, it appears they never even tried to fix it. The old guy who works there after b.s.ing for about 10 minutes, quoted us a price that was almost too good to be true. But then a few days later we got the call about a faulty motherboard from their supplier and they couldn't trust them for another one so they would not fix the laptop. Yeah right! So we were pretty disappointed that this shop not only lied to us , wasted our time, and instead of fixing the laptop for the quoted price, used the opportunity to sell us their junk. But the worst part is they had the nerve to swapout the memory chips and think my 14 year old kid would not notice. The laptop went in there with 8+2 for a total of 10 gigs and came back to us with 4+4 for 8 gigs. WTF!! Since then, I just bought my son a new laptop and he is now happy. I had to finally write this review so people know how shady their operation is. I could have gone back and confronted them about this issue but decided to instead move on and learn my lesson to never trust this shop again and to tell my fellow yelpers of my experiences, Avoid this place at all cost!!! read more

PLS Computers is a great computer repair store. The friendly staff always greets you at the door, and is really concerned with helping you get the quality assistance you need at low prices. The technician there always has accurate tips, and tricks to keep your PC running smooth. With my experience there, if they can't do it, nobody can. What EP said about PLS was silly. Sometimes it is necessary to replace an old hard drive. Obviously he has no idea how tricky computers can be. Viruses are capable of corrupting and destroying most information it infects. I have lots of experience with computers, and have myself worked with PLS in an internship program. They know what they are talking about, they do what they can, and sometimes people loose information. Typically, the person who was the victim of an accidental data loss due to a virus would instantly blame the people who tried hard to fix it. With my time I put there I got to know both of the employees and found them both very intelligent and very efficient while on the job. I have myself interacted with a few "disgruntled" customers, and know that they are simply stubborn ignorant people who know relatively nothing about computers. Again, when a problem arises, they instantly point the finger at the technician. With every computer they handle they put immense care into the work. So any hearsay of incompetent workers is just simpley false. They defiantly have a huge knowledge of computers, especially the technician, and do EVERYTHING in their power to fix your system. PS: they also never delete, or transfer files without user consent first. That's a guarantee I personally can promise. read more