Micro Center — Local services in Cambridge

I am never, EVER, getting my computer serviced here again. If I could give negative stars, I would! It took 3 visits and $700 for Micro Center to "repair" my laptop, only for it to fail less than 3 weeks after all of the compinents were finally installed. And now they won't give me a refund for the part that failed. Highway fricking robbery.

In September 2024, my computer started to turn off if it wasn't plugged in. Internal diagnostics said my battery had failed, so I came in with a Dell battery I had purchased and I asked MC to install it--no problem. Only, after the install I was told that my battery was actually working fine and it was a problem with the motherboard. To replace it, I was quoted about $600 in parts and labor. Not great, but.... fine. If it will fix my computer.

I returned the battery to Dell because I was told I didn't need it and saved up for the motherboard replacement. Finally, in February 2025 I was able to come in and have the motherboard replaced. At NO TIME during or after service was I told that MC only stands by its work for 30 DAYS. And also? Oops, after the motherboard was replaced I was told that actually my battery WAS faulty and it needed to be replaced. I called customer service and they told me it would be cheaper for me to buy the battery on my own (again) and have MC install it again rather than having MC order the battery for me. Why? Isn't MC a giant chain store who should be able to get better deals on parts from manufacturers? But whatever, fine. Frustrated but still willing to play ball, I ordered the battery from Dell (again).

My battery, ordered at the beginning of March, took a month to be delivered because of supply issues. Fine. During that month I never turned on my computer or plugged it in, because I don't know anything about computers and I didn't want to risk frying anything with a faulty battery still installed. If I had known MC wouldn't do anything for me after 30 days, I would absolutely have tested the motherboard install, but I thought I had time!

Once the battery arrived, I took it to MC to be installed. Hooray! My computer is working again, right? For 3 WEEKS, and then guess what? THE BRAND NEW MOTHERBOARD FAILED. I couldn't fricking believe it. $600 for a repair that failed in 3 WEEKS.

So finally I cave and I mail the computer in to Dell for diagnostics. Yes, I have to replace the motherboard AGAIN, confirmed. So I go in the MC to see if there is any way that I can get a refund for the faulty motherboard they gave me. Just the part! Not even the labor costs! But no, of course they can't do anything for me because I'm "past the 30 day window!" Which I am hearing about for the FIRST TIME RIGHT THERE. It's crazy, and it's DISHONEST and UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES. But the tech said he'd ask the manager to contact me about it. So I waited. And waited. Four days, no contact, so I have to come back in again only to be told by the manager that he can't do anything past that magical 30 day window. Sorry Never mind that I had to send it to Dell for repairs again within 30 days of being able to turn the laptop on again.

Oh, and also? If I HAD brought my computer in to them when the motherboard started acting up, I bet they would have charged me another $600 to fix their own faulty part because it was "after the 30 days"! Ridiculous. RIDICULOUS. The motherboard repair from Dell is $250, why is it SO much more expensive here?

So, in short, DO NOT EVER GO TO MICROCENTER FOR REPAIRS, JUST SEND IT IN TO YOUR MANUFACTURER. I am never, EVER, coming here again. And I'll be sure to tell everyone I know...

Edit: the GM of this microcenter contacted me after 13 days of my initial issue. I was given the generic management response, which I did not care to listen to. He mentioned that the manager in question was the back-end manager and was "asking the floor manager if I paid for my items." I thoroughly explained to him that I was quite a distance away from the group, and was still able to hear him say "are you just going to walk out with that stuff?" Through working in retail management, and using a little common sense, it's not that hard to realize that the manager in question was lying to attempt to save face. The GM's response to this entire issue was to offer me a $50 gift card, in which I even told him that the $50 will not even cover gas / tolls that I originally spent in dealing with Microcenter in the first place. It was an insulting attempt to resolve this "issue" on his end, considering I told him a few times that I did not want to do business with Microcenter again. I'm completely disappointed on how the GM handled this issue. Now I'm stuck with a $50 gift card that I have no use for (what am I actually going to buy with $50?) and not wanting to do business with this company again in the first place. There was no purpose in being contacted with the resolution that was presented to me.

Such a poor experience all around with dealing with Microcenter. To start, there is an issue with their site when ordering a custom PC build & adding on the build service. It kept on denying payment. There are a lot of reddit posts about this issue from years ago (not sure how it hasn’t been resolved yet.) So I opted to reserve all of the parts. I then attempted to call the store, to see if they could add on the build & charge me over the phone. You are not able to call the store directly & instead have to call customer service. Then informed me that they aren’t able to contact the store, or add on the service themselves. It’s insane to me that customer service does not have a back door phone number to contact a store directly. So instead I had to drive two hours to the store, without a built computer. When I was at store pickup the associate was not knowledgeable in warranties at all. I double checked to make sure that the warranty that was sold to me covered accidental damage. He said that it did. Guess what? When I went to service to drop off the computer, the associate informed me that the customer service employee sold me the wrong protection plan. I then spent the next 25 minutes attempting to get something simple resolved. The ONE employee in service took a few people that were waiting behind me, only making me wait longer. He then informed me that the build would not be ready until 8 pm (mind you, it was around 12:30 & I drove 2 hours here.) So now I have to make an additional trip up here, because there’s no way that I’m waiting for 8 hours for my build to be done. The best part of this interaction was the manager accusing me of stealing, when I was walking out of the door. I had a UPS & display cable in my hand, that was purchased with my order. He yelled “are you just going to walk out with that stuff?” Maybe if he was actually doing his job, instead of just standing in the store talking, he would’ve known that I’ve wasted 40 minutes of my time & already paid for the stuff in hand. I will NEVER give microcenter my business ever again. I regret giving 3k to such an unprofessional company. I draw the line at being accused...

IF YOU SEE THIS REVIEW DO NOT SHOP WITH MICRO CENTER!!! I spent $4000-$5000 on all the parts to build a new pc back in the summer of 2023 at this location, and the parts were sold to me faulty. I took the pc to the service center for them to replace the faulty parts and get the pc functional, and ever since then for the past year I've been stuck with a broken pc, HORRIBLE customer service, and any time I try to get help they try to force me to spend more money! My pc has been entered into the service center at micro center in cambridge a total of 5 TIMES!! 5 TIMES AND ITS STILL BROKEN!!! My pc will not stay on for longer than 30 minutes without blue screening and every program on it crashes now! Micro center has had my pc in their service center for more time then its been in my home I swear its ridiculous. Just today I called to speak to their service manager who was supposed to call me but didn't, and he was entirely deflective, unreasonable, rude, wouldn't listen, and within the first 30 seconds of the call was yelling at the top of his lungs for me to listen to him and to calm down and that I was wrong in the situation. He says that he wants to have a professional conversation but he doesn't understand A SINGLE PIECE about being professional! I have given them enough respect and patience and calmness at this point that they should be able to understand my frustration and be willing to work with me. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I have spent nearly $2000 on servicing and when I explain my story to the service manager after hes done yelling at me for using the words "im freaking pissed" he immediately says he will have to charge me MORE MONEY to fix the problem! Last time I had my pc serviced there I told them "take as much time as you need, i'll be moving in a month and need it 100% functional so please, you have a whole month take your sweet time to thoroughly test and troubleshoot it to make sure it won't ever have a problem again, because once I move the closest micro center is 3 hours away and I cannot drive" How are you given a whole month to fix a pc and you STILL CANT FIX IT?!? The first dude who worked on my pc got fired apparently and it seems like their service crew still has no clue what they are doing! I also called their technical support line and they would not help me without trying to charge me a $50 "remote diagnosis fee" and after spending a hour begging to speak to a supervisor and begging the supervisor to work with me and please waive the fee, he says he will waive it then puts me back into the queue and says his team is informed to help me at no charge, and then they purposely PUSH ME BACK in the queue so they don't have to help me!!! I stayed waiting on the phone for someone to pick up for 3 HOURS..... I listened to the robot say "3rd place in queue, 5th place in queue, 13th place in queue" Until finally once i start moving up in queue the robot says that they are closed and to call back tomorrow then the phone hangs up!!! What is absolutely wrong with this company???? You guys are EVIL!!! DO NOT SHOP HERE FOR YOUR...