Lenovo U300s Owners Thread

Given all of the above...

...and as the proud owner of the U300s since December

... and with their (Lenovo) silence on the issues about this model

... and with their announcement of future models like U300e, plus their Q3-Q4 Ultrabook....

I have to wonder if they have sort of given up on a wide spread campaign to produce/sell/market the U300s?

 

Hey,
I'm going to buy an ultrabook this month but I still have some doubts between U300s and UX31 (that I hated the keyboard).

U300s is the second option in my list but I have a few doubts that I think you will can answer and help me (sadly here is impossible to find the U300s on stores to test):

1) I heard some complains about the body, people saying that it is flexible/flimsy, proceeds? Did you notice the screen shaking, vibrating, and/or moving when you are typing (over a table or in your lap)?

2) For the people with the Cypres touchpad: is it really that bad? Could you please post a screenshot of the scroll/click options in the configuration utility? (I'll buy online so...).

3) How is the battery life under "normal use" condition (wifi browsing, editing some documents, nothing heavy)? (Lenovo says 8h but in some reviews people say 5h30).

Thanks .

 

All your answers are here, in my user review. Avoid Cypress!

 

I can tell you from two months of experience first hand doing exactly that ("wifi browsing, editing some documents, nothing heavy") that I can unplug the U300s from the power adapter about five minutes before my typical 9:00 a.m. meetings, and I still have somewhere around 15% left when I put it back on the charger around 4:00-4:15 p.m.

This includes no use for ~70 minutes during lunch time hours (12-1) and, Bluetooth off, Wifi on, and putting it on the energy saver setting in the Lenovo control panel, and keeping the screen brightness at 60%.

 

​

POSSIBLE SOLUTION - CYPRESS TOUCHPAD:

I have the Core i5 model with the 128gb SSD drive.
The Cypress touchpad was virtually unusable on my notebook.
Installing the latest drivers did not help either.
I took a chance and uninstalled the Cypress driver for the U300S, and installed the latest drivers for the Ideapad U300e model ( Lenovo Support - Drivers & Downloads ).
This has solved all my touchpad problems and issues.
2, 3, and 4 finger multi-touch gestures and scrolling work fine.
If you have have the Cypress touchpad and try this "solution" let me know how it works for you.

 

Very interesting! I'll try this later today when I have time on my i7 256 with Cypress. I noticed in the link that for the U300e the driver version for Cypress is 2.3.6.14 while for the U300s it is 2.3.6.13... Synaptics for either is exact same number.

Frustrating that Lenovo packages both drivers in the same 91mb file. As if they're unwilling to admit there are two versions of the U300s.

Anyone else have a chance to test this?

 

@corteen they finally shipped my u300s yesterday. It should be in on Monday. Did yours ship too?

 

@phumanchu

Yes - mine shipped also.
Due to arrive on Monday.

 

Hi Dan
Have you had a chance to try the touchpad drivers meant for the Ideapad u300e ?
If so, is it working for you ?

 

I already had read you review before but you don't tell much about the battery use .
I don't have a chance to choose, do if you think that with Cypress it is something impossible to use?

I discarded the other options (toshiba because of the noisy fan and asus because of the keyboard), I'm going to purcharse the U300, but I'm a little concerned with this touchpad problem.

In your review you said that the notebook feels very solid, but in the most part of review people puts the flexibility as a problem. That's why I want to know in the specific case of during typing if the screen shakes or stay solid. Could you talk a little bit more of it?

Thanks for your answer.

Thanks for your help!
Do you use Lenovo as your main PC?
And what do you think about the body flexibility when typing?

 

Thanks for the reminder... having trouble downloading it from Lenovo's site... constant 9kbps download... I'm on a 20mb connection. I'll let you know when I get it going!

 

@copenhagenn I have the orange i7 256 with Cypress, and I've said it before, but I'll say it again.

The Cypress was terrible out of the box, but updated to the 2.3.6.13 drivers and it's WAY better, I'm definitely satisfied. I am curious how much different the Synaptics would be, but I'm happy.

As for flex, this thing is as sturdy of a laptop I've ever used. The screen is Very solid, no flex bending or bouncing while typing. The keyboard is very solid... I'm pounding away on it right now and It is really an amazing machine. There was one reviewer that said his unit was wobbly, but we all agreed his must have been defective.

 

Thanks dan76 .

Sadly they don't have the orange in UK and the 256 is too expensive (899 pounds X 1200pounds) :/.

One last question, do you have problems with the resolution or is 1366x768 enough?

I usually use the computer to write documents, browsing, watch series and programming (I have atm an EliteBook 8440w with 1600x900 (14") but this notebook isn't good for mobility, too thick, heavy and with bad battery life).

 

I had the same exact worry... For me the 1366x768 resolution is completely fine; I've never once needed it larger. There are a lot of people out there that would consider it a deal-breaker, but for surfing the web, document editing, email, movies and the occasional game, it's perfect for me.

 

can anyone recommend a good keyboard skin for it? I see some on ebay for the u330.. but not sure if they have the same style keyboard.

 

Does this machine not have a "breathable" keyboard ?
Would a keyboard skin not cause cooling problems ?

 

It took me a couple of attempts to download the driver too.
My initial attempts resulted in 8kbps download speeds also.

 

Same as putting a bag over your head and tying it off.

 

The i5/128GB 10802BU Graphite Grey model just came in stock at bhphotovideo.com if anyone is interested.

I'd had it backordered at Amazon which said 3-5 weeks, but after ordering at B&H, it's due to be delivered Wednesday this week.

 

Thanks. I was finally able to get the download to finish. I installed it and have been using the new U300e Cypress touchpad drivers for about 24 hours (I wanted to allow time for testing and use before I posted).

Right off the bat, the updated drivers are Way better for two finger scrolling. I had to customize a few settings in the Cypress software to get it just right; the settings are obviously reset to default after the upgrade.. no problem, but I'm finding that how I had it set before needed to be adjusted further... Heaver Touch settings on trackpad for one.

The crazy thing is, this. I use both Chrome and Firefox. With the old Cypress 2.3.6.13 drivers, I made my tweaks and downloaded Chrome Smooth Scrolling and everything was just about perfect, while scrolling in FF was just bearable. Now with the 2.3.6.14 update, scrolling in FF is just about perfect, while in Chrome with the addon it's way off... I'm still finding the right settings.

This whole thing makes me feel that the Cypress pad has potential (with software updates), but we're not quite there yet. Big time thank you to imessage100 for discovering the driver update for the U300e was newer than our U300s!

 

@phumanhu

Did you get yours ?
My Orange i7/256 came in yesterday evening.
So far I am pretty impressed with the build and performance - the Asus UX31 which I got after thinking I could cancel the U300s is definitely going back - there is NO contest over quality and build . . .the U300s is amazing.

 

Bought mine today, the grey, i5, 128gb.
Now I'm anxious waiting. Just expecting that everything will be fine, with a Synaptics touchpad and a screen without deadpixels .

 

Yes, mine came in yesterday also. I'm typing on it right now. It is very sturdy and well built. Perfomance is amazing and the keyboard and touchpad is very good. I used to have problems typing on laptops because of the touchpad moving the cursor while typing but this laptop doesn't have that problem. So far so good. I'm glad I received it.

 

Just arrived, no deadpixels and a synaptics touchpad .
Thanks for the people who helped me to choose the U300s, I think it was the better choice compared to Toshiba Z830 and Asus UX31.

 

Had my first problem! I read on here that some people's trackpads were freezing. This happened to me.

At one point, both my keypad and keyboard stopped functioning, and even a reboot didn't solve the problem.

At the time I was tethering my iPhone through the USB to suck internet from it. After having removed the device and restored my computer to a previous state, everything is fine again.

I've been tethering my iPhone since I got this machine, no problems. Why would this start messing around with things now? Something to do with USB power being redirected?

Any ideas? Solutions?

Cheers

 

Looks like Notebookreview finally finished their U300s review. I just got an email from them, but the link redirects to the Lenovo site. Maybe it'll be up soon.

http://go.techtarget.com/r/16451911/14282157

btw, I've never had the trackpad keyboard lockup issue, but I rarely use the USB ports... was the problem while using the USB2 or USB3.0 port? Maybe try the other one and see if the same problem happens?

 

Noticed the same issue with my u300s Mouse Pad, called Lenovo technical support and told them about it. They said its DOA (dead on arrival) they picked it up to replace it and it's been over a month now with nothing.

I called all their departments to see when I will receive one but as a lot of people know their customer support is terrible. So I notified Paypal and hopefully paypal should refund me.

I would never buy from Lenovo directly again, I would rather buy from a reseller and deal with them if there is a problem.

So basically your laptop is faulty, send it back and get it replaced or refunded. It's a manufacturing fault.

 

Hi is anyone else having this issue with their U300s?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/648106-u300s-maximum-cpu-frequency-locks-44-a.html

Thanks.

 

Ugh, I really need help with merging the C: and D: partitions. When I tried to do so this afternoon, I was forced to reboot into the "bootmgr is missing" screen. Now I've had to completely restore the computer from purchase (thank you, One Key Recovery!), and am in the process of reinstalling ALL of my software.

I'm not letting Lenovo win this battle. I've deleted the D: partition so it's labeled "free space", but it's extended and prevents me from deleting it and extending the C: drive. I downloaded third party software to just merge them last time. What did you guys do?

 

Yes, mine does. It's a grey core i5, bought in the UK. I'm just uploading a video to YouTube detailing the issue and I;'ll post in the thread you linked

 

Try to change the power mode to performance mode and check if it keeps happenning.

 

Could someone please do me a favor?

Could someone open their registry to here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation

There are two keys "Manufacturer" and "Model".

Can you please tell me exactly what those say?

Thanks guys.

 

Ongoing investigation here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ide...u300s-maximum-cpu-frequency-locks-44-a-2.html

 

Manufacturer: Lenovo
Model: Lenovo Win7 PC

 

This is a quick reply for those people on page 8 of this thread. Yes you can put 8GB RAM into the U300s.
I fitted part no CT102464BF1339 just a few moments ago and it's running fine (I'm writing this on the upgraded U300s right now).

Check my Youtube video here:
U300s with 8GB RAM - YouTube

In fact, this should hopefully increase battery life by about 30 seconds too (hhehehe), as the voltage is 1.35 instead of the 1.5v stuff which the laptop came with.
In fact, CPU-Z seems to think that this stuff runs at 1.28v, so it's even better!

 

Oh, one last update for today. As I was in the guts of the laptop, I decided to take out the Wireless-N 1030 card and replace it with an Advanced-N 6230 instead, so now I've got 5GHz bands as well

No BIOS whitelist either, so it posted and booted just fine. Also, Windows detected the new drivers automatically (already had the latest Intel drivers loaded), so it just worked.

Go me :-D

 

Wow Chrisbreame that is some amazing stuff!! Thank you for the posts and info!! This is definitely the first I've heard of anyone attempting to upgrade the RAM.. (and I'm pretty research obsessive).

Did you happen to video the teardown and upgrade? I've been too afraid to void the warranty or break my orange i7 U300s. 8gb would sure be nice though. Thanks again!

edit: It looks like that stick is the only one piece 8gb sodimm you can order from Crucial. http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?IMODULE=CT102464BF1339
Big jump from 4gb $23 to 8gb $120.

 

Yep, expensive, but ultimately worth it

I didn't video the teardown I'm afraid - too worried about keeping track of all the different size screws.

If you take a look at an earlier page, you'll see that there is a link to the official Lenovo teardown guide for service engineers; with videos and everything!

Edit: here it is:
http://lenovo.vo.llnwd.net/o16/U300s/player.html

 

How hard is it to get to the ram, according to Lenovo teardown it looks like there are many things in the way.

1090 DIMM (U300s)
For access, remove these FRUs in order:
••“1010 Base cover (U300s)” on page 54
••“1020 Battery pack (U300s)” on page 56
••“1030 Speakers (U300s)” on page 57
••“1040 Solid State Disk (U300s)” on page 58
••“1050 USB Board (U300s)” on page 59
••“1060 Keyboard and keyboard bezel (U300s)” on page 60
••“1070 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless LAN (U300s)” on page 64
••“1080 LCD unit (U300s)” on page 66

 

I'd like to know that as well. I have a few other questions that aren't covered in the Lenovo service books, if you don't mind:

1.) The rubber feet - are they glued on? After removing them, can you easily put them back on?

2.) Upon disassembly, did you break any paper or plastic warranty seals?

3.) How much did you have to remove to get to the RAM slot... battery, etc.?

Thanks so much!

 

The rubber feet just pop in and out, I had lost one and it took me 2 months to get a replacement.

 

They are not glued on. They're easy to pop out. The best way to do it is to use your nail to ease it out, which will bring it almost completely out (it's still held in with a small flap of rubber. You then rotate it 90 degrees and pull gently, then it'll come out.

Nope. However, all of the screws have that blue warranty glue stuff on them.

It was actually reasonably simple to be honest:
1. I took the bottom off, disconnected the battery, took it out.
2. Next was the SSD on the left.
3. Then I undid the USB board on the right.
4. Took the motherboard screws out.
5. Lastly, you have to unplug the power button cable in the top right.
At that point you can flip the laptop up and flip over the motherboard like in the video. No need to take out any cables or anything else; just BE CAREFUL! Also, be sure to disconnect the battery before you do anything - it's not hard to fry components with a misplaced screwdriver.

You can reach both the RAM and the mini PCI-E card as they sit alongside each other.

 

Yes

Yes

Nope

Yes

Yes

Nope

Don't need to remove this to get to the RAM

Nope

 

Big disclaimer which I've not yet had time to investigate:

I've got a suspicion that the battery life has degraded somewhat when the computer is put to sleep. Not sure whether it is because one of the components isn't able to go into super low power mode or something...?

Basically, when closing the lid, the laptop goes into sleep mode. After a while of being in sleep mode, it'll automatically go into hibernate mode; meaning the battery will stay at pretty much the same charge. Since replacing the components, I've noticed that the battery is a lot more empty than I remember when I put it to sleep.

I'm going to replace the original parts and do a bit of testing to see whether I'm right or not.

In the meantime, can you please post your experience of battery charge when waking from sleep (after a short time and also after a long time)?

Thanks

 

Quick update:
Charged the laptop to 100% (around midnight last night).
Closed the lid.
Opened the laptop this morning (around 9am).

Charge was at 88%

What are other people getting on stock systems?
Thanks

 

Does it do the same thing if you shut it down manually before closing the lid? Try that overnight.

 

Did you buy any sleeve to the U300s?

I was thinking about buying the "original" but the Lenovo delivery estimate is more than I can wait (1-2weeks). Anyone bought other sleeve?

 

I bought this case for $12 from Amazon: Amazon.com: BLack Laptop Case Bag for your 13 inch Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 019624U, U300s 10802BU, Thinkpad X301, 01965FU, Z370, X301 27763PU + An Ekatomi Hook.: Everything Else
I'm very happy with it. It also has internal flaps that help protect the corners before you zip it up.

 

It was the £9 shipping costs that I disagreed with, I was prepared to wait but the shipping cost more than 50% of the item! Anyhow really looking for an alternative now as unfortunately I think I've picked up a minor scratch on the outside after only have the lovely u300s for a few days It's only very, very small but I know it's there.

Would also be interested in other's recommendations.

Also any news on the display adapter? I give presentations a lot and need to sort something out within the next month, anyone heard anything on when Lenovo will release their adapter?

 

After two months of researching i bought an u300s too.
First of all i bought an Asus UX31e and returned it same day. after two weeks i just buy my Lenovo. SO it is glad to find this forum. i will try to read every posts in this topic.

BTW. i need the H415 adapter to connect via Ethernet sometimes. but it is not sold in my country. and i do not want to use a usb to ethernet changer because it means it takes a usb port and the other one will be for wifi mouse or external hdd

i am thinking to buy this sleeve for my u300s it is designed for sony vaio S series. but u300s will also fit in it.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Leather-...YBA6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331681623&sr=8-1