Lenovo X1 Carbon Owner's Thread

You may be interested in the T440s then. I was hoping for the same thing myself and now I'm waiting somewhat impatiently for the T440s to come out. It's been announced a while back but not released yet, but there's a thread here that I check several times a day where people seem to think it could be available relatively soon. It'll have Haswell ULV CPUs, and a 1080p IPS option looks likely, and it weighs in at 3.5 lbs.

 

Hi guys from Hvar,Croatia.
I am in process of buying ultrabook ,so i have some question and i hope you can help me.
So,i definitely need ultrabook with wwan option and great keyboard.Only two that meet these requirements are X1 Carbon and Samsung NP900X3F-G01 .T440S will also meet these requirements,but i want slim machine.
First i want to say that X1 Carbon with WWAN option costs here in Croatia three average salary,so thats way i will have hard question that maybe somebody would not like it.I manage to save money renting my place(my family didn't like my idea
I read everything about X1 carbon on web in this three months.I read every review on Amazon.com,.de,.uk.I read this whole thread and all i can see is people complaining about this and that.
So,my first question is:
Is there somebody,anybody that didn't have problem with X1 carbon? I need just two people to tell me:we didn't have one problem with X1 Carbon.
I really like this machine and i would really love to buy it But when you know how much it costs in Croatia its not so hard to go against own heart.
Second question:
I have now ASUS X501A,its the cheapest machine,but its now 10 months with me on fishing boat and it works great.For me,screen on Asus X501A is just fine(maybe because i didnt see better),i guess its the cheapest screen because its the cheapest laptop.So,can somebody that saw both screens(X1 carbon and cheap Asus laptops) tell me what can i expect from X1 Carbon screen,em i from those people that dont see "screen door effect"?
My last question:
Will X1 Carbon read my Internet SIM Card? Now i have 3G dongle,when i put it in usb it install software from internet provider.How will this be manage when i put my SIM card in X1 Carbon?Do i need to put my usb dongle just once so it can install software or Lenovo have that kind on software already install?

 

Are there any external options at all to supplement the battery at all, like an external battery that plugs in? I bought a refurb from the outletthis morning, but I'm starting to think that maybe that was a mistake with what I'm reading about the battery life.

 

I got about six hours on the review unit I had last year. There's no docking port on the X1C so you'd have to find a way to hook up the battery.

 

Come on people i need answers ,PLEASE.Zaz what you can say?Especially on my first question.I need just one man to tell me go for it.
About X1 Carbon Haswell,i think we will not see it until next big event like IFA 2013.Also you cant recycle carbon-fiber so i don't believe they will trow away thousand and thousand of units.
OR maybe i am wrong.
I think if nobody can tell me here one good thing about X1 Carbon,i will swallow T440S thickness and just go with it.

 

Come on people i need answers ,PLEASE.Zaz what you can say?Especially on my first question.I need just one man to tell me go for it.
About X1 Carbon Haswell,i think we will not see it until next big event,something like IFA 2013.Also you cant recycle carbon-fiber so i don't believe they will trow away thousand and thousand of units.
OR maybe i am wrong.
I think if nobody can tell me here one good thing about X1 Carbon,i will swallow T440S thickness and just go with it.

 

1. The first question is yes.
A relative has been using the X1 Carbon for more than a month without any single problem.
I have been extremely impressed by the X1 Carbon. Its build quality is outstanding, it weighs nothing, it works really well as a business Ultrabook plus it has a mini display port and most ultrabooks don't.
The keyboard is in a class of its own.
It is very very expensive though compared to similar laptops & I wouldn't buy it without whatever discount one can get.

Why do I not buy one personally? My minimum requirements are FullHD + Haswell. It is such a big fail not to offer both.

3. It should read your internet sim card but you really need to confirm with someone from Lenovo or download the user guide as perhaps it needs a special sized simcard.

2. I haven't seen this Asus. I have only seen the premium Asus with FullHD IPS displays which looks outstanding. I can't compare with cheap Asus, but the X1's 1600x900 screen is absolutely OK for business purposes. I don't think it will satisfy the graphic designer or the hardcore gamer.

If your notebook is 10 months old I would recommend that you stick to it for at least a few more months more.
Many very interesting ultrabooks should come between now and Christmas, and I suspect many will be available for Windows 8.1 launch: Samsung Ativ Book Plus 9, Lenovo Yoga Pro 2, Thinkpad T440s, Dell E7440, ...
Most will be much less expensive than the X1 Carbon, have Haswell and a the very least FullHD.

 

Thanks Cedricm(i really mean it)for taking time to reply on my question,but one month seems to short.I need one year user to confirm me reliability.But it seems i would not get that. So T440S will probably be solution to my problem.
Also,yes you are right,i will buy notebook on Christmas because i live in small town and i plan to go for Christmas at major Croatia city(Zagreb)they have there "Lenovo Exclusive Store",so i hope i will see then all models in live.
Anyway,thanks.

 

I have had my X1C for about a week and so far have been quite impressed with it coming from a 6yr old T60.
Today I had the chance to look at a few other ultraportables. Namely the Samsung 9 series, Sony 13 pro, Asus Aspire and Apple MBA.
The X1C has the best keyboard by miles and although the touch pads are all quite similar I found the X1 had the best feel and was much more responsive.
As far as the screen goes I know it doesn't have the highest res but the hi gloss panels of the others arn't perfect either. The glass tends to make the screens slightly fuzzy and the higher resolutions made the desktop and icons a bit on the small side. But they did have more punchy colours.
I know quite a few have complained about the screen door effect, yes it could be better but as long as you use it at normal ergonomic distance then its less of an issue.
As an overall package in terms of design, build quality and lightness I still think the X1C is hard to beat.

 

An aquaintance has a Thinkpad X1 Carbon Touch and it seems the keyboard doesn't work anymore he can only use touch.
Any idea how to solve this problem? Is this a key combination that blocked the keyboard?

 

Reinstall the win8 to check if it is a os problem.
I think maybe it is the keyboard's wire coming off from the motherboard

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

 

Does an external keyboard work? If so, that's most likely hardware. I would try to reseat the keyboard and see if that helps.

 

How is the battery holding up on the X1 Carbon? My SMP battery is only holding 68% of the original capacity after only 20 charge cycles.

 

Thanks for the help. THe problem seems to have disappeared. It may be somehow related to accelerated battery charging.

 

X1 Carbon update with Haswell coming in Jan 2014 - look for X3

 

The thing about Lenovo is that they are so damn slow to adopt new hardware..how hard is it to put a new chip in?

 

it is easy to put new CPU in, but since Lenovo have lot of products, they want to ensure that the new products get the most attention first. This ensures that these new products get the best market attention during the most busy time of the year in terms of purchasing and procurement.

 

I've owned the X1 Carbon for just over a year now. Overall I like it.

I just had my first issue that required contacting support. My backspace key went out. Not totally dead, but I had to mash it multiple times to get it to register. I was happy when support offered to send me a new keyboard and told me I could replace it myself. But now I am sad because the replacement keyboard they sent was defective (volume rocker didn't work). They sent another keyboard and this one was also defective (speaker mute doesn't work). I have asked them to send yet another keyboard which they are doing right now. I will keep replacing until I get a good one. I use the machine every day for business, and can't afford to send it in.

Has anyone else had similar problems? I've noticed people reporting trouble with the keyboard, but not sure if it's stuff that worked its way out over time.

That said, I am otherwise happy with the machine. I think the keyboard is great when it's working correctly. If they come out with a better screen (IPS) and don't take away the discreet trackpad buttons, I would consider upgrading right away.

 

Did they send you a keyboard or palmrest? It looks like the keyboard can be seperated from the button board, so if they sent you a palmrest, I would just swap the button board.

 

They have been sending the entire assembly, keyboard + palmrest/button board. That's a really good idea, If this next part that's on the way is still defective, I'll see if I can install the original (good) buttonboard with one of the good keyboards.

 

Can anybody with a non-touch X1 Carbon comment on whether or not it has a glass screen?

 

which x1 carbon screen manufacture is the nicest screen, i hear a lot of mixed reviews on the screen depending on the manufacture, is it LG, AUO etc.

 

None of them are nice...but I think they are equally terrible.

 

says otherwise

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Screen Comparison to Other ThinkPads - Laptop User Reviews

 

They are all cheap TN panels, but it appears that the reviewer doesn't understand screens at all. He seems focused on just viewing angle and brightness.

There is also a significant difference between the touch and non-touch models. I have an X1 Carbon Touch, and it's even worse because of the matte film over the touchscreen. It's overly bright and colors are really off (no amount of calibration seems to help).

There is really no comparison between the X1 Carbon Touch and my Latitude E6220 (with X220 IPS panel). If you want a good screen and an overall better laptop, skip the ThinkPad and get a Latitude E7440 with IPS upgrade. I highly regret getting the X1 Carbon Touch.

 

Wondering if any of you have used the X1 carbon for photoshop work and video editing. I plan to get the new X1 carbon (just released) and wondering if I can use that as my primary machine, and I do quite a it of photoshop work, and mild video editing from time to time.

Thanks.

 

It's not the right system for those needs. Color reproduction on the screen is terrible, and ultrabook CPUs won't be able to handle the graphics demand.

 

I'm noticing a difference with the trackpoint sensitivity too on my 2014 X1 Carbon. I've been using thinkpads since 2007 and stuck with them in part because I love the trackpoint. The new one is less sensitive in all the ways I've been trying to remedy it - requires more pressure to move the pointer, even when adjusting speed in control panel settings, also seems to move faster left than right...I even put an old cover of a different shape to try it. (Wish they still came with different options for you to switch out!)

Any suggestions are welcome!

 

Did you try adjusting the sensitivity settings? Go to Control Panel, then Mouse, and open the UltraNav settings.

 

How is battery life with the X1 Carbon with a WQHD display? Screen quality (in particular, black levels, colors, contrast)?

I know Lenovo says the screen is awesome and the battery is 9 hours, but they said that with the last version and it didn't turn out to be true. An honest post from someone on the forum about their own experience would be far more helpful.

 

I'd like to know this as well. I posted in the dedicated X1 Gen 2 thread that in Japan, where I live, they're advertising 14 hours battery life, which is what prompted me to buy it.

 

Would anyone happen to know if the X1 Carbon (3443, LG) has an LCD Inverter?

I currently have an issue with my original X1 Carbon (2012, 3443-CTU) light not working on the LCD. I attached an external monitor to the laptop and it works without issues so it's not the motherboard. Under the right lighting conditions and angle, i can see very very faintly my desktop background.

This leads me to believe that the screen inverter is damaged, or the lcd. Since my ultrabook isn't under warranty, i believe the best course of action is to find the screen on ebay and replace it.

14" LCD Screen FOR Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 3444 Ultrabook LED Display 04x1756 | eBay

Is replacing the LCD as easy as it sounds? It looks like i need to remove much of the parts underneath the keyboard panel, and remove the LCD bezel and replace the screen. Is there something i'm missing?

 

It's most likely the LED backlight, which uses DC and doesn't need an inverter.

If you don't have a touchscreen, you should be able to get away with just popping off the LCD bezel.

 

awesome, thanks! kinda sucks i have to replace the whole thing though i wish i could put in the new QHD screen!

 

the screen bezel is glued onto the LCD using double sided tape. So be careful, just take the bezel off slowly.

 

Received my Carbon X1 a week ago after six weeks of shipping (which I thought was rather long).

It worked nicely for a week, though the rubbery trackpad isn't great. However, now the RAM has developed a fault and I am having to send it back. Annoying.

In addition, the sleeve I ordered from Lenovo for it isn't even approximately the same size. With a bit of a squeeze, I can fit my old 15 inch laptop into it. I've asked for a refund.

Not happy so far, but we'll see how they handle the repair job.

 

Hello guys,

Just thought I'd share my experience with trying to order a Carbon X1 from the Lenovo online store.

The website said 8 business days to ship so I figured I'd order one despite others having terrible trouble getting a delivery. Well I ignored those warnings and thought it'll be OK. How wrong I was! I ordered a top of the range model on the 22nd April and it's now 13th May and still no word. I received an email on the 5th May from UPS saying a "shipping label has been created" so I thought things were on track but again how wrong I was!

I've called the 'support' line on several occasions and the response has ranged from indifference to lies. They've constantly said they have no information but they did say that the case has been escalated. I've also had several automated 'we're very sorry' emails but I've still no idea if/when anything will be shipped. They said I couldn't cancel the order as my credit card has been charged. I've now asked my credit card company to recover the money and they're on the case.

It appears that Digital River who administer the online sales have absolutely no idea what's going on inside Lenovo. It's a shameful situation. It makes me wonder what the on-site support would have been like. This is my first and last foray into the world of Lenovo and I hope someone will heed this warning just like I should have done in the first place.

Dave

 

Picked up mine at Microcenter yesterday, so I'm happy to avoid the shipping drama. I'm really enjoying it so far, although I'm not sure about Windows 8. I've managed with Server 2012 before and liked it, but this is my first try with Windows 8 on a work machine.

Is there a Bloatware guide for the newer gen X1s somewhere?

I'm struggling with the scaling issues so far. IE works great, for example, but then I launch LogMeIn and everything in that window is tiny. Chrome is awful out of the box, lol. I'm hoping I can work through these issues because the screen is gorgeous at this resolution.

 

I saw that Micro Center now has this, any reason why they have a $1,999 price tag ?
Looked at the specs and don't see why it's that high, compared to if you build it yourself

 

it's a shame hearing all these complaints about this machine.

After returning my Samsung NP940X3G, I had thought I've found a replacement with this X1 Carbon
I even threw in the Gobi card, and didn't mind paying over $2100. But I won't order it until I see better reviews.

 

Lenovo's website wasn't letting me spec the touchscreen version up to have an i7, and they said they were out of stock when I engaged a sales rep. When I spec it out now on the website, it comes out to over $1900, so I'm not sure there's a big difference.

I had a short-turnaround need, though, as well.

 

So I really like this laptop except for a couple problems.

The adaptive function keyrow is really inconsistent. For example, after I lock / sleep the computer a few times it gets stuck on the f1-f12 keys. The Fn key doesn't work to toggle through the options once this problem has started.

I do have Start8 installed, I'm not sure if that could be the culprit.

Also after sleeping, sometimes I can't reconnect to Wifi. I have to reboot the machine. The connection says it is connected, but I can't get out to websites. Frustrating.

 

If I install an AZERTY keyboard in place of a QWERTY keyboard in an X1 carbon, will it recognize that it is a different keyboard layout by the hardware being different, or will I need to make changes in BIOS or Windows7, etc.?

 

I bought one of these almost a year ago now. It worked great, and I really enjoyed using it.

Suddenly the screen and keyboard stopped working. It works fine if I plug in an external monitor and keyboard, but this obviously defeats the point of this kind of laptop.

I have Ubuntu installed, and there is a file that stores the current state of the lid (open/closed). This always says the lid is closed, even when it's not. So I'm suspecting the hardware is telling the OS that the screen is closed all the time.

Does anyone here know what might be causing this issue. I'm assuming it is just one little sensor that needs to be replaced, but I don't really know where to start.

Thank you!

 

I'm thinking of buying this laptop, but will like to know the battery life on heavy usage.

 

Guys
I got this model no. from my company - x1 carbon type 20A8. Can anybody tell me if it's a touchscreen or not? or any other way to tell? My IT guy doesn't seem to know

thx

 

Folks

My touchpad works just fine. However, from time to time, the gestures stop working. For eg right now I cannot use two fingers to swipe up or down and putting the x1 to sleep and back doesn't help. If I reboot, everything would work. How do I troubleshoot this?

2nd question - my adaptive lighting seems to take a full minute to realize I'm siting in the dark and need keyboard backlighting. Why so long?

Thanks

 

Touch the screen.

 

Has anyone upgraded the internal M.2 hard drive? Out of the box the X1 Carbon 20A7 has a 256GB SSD. Ideally I need more space so which M.2 drive has worked for you if you have retrofitted?

 

Less than a year old and my X1 Carbon is iffy.

At times, it boots up with no screen image at all, just all black

The hinges holding the screen is the culprit. I need to push or pull this side to side to get the screen working.

What gives Lenovo???????