Electronics and tech stores in Palo Alto

For a city so closely tied to computers, Palo Alto has a short list of electronics stores. There is no big-box chain inside city limits and no row of computer shops. What it does have is a cluster of brand stores: two Apple stores, the three national wireless carriers and showrooms for Tesla and Rivian. They sit in three places, downtown on University Avenue, inside Stanford Shopping Center and along El Camino Real.

This page groups those stores by area with a short, neutral description of each and a link to its listing in our directory. The listings carry addresses, phone numbers and hours checked in 2026. We do not rank stores, quote reviews or compare prices. Stores change their hours often, so open a listing before you make a special trip.

At a glance

Downtown and University Avenue

The main street holds four tech stores within a few blocks of the Palo Alto Caltrain station. If you are coming by train, this is the easier cluster to reach on foot.

• Apple University Avenue: Apple's own downtown store at 340 University Avenue, called Apple Palo Alto on Apple's site, with the Genius Bar, Today at Apple sessions and order pickup.
• T-Mobile: a T-Mobile Experience Store at 165 University Avenue, at High Street, selling phones, plans and home internet, with trade-ins and support.
• Verizon University Avenue: a Victra-run Verizon authorized retailer at 222 University Avenue, with appointments and in-store pickup.
• AT&T University Avenue: an AT&T authorized retailer at 479 University Avenue for phones, plans and home internet, with in-store appointments.

The T-Mobile store has a footnote in tech history. Google opened an office at 165 University Avenue in February 1999, before it moved to Mountain View. Our guide to famous tech addresses lists other storefronts with a startup past. Of the two Apple stores, the downtown one keeps the longer weekday and Saturday hours, according to Apple's store pages in October 2026. That makes it the usual choice for an after-work repair or a forgotten charging cable.

Stanford Shopping Center

The open-air mall on El Camino Real at Sand Hill Road groups its tech stores near Neiman Marcus, so one parking spot covers all three.

• Apple Stanford: Apple's second Palo Alto store, near Neiman Marcus, with the Genius Bar, Apple Vision Pro demos by booking and online order pickup.
• Tesla Stanford Shopping Center: a sales store with no service center, open daily for questions and demo drives, with a Tesla Destination Charger on site.
• Rivian: a showroom next to Brooks Brothers where you can sit in the R1T truck and R1S SUV, book a demo drive and browse Rivian gear.

The center's directory places the Apple store's closest entrance on Arboretum Road at Orchard Lane, beside the two-level garage. You do not need an appointment to look around the Rivian space, but demo drives are booked ahead. The center lists Electrify America, ChargePoint and Tesla chargers in its parking garage, which helps if you arrive in an electric car. For the rest of the center, read our Stanford Shopping Center guide.

Along El Camino Real

El Camino Real runs the length of the city. Its stores have their own parking lots, which makes them simpler for a quick errand than downtown.

• AT&T El Camino Real: AT&T's Page Mill store at the corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road, with a lot entered from Page Mill and visits you can reserve ahead.
• Verizon El Camino Real: Victra Palo Alto at 2999 El Camino Real, a Verizon authorized retailer open here since 2018 according to Verizon's locator.
• Tesla El Camino Real: a showroom and service center at 4180 El Camino Real near Arastradero Road, with demo drives, sales help and vehicle service.

Tesla's two sites do different jobs. The mall store is for seeing cars and starting an order. The El Camino Real site adds the service center, so owners with a car that needs work should go there. Tesla posts each location's hours on its Palo Alto service page. The company's roots in town run deep. Our page on Tesla in Palo Alto covers its years headquartered on Deer Creek Road.

A specialist outside the retail districts

• Scientific Equipment Repair: a lab equipment dealer and repair shop at 949 Industrial Avenue, selling refurbished centrifuges, biosafety cabinets and HPLC systems from a showroom.

This one is for startups and research groups rather than consumers. It is listed here because founders setting up a lab often search for electronics and equipment together. It sits in the light-industrial pocket off Highway 101 and San Antonio Road.

Repairs and trade-ins

Repair options inside the city are mostly brand run. Here is how they break down.

1. Apple devices. Both Apple stores offer Genius Bar support by reservation. Apple lists device setup, Apple Account recovery and screen replacement among its support topics. Back up your device and know your Apple Account password before you go.
2. Phones from any brand. The carrier stores handle trade-ins, activations and plan changes. AT&T and T-Mobile both list trade-ins on their store pages. They are not general repair shops, so call before bringing in a cracked screen.
3. Electric cars. Tesla's service center is at 4180 El Camino Real. The mall store does not list service.

Our directory does not list an independent phone or computer repair shop in Palo Alto that we could verify in 2026. Small repair counters do open and close along El Camino Real. If you find one, check its own website and recent hours before you leave a device.

What Palo Alto does not have

Shoppers expecting a Silicon Valley version of a giant electronics mall are often surprised. There is no big-box electronics chain in the city. The Best Buy in the Ravenswood shopping area of East Palo Alto closed in 2012. There is no camera store in the city either. The nearest is Mike's Camera at 715 Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Menlo Park, which sells cameras, lenses and used gear and offers printing and film processing. Its store list shows 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Our directory has no video game chain or computer parts shop. For those, residents drive to larger retail centers elsewhere in the South Bay or order online.

One nearby option is unusual. The Google Visitor Experience at Gradient Canopy in Mountain View, opened October 12, 2023, has a Google Store open to the public, where you can see the company's own hardware in person. It sits about a 15 minute drive from downtown Palo Alto. Read about the company's early days in town in our page on Google's Palo Alto years.

Phone and internet service for newcomers

If you have just moved to town, the carrier stores are the fastest way to set up a line in person. Palo Alto also has an unusual option at home: the city's own utility sells fiber internet as Palo Alto Fiber. Coverage maps and plan choices are explained in our guide to internet and cell service, which is the better place to compare providers before you walk into a store.

Visitors on a short trip often skip the store entirely. An eSIM bought before you fly activates when you land and avoids paperwork at the counter. You can set up a US eSIM online and keep your home number on the same phone.

Planning a tech errand

Pick the area by what else you need that day. Downtown suits train riders and anyone eating on University Avenue, since four tech stores sit within a short walk. Stanford Shopping Center suits drivers who want one parking spot for an Apple appointment, a Tesla or Rivian look and other shopping. El Camino Real suits a quick in-and-out with a lot at the door. Weekday mornings are the calmest time at all three. For other shopping districts in the city, start at our Palo Alto shopping guide.

Frequently asked questions