Do they solder the USB-C connectors on the motherboard still? Because that has been actually the only fatality in the T470/T495/T14 machines I have. There is no way of effectively repairing the connector other than throwing the motherboard away as the connector shell usually rips up traces when it goes.
Apple put theirs on a replaceable daughter board, which while annoying to get out, is possible with minimal tools. I’d expect the same if iFixit are crowing on this.
Edit: did some googling and found out that no they haven’t fixed this flaw. The USB-C ports are still directly soldered to the motherboard. More landfill and completely compromises this marketing. And it makes a mockery of iFixit supposed 9/10 score.
Ifixit focuses on some weird criteria. Like pentalobe screws are annoying but not a real impediment to repair. Soldered NAND is a wear item and a WAY bigger deal.
> Soldered NAND is a wear item and a WAY bigger deal.
"Citation needed". For anything resembling normal usage an SSD will last well beyond the economic lifetime of the rest of the components surrounding it. So why is it that big a deal to replace it?
This reminds me of Louis Rossman’s long-term use review of his Framework 13 (1); he was hard on it and killed some of the ports, but thanks to them being swappable, was able to just slot a new one in.
I think somewhere in the middle of the framework and Lenovo is appropriate. I don't mind spending some time replacing ports but I do mind spending money on buying pluggable ones I'm going to plug in once.
The swappable ports are my single favourite thing about the framework. I love them. I, personally, still use a microsd card reader all the time, and having one just there, not sticking out, is really useful.
I no longer need to carry a hub or dongle or whatever when I take my laptop places. Just a power adapter (though tbf I wouldn't even need that if Framework had figured out battery life better).
Though as much as I like upgradability, I'm not sure it will make financial sense to upgrade instead of buy a new machine.
> There is no way of effectively repairing the connector other than throwing the motherboard away
You're exaggerating. NorthridgeFix on YouTube has probably dozens of videos of him replacing USB-C connectors. Yes, he sometimes has to replace the traces with pad strips, but that's a long way to throwing the whole board away.
Not even slightly exaggerating. The repairs are overstated.
If you think these fixes last more than a few weeks you are probably mistaken. And due to the way footprints are designed for the shells there are occluded pins which can’t be resoldered or repaired. The end game is you have a USB-C connector that only works one way up on Thursdays when the moon is aligned with Jupiter.
I don't know your particular model or situation and what the root cause would even be, but I have had issues with the USB ports that were later fixed in firmware, or one port that would stop working after a BIOS update until I disconnect the battery and wait a few minutes. Others on the Lenovo forums have identical/similar issues and resolutions.
I also had a functional laptop where they switched out the mainboard due to USB connector issues (which never showed up in BIOS tests).
I bet you could get one of those magnetic usb-c 100w power connectors and fix this flaw for the most part simply by virtue of a breakaway connector that put minimal strain on the laptop.
Of course, those connectors don't carry data, so for connecting to a dock you would still be sol.
Basically a return to the status quo of 10 years ago, isn't it?
I am inclined to believe that this (as well as Dell's Concept Luna) is a direct result of Framework's existence and may not have happened without them in this form.
I know that my next laptop would have been a switch from ThinkPads to Framework, and it probably still will be, but I know that there are plenty or organisations that can't move to Framework so having Lenovo fix this is great for many reasons.
I use my laptop on a laptop stand on the couch and bed. Every time I slightly shift positions, the lap detection mode is triggered through the accelerometer (even though it's not on my lap) and the power limit throttles to 11W. You can clearly tell Lenovo does not dog food their own products, nor do they care about them. They've also released broken bios updates which ends up bricking devices. I can find links if people want to know more, but I have stopped recommending ThinkPads to friends and family. The quality is no longer there.
This is not a company that cares about their products - just one that attempts to extract the maximum possible value out of its consumers.
To me it got bad around the time they gave up the docking station port and switched to USBC for that. We have such models at work now and they had multiple failures, like one USBC port dying, which was hilarious to figure out first because the docking station uses two, so it still half worked. Then the keyboard on one died. Another colleagues speakers died.
We had lots of models from the T series before, and while they were not all perfect they still worked perfectly and we usually got to take them home when they were replaced and they kept working for years to come after the inevitable battery swap.
Yup, planned obsolescence. Apple does it way more but it's still unacceptable. Might as well go with any other brand then since they're charging a premium anyway.
I just replaced my daughter’s T14 gen 3 with a MacBook Air M2 because the thinkpad lasts 2 hours on battery and gets hotter than satan’s nuts. Terrible machine.
Ironically, when I have the laptop on my lap, there is enough clearance between my legs to let air through. If I put the laptop on a mattress, it gets ridiculously hot because it doesn't activate lap mode and the mattress makes a great seal on all of the chassis bottom edges.
It's also a mismanagement of resources that someone is writing IMU drivers and some [clearly imperfect] decision logic, some other person is routing that IC onto the motherboard, the thing will need to be documented and bugfixed (and not necessarily by the same people that designed and wrote the thing), it adds another supply chain constraint, the whole subsystem is an unnecessary power consumption (even if it's optimized to 50 or 20 uA)...
There are much bigger fires to extinguish at Lenovo with their hardware/firmware/vendor/driver choices, and a handful of people are spending finite engineering resources on "lap mode."
Yes. Complete mismanagement and ruins user productivity but can't disable it "due to legal". No gamer would allow this to happen on their gaming laptops (nor afaik have been sued) but according to Lenovo no office worker can put their laptops on their laps with more than 11W TDP being delivered to the laptop. It's crazy.
The laptop stands readily available on amazon allow for airflow while being on a mattress, for example. Just poor design where you can tell they don't care about their products. I will be replacing this unit with either Framework or a Tong Fang laptop which costs half as much but delivers twice the sustained TDP (54W) even when not on lap detection mode, provides proper cooling via 2 fans/vacuum chambers and comes stock with PTM7950 - all things Lenovo keeps on devices that cost 2k+.
ThinkPads/Lenovo no longer take pride in their products. It's a milking machine.
Lenovo announced new ThinkPads with "better sustainability and extended repairabilty'. The Intel variants are the L14 i Gen5, L16 i Gen1, L13 2-in-1 Gen 5, X13 Gen 5 and X13 2-in-1 Gen 5. AMD variants of the L14 Gen 5 and L16 Gen 1 have also been announced (but with sadly no TB4, but USB-4 only). The press release further reads that "One of the key features of the new ThinkPad L14 Gen 5 and L16 Gen 1 is enhanced repairability, with support from iFixit who have delivered a preliminary score of 9 out of 10.".
And traditional docking stations, I mean the ones you snap the laptop on. I find them incredibly useful with my older thinkpads, and they solve the problem brilliantly.
Does it run completely with free software without binary blobs?
Any advancements in this regard?
This is very important for sustainability in the long run.
I had my department at the time buy me a P53 against their wishes; they wanted to get me a Dell workstation, since they had a partnership with Dell which included fast repair service etc.
I thought the P53 was the most reliable high end laptop I could get and was supposed to have an amazing keyboard. Instead, the keyboard was average at best and the trackpoint much worse than my older Dell workstation. Then, it was one hardware/firmware problem after another, until a small water spill put the cherry on top: wrecked performance and now it cannot boot if not plugged in.
Once upon a time, Thinkpads had great, water-resistant keyboards and a solid build with reliable ports, but now this has become a fairy tale. The article does not really address any of this. I am never buying a Thinkpad again, although I really don't know what my options are :( I hear Dell is tanking the quality of their high-end workstations too.
Readit News
Apple put theirs on a replaceable daughter board, which while annoying to get out, is possible with minimal tools. I’d expect the same if iFixit are crowing on this.
Edit: did some googling and found out that no they haven’t fixed this flaw. The USB-C ports are still directly soldered to the motherboard. More landfill and completely compromises this marketing. And it makes a mockery of iFixit supposed 9/10 score.
Source: https://www.ifixit.com/Document/sunTY6dbbJvOMRjP/Repairabili...
"Citation needed". For anything resembling normal usage an SSD will last well beyond the economic lifetime of the rest of the components surrounding it. So why is it that big a deal to replace it?
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sw06swtgY0
Apple have the right approach (apart from having to remove the logic board to get at it): https://support.apple.com/en-us/103915 ... port boards are individually purchasable from https://selfservicerepair.com
I no longer need to carry a hub or dongle or whatever when I take my laptop places. Just a power adapter (though tbf I wouldn't even need that if Framework had figured out battery life better).
Though as much as I like upgradability, I'm not sure it will make financial sense to upgrade instead of buy a new machine.
You're exaggerating. NorthridgeFix on YouTube has probably dozens of videos of him replacing USB-C connectors. Yes, he sometimes has to replace the traces with pad strips, but that's a long way to throwing the whole board away.
If you think these fixes last more than a few weeks you are probably mistaken. And due to the way footprints are designed for the shells there are occluded pins which can’t be resoldered or repaired. The end game is you have a USB-C connector that only works one way up on Thursdays when the moon is aligned with Jupiter.
Asking because I bought a "broken" thinkpad very cheap and the only thing that doesn't work is the USB ports that occasionally stop working.
I also had a functional laptop where they switched out the mainboard due to USB connector issues (which never showed up in BIOS tests).
Lenovo's approach to USB is a mystery.
Of course, those connectors don't carry data, so for connecting to a dock you would still be sol.
Basically a return to the status quo of 10 years ago, isn't it?
I am inclined to believe that this (as well as Dell's Concept Luna) is a direct result of Framework's existence and may not have happened without them in this form.
I know that my next laptop would have been a switch from ThinkPads to Framework, and it probably still will be, but I know that there are plenty or organisations that can't move to Framework so having Lenovo fix this is great for many reasons.
couldn't help but imagine: this is the start of the transition to LAAS - laptop as a service (via subscription/advertising). :)
This is not a company that cares about their products - just one that attempts to extract the maximum possible value out of its consumers.
We had lots of models from the T series before, and while they were not all perfect they still worked perfectly and we usually got to take them home when they were replaced and they kept working for years to come after the inevitable battery swap.
It's also a mismanagement of resources that someone is writing IMU drivers and some [clearly imperfect] decision logic, some other person is routing that IC onto the motherboard, the thing will need to be documented and bugfixed (and not necessarily by the same people that designed and wrote the thing), it adds another supply chain constraint, the whole subsystem is an unnecessary power consumption (even if it's optimized to 50 or 20 uA)...
There are much bigger fires to extinguish at Lenovo with their hardware/firmware/vendor/driver choices, and a handful of people are spending finite engineering resources on "lap mode."
The laptop stands readily available on amazon allow for airflow while being on a mattress, for example. Just poor design where you can tell they don't care about their products. I will be replacing this unit with either Framework or a Tong Fang laptop which costs half as much but delivers twice the sustained TDP (54W) even when not on lap detection mode, provides proper cooling via 2 fans/vacuum chambers and comes stock with PTM7950 - all things Lenovo keeps on devices that cost 2k+.
ThinkPads/Lenovo no longer take pride in their products. It's a milking machine.
I thought the P53 was the most reliable high end laptop I could get and was supposed to have an amazing keyboard. Instead, the keyboard was average at best and the trackpoint much worse than my older Dell workstation. Then, it was one hardware/firmware problem after another, until a small water spill put the cherry on top: wrecked performance and now it cannot boot if not plugged in.
Once upon a time, Thinkpads had great, water-resistant keyboards and a solid build with reliable ports, but now this has become a fairy tale. The article does not really address any of this. I am never buying a Thinkpad again, although I really don't know what my options are :( I hear Dell is tanking the quality of their high-end workstations too.
Although apparently they are "Windows 11 Pro, Linux certified", so lets see.
At least we get our RAM, battery and harddisks components back.