Repair drop-offs or on-campus pick-ups are coordinated directly with you. Whenever possible, our staff will provide a sense of the complexity of the repair and an ETA, and they will keep you updated throughout the process, including next steps and when to come retrieve your repaired computer.

We’re unable to provide hardware support for custom-built computers because they lack a single, system-wide warranty and often involve multiple vendors for parts. This makes warranty processing, diagnostics, and sourcing compatible components more complex and less reliable. Our support is designed around systems from major vendors like Apple, Dell, and Lenovo, where we have the tools, training, and vendor relationships to ensure consistent and effective service.

Our IT consultants are trained and certified for in-house, vendor-approved technical repairs of Apple and Dell computing hardware. This allows for quicker repair turn-arounds without voiding manufacturer warranty.

There are certain scenarios where we would be unable to perform repairs on computers:

• If the computer is not owned by SCS/CMU (not purchased with CMU funds).
• Computer was a "parts" custom build not performed by us. This kind of build presents warranty, support, and at times, compatibility/configuration/performance concerns.
• If the computer is too old and no longer supported.
• If the computer is out of warranty and we deem the repair far too expensive versus the value and age of the system.

If a repair is requested, we can notify you if the device's warranty is close to its end. Once warranty expires, we can continue to provide the labor if the customer is willing to cover the cost of replacement parts.

Generally, there are many considerations that go into supportability, including hardware capabilities, original investment versus current comparable market options, security and parts availability.

This depends. While perfectly operational computers that have recently expired warranties may still have parts availability and our labor is covered by hardware support, the cost of the parts for repair and/or upgrades will be paid by you, the customer.

For computers well past their lifecycle and warranty, we highly encourage customers to order a new computer with recommended warranty for secure and reliable computing for years to come. 

While you can receive great service from Apple for your personal devices, the needs of institutions such as CMU are quite different.

Our team is Apple certified. This means we service your equipment with the same tools and practices Apple technicians do, but we also understand the CMU ecosystem, data concerns and are available on-campus for quick diagnostics and turn around while safeguarding CMU data. We offer various services including data backup services, consulting and management tools to protecting  the security of your computer. Our team understands the needs of SCS people.

Custom-built computers often present challenges for hardware support—warranty coverage varies by component, replacement part availability can be uncertain and procurement times are unpredictable. If you're considering a custom-built machine, we recommend reaching out to our team to explore whether a custom-ordered system from one of our supported vendors might better meet your needs.