Frequently asked questions.

We work with small and mid-sized Connecticut businesses and organizations — typically a handful of computers up through several dozen, across manufacturing, professional services, healthcare, nonprofits, construction, and retail.

Most of our clients have no internal IT department, or have one person carrying more than they should. If you're not sure whether you're the right size for managed IT, ask us. We'll tell you straight.

Business IT Help →

Managed IT means we take responsibility for your technology on an ongoing basis instead of waiting for something to break. That covers monitoring your computers and network, applying patches and updates, running security tools, managing backups, administering Microsoft 365, and answering the phone when your team needs help.

The difference from break-fix is timing. Break-fix starts after the outage. Managed IT is built to catch the warning signs first — and to make the problems that do get through smaller.

Managed IT →

Often, yes. A ten-person company runs the same Microsoft 365, the same email, the same banking, and the same customer data as a company ten times its size — with the same exposure and no internal IT team to lean on.

Small businesses are also the ones most likely to find out the backup stopped running only when they need it. Size changes what managed IT costs. It doesn't change the risk.

Yes. That's co-managed IT. Your internal person keeps the relationships and the institutional knowledge; we cover the parts that are hard to carry alone — patching and monitoring at scale, security tooling, project escalation, coverage during vacations.

We agree on who owns what before we start, so nothing falls between the two of us.

Co-Managed IT →

We handle projects and certain one-time needs — office moves, network setup, server work, email migrations. But our primary model for businesses is proactive, ongoing management, because that's what actually prevents the emergencies.

If you're not ready for a monthly agreement, start with project work. We can talk about the rest later.

Project Work & Hourly Support →

Business IT service is available throughout Connecticut. We're based at 356 Howe Ave in Shelton and do onsite work across Fairfield County, New Haven County, and the Naugatuck Valley, with remote support statewide.

Yes, and we do it regularly. We coordinate the transition: documenting what exists, collecting administrative access to Microsoft 365, domains, firewalls, and servers, reviewing backups and security tooling, and replacing management agents on your machines.

We work to a schedule that keeps your team running while the handoff happens. Where a departing provider is slow or uncooperative, we plan around it — it isn't the first time.

Onboarding is a defined process, not a scramble:

How long it takes depends on the size and condition of the environment. You'll have the schedule before we start.

Yes. Multi-site setups are common — a main office with a warehouse, a second branch, remote staff. Monitoring, patching, security, and support work the same way at every site, and we can standardize the network and Microsoft 365 configuration between them so it's managed as one environment rather than several.

Both. Most issues get resolved remotely because it's faster for everyone. When something needs hands — hardware, cabling, a new install, a server that won't come back — we come to you. We're a short drive from most of our clients.

No. Bring your computer to the shop at 356 Howe Ave in Shelton during business hours — Monday to Friday 10–7, Saturday 10–4. Walk-ins are normal. Calling ahead helps for anything unusual, like a full desktop tower or a device that's already been worked on elsewhere.

It depends on what's wrong. Once we've diagnosed the machine, we'll tell you what it needs, what it will cost, and whether it's worth fixing — before we go any further.

Repairs carry a one-hour minimum labor charge, and parts are quoted separately. If a repair would cost more than the computer is worth, we'll say so. We've talked plenty of people out of a repair.

Computer Repair →

Both. We started as a Mac repair shop in 2017 and have worked on Windows machines just as long. Same counter, same technicians.

PC Repair →   Mac Repair →

Yes — laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, and custom-built towers. Common work includes screens, batteries, charge ports, keyboards, storage drives, power supplies, overheating, and liquid damage.

Often, yes. A computer that won't boot frequently has a perfectly healthy drive sitting behind a failed component, and getting the data off is straightforward.

A physically failing or badly damaged drive is a different situation. We'll evaluate the condition of the storage and tell you what's realistic — including when a specialist cleanroom recovery is the only remaining option.

Data Recovery →

Yes. We clean up infections, browser hijacks, and the fake "Microsoft support" popups, then check what else was touched — accounts, saved passwords, email rules. The cleanup after matters as much as the removal.

Usually. The biggest single win on an older machine is still moving from a mechanical hard drive to an SSD. More RAM helps if the system is running out of it. Sometimes the problem isn't hardware at all — startup clutter, a failing drive, dust-clogged cooling, or software fighting itself.

We'll look at the machine first and tell you whether the upgrade is worth it, or whether the money is better spent on a replacement.

It depends on the diagnosis, parts availability, the complexity of the work, and what's already on the bench. Some jobs are finished the same day; anything waiting on an ordered part takes longer.

We'll give you a realistic estimate once we know what we're dealing with, rather than a number before we've looked at it.

Yes. If we find something outside what you originally approved, we call you with what we found and what it would cost before doing the work. No surprise line items at pickup.

If you can, yes — it's good practice before any repair. If the machine won't start, or you're not sure how, bring it in anyway and tell us what matters on it. We'll go through backup and data recovery options with you before we start.

Yes. We handle Microsoft 365 licensing, migration, setup, day-to-day administration, and ongoing support — Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and the user and license management underneath them.

Cloud & Microsoft 365 →

Yes. We migrate from on-premises Exchange, hosted POP and IMAP mail, Google Workspace, and older providers. Mail, calendars, and contacts come across, and the cutover is planned around your schedule so people keep working while it moves.

Yes, and you don't need to move or rebuild anything. We take administrative access, review how the tenant is configured, clean up licensing and stale accounts, and manage it from there.

Microsoft keeps the service running. What's inside your mailboxes and SharePoint sites is still your responsibility — deleted items, ransomware, and departed employees all eventually fall outside the built-in retention window.

Independent Microsoft 365 backup can be added to managed environments so mail, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams data can be restored on your terms rather than Microsoft's.

Yes. It usually starts with multi-factor authentication on every account, then sign-in and conditional access policies, a review of mailbox rules and forwarding, separating admin accounts from daily-use accounts, and alerting on suspicious sign-ins.

Most Microsoft 365 incidents we see are account compromises, not software failures. The fixes are usually configuration, not another product.

Cybersecurity →

Yes — onboarding and offboarding are part of ongoing administration. New hires get accounts, licensing, mailbox and file access, and their machine set up. Departures get access revoked, active sessions ended, and their mail and files handled the way you want them.

Yes. We provide hosted business phone systems powered by 3CX, including system design, number porting, deployment, handsets, and ongoing support.

VoIP & Business Phones →

In most cases, yes. Numbers can usually be ported from your existing carrier. We confirm portability for your specific numbers before anything is scheduled, and plan the cutover so calls keep landing while it happens.

Yes. 3CX includes mobile and desktop apps, so one extension can ring a desk phone, a laptop, and a cell phone. Remote and hybrid staff make and take calls on the business number without handing out a personal one.

Yes. Supported desk phones work alongside the apps, and most offices end up with a mix — handsets where people sit at a desk all day, apps for everyone else.

Available features depend on how the system is configured and the license level, but the ones businesses use most often include:

We'll go through what you actually need before designing the system. Not every feature belongs in every office.

In most cases, yes — it depends on your existing setup and contract. Some locations still have analog lines tied to alarms, elevators, or fax machines that need to be handled separately rather than simply cut over.

We'll review what you have today before recommending a change.

We do. When a call flow, a handset, or a voicemail box needs attention, you call us — the same people who built the system and know your network. No carrier support queue, no ticket bouncing between departments.

For managed clients, security is part of the service rather than an add-on: endpoint protection, monitoring and alerting, patch management, account and identity security, Microsoft 365 hardening, email security, network and firewall configuration, and backup.

We also produce the documentation your insurance carrier or a larger customer asks for when they send over a security questionnaire.

Cybersecurity →

No, and it hasn't been for a while. Most incidents we see start with a login rather than a virus — a reused password, a convincing email, an account without MFA. Antivirus doesn't see any of that.

Layered protection covers the gaps: identity and MFA, patching, endpoint protection, email filtering, monitoring, and a backup that's been tested. Each layer catches what the others miss.

Yes. Most attacks aren't targeted — they're automated, and they find whoever happens to be exposed. Company size doesn't remove the risk, and it usually removes the internal staff who would have noticed.

It's also becoming a business requirement. Insurance carriers, larger customers, and vendors increasingly want answers about how you handle security before they'll sign.

Yes. Data backup is part of managed environments — workstations and servers where appropriate, business data, and cloud data. What matters isn't that the backup ran, it's that the restore works, so recoverability is something we check rather than assume.

Data Backup & Disaster Recovery →

Yes, where it's included in or added to your service configuration. That covers Exchange Online mail, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams data, with restores handled by us rather than left to you.

For managed clients: call us and we start working it. Isolate the machine, investigate what happened, contain the affected account or device, remediate, and restore from backup where that's needed. We also check whether anything else was touched — other accounts, mailbox rules, shared data.

If you're not a client and you're in the middle of something, call the shop anyway. We'll tell you what to do first.

Yes. We source and configure computers for both businesses and households, based on what you're actually doing with the machine rather than what has the best sticker on it. Business systems can be configured, deployed, and supported by us from day one.

Yes. We build custom gaming PCs in the shop — spec'd to your budget and the games you play, assembled, cable-managed, tested, and ready to go when you pick it up.

Custom Gaming PCs →

That's most of the conversation. Tell us what you play, the resolution and frame rate you're after, and your budget, and we'll tell you where the money is best spent — usually the GPU, sometimes the CPU, occasionally the monitor you already own. We'll also flag the parts you don't need.

Usually, depending on compatibility. Graphics card, RAM, storage, cooling, and power supply upgrades are all common. We'll check your motherboard, power supply headroom, and case clearance first, and tell you if you'd be better off building fresh.

Yes. We stock refurbished Windows PCs and refurbished Apple hardware — MacBooks, iMacs, and iPads — as availability allows. Every refurbished Mac goes through a 40-point inspection before it hits the shelf and carries a 1-year warranty.

Refurbished Macs →

Yes, and it's worth doing as one job rather than three. We'll spec the machines for the work they're doing, configure and deploy them, migrate each user's data, join them to your Microsoft 365 and network, and support them from then on.

Yes. Evolve started as a Mac repair shop in 2017 and Apple hardware is still core work — MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac minis, including screens, batteries, storage, liquid damage, and startup problems.

Mac Repair →

We sell refurbished Apple hardware — MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and other models as they come through. Each one is inspected and tested before it's listed and comes with a 1-year warranty.

Stock changes constantly, so it's worth calling or stopping in if you're after something specific.

Shop Refurbished Macs →

Yes. Plenty of Connecticut offices run all or part of their environment on Apple hardware — design firms, agencies, law offices, practices with iPads at every counter — and most IT providers treat that as an exception.

We support mixed Mac and Windows environments: Microsoft 365 on macOS, shared file access, endpoint protection, updates, and device management.

Yes. We migrate documents, photos, mail, and settings onto a new Mac — including from a Windows PC, or from a Mac that no longer starts, depending on the condition of the drive.

Yes. Boot loops, recovery-mode problems, failed updates, full startup disks, storage failures, and general slowness are routine work here. Bring it in and we'll diagnose it before recommending anything.

Managed clients have a support process set up during onboarding — the phone, email, and escalation paths we agree on together.

Everyone else can call the shop at (203) 433-2042, email sales@evolvecomputer.com, or stop in at 356 Howe Ave in Shelton — Monday to Friday 10–7, Saturday 10–4.

Contact Evolve →

Clients under a managed services agreement are handled according to that agreement. The practical advantage is that we already know the environment — the machines, the network, the accounts — so work starts from a known position instead of a blank page.

Specific response commitments are set out in your agreement rather than quoted generally here.

Yes. Most issues are handled remotely, which is usually the fastest route for both of us. Remote sessions only start with your knowledge.

Yes. Onsite work is available throughout Connecticut for business clients — hardware, networking, cabling, installs, and anything else that needs a person in the room.

Managed IT is normally provided under a recurring agreement, so the monthly cost is predictable and known in advance. Projects, one-time work, and hardware are quoted separately before anything starts.

You'll have the numbers in writing before work is scheduled.

Repairs carry a one-hour minimum labor charge, and diagnosis is part of that work. We'll tell you what's wrong and what it will cost before going further, and you decide whether to proceed.

For businesses, the first conversation about your IT environment is a consultation, not a billable service call.