Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025 • Hacker News Board

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#31

Post by PumpkinSpice » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:29 PM UTC

Isn't this a bit of a no-op for Lenovo specifically? I've been using Lenovo-made laptops for years, and never had trouble with DIY repairs - replacing keyboards, screens, batteries, adding RAM, etc. Their devices are pretty modular and DIY-friendly.

I wish they made charging plugs easier to replace, as these inevitably get damaged after 1-2 years, but that's really the only complaint I can think of. Is the situation different for other device types, or are they just trying to score an easy (if deserved) PR win?

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#32

Post by intalentive » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:32 PM UTC

duped wrote: post #19

This is great, but I can't trust a Lenovo device and I'm always a bit shocked when I see developers buying ThinkPads from a company that's demonstrated it can't be trusted to give you a secure device.

Doesn’t every CPU have a state-enforced back door? I assume no device is secure.

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#33

Post by jonfw » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:35 PM UTC

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #6

some_random wrote: post #2

Fantastic to see and I hope that this extends to upgradability too, it's absurd that the only way to get more storage on so called "professional" products like macbooks is to purchase a brand new one.

There is nothing professional or unprofessional about a device except a name. In the old days, business-targeted devices such as PCs and laptops had user-serviceable parts so that the support could quickly replace a broken fan or faulty memory die and you could get back to work. These days are long gone and I'm sorry to say I blame Apple for a large part of it.

works great if your employees are onsite and you have a big support dept. You're going to need to have employees w/ spare time waiting for repairs, you're going to need to stock extra parts, you're going to have to hire guys with skills to do that work. For those of us who are remote, or who don't have a big IT dept, that was never a good option.

I can get a brand new company macbook shipped to my house in less than 24 hrs if anything goes wrong w/ my machine, and things rarely go wrong. You can't realistically beat that

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#34

Post by throwway120385 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:35 PM UTC

a3w wrote: post #17

fortran77 wrote: post #15

I was very impressed with my Thinkpad X13s. I was able to open it up, just screws, --no glue to soften with a heatgun, careful spudging, or suction devices to pull things apart--and replace the 512 GB M.2 card with a 1 TB one.

I tried to replace my wireless card in my T440s. For a decade, Lenovo mostly forbids these upgrade via whitelisting in Thinkpads. Hello, other vendors...

It seems overzealous but they might be doing this to maintain FCC licensing. Speaking from experience, different radio/antenna combinations can leak different kinds of noise which would prevent you from getting certification with certain combinations. Their laptops might be noisier than the competition and with the added overhead of supporting different WLAN and Wifi cards with the built-in antennas they went over the edge.

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#35

Post by 7thaccount » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:38 PM UTC

newsclues wrote: post #29

dmoy wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I want is a frame.work equivalent repairable and parts-replaceable smartphone. I know it's not practical right now because the commodity and consumer-purchaseable parts that go into a framework laptop don't exist for a smartphone analog right now, and the phone would probably be unacceptably large for most people. But I'd buy it if I could just replace the flash myself every 3-5 years, battery every 2-3 years, e…

I want a thick and strong chassis, the ability to pick which (camera) sensors are plugged in, standardized Single board computers, and add in batteries. Phones should be DIY projects with Cheap off the shelf components. The PC equivalent.

If only they would try to make that work. I don't vape, but have noticed those that do seem to take customizing their pens pretty seriously by changing out certain components. I heard someone describe it as like a Jedi building their lightsaber haha. I'd like to do this for a phone for sure, but it'd be hard to get manufactures on board I think.

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#36

Post by benoliver999 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:42 PM UTC

baz00 wrote: post #27

Step 1: stop soldering USB-C ports to the boards on your thinkpad line as they are NOT replaceable and will end the entire machine if damaged. That is the aforementioned T14 gen 3 in the article.

Oh it's funny you say that, I have a T495 and one of the USB-C ports has stopped working.

Luckily there's another one I can charge from but it really feels like a ticking time bomb.

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#37

Post by isykt » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:42 PM UTC

I always hear about how modern laptops and smartphones “aren’t repairable” and then I spent a week in Shenzhen.. where there were floors and floors of independent repair people doing specialized fixes to the most intricate parts. I had an old Apple Watch repair for about $20, only to discover that I got ripped off — I could have negotiated it down to much less.

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#38

Post by dmbche » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:46 PM UTC

baz00 wrote: post #27

Step 1: stop soldering USB-C ports to the boards on your thinkpad line as they are NOT replaceable and will end the entire machine if damaged. That is the aforementioned T14 gen 3 in the article.

I don't do a lot of hardware, but they really aren't ? You couldn't remove it and solder another connector in it's place?

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#39

Post by miragecraft » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:46 PM UTC

isykt wrote: post #37

I always hear about how modern laptops and smartphones “aren’t repairable” and then I spent a week in Shenzhen.. where there were floors and floors of independent repair people doing specialized fixes to the most intricate parts. I had an old Apple Watch repair for about $20, only to discover that I got ripped off — I could have negotiated it down to much less.

I think when we generally talk about whether something is "repairable" we're referring to the ease of repair, which translate to the repair being affordable and makes economical sense so people actually do it vs buying a replacement.

Re: Lenovo PC boss: 4 in 5 of our devices will be repairable by 2025

#40

Post by aeyes » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 3:49 PM UTC

isykt wrote: post #37

I always hear about how modern laptops and smartphones “aren’t repairable” and then I spent a week in Shenzhen.. where there were floors and floors of independent repair people doing specialized fixes to the most intricate parts. I had an old Apple Watch repair for about $20, only to discover that I got ripped off — I could have negotiated it down to much less.

Shenzhen - where stolen iPhones magically appear on Find My because they are getting used for parts.

It's not truly repairable if no parts are available.