Lenovo
reviews and complaints

Regarding technical support visonic of lenovo u430p touch in spain. The issue was non-detecting usb ports 2.0

I have sent my lenovo through the purchase shop (Partner gold of lenovo) 30th june 2014. They recquired one month to replace the motherboard. According to visonic, 18th of august my lenovo was on its way back to the shop. The shop never received my laptop lenovo.

After contacting them many times in order to find out why the lenovo u430p was not delivered, their answer was "your ultrabook is not lost, the transport service is not executing the transport to your city".
The 5th september, I wrote a formal complaint through e-mail. I never received a reply from visonic. Finally the 12th september, the shop where I purchased the lenovo reported me that visonic admits to have lost my lenovo u430p and they ask a replacement.
The 26th september, the shop reports me that the replacement from germany has not been expedited. Ashamed for the service and issues from visonic, the shop feels compelled to refund me (The client). The consequences for apparently a simple issue were 3 months without any laptop, not a single email reply, missinformation and all data lost.

After this issues, the service provided by visonic and lenovo guarantee phone in spain, I would never buy a lenovo again nor recommend to any work colleague, friends or family.

Hope i can give a no star to this hopeless website, I placed an order for Lenovo Flex 14 laptop (Order Number : [protected]-1 ). I received it onetime and opened the box couple of days later and try to use the laptop for an hour it was making noise and excelling excessive heat ( Which a new laptop won't do ). I doubted it was not a new one and looks like a refurbished or defected. I immediately contacted Adorama Customer service for an exchange they sent a return label and i returned it and i forgot to return the charger, Realized immediately and sent the charger the very next day. Both the laptop and charger was reached Adorama on 08/25/2014. By this time i made more than 10 calls to their hopeless customer service to make sure everything is in place. I called them on 08/25 th they said we received it completely and we are going to process and issue a new laptop in 8 business days. I waited and called back them on 09/08 they said the returns department didn't started the process yet will expedite it. The very same day i got a refund of $411 as i bought the same laptop for $499 ( I asked for an exchange they didn't do that and on top of it they charged me a restocking fee ). I called them back almost immediately asked to speak with their supervisor.
Here starts the actual drama, She told that the returns department is not able to find the charger i sent thats why they charged me with the restocking fee. I provided all the tracking information and she promised me to call me back on 09/09 with a solution. She called me today and explaining that the laptop was not defected thats why we are charging a restocking fee. She was rudely asking me like take this defected laptop or go to hell.
Let me explain about this supervisor ( Her name is Aira P Email : [protected]@adorama.com ). She was the most disgusting customer service lady i have ever encountered with. She know that they sold a defected piece, in return she is blaming me on purchasing that laptop. How would i know its a defected one when you guys advertised it as brand new one. Every time i called these people they kept me on hold for so long time and on purpose irritated me like anything, I asked Aira to get hold of their returns department evaluation guy who evaluated the laptop i can explain it to him, She was not able to do that ( Why because the reality is they don't have a guy who evaluated that and more over they didn't evaluated it ). She was so rude to me asking me take that defected laptop or we already charged the restocking fee ( That means literally telling me to go to hell we already charged you can do nothing ).
I need to tell this to Adorama, In the first place never advertise refurbished or defected things as new ones and don't cheat your customers. Secondly when a customer complained about some defected items, please evaluate properly and don't lie to your customers. Thirdly teach your customer service people a minimum courtesy and how to deal with customers especially to Aira P. And finally this will be my lat purchase in Adorama and i will play a significant role in publicizing about your false and fake items you sell and how falsely you mint money from customers to fill your pockets, And i will try to stop as many people as i can visiting and purchasing from your Junk website.
Tip for consumers: The only tip i give to everyone is stop buying from this website, This is a totally fake website. They sell all defected items and when you find and returned it they will charge you a restocking fee of close to 20%. PLEASE NEVER EVER EVER EVER BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS WEBSITE

After that i wrote reviews on several websites. They called me and asked to remove all those reviews after that they are going to refund the restocking fee they charged. I refused to remove the reviews as they are going to help lot of other people who are trying to buy in their website. So they told that they are not going to refund. They threatened me that if i remove the reviews they are going to refund other wise not.

I have purchased Lenovo P770 handset IMEI no. [protected] approx. a year back.
Post usage of handset for 6 months the screen got quite good amount of yellow patches at the bottom.

On 03rd May 14, I deposited my handset at your Chandigarh local service centre for service and it was been informed by service centre that there’s an issue in display hardware. As per them the hardware isn’t in the stock and needs to be sourced from outside Chandigarh which will take max of 7-10 days.

Unfortunately I got the handset back after 24 days i.e. on 27th May’14.

Further unfortunate of me when I reached home, I realized that the ear piece isnt working at all.
Again the handset was been submitted at Lenovo Chandigarh service centre for a day long. The service centre executive confirmed that they missed to connect some internal wiring of ear piece while resolving the previous complaint of patches on screen. (Really surprising!)

The issues doesn’t ends here, as, the moment I started using it, the handset started heating up badly even on idle mode.
It was getting heated to an extent of explode during the call. Resultantly I have to start using handfree for my safety.

The same was also informed to Gurdeep (service centre executive) telephonically after 2 days of receipt of handset.

Unfortune continues:- In Mid of July again noticed yellow patches at the bottom of screen. The handset was again been submitted at your Chandigarh Service Centre on 02nd Aug.

During my visit to service centre, while using the handset to transfer data from internal memory to external memory the handset got heated up to an extent. The same was been checked by executive Gurdeep.

On 04th Aug, received call from Mr. Gurdeep that there’s again an issue in display hardware which needs to be replaced along with mother board due to which the handset is getting heated up.

Now, lenovo is badly pushing me to take back the repaired handset which now has been repaired for three times and not ready to replace it.
Gaurav. [protected]

Bought a cell P 780 in December, 2013. Repeated problems. Eventually it just started dying every morning and would revive by itself inspite of battery charge of more than 70%. This was happening every 2nd to 3rd day. The service centre at Andheri East, HCL Guys, have taken the cell and proclaimed it to be a hardware problem which will take about 2 weeks (excluding sundays and holidays) to be rectified as they have to procure their spares from the Head Office.
The cell is pits and so is their service. Have been using a NOKIA for last 10 years and all issues with their hand sets were addressed the same day in a maximum of couple of hours. What am I supposed to do for next 18 days - buy another cell, beg, borrow or steal one.
A LENOVO PRODUCT, NEVER AGAIN

Dear sir/madam,
I purchased a mobile phone lenovo a390 from flipcart on 25 feb 2014. After 2 months phone gone dead so I take it to the service center. The owner of the service center said to me he send it to the company so I wait for a week. After a week company call me and said me that the company paid me the amount of the phone because they cant able to repair the phone. Company also said me that they will pay me within two week but now itys gone over 2 months company not pick my phone or not give me proper reply. What can I do. Please help me... , my self - pankaj rawat
Contact no. [protected], [protected]
Enclose a copy of bill...

I placed an order on 6/6/14 for a laptop for my business. I was hesitant because it said it would ship in 3 weeks which was longer than I had anticipated. They confirmed the order promptly and provided a link for order status. On 6/14/14 I checked the web site to see if perhaps the order was going through sooner. To my dismay it was extended! The web site now said 7/30/14---almost 8 weeks after I placed my order.
I attempted customer service chat, and after 25 minutes never got a rep. I called, and waited 15 minutes for a rep. When I finally discussed my issues, I was told parts weren't available. For 8 weeks? I told the rep (who was very nice) that I wanted to cancel. He said he would see that was done, BUT WITH NO ASSURANCE THAT MY CARD WOULDN'T BE CHARGED OR THAT THE ORDER WOULDN'T SHIP. Excuse me? You can't cancel an order in over 6 WEEKS (time remaining per their web site)? I told him if they charged me, or shipped the product, I'd raise heck.
No compromise was offered either, no solution, nothing. This company is a joke. I don't care how good their products are, if you can't deal with orders and with cancellations or offer customers some kind of solution or compromise your company is rubbish. Now I am on a search for another computer and have wasted tons of time researching, as well as dang near losing this contract I have that was the reason for the new computer. Stay clear of Lenovo.

On 03/28 I placed and order for a Lenovo IdeaPad U430 and I had 2 payment choices - to created a Lenovo account or to pay through Amazon. I chose to pay through Amazon. I placed the order and received a confirmation email and an order acknowledgement. On 04/01 I received another email that my order has been delayed and I will receive it within 30 days. On 04/04 I received another email that my order has been canceled. "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish!" I called to inquire why my order is canceled and the explanation was that they ran out of the products but if I want I can order something else. How unfortunate. I was also assured that my card was not charged. Well, I was charged but Lenovo seems to think this is not their problem and I should contact Amazon to get my money back. Also according to their customer service Amazon should reimburse all credit card fees and interest charges. Since they don't have the product anymore I asked if I can get a similar product for a similar price instead. I was offered IdeaPad 530 at almost double the price. I guess this is how they understand customer service is China (Lenovo is a Chinese company). It's not their fault that they are offering a product they don't have. It's not their fault that my card was charged and It's not their fault that they cannot ship the product they don't have but took my order. It's very "unfortunate" is what they say. Dear Lenovo, you're in the business of selling PCs and laptops. Please check the news, this is a declining product category. I'm a customer that has the willingness to buy a laptop from you. You decided not to sell it to me. Thank you for you time.

Can someone help me please P&G Digital zone East Rand did a replacement laptop through my insurance...but it crashed in the first 14 days off delivery. Did load a complaint on hellopeter still no reply! I was told that they will replace the software on a 14 day old laptop after they fetched it and its been 2 weeks already to which i phoned them yesterday to find out what is happening to which they said they need to replace the hard drive off a 14 day old laptop, phoned P&G Digital Zone again today to which they do not know whats going on regards my laptop. I phoned my insurer Nicollete to find out whats happening to which she informed me P&G Digital Zone Bradley Wadley confirmed that the laptop was sent to the manufacturer? Can someone please help me get this sorted please...!

My name is Svetla Dimitrova, from Bulgaria.On 28.12.2013 I order 2 phones Lenovo from www.aliexpress.com, seller name is Lulu Ma. On the next day my order was shipped. On 03.01.2014 the seller send me message to open disput for partial refund NOW. I opened and I mark " I don't receive my order, it still in transit", but after that my order was finished. Now I'm still not received my order, or my money back. This is my order number : [protected] from www.aliexpress.com. My sister Anna Trifonova has the same problem with same seller, her orders number: [protected]‏ and ‏ order Number:[protected] . Many times I talked to the agents of www.aliexpress.com, they promised to help me, but still no result. I don’t know this seller and I did not pay directly to him, I paid to Aliexpress, .com, but aliexpress did nothing to help me. Thera were more than 150 orders, from this aliexpress seller - Lulu Ma, and they are all deceived. Hope you help me.

There is a heart or shield shaped opacification in the right upper screen, 4 inches wide at the broadest part. Lenovo dispatched a local repair person to replace the screen twice. After the second effort, he begged off. Lenovo had me send it to them. They said there was a problem in the mother board and that they fixed it. It's the same. Their complaint department person sent me a patronizing e-mail to the effect that they were so sorry that I wasn't satisfied with their product or service. Seems my only recourse is to encourage others to spend their computer dollars elsewhere.

I have a warranty on my new Lenovo computer. I called for support and was told that I would have to purchase support for the issue at hand and got talked into purchasing Lenovo Premium Support to cover 3 computers and peripheral devices. I called for help and was on the phone over an hour for a fairly simple issue...the networking is crappy and the Lenovo machine in the primary on the network. I was unable to access my label printer from a 2nd computer (had been accessing in previously) so instead of figuring it out myself I thought it would be quicker to call for the support i paid for. Heck no. After an hour I was no closer to resolution. And I was not willing to stay on the phone with them (actually - chat rather than phone) any longer. I hung up and fixed the problem myself, which I was able to do in about 10 minutes!

THEN I called for a refund of my "guaranteed" satisfaction contract. Oh, no. That's not happening either - they want to call me back and talk to me some more...but they didn't. So I called AGAIN to cancel the contract and was told that a supervisor would have to call me and he/she won't be in for another 3 hours...seriously.

What kind of guarantee is this?

DON'T BUY LENOVO SUPPORT! It is a total rip off.

I bought a lenovo thinkpad T431s on at lenovo offical website at sept 1st and get it with broken LCD screen, then I was ask for replace on sept 27th and get the new one get it on oct 12th.
Unfortunately, it has not performed well. Though I got perfect LCD screen this timme, after I tried to installed few application on the new laptop, it shows the error of register can not restart anymore. I was so upset and was trying to talk with the custom service for replace a new one on oct 20th.
I’m a design concentrate student which means the good laptop is my everything, but I didn’t get the laptop after almost 2 months waiting and the customer’s representor seems don’t want to solve problem for me. I am disappointed and ask for Lenovo company to paying my time that replace a new lap top with extension my warranty because after 2 times disappointed laptop it’s reasonable for me think that I’m going to use my warranty a lot and they need to pay for my time. After more than 4 hours talking with several customer service (because they drop off and always leet me hold for waiting, or being ignored by their team leader for several times) there’s one of their team leader who called Preston get my call and said he will reply me for the result at the next day (which should be on OCT 23rd) and it turns out that I didn’t get any reply till now. I was trying to contact this guy a lot after that days and still he never call me back .

I'm now thinking they are just wait till my replace warranty expired and won’t do any thing. I’m upset and angry and now I want Lenovo company replace my laptop with extension warranty for 2 more years and update it with damage warranty. And ask for give me na official explanation why they just put me aside and apology for me.

This complaint is regarding most pathetic lenovo laptop products and post sales service and the technical team.

I had purchased lenovo ideapad laptop z585 sn: qb06951634 through vijay sales at andheri west, s. V. Road branch.

I am having issue with the device ever since the purchase of the same.

The following service request were generated through lenovo customer care.
Service request no : [protected] - june 2013 (Immediately after the purchase of the laptop from vijay sales on finding the fault. No response to this service call)
Service request no : [protected] - 19th july 2013 (Technician visited on 2nd august 2013 and failing to resolve the issue. Another issue made by the technician: the front black panel color of the body has been affected due to the opening of the lenovo body by the technician. )
Service request no : [protected] - 21st august 2013 (Technician visited on 1st september. Could not resolve the issue)
Service request no : [protected] - relogged on 20th september 2013.

Till date I have not received any calls from your team for resolution.

serial no: qb06951634

issue: wifi connectivity, front panel body damage done by technician

The wifi adapter is faulty and frequently discoonects and doenst connect within few range.
I have another laptop lenovo z580 and acer extensa which under the same atmosphere connects to the complete range without any issue.

A technician visited after endless followups and non stop pressure from my end, however the issue was not resolved. The same has been mentioned in his service sheet as a proof. Moreover to that the keypad panel on the laptop is damaged due to the technician

wifi connectivity is of prime importance for any laptop. The device is useless to me since buying due to this issue. If the issue cannot be resolved, I request you to kindly replace the laptop at earliest or want the refund.

hi see below complaint service centre not at all ready to help us., they been fooling is, i need a replacement of handset

From: siddharth
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2013 9:57 PM
To: dipak.[protected]@hcl.com ; [protected]@hcl.in ; [protected]@lenovo.com; ; [protected]@leNOVO.COM ; [protected]@lenovoreg.com ; [protected]@lencare.co.in ; [protected]@lenovo.com ; [protected]@lenovo.com ; [protected]@ch.ibm.com
Cc: cp.mum.addcp.[protected]@mahapolice.gov.in ; [protected]@moneycontrol.com
Subject: Re: Sub : service centre cheater us .

hello

Deepak have some manner to speak, use word sir, or Mr Siddharth

cc: Mr Rakesh
the way Mr Deepak spoken to us & ask us to go a head with police complaint & what so I can do I can go a head I am going with same,

The handset is given to us were they have again change & given me another customer phone as display which is given to me is not new + the battery which is given is also not my or new as they said that they have remove & given of another customer. also the imei sticker is damage as they have change the pcb board of handset . this time the charger point of mobile is having scratches when we point this to service centre guys they said this handset only they have so they cannot arrange better then this

I will be cleared here I have already forward to mail to consumer dept of india know as core, nic.in & my next email me will to mumbai police if this handset is not replace with new one as that handset which I gave was brand new without any scratches or damage on I but the handset which they gave me is old & damage, so I need a replacement with brand new handset for same, as my handset was new & I was having only touch issue but your service centre have change all parts of my mobile and given me old handset .

my next email will be send to mumbai police below link
http://www.mahapolice.gov.in/mahapolice/jsp/temp/mail.jsp

regards
siddharth

as u said that I am blackmailing I have cc to one of a dept of police,

cc: mumbai police, ADDL.CP, WEST REGION, BRIHAN MUMBAI

hello sir request to file a fir against service centre & mr deepak whos aim is to cheat customer under ipc420 a case should be filed

From: Deepak Karpe
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2013 6:09 PM
To: 'siddharth' ; 'Rakesh Mattoo'
Cc: 'Kapil Arora '
Subject: RE: Sub : service centre cheater us .

Dear Siddharth,

Already I have discuss with, Your brother in Service centre, we will repair and give you. Because now display and battery changing.

Thanks and Regards,

Deepak

Date 12/9/2013

To

Lenovo india

India.

Sub : service centre cheater us .

Hello

I been using your Lenovo smart phone from last 4 months, because of goodwill in market i choose your brand, as in 4 months the touch was not working i check the same with service centre, 10days back i gave andheri hcl service centre my phone

he have 1st change my battery, 2nd he have change the pcb board of my phone as the imei can be rewriterable but i can see he have remove the imei sticker and stick again because they is a trown on imei, means its seem some one have remove and stick.

3rd the display is also change by him as i can see when display is full white they are marks of layers on both side,

also the battery he have change as u can see on xeror bill which service centre have a serial number mention by me, but the battery he gave is different
also the speaker & vibrated is not working

before i file a police complaint against your service centre and take a Lenovo to court i need a full replacement of my handset

Also i don’t understand when in warranty all brand give all parts to service centre for free why they play with customer mobile. I will make sure that i take this matter to higher court & in media as this is not acceptable at all.

Regards

siddharth

i got handset today 12 sept 2013 model no. a800 imei [protected]

service centre is
HCL Infosystems Ltd
HCL Towers, First Floor,
360, Marol Military Road,
Andheri (East), Mumbai 400059
Sales No. 022 – 4051 0231 / 4051 0435
Service No.022 – 4051 0200

I really think Lenovo is a great brand with nice innovative products but unfortunately I do not think I'll buy another computer from this company again due to its lack of reliability and horrible customer service here in Brazil!

I've bought a new Lenovo Yoga (top line, i7, 256gb ssd, 8gb ram) in May (2013.05.17), when visiting US (San Francisco – Microsoft Store). It was not cheap at all (~ US$ 1.400 + taxes) but I thought it would be worthy for a differentiated product. I could not be more wrong.

Back in Brazil (where I live) on July 17th (only 2 months after purchase), both USB ports stopped working. I immediately called for Lenovo’s support. They made me restore my notebook twice (do not ask me why twice) and then, since the problem remained unchanged, provided the diagnose that the USB controller (i.e. the whole motherboard) had to be replaced. They asked me to wait for a quick contact saying a technician would come directly to my house to fix the problem within 7 days (that was when I innocently got happy… but only for a short time).

On August, 21st, after more than 30 days waiting for technical support (and also after many hours contacting Lenovo’s call center desperately asking for some answer and response), they told me I could ask for my money back or for a whole new computer (since that is what precisely Brazilian law determines). I once again trusted Lenovo and asked for another Yoga. The guarantee/legal department told me on 2013.09.06 that would be sending me an e-mail asking for some personal data and copy of the purchase coupon (what I had already sent them, but that’s fine) and… nothing. Not a single e-mail received.

I returned to the contact center on 2013.09.09 and they asked me to wait for the e-mail. They also “explained” the delay saying that Lenovo guarantee in Brazil has a lot of accumulated work to be done.

And, here I am today (2013.09.12), 55 days after my first contact to Lenovo, still waiting for some solution. Once again, I do appreciate Lenovo’s products (I was inclusive thinking that the recently launched Yoga 2 could be my next computer), but more than innovative products, I expected reliability (not a top product that stops working with only 2 months of usage) and specially, some customer attention/respect.

Facts and figures showing the worst customer service I ever faced:
2013.05.15: Lenovo Yoga (i7, 256gb ssd, 8gb ram) purchase at Microsoft Store (San Francisco, US)
2013.07.19: USB Ports stopped working – Lenovo Brazil customer service ask me to make a system restore (twice), what didn’t solve the problem. Customer service asked me 7 days to send a technician directly to my house to fix the problem (motherboard replacement)
2013.08.21: After more than 1 month waiting for support with not a single contact made from Lenovo (I had to call the company many times in order to have a position), Lenovo Brazil offered me to replace the whole computer.
2013.09.06: Since nothing seemed to be happening, I called Lenovo Brazilian customer service again. Guarantee/legal department returned my call saying they would sent me an e-mail to start the computer substitution procedure
2013.09.12: Not a single e-mail received so far. 55 days with my Yoga malfunction. Truly disappointed.

Serial number: EB33072038
Customer service protocols (Brazil): 30597 and 40856

I have given my cell phone of Lenovo model number s90 purchased on 14th march 2013, which bears warranty of 1 year. I had some display issues so had contact to local authorised service station of Lenovo in rajkot city of gujarat state in India. I was told that my cell phone will be returned to me in 15 to 20 days. Whereas it has been 1 month and 8 days that i have not received my mobile. Even there is no proper response from officials and no other instrument(cell phone) is provided after 20 days so that i can temporarily manage my work. Kindly reply me wat should I do.
I am attaching a receipt note for mobiles which is provided to me by service centre.
Hoping for your co-operation.

I purchased and received my 'new' lenovo g580 laptop on 14th april 2013, I can't register my warranty, as the laptop is already under warranty! It was registered by someone else on 19th december 2012 and I only have 249 days left. They do offer to let me pay to extend the warranty. Is this legal, passing off old as new? Tried phoning lenovo but nobody ever answers. I must now contact trading standards. Money has gone out of my account and if I send this used item back to these people how can I trust them to refund me? I have to have a laptop for my work, no machine no income. I would be very glad of any advice.

sir,
this is to bring to your notice that my Lenovo laptop screen is being self damaged with in the warranty period. the half part of screen is appearing white as seen in the photo attached with it.earlier there was only one spot in the screen.kindly take the severe action against it and replace the screen as soon as possible.
thanking you
here are the details of the laptop
purchasing date --- 22 may 2012
model name--- g560
serial number---CB15263214
factory id ---PRC4

I have one of the Lenovo G570 Laptops.

One can smell bad deals in the details like Lenovo having done a deal with Microsoft to install an Operating System on the hard drive, but NOT giving you a copy of the OS on a DVD, to reinstall it, in case the OS crashed or a new HDD was needed etc...

So since I despise Microsoft with an absolute passion for just being despicably stupid, greedy and unethical and in general - and all their "drop you in a hole" stunts like these, just to trick the consumer into buying ANOTHER copy of the OS, when the installed operating system does go wrong.

I have this philosophy "Microsofts licensing schmicensing - I pay for it - I own it" - and if the OS dies - and I can't reinstall it - if you people in Microsoft want to play more of your never ending dirty deals, then your not working for me..

I wiped the hard drive, and installed Xubuntu Linux... Because I absolutely HATE Microsoft - and I contacted the folks in Lenovo and asked for a refund on the Microsoft OS - and they did NOTHING... no replies... absolutely NOTHING...

Hmmmm predictor of future customer service - you betcha.

Lenovo have a real reputation for giving people a hard time when it comes to being reimbursed for the "Microsoft Tax" on their systems...

My tale of woe started with the fact that I used the "Supervisor Password" - which means No Password = No Booting and No BIOS acccess.

And these passwords are the things that I do remember...

Lenovo / IBM laptops - depending upon which version of the manual / laptop you get... they have up to THREE passwords.

1. The Power On Password.

2. The Hard Drive Password

3. The Supervisor Password.

But mine stopped working - and there have been a few other people commenting in the forums etc., that the CMOS / EPROM chips - like all the other hardware etc., they do have a tendency to take a stop working.

The unit was bricked - and the issue is that they would only fix the laptop by me sending it back to them, to have the motherboard replaced.

At my cost.

Now this was not sooooooo bad, except that I didn't forget my password AND the cost of replacing the mother board, was about $450 for a $650 laptop - with more added onto it for postage and handling.

See I did not agree to the cost of this at all.

Adding in the fact that the postage there and back would take about 2 weeks all up - and then to consider that Lenovo's reputation for totally bad customer service - every step of the way - after having paid for the replacement, they might only take 2 or 3 months to get it back to you - with nothing having actually been done - if you hassle them badly for ages to get it back to you.

See the other complaints in the forums listed at the bottom of the page.

The time factor was not an acceptable issue.

Given that basic MOBO's can be had for $60 new, laptops sell in volume by the millions - paying $450 for a new basic low spec MOBO, I considered that costs were outrageous.

I also considered that the likelyhood of getting the people in Lenovo who really do give the WORST (to non existent) customer service ever - to admit a chip failure was as remote as gassing myself on fresh air.

So the idea of me paying that much money for a NEW motherboard for a crap laptop from a company full of crooks, was "Not likely."

I also asked them if they could send a mother board to the local computer tech for him to replace it - and they said they do not do this - it HAS to be sent back to them for them to do it. Why not? Except for the issue of the cost, It would have meant that my laptop could have been repaired and running in under 3 or 4 days.

They also would not send me out a motherboard, so I could replace it myself.

I NEED an operational PC up and running by the end of the week - not to have my hardware sitting in a warehouse doing nothing for 3 months gathering dust. Read the forums in the links at the end for more of this issue.

Given that the Lenovo people "claimed" that there was NO WAY to RESET the password, and given the fact that they stated replacement of the mother board could ONLY be done through them, this somehow stunk of "scam"...

Something is wrong here... Exclusive trading etc... lots of "secret inhouse goings on"...

Something is going on - and it's not right. I smell a scam. No local sellers (the computer shop I bought it from) replacing the mother board, no sending one out to me... Something is wrong in this picture.

So I began the wonderful journey of hacking the hardware.

You see on a "normal computer" if you forget your password, you can reset the password by shorting out the CMOS memory - with the jumper plug on the mother board - and or pull out the CMOS battery. But laptops get knocked around and jumper plugs would come loose - so laptop makers usually use copper contact pads on the mother board, to short out the CMOS / EPROM chips - thus flushing the password/s from the memory.

However the Lenovo / IBM do not include any "evident" physical means to reset the password - nothing but the lock step "In case of forgetting your password - you MUST return the motherboard to us for replacement of the motherboard."

But I am never one to be taking getting fed what appears to be a massive corporate scam lightly, I found that there were people who had the skills and capabilities and indeed for some models they had the equipment for sale or plans to make readers, to read most of the CMOS / EPROM Chips that were on most Lenovo / IBM models.

http://www.ja.axxs.net/g40.htm
http://sodoityourself.com/hacking-ibm-thinkpad-bios-password/

This was fine except my model was not covered AND if it had of been, it's not exactly cost effective for just ONE laptop - and if my model had of been covered, it gets complicated and possibly pointless buying / building the chip reading hardware for a bad CMOS / EPROM chip...

So I took a long hard look into the internals of my laptop to see abut disconnecting the CMOS battery - and this was soddered into place... Eeeeeh.

Further discovery revealed that the CMOS / EPROM chip is a non volatile - meaning that disconnecting the battery does nothing.

In my dismantling the laptop, when pulling the power supply plug from the motherboard, it was on SO hard that the plug pulled out of the mother board when I tried to disconnect it - thus rendering any further effort futile.

BUT - dear reader I am rather dubious about the whole "your only option is to replace the motherboard" spin, for several rather concrete reasons.

But underneath the hard drive was a sheet of clear plastic film over the motherboard - with a fine spray of adhesive on the under side - making it opaque enough to be difficult to identify anything underneath it...

AND there was an EVIDENCE of TAMPERING sticker stuck across the clear plastic layer.

Uhhhhhhhhhh what a funny place to stick that.

(alarm bells going off)

Further dismantling revealed that this seemingly flat sheet of plastic film had a "U" shaped flap cut into it, that was basically so finely done, it was impossible to see.

Underneath this flap with the tamper evident sticker over it, on the motherboard are THREE sets of JUMPER PADS to short out the CMOS - to reset the password on the CMOS / EPROM chip, and the pads are marked CLRP1, CLRP2, CLRP3.

These "clear memory" copper pads are exceedingly small and they could be easily overlooked.

I suspect that each of the jumper pads listed as CLRP1, 2, 3 - for Clear Password 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

Of all the other sites and research etc., I think I am the very first one to pick this up.

But because the power connector pulled out of the motherboard I can't test them...

What I am thinking now.

I think Lenovo / IBM have been pulling a global scam on the replacement mother board issue. I think the customers who send the bricked laptops EXCLUSIVELY back to Lenovo / IBM are getting scammed and the people in IBM / LENOVO simply short the jumpers out - thus resetting any or all of the passwords, and are sending it back with a double recoup of the sales prices.

I say this because of the following things:

I am the only one who has picked this up... AND

1. People and Corporations lie - and I have had fights with the people in IBM and Lenovo and I think the responses have typically ranged from outright lying to outright incompetence.

2. The issue of "repairs" being under warranty - are exclusively in house, be it repairs or locking up from a password malfunction - when they could just as easily be done at home or at the local computer shop - the failure allow the local computer techs / retailer to do it locally - is SUSPECT.

So why are they stopping the people in the local computer shop from replacing the motherboard - it's where I bought it from and the guy is a qualified computer / electronics tech...

Why are they refusing to send me out the motherboard so I can replace it myself?

For starters I don't have three months to be wasted by them - when the motherboard could come out overnight by courier.

3. They say the entire motherboard has to be replaced... if the Supervisor Password is forgotten (or the chips fail - which they don't say anything about).

4. Now IF there was NO WAY to physically reset the password/s in the CMOS / EPROM chip/s - and there are up to three passwords:

1. The Power On Password.

2. The Hard Drive Password

3. The Supervisor Password.

a) Why are there 3 sets of CLEAR CMOS / EPROM contact pads on the motherboard?

Marked CLRP1, CLRP2 and CLRP3?

b) WHY are they concealed under a semi-opaque plastic film?

c) Why is there a slot cut into the film, directly over the jumper pads?

d) And why is there a security / anti tamper sticker over the slot in the plastic film?

This is a good question. "If the password/s cannot be cleared by shorting out the CMOS EPROM chips - as is the conventional method - what are the contact pads doing on the motherboard?

The pads ARE tiny and hard to see, so why do they have a plastic film over them - when there really isn't any need to have one over them - there is space between the motherboard and the hard drive. Nothing is going to touch it to short out - so why is it there?

And why is there a very hard to see slot cut into the film - and why does it have a tamper evident sticker on it?

And if the motherboards, they claim are worth $450 each - and apparently it's because of ONE locked up chip... since MOBO repairs and parts replacement, is little more than "articulate soddering" - why would ONE WHOLE NEW FUNCTIONAL MOTHERBOARD get trashed as they claim over ONE chip - when the CMOS/EPROM jumper pads to erase the passwords are carefully concealed under a "void your warranty if removed" sticker.

I think is happening, is that the laptops are going back to Lenovo / IBM, and they are pulling the hard drive out, and flipping up the slot in the plastic and they are resetting the CMOS / EPROM - charging $450 for it, saying they have replaced the mother board and then sending it back - with the customers none the wiser.

They are already forcing the consumer into forced inline trading by the exclusive supply of repairing services, when anyone can do it.
A comparable motherboard with similar specifications costs about $60 - so why are they charging $450 each for an alleged replacement.

While they are "kind of discrete" about exactly what a password failure entails, they do nothing about crowing loud and long about it's alleged security function.

And allegedly throwing out a whole new mother board over a failed password chip, is like throwing out a cars entire engine and transmission over a broken key in the door lock...

It does not add up.

If anyone out there can test this, of setting each of the passwords - including the supervisor password and then erasing them via the CLR CMOS / EPROM contact pads, please contract me and or post your answers here.

Or Here: http://tinyurl.com/dxfnx3b

Here is a list of sites that people post about their difficult experiences with Lenovo.

http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Lenovo

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Lenovo

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/lenovo.html

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-t420-2nd/4852-3121_7-34562424.html

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/lenovo-c364455.html

http://blog.thestateofme.com/2010/03/17/a-tale-of-bad-customer-service-lenovo/

http://compreviews.about.com/u/ua/support/LenovoSupport.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-09932JU-14-Inch-Graphite/product-reviews/B006M9ZX7S

http://amplicate.com/hate/lenovo

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/664714-lenovo-has-terrible-customer-support.html

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/horrendous-despicable-customer-service-lenovo-canada-1186597/

Bought a portable monitor lenovo think vision. Was not working from day 1. Called tech support - ibm. After days of testing (I had to test as per ibm tech support instructions) ibm technicians determined the monitor is useless (Faulty by design, hence replacement won't help) full ibm report sent to lenovo advising to refund the moneys.
4 yes four months later and after lots of promises and lies the dud monitor is still with me and no refund.
Excuses:
1. Chandra the (Customer doesn't matter) consultant, explained that since he was working from home he could not attend to customer problems.
2. Chandra arranged the courier to pickup the item. 3months later no pickup; blames the courier company.
3. I wrote email to their so called complaint manager. Got email from chandra saying sorry, after all it is not courier's fault. Finance department delayed the refund.
4. Four months later got a call from a woman, asking me if the monitor was ready for pickup and refund. Yes!
5. Now in fifth month nobody came to pickup the monitor.
Conclusion. Lenovo is an awful organization to deal with. Lots of promises, but never delivering especially on service. If you've got too much money and time and want to burn your cash and waste time, sure go ahead and deal with lenovo.