FAQs

We repair a range of devices including computer desktops/towers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. If you aren’t sure if it is something we would repair, then please either come in or contact us.

Many factors can dictate whether or not your computer would be worth upgrading/repairing. At Cherry Computers we can generally check on book-in  things such as the age, specification and condition of your device so that we can provide you with an honest recommendation.

Factors include:

• How old the motherboard or other hardware components are in the system.
• The specifications of your device, and what you intend to do with it.
• What operating system the device can support and if the device can run operating systems that are in support by their manufacturers. (Macs must be newer than 2012, otherwise they will not be able to support Apple’s latest operating systems.)
• How severe or what type of damage the device has experienced (e.g., liquid damage, dropped, etc.)

Devices that we consider to be vintage (e.g 12 years or more) are not supported, this means they cannot be upgraded or repaired. Please note that what we consider to be “vintage” and what other companies such as Apple consider to be “vintage” are not necessarily the same, so we may still be able to help you where others have not.

We currently fix computer operating systems that are supported by the manufacturers (meaning that they still receive updates and security patches). This ensures that your device is still safe to use online since major security threats are being patched, and that our various tools can still work with your device. If your device is running an unsupported operating system and is compatible with a newer one, we can provide you with a quote on your options to get onto a supported one. If your device cannot support a newer operating system, we can provide either a quote on a new replacement or look into your options with data backup/extraction (See here for more information on data backup/extraction).

Supported operating systems include (As of December 1st, 2021):

Customers have up to 3 months from the date of booking to collect their devices AND pay in full for any services or repairs from our store, otherwise we will recycle or sell them to recover any costs we have incurred with the assessment or repair of the device. Paying for the repair in full DOES NOT extend this period.

We are currently not offering any refurbished products for sale.

It’s important that we recycle our electronic waste as much as possible, for the sake of our environment and our future.

Because of the negative impact this e-waste has on the environment, it is banned from landfill. Please see here for more information on electronic waste.

We offer e-waste recycling for smartphones, tablets, desktop/tower computers, laptops, batteries (computer and standard ones like AA), cables and computer peripherals such as keyboard & mouse.

Please note that we do not offer any recycling for commercial quantities of devices.

When recycling a device, we will return your data drive to you wherever possible. In the event that we are recycling your device with its drive, or it has one that cannot be removed, then we will destroy the drives to ensure no one would be able to retrieve any data back off of them where possible. After we process your devices (removal or destruction of data drive, separating materials etc.), we take your devices to an appropriate e-waste recycling facility for them to be recycled and disposed of accordingly.

We don’t charge anything for e-waste recycling.

You can bring in your own storage device such as an external HDD, or USB device providing it will cover the amount of data needing to be backed up.

Alternatively, we also offer external storage devices for purchase ranging from 16GB USB’s all the way up to 4TB external HDDs (larger capacities available by special order). If you do not know how much data needs to be backed up/the size of the data drive to provide us we will generally be able to advise you how much is needed upon initial inspection.

Data recovery is not a straightforward, clear-cut process. We cannot always get all of your data, or some of it may be corrupted. If we were to put your recovered data back onto the same drive we would be overwriting your original copy of it, thus preventing any further attempts of recovery.

We often have to recover data from a corrupted drive that may not show clear signs of failure—so in addition to the above, as a precaution these devices should not be trusted for future data storage as they could still have an underlying failure that could put your data at risk again.

Yes, we certainly can provide a callout service to your home depending on where you live. On sites are currently available Monday through to Friday, and usually require booking an appointment. Some more straightforward issues are best resolved in a phone/remote support however (see here for more details on on-site services).

Please note however that some issues may require work that we can’t perform during a home visit, and would require the computer to come into our store. If you are unable to bring your computer in then we may be able to provide a pickup service for you.

The majority of devices booked in with us are looked at either on the same or the next day. The time frame for the repair once approved varies greatly. This can be from same-day or next-day with a variety of the repairs we offer in-store, to several weeks or more for extremely complicated repairs that may be outsourced to our repair centre. The main factors that will impact your repair time are complexity, frequency, and part availability.

Complexity:
The more complicated the issue, the more time that is required to diagnose it, and the more complicated the repair, the more time that is required to perform it. Some things are complicated to diagnose but quick to repair, and vice versa, and sometimes (uncommonly) they’re both.

Frequency:
If the issue with your device is intermittent then this may slow down your repair also, the more intermittent and infrequent the fault, often the longer the repair will take.

Part Availability:
If your repair requires replacement parts that we don’t have in stock then the time to receive them will directly impact the repair time.

Our technicians can advise you on what average time frames to expect for your device either on book in or upon diagnosing the issue.

If the time frame you have been quoted refers to “Business Days” then this means Monday – Friday, excluding public holidays.

We do our best to provide accurate time frames, however unfortunately sometimes computers do not always behave as predicted, and repairs can exceed these expectations.

Please also keep in mind that we have reduced hours on the weekend, and unfortunately something that would take “1 day” during the week is not necessarily something that will take “1 day” on a Sunday.

In the unfortunate event that your device cannot be repaired, we can arrange a quote on a replacement device and/or data backup/extraction where required and possible.

This can vary with each part and service. For more information on this for the particular repair you require, please discuss this with one of our technicians.

We are currently only offering in store pickup for online orders. You will need to bring a valid form of photo ID upon collection.