Cottingham's a mixed bag — long-standing residents in the older houses, hospital staff and students coming and going, and families in between. What that means in practice is a lot of homes where the broadband was set up by somebody who's since moved out, and nobody's touched it since.
If you've inherited a router you don't have the password for, or your Wi-Fi is still named after whoever installed it in 2014, that's a ten-minute job once you know where to look.
There are cafés around the green and up Hallgate, so it's no bother to meet and go through it. Or just email me — a surprising amount can be sorted that way.
Ask me by email
Tell me what's going wrong in your own words — you don't need to know what anything is called. I'll work out what it's likely to be and talk you through fixing it, one step at a time. Ask as many questions as you like. There's no rush and no charge.
Meet me for a cuppa
If you'd rather somebody just had a look at it, we can meet in a café in your town. Bring the laptop, phone or tablet along and I'll go through it with you over a brew. It's free. Anything I can fix there and then, I will. And if it turns out to need proper tools and money spending, I'll write down exactly what's wrong, point you at the best repair shop near you, and come along with you if you'd rather not go on your own.
Nearby villages I can get to
What I can help with in Cottingham
Slow computers
Laptops that take ten minutes to start up, freeze halfway through, or have got slower and slower over the years.
Viruses and pop-ups
Something keeps flashing up on the screen, or a menu opens on its own when you haven't touched anything.
Scam checks
Had a text, email or phone call you weren't sure about? Send it over and I'll tell you straight.
Wi-Fi and internet
Keeps cutting out, won't reach the back bedroom, or has never quite worked properly since it was put in.
Printers and email
Printer says offline, emails have stopped coming through, or you can't remember a password you set years ago.
Phones and tablets
Getting photos off it, making the writing bigger, freeing up space, or video calling the grandchildren.
Everyday online jobs
The NHS App, repeat prescriptions, online banking, renewing a licence or passport, checking your bin day.
Get in touch
Tell me what's going wrong and whether you'd rather sort it by email or meet up somewhere in Cottingham. Take as long as you like explaining it.