Big changes need strong allies. That’s why over the past several years, we’ve been working to help manufacturers join the fight for repair. More and more, they see repairability not just as an economic advantage, but also as a way to differentiate their products and build brand loyalty. People like products that last, it turns out.
When it comes to laptops, Lenovo’s ThinkPads have been known for durability for decades, so much so that they have been in use in low Earth orbit, a place without onsite service technicians.
With the help of iFixit, Lenovo is taking the repairability of its ThinkPad T14 model to the next level.
During the development process, our Solutions team—comprised of repairability experts and tech writers—disassembled, documented, and evaluated the internal design of the laptop to provide feedback. Lenovo’s design team engaged with this feedback. They listened to what we had to say about the repairability of their laptop. The result: A ThinkPad that looks deceptively similar to its predecessors from the outside, but features a drastic repairability improvement on the inside.
What does this mean? While the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 earned a decent 7 out of 10 on our Repairability Scoring Rubric and a shoutout for an impressive keyboard replacement procedure, the Solutions team saw some clear room for improvements, e.g. the soldered-in RAM.
Based on our feedback, Lenovo made changes to the internals that brought the score of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 to an astounding 9 out of 10. From easily replaceable parts, to a design that supports safe and straightforward repairs, Lenovo’s team prioritized repair down the cable connections and fasteners.
Considering Lenovo is the largest PC vendor worldwide, this is no small feat. With this new laptop, they bring repairability to their best-selling business laptop. And that’s not the only thing they did when it comes to repairability. Just last year, Lenovo Executive Luca Rossi laid out the company’s goal to have 84% of repairs possibly done without having to send the PC to a service center by 2025.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 shows that repairable design doesn’t need to be a niche that comes with uncomfortable trade-offs, but can be made possible within the requirements of a modern business laptop. We believe that the future is repairable, and with this laptop, Lenovo makes a commitment to make this future a reality. We’re here for it.
Learn more about our collaboration from our Lenovo Repair Hub. And if you have a Lenovo ThinkPad that’s in need of a repair, make sure to check out our guides and parts selection!
11 Comments
I would recommend pushing for laptop companies to make WLAN cards socketed as well, not just RAM/Storage. Not being able to upgrade the wireless capabilities of a system easily (or at least not without some awkward setup, like installing it in the WWAN slot) or replace it for the numerous reasons you might want to (defective, unreliable model, slow, etc) limits the lifespan of the device significantly. I know in the past I've given continued life to relative's computers by replacing their computer's network cards. I doubt this won't be a problem in the future.
Loki Rautio - Reply
Please keep in mind that even with poor-performing, incompatible, or defective parts like NICs, wireless cards, and even video adapters, you can always use USB peripherals to replace them. I have made many repairs for damaged laptops and PCs by simply using USB replacements.
Enrobed -
Apple failed to get the memo. Glad to see a company making the shift to easier, and smart, repairability.
Country Computer Service - Reply
Lenovo swapped the Fn and Ctrl keys round. As an ex-IBMer it's heresy. WiFi and USB-C ports are still soldered down. 👎
Too late on the repairability front, I ordered a Framework.
MagicBoy - Reply
I always liked Thinkpads, especially the keyboards. But I'm very locked into macOS, so this is both great news and really frustrating. Has Apple indicated any willingness to work with you on this, or did they just tell you to eff-off?
Richard Mallamo - Reply