I am a disabled veteran in VOCREHAB. I have been using a cheap laptop for school. I have had significant difficulty with the computer, but computer essentials got me straightened out. I would suggest doing business with them. A big thank you to David!

Fixed my pc and kept me informed and in the loop the whole time

From the first phone call to a computer that worked took one hour, because it was a very simple fix. I was so impressed that they were willing to listen carefully on the phone, warn me that they had 5-7 days of work already on the shelf, and ask me to bring it in for a quick first diagnostic. This is now my go-to place for computer repair and purchase - great prices, and great information sharing. So glad I found this place!!

They were able to help me with my issues that i was having with my laptop only thing i could complain about is having to wait lols but all good things come to those who wait excelente service will bring back my laptop if i have any more issues :D

Had a hard drive replaced and Im taking they forgot to replace and reinstall the os. Cause it has no icon to get online anymore. But they said bring it in and they will hook me up. Thx guys. Good job. !

Nice lady at the counter, not much selection. Though its not a place to build high end computers, so the small select doesnt matter much

Excellent, informative, and friendly employee experience. They didn’t try to sell me (a person with little computer knowledge) something overpriced because of the parts shortage, and informed me about when costs are expected to return to normal.

Staff is very knowledgeable wish they had more parts in stock instead of waiting on order to arrive.

The only place to go to get your computer fixed thatd worth a damn in the entire county! Keep up the good work guys!

For years the needs of our small business and our personal computing requirements were hit or miss as I tried to ensure software and hardware were updated, glitches were resolved, security was tight, and conflicts were minimal. With just enough knowledge to be dangerous, I knew I had to find someone who could be my computer guru, my go-to IT person, and I discovered this in doing business with Computer Essentials. Not only are they knowledgeable in building and selling whatever desktop, laptop, etc., fits your needs, but I personally have had the opportunity to work with Bunker Herbest, who has been beyond responsive and knowledgeable when called upon, is very personable, and willing to help one learn what to do and what NOT to do (very important for someone like me!). Ive also worked with others at CE and have always been very impressed by their willingness to listen and respond to ones questions and computing needs. And Ive always received status updates on orders placed.I cant say enough good about the quality of their work and the level of integrity with which they perform it. Being locally owned and operated, they care about their customer base, not worrying about some big-box corporate hi-jinx, and it clearly shows!

5 starts for great customer service, fairness, and desire to help. Thanks!

Awesome people in that store. Very friendly and knowledgeable!

When I went to Computer Essentials to get advice about what to do about my computer issues, I was helped by a very knowledgeable and helpful woman. Her advice was practical and saved me money right off the bat. I had read of their good Google reviews about their competence and trustworthiness, and I agree wholeheartedly. I will be recommending Computer Essentials to all who need expert computer repair help!! I would like to add another very positive review here for another visit to Computer Essentials - they were able to successfully diagnose my cell phone battery problem and replace the battery back in May. They were very careful to use good Covid precautions, for which I am very grateful!!! I still highly recommend Computer Essentials for computer and cell phone repairs!!!

Stopped in today after having trouble getting a newly built PC to display. Maybe not standard procedure here, but I was able to watch and work with the technician while he troubleshooted my machine and he asked a lot of good questions to understand the issue and what Id already tried during my own troubleshooting. I learned a lot from this and the technician worked through the problem very quickly. Will definitely return for future needs.

Super friendly staff with a very decent knowledge of computer builds! Love coming in and chatting with employees on new build trends and such.Prices can be a little high, but the store has to make money somehow!Have both sold an old build here, and bought parts (even successfully made a return!).

Something you dont see everyday anymore....a computer repair shop and retail store with inventory. The common stuff, the uncommon. Cables, peripherals, parts, pieces...theyve got it.They also support those who are about doing it themselves. Try going to Best Buy and purchasing a used PC case for a DIY router youre building. After explaining a project I was undertaking, they gave me two cases for my exploration. No they werent new or modern by todays standards, but thats not what I was looking for. I was keeping to a budget, looking for cheap, used, and free...or at least two out of three. You wont find that at BestBuy. That stuff hits the dumpster before the power supplies cool off over there.

An old Apple computer of mine would no longer start. I emailed Computer Essentials and asked if they could recycle it. Alton emailed back and suggested I remove the hard drive and turn it into an external hard drive for my new computer. I had some old data I didnt want to lose and plenty of extra space left, so the suggestion was perfect! When I went to drop off the computer, Jon was very attentive to my needs and made the transfer right there while I waited. Great service. Jon and Alton are the best. Ill go to Computer Essentials again!

Super friendly and helpful! Jon was very helpful and encouraging as I had what I thought was a major problem with my Mac. He was pretty sure it was a minor issue, and it was. Thank you! I highly recommend Computer Essentials.

I brought in my laptop to be worked on and was/am very impressed with your Bangor Store. Everyone was extremely pleasant and professional and talked to me in a language I could understand, for which I am very thankful!! :-) I am now looking for a new computer and Ill be contacting the fine folks at C.E. for their suggestions & guidance!!

Thank you to the nice woman who took care of me. I would use computer essentials again!!!

My husband is in the Army and spent some time in Iraq. We had bought him a new laptop before going on his deployment. If you dont have any experience with deployments, let me tell you, Iraq is full of sand and everything he brought home was covered in sand. His computer was no exception. Although he had tried everything to protect it, he arrived home and we were having problems with the drive working. We went to Maine to visit family after the deployment and the computer got really bad. Computer Essentials came to the rescue. Not only did they get his computer working great, it was finished before we had to leave to go back to Germany. I was very impressed with the quality and speed of service. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. I only wish we lived closer so that we could utilize there service more often. Thank you Computer Essentials!

Jon at the Bangor store went above and beyond to help me out. Id recommend him and the store for home computer problems for sure.

Helpful and knowledgeable gentleman not the stuff I was looking for but pointed me in the right direction!

We have regularly used Computer Essentials for any repairs/updates we need for our various computers. The staff is responsive, know what they are talking about and dont try to get you to purchase unnecessary items. Have always got computer back ahead of schedule and at a very reasonable price. Highly recommend.

The only place I will ever use for excellent service, excellent customer service, and the wealth of knowledge is the best.

The staff was really knowledgeable and helped me with my laptop. Turns out didnt need a screen and they refunded with zero hassle. Will be coming back!

Another fantastic experience with computer essentials! Had a problem with my laptop that I purchased from them over a year ago and I contacted them to explain what was going on. Dave talked me through a repair that turned out to fix the problem avoiding a trip to Bangor. As always, Im very pleased and am continually grateful I chose these guys to purchase my laptop. Great service! Thanks Computer Essentials! :)

I brought in my MSI Apache Pro Laptop a week or two ago when I finally decided the issues I had been experiencing with it had finally reached and impasse. Wherein my AC/DC Jack stopped functioning, My only option was to have a some serious hardware repairs. I didnt expect much in Rural Maine in terms of repairing a chincy gaming laptop that I had ordered several years ago now, but let me tell you how blown away I am with the customer service showcased. The employees here have been exceedingly respectful and thus far Ive had some educational, and friendly conversations with the staff at the bangor location. Im shocked by how friendly they are as Ive had some pretty awful experiences with computer specialists previously. Its enjoyable when you can communicate with the people who were in charge of repairs and the people who are replacing my laptop with a custom tower that Ive designed with them, especially in such a friendly manner.I also thought I should share that the people who Ive been in touch with have also been very knowledgeable and theyve show relentlessly that they have my best interests in heart. Theyve mentioned to me several things such as how the new AMD processor to be released July 7th would likely witness a drop in prices of other processors. They have also been honest with me about the necessities of computer parts in general such a Graphics cards and what the likelyhood would be for me to make use of high end products like RTX 2080s and suggested other more logical products and they also steered me away from buying a processor like an intel core I9 where Im a college student, knowing full well I cant really afford the improbable.However the things here I want people to know the most about what Ive learned so far is that this is a business, these people 9 times out of 10 have been to college. These guys know their stuff, and they have families and lives they need to support as well. I noticed a review through another platform that enraged me about how the computer essentials was all about getting money out of their consumers. I couldnt disagree more, I think that whatever the customer ends up paying these hardworking Mainers per hour, they deserve every penny. Id wager that these people earned the right to make what they make per hour, and knowing where your money is going is usually half the battle for me. I think its quite satisfying knowing that this is a local business where I can interact with people from my local community that have done nothing but their best to provide a great experience for me, to the best of their ability while Ive done business with them. Also to the people who leave bad reviews because of a mishap or two I think it can be a bit unworthy of the human itself as people have good and bad days, and people make mistakes. Sometimes things go wrong in trying to make repairs and sometimes people are learning just like us.All in all thats all we can ask for in life really, I for the most part hope that this business will continue to be a part of our community. Judging by the experience Ive had so far, I will definitely be doing business with them in the future, regardless of my current business negotiations with them as of right now.

Nice employees. Only issue I have is they are charging a premium price on out dated computer parts. Used equipment is a little overpriced too

I had a problem with my computer and I couldnt figure out what was wrong. I took it in and the guy looked at it and thought he knew what was wrong. After 5 minutes he had is figured out. Always have had good experiences here.

These people are amazing I recommend them to anybody that doesnt know what theyre doing

Theyre always very helpful and give honest hints.

Nice people feels like a family run business, my only gripe with the company is the prices. I had my crosair cx 750 fail from a power surge so I got a new one from them and it was quite a bit more expensive then best buy so I returned it and went there. Makes sense though considering its not a mega corporation.

Repair shop.

Dave and Trisha Pete are really great people. My Mom bought a HP PC a year ago and it sorely needed an upgrade already. The RAM needed to be doubled and the mechanical hard drive (i.e. very slow) had to come out and be replaced with a Samsung Solid State Disk. I advised my Dad to go local and order it from Computer Essentials and support a local business. Sure, we couldve ordered online but the price would be about the same! Initially the wrong RAM was ordered (oops!) but they quickly had the right RAM arrive the next day. They even let me borrow a data transfer cable to use over night to do the upgrade. The PC is now much, much faster and of course, most importantly...my parents are very pleased and happy with the PC again (which makes ME happy!). Go local, chat with people there and support your local retailers!

Very helpful and friendly customer service

My moms computer was very slow because of a lot of files on it. When she brought it in, they started listing off prices for all this virus stuff, and it was getting up to the $300 range, and I stopped him and said How about a complete system restore? and he said Oh, that will be $57. So that just shows that they will get all the money out of you they can. That should have been a big signal to take it away right there. He said it would be 7-10 days, so my mom called after 10 days, and they had JUST started working on it that day. He told her that the hard drive was completely screwed, and that it was unusable. In the same breath, he made sure we realized that we can buy one of their computers if he could keep ours. Just like the reviewer below said, they rather offer you a small amount of money than actually fix your computer. She told them that she wanted it back, and they were like Okay, but it wont work. So when she picked it up, they tried again to sell her a computer but she took back her own. When she plugged it in at home, it would NOT turn on at ALL. The button would glow, and the fans would spin, but then stop and the monitor was black. As I said before, EVERYTHING was working when she gave it to him, it was just slow. So I dont know what they did to it, but she is now out of a computer, and her job is surrounded around her computer. The only thing they did right was waving the fee, but only after grumbling after my mom made a fuss. They were soooo much better and more helpful when the business was called Computer Renaissance I dont know what happened. DONT GO HERE. Staples and Best Buy charge the same amount and actually know what theyre doing!

Prices are a bit high, but very nice staff. If you want to buuld a computer, they even go through a checklist of everything you will need to build a computer, and how much it will cost.

I was astounded when my wife and I went in to check on the repair status of her computer (which she had bought there recently)--and the tech said he couldnt work on it because he needed a power supply, that the battery had gone dead. Say WHAT?! You dont have a power supply for a computer you sell? For that matter, wed have provided the power supply had he called us. Im glad I/we dont live far away because in the last few months Ive been there so many times that I now call it Commuter Essentials. Im afraid this experience leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Very friendly feel as if you were at a conference and easy Lee to ask questions known judgemental Zone great for beginners to get new laptops and info

I had a laptop that kept crashing and I brought it in to get it fixed. When we got there they were confident and I relied on that. After I got my laptop back I lost things I shouldnt have, and its still having the same problem. Im giving them a second chance with my new pc in the hopes that my laptops hardware was to blame its self. I really hope that I can give them a better review when my new pc is ready

I bought a used laptop from them after my brother recomended them to me. I had issues with the charger being loose, battery not holding a charge, keys falling off, computer freezing up..I took it in to have it fixed after having it for less than 30 days to be fixed. They tried making me pay for the repairs while it was still under warrenty. After I complained enough to the bosses, and after almost a month I got my laptop back. The thing worked for 2 months before it started to crash, freeze up, and not work unless it was in safe mode. I was told the first time they fixed it that they would not be fixing it again unless I was ready to pay for it out of my own pocket. To make matters worse, the guy who sold it to me guaranteed the laptop, and told me it was new. When I bought it, I mentioned the charger plug being loose and he told me it wasnt and that it was fine. I took the laptop to another place to have it looked at...I was told that it was MULTI SYSTEM FAILURE, and that it should have never been sold. Way to take advantage of a FEMALE!!! I will NEVER buy anything from these people ever again.

Purchased an Motherboard/Processor here that I couldnt get to work. Brought it to another store (Maine Geeks) to diagnose and they couldnt fix it ( A simple BIOS flash). Brought it back to Computer Essentials and they were able to update my mobo BIOS and get the system running the same day and free of charge! They really go the extra mile and they are super nice. A little more expensive than Newegg but the personal help with stuff like flashing a motherboard at 6 p.m. is well worth it. Cant recommend this place enough. They have a customer for life.

Excellent computer store, very friendly people and great service..

Very accommodating and fixed my desktop. Thank you, David.

Wonderful customer service. Will definitely be a return customer.

Awesome fixed my 2nd computer

They sold me a system that loaded very slowly and kept flashing to a blank black screen. When I checked with them they said they would fix it but ended up wanting to charge me more than I paid for it to fix it. It came back in worse shape than it was.

I purchased a custom gaming desktop from Computer Essentials and I am very pleased with the product and the before/during/after-sale support, particularly from Rob, the day manager and computer-builder.Rob double-checked my list of components, discovered some incompatibilities, and made several helpful suggestions. I planned on $2,000 but we came in under-budget at around $1,549.The major components are:CASE: Corsair Obsidian 450D ATX mid-towerPSU: Corsair 650 WattsCPU: AMD FX-8350 8-core 4.0GHzMOTHERBOARD: Asus M5 A97 LE R2.0RAM: Corsair 2x4GB sticks (8 GB total)GPU: AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GBHD: Crucial 240GB SSD/Seagate 500GB 7200RPM HDDFANS: Two blue led 125mm on top, two blue led 140mm in frontCPU FAN: NIC F4 CPU coolerOTHER: HP DVD-RW drive, wireless networking card.Rob dealt with my goof-up of leaving out a wireless card like a professional who valued my business. He took five minutes to select, install, and test a wireless card on-site after I took my tower home and realized my error.When I pressed Rob for a package discount, Rob acknowledged I would save a couple hundred dollars by ordering online ( NewEgg=$1,399 to my door), but his computer-building experience and the Computer Essentials additional 1-year warranty on top of the included 2-years convinced me the markup/labor was worth it. He threw in four blue LED for cooling and that sealed the deal.I highly-recommend working with Rob if, like me, you do your research, you know what you want, but you want a skilled-professional to assemble your rig for peace-of-mind.I plan on working with Rob again when its time to upgrade.EDIT: Year One complete! All computer components are still working well. Planned upgrades are a better video card and 16GB of RAM. The blue LED front fans have stayed in alignment surprisingly well. Still a great machine.

Just got a new purpose built base unit from Computer Essentials for my business and after just starting it up for the first time i feel i need to say how pleased i am with it.Its a common misconception that people think PCs are always cheaper from the big box stores or online. I wanted a specific specification and that was not available online or from any big box store.I went to CE and talked specs and rough prices, went home and the next day emailed them the spec i wanted, agreed a price and 2 days later the system was ready for collection. Great service!Yes i probably paid a few $ more for the system I wanted but lets look at the bigger picture for paying a few more $1, I got the exact system spec i wanted2. If i have any need for phone tech support i call Bangor Maine and its sorted quick and easy. No need to be calling a foreign call centre anywhere.3. If the base unit ever needs to go in for repair, i take it to Bangor Maine and do not have to send it to via UPS to some other part of the USA. I dare say ill get it back a lot quicker too4. 2 year warranty on my base unit at no extra cost5. Ive already discovered that some other computer related business im thinking of is going to be a lot cheaper using CE than any big box store6. Great serviceJust wanted to update after 2 years of great use. When you get a computer from CE, they will give you the original Windows CD as part of the package unlike big box stores or mail order that tell you, you have to make them yourself, thats ok... as long as you remember when you first get the pc .. right?Well last night i appear to of installed a corrupt file that stopped Windows from starting properly. I got my original Windows CD and booted from that, did a system restore and everything is perfect once more.. Im very happy

Because I went there and ask for a rtx 2060 and they didnt have it and the person there started saying how bad it was

Very happy with the service!

Their laptops are poorly serviced and do not run right.

Excellent, professional and very helpful

FRIENDLY. .. No bull. prices are reasonable .

Terrible products, rude female employee at cash register, and they are the worst experience I have ever encountered.

Great people

They didnt have exactly what I needed, but they figured out something that would solve the problem, and got me that, even though it wasnt something they normally sold individually.

Very best

Prices are a bit high