Why I Am Done with Lenovo

Just Say NO to LeNOvo

A Frustrated IT Wizard Trying to Fix a Lenovo Laptop

2024.09.18

TLDR;

Lenovo is a lousy company that's against right-to-repair. Lenovo also is completely lying when they say they are leading the way in sustainability and responsibility, as their laptop design choices are anything but. Lenovo devices are a ripoff that make Macbooks almost look like a good investment.

Introduction

I mean, technically I've been done with Lenovo since 2011, so...

Lenovo is anti-right-to-repair. They may not publicly say anything about it, but they are surely against it. If not, then they're lying about their responsibility and dedication to sustainability. Why? Because you're not being sustainable when you are using 60+25+26+5 plastic rivets to prevent users from easily replacing their keyboard cover. In order to do so, you'd need a heat gun or soldering iron. Tell me, how is ANY of that sustainable? So I have to melt plastic to remove the keyboard cover. Melting plastic involves using electricity (adding to the bill and the strain on the grid) and releasing fumes. The other alternative involves no fumes or the need for electricity, but is just as wasteful and damaging to the environment: popping off the rivets with a boxing knife.

Let's look at how sustainable and responsible this is from Lenovo's perspective:

Removing keyboard requires melting plastic and emitting toxic fumes: ✔
Removing plastic rivets requires use of an electric heat gun that will use electricity generated by fossil fuels: ✔
Removing plastic rivets without a heat gun results in plastics polluting the environment: ✔
You can bypass this by going to Lenovo customer support: ✘

🤡 <[Looks like everything checks out!]

Already looking great, Lenovo! (That's sarcasm, BTW) You are totally coming off as a crony, greedy, shady corporation run by crooks. You are literally fueling anti-capitalist activists to do crazy stuff, then complain about them. "You, sir, are a LIAR!!!"

Enough joking, but that's one reason why I'm done with Lenovo. They lie to your face with corporate buzzwords. Maybe they are fooling themselves. Maybe their investors. But not me.

Next, they are anti-repair. Why? Well for one the difficulty in the whole keyboard shield/cover deal. And the brain-dead, non-existent customer "service" they provide, just for kicks. But the best reason: a sticker covering up the "last" screw on the motherboard. And it's not just any sticker, oh no. It's a Lenovo sticker! Now I'm not one to complain but... don't companies only put flimsy stickers over screws when they want an excuse to void warranty? Oh, wait, isn't that illegal in the US? Why yes, yes it is. I'm sure Lenovo's excuse is something like "wanting to make sure the components are original" or some dung like that. It's not like it matters, because as I said, Lenovo doesn't provide a warranty anyway...

What's funny is this was all from me repairing a friend's Lenovo laptop, by replacing the keyboard. It's reminding me that, even though I despise hp for corporate, anti-repair tactics, at least it's not Lenovo! Looks like Dell is the last great stalwart of repairable laptops. I'm beginning to think it's almost high-time to purge the "industry" from the IT industry...