Lenovo: Difference between revisions

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[[wikipedia:Lenovo|'''Lenovo''']] is a Chinese PC manufacturer founded originally as a state-founded branch of a research institute called Legend in 1984.<ref>[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2004.00349.x "Sequential learning in a Chinese spin-off: the case of Lenovo Group Limited"] - onlinelibrary.wiley.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref> In 2005, they officially rebranded as Lenovo and bought the IBM computer division alongside the [[Thinkpad]] brand.<ref>[https://www.strategy-business.com/article/00274 "Lenovo Goes Global"] - strategy-business.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref> Today, Lenovo has more than 77,000 employees and holds about a quarter of the Worldwide PC Shipments market.<ref>[https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/about/ "About Lenovo"] - lenovo.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref><ref>[https://doc.irasia.com/listco/hk/lenovo/annual/2024/esr.pdf "2023/24 Environmental, Social and Governance Report"] - doc.irasia.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref><ref>[https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/01-10-2024-gartner-says-worldwide-pc-shipments-increased-zero-point-three-percent-in-fourth-quarter-of-2023-but-declined-fourteen-point-eight-percent-for-the-year "Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments Increased 0.3% in Fourth Quarter of 2023 but Declined 14.8% for the Year"] - gartner.com - 2025-02-01</ref>

In 2014, the company bought [[Motorola]] Mobility from Google for around US$2.91 billion.<ref>[https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-completes-full-acquisition-motorola-mobility-from-google/ "Lenovo Completes Acquisition of Motorola Mobility from Google"] - news.lenovo.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref>

==Controversies==

===Hardware Lockout for Changes===

Lenovo has, on various occasions and for various models, locked the hardware through BIOS in order to prevent unauthorized parts from being used. This can prevent a user from changing to a better wireless card, or using an aftermaket battery or even a battery for a different model of Lenovo computer. Hacks are available to workaround this limitation on certain models, such as the T430, but Lenovo has never offered an OEM method of removing this lock.

===Suppliers accused of child labor===

In 2020, The Intercept made headlines showing how Chinese manufactures like Lenovo have suppliers accused of forced child labor in Uyghur regions of China.<ref>[https://theintercept.com/2020/08/21/school-laptops-lenovo-chromebooks-china-uyghur/ "Kids may be using laptops made with forced labor this fall"] - theintercept.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref> The company later said it was ending relationships with these suppliers.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/ap-exclusive-us-faces-back-to-school-laptop-shortage/2020/08/22/13281908-e4eb-11ea-82d8-5e55d47e90ca_story.html "U.S. faces back-to-school laptop shortage"] - washingtonpost.com - accessed 2025-02-01</ref>

===Disabling third-party batteries===

A common issue where third party batteries were working perfectly fine but without being allowlisted they are just got suddenly disabled, and as a result do not charge or function. There is no error messages and the only way to know is to install Vantage software to see non-genuine battery warning. This is critical as perfectly working hardware that is slightly outdated by a couple of years is basically turned into e-waste because of this, and original parts are getting harder to come by with every passing day.

===X1 Carbon series problems===

The '''X1 Carbon series''' of laptops exhibits hardware durability issues and will fail to '''POST''' (Power-On Self-Test) if their '''WWAN Broadband card''' is replaced with one that is not included in Lenovo's vendor whitelist.  

{{Main|Lenovo X1 Carbon}}

===Wording in their FAQs; "Is it safe to buy a used laptop or computer?"===

Originally from this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahw1cppZi-g|Lenovo Lenovo wants you to stop buying used PCs because they may have viruses on them]

===Broken Trackpoint===

Many thinkpads were shipped with a buggy trackpoint driver, where the trackpoint would stop working and the only fix was restarting the system. This bug affected a wide range of products, but Lenovo ignored the issue for years and refused to help customers. In 2021 a user created [https://web.archive.org/web/20250804180148/https://broken-trackpoint.com/ broken-trackpoint.com] which offered a windows tool that was able to effectively fix this problem. Lenovo sent their lawyers and forced it to be taken down.[https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-T400-T500-and-newer-T-series-Laptops/Trackpoint-randomly-stops-working/m-p/5062438?page=52#6280307]

===ThinkPad Thunderbolt firmware fiasco===

Certain Lenovo ThinkPad models released between 2017 and 2019 experienced a flaw in the Thunderbolt firmware<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-08 |title=Critical Intel Thunderbolt Software and Firmware Updates - ThinkPad |url=https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht508988-critical-intel-thunderbolt-software-and-firmware-updates-thinkpad |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=Lenovo Support}}</ref>. Over time, this firmware version can cause irreversible damage to the SPI-ROM<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herzig |first=Benjamin |date=2020-01-25 |title=Lenovo statement: Thunderbolt firmware responsible for ThinkPad USB C failures |url=https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-statement-Thunderbolt-firmware-responsible-for-ThinkPad-USB-C-failures.451307.0.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=Notebookcheck}}</ref> of the Thunderbolt controller, leading to the failure of Thunderbolt functionality and, in some cases, USB-C features.

List of the affected devices can be found [https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht508988-critical-intel-thunderbolt-software-and-firmware-updates-thinkpad here]

===Black underfill around BGA components===

Lenovo uses a strong black underfill material, often referred to as "glue"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-29 |title=Remove Lenovo black Glue under the chipset? |url=https://www.badcaps.net/forum/troubleshooting-hardware-devices-and-electronics-theory/troubleshooting-laptops-tablets-and-mobile-devices/68715-remove-lenovo-black-glue-under-the-chipset |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=Badcaps}}</ref> around the corners of some BGA (ball grid array) components. The underfill adds strength and helps protect the chips from physical stress<ref>{{Cite web |title=Underfills |url=https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ch/en/products/encapsulants/underfills.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=Henkel}}</ref>.

Users have noted, however, that the material is very difficult to remove. In some cases, attempts to take out these components can result in the pads being ripped from the board, making repairs more challenging.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-16 |title=how to remove black glue in edges of chips in Lenovo laptops? |url=https://www.badcaps.net/forum/troubleshooting-hardware-devices-and-electronics-theory/troubleshooting-laptops-tablets-and-mobile-devices/110425-how-to-remove-black-glue-in-edges-of-chips-in-lenovo-laptops |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=Badcaps}}</ref>

[[File:Lenovo underfill.jpg|none|thumb|354x354px|Example of the black underfill being used on a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop]]

==References==

<references />

[[Category:Lenovo]]