I sort out the everyday technology in Lostock homes and home offices: Wi-Fi that does not reach the far end of a large house, slow laptops, new machines set up with everything transferred, printers, email and backups. Based in Bolton, a few minutes away, most jobs same or next day.
Based in Bolton. You deal with me directly, not a call centre.
Lostock sits on the west side of Bolton around the station and Regent Road, running down towards Chew Moor and across to Middlebrook. The housing is mostly large and detached, plenty of it built or extended in the last few decades, and a lot of the people in it commute into Manchester or work from home part of the week.
Large houses are exactly where consumer Wi-Fi runs out of road. One router, supplied free with the broadband, sitting in a hallway or a front room, is being asked to cover three floors and a footprint it was never designed for. You end up with full speed in one room, nothing in the office, and a home working setup that quietly costs you every time a call drops.
The rest is the usual: a new laptop that needs setting up and everything moved across, a machine that has slowed to a crawl, a printer that will not stay connected, and photos scattered over a phone, a laptop and an old tablet with no backup anywhere.
Machines that take five minutes to wake up, freeze on ordinary jobs, or have quietly got worse every year. Usually fixable rather than replaceable.
Weak or dropping Wi-Fi diagnosed properly, routers and access points repositioned or replaced, mesh set up so the coverage reaches the whole house.
New laptops and PCs set up, files, photos and emails moved across from the old machine, your software installed and a backup in place before the old one goes.
Printers that will not connect or have gone offline, scanning to email, mail that stopped arriving, accounts locked out and passwords sorted safely.
Malware and fake warning pop-ups removed, and an honest answer about whether that phone call or email was a scam. It usually was.
Photos and documents backed up automatically rather than in theory, so a failed drive or a lost laptop is an inconvenience and not a disaster.
To be clear about what this is: computer and laptop help, setup, networking and support, including upgrades like SSDs and memory. Not screen replacements or board-level repair. If that is what yours needs, I will tell you straight and help you work out whether it is worth doing.
Dead spots, dropouts and rooms the signal never gets to are the single most common reason people in Lostock get in touch. There is a full page on how that gets fixed, what it involves and when mesh is worth it.
Wi-Fi and home networkingYes. Lostock is minutes from where I am based in Bolton, so a home visit is easy and usually same or next day. Where the problem can be fixed remotely over a secure connection I will offer that first, since it is quicker for you.
In a large detached house one router will not do it, however good the broadband is. The fix is a proper look at the layout and then either repositioning the router, replacing it, or setting up mesh points, and where it matters most, running a wired link so the far end gets real speed rather than a weak signal. I measure the coverage before recommending kit so you buy once.
Yes. A working setup rather than a laptop on a desk: a connection that holds up on video calls, the printer and scanner working from wherever you sit, two screens if you want them, files backed up automatically, and everything reachable from your work laptop and your own machine without the two getting tangled.
Yes. Homes and small businesses both. If it is a business setup with several staff, shared files, email accounts and a network to look after, the IT support for small businesses page covers how that works, with no long contracts.
Both. Software, email and account problems are often fixed the same day remotely over a secure connection. Anything to do with hardware, Wi-Fi coverage or setting equipment up gets a visit, because it needs someone in the room.
Everything I cover, and how it works, is on the main tech support in Bolton page. Businesses with staff, shared files and a network to look after are covered on IT support for small businesses. If it is your website rather than your computers, there is a page on web design in Lostock too. Lostock borders Heaton, Ladybridge and Chew Moor, and I cover all of them.
Describe the problem in your own words, in whatever detail you have. I will tell you what is likely going on, whether it can be sorted remotely, and what it would cost, before anything starts.