Quasar Computers — Local services in Homestead

tldr - Don't trust these people. I have filed a Police report.

I am a Retired Network SysOp and a Credentialed Civilian and Military Electronics Engineer AND Technician, I have worked at Northrop Gruman assembling 3 and 4 layer Printed Circut boards for many of our Military Jet fighters ...

That all being prefaced, I checked my laptop prior to dropping it off here, knowing that there was a SSD drive issue and NO issue with the Motherboard, as I had been using the laptop for almost 11 months without a battery it. I brought the unit in because my 2 year old SSD drive - still under Warranty- failed to boot, and I no longer have the resources, machines, or software to diagnose or repair the drive... a 2 minute process with a second computer needed to initiate.

This place calls me and says the drive has a bad controller, AND they had to replace 2 MOSFET power chips on the Motherboard - NOT asking if I wanted to proceed to have the work performed BUT they had ALREADY completed this - and the bill is $100 !!!

Ransom let's say.

I stated I wanted the "bad parts" just like I get when I take my car in for work, and was told "they were in the trash already".

I go to pick up my laptop and behold, 2 little chips in a baggie taped to the lid. I ask if we can "negotiate this bill a bit lower" he just says "nope" so I pay the ransom so as to retrieve MY property. Call him back after I had other obligations to attend to that afternoon, and described my frustration and level of disgust with him NOT getting permission before moving forward and his charge for such. I suggested a partial refund, and no reply ... like 15 seconds of dead air, nothing. I never once raised my voice, but when I mentioned my knowledge of the EXACT repair process and equipment and testing procedures, he WENT OFF -SCREAMING over the phone at me about the "hours" it took him to solder 2 chips, and "don't tell me how to do my job" like a sophomoric child.

After further investigation I found out that the two chips he returned were NOT power MOSFET's but "Pulse Generator/Timer chips {50 for $6.99 on Amazon} they could also be used as "Signal Buffer or Repeater" but NOT a Power MOSFET's. Not even from my unit. And, they snapped off my RJ-45 connector doorflap and silicone it back on.

I know for a FACT they didn't remove the Motherboard because I had superglued certain cables in place, onto the fan and subwoofer, and routed those cables a certain way - and these remain undisturbed. And another cable I moved to a certain location so it would not interfere with re-attachment of the bottom cover... if the Motherboard had been removed, THAT cable would be back in the original location.

The pics I attached show my Motherboard and the 2 returned chips, the ONLY chip of the same size as those 2 - still not a MOSFET and nowhere near the "power" side of the board, close-ups of the returned chips for nomenclature. The pics are HiDef so you can zoom in and see for yourself.

This way of doing business is unethical, unscrupulous and just plain "taking advantage" of an old man, and his "need" to get his laptop fixed. After seeing the mess, and the sheer amount of unprepared laptops and other in this place ... that might be a sign of what I guarantee makes me NOT alone.

I leave this here for all to be...

I initially went in for a simple fix for my iPhone 13 Pro Max back camera and was told I'd need to wait a week for a part. When it arrived, I was informed that a different part was needed, requiring another week of waiting. After the repair, I received my phone back with the front screen bulging out of the frame. Later that day, the screen went dark out of nowhere, even though it was still on. When I returned, I was told the screen needed to be replaced. When I got the phone back a second time, the screen was then glitching. I was told "dust" had gotten inside during the repair. Robert cleaned what he claimed was dust and I received my phone back, but the screen continued to glitch. On my third visit to again fix the glitch, my phone was held on to for longer than anticipated, and Robert then blamed the screen glitching on "dust" that got into the phone while the camera was broken and by me pressing the screen too hard (he went back on his word when he said dust got into the phone during the first repair). I did not understand any of this because before I went into receive any service my phone was working just fine and all parts of the phone were original Apple parts, I just wanted the .5 zoom and glass fixed on the back camera. By the end of this 2 month long awful service the business owner refused to take responsibility for the outcome, blamed me for screen being messed up, did not offer me a discount on the services, not even an apology. I also received a lengthy explanation email that made me out to be a horrible person who said "I HATED to see his face" which i would never say to anyone. My front screen still is not functioning properly, I had to purchase a whole new phone because I was left without one for over 2 months, and the back camera glass was not fixed either. The entire experience was incredibly frustrating. I would have appreciated accountability and/or an apology from the owner, rather than being made to feel like another rude customer.

I don't know what type of business their running but last thing I will do is recommend any of my friends/family to this...

I have had outstanding friendly service there on multiple occasions. I had some longer term problems and they called me back repeatedly and worked to fix my laptop remotely which was super nice so I didn't have to take it back in. It took a few tries but this was deep root stuff on the laptop. Places I have never seen and I do a lot of my own work on my own computers. (I was able to watch as he poked around inside my computer) I also have a lot of secure and private documents on my laptops and while I worried a bit leaving it with these guys ( I always think about that kind of stuff) I have never had any problems afterwards with any security or anything else. They do take big steps to correct problems. Sometimes not even letting me know whats going on. I trusted them though and everything has worked out. In one case they replaced a very old worn out /broken laptop with a newer version laptop, rather than trying to fix the broken hinges and screen. It made economic sense and they transferred all my data onto the laptop which had a bigger hard drive. So, overall I was a little surprised but it worked out and the new laptop has run well for months. Overall I would recommend these guys hands down. They are smart and take the steps to get you fixed and...