T440s Owner´s Thread

Since you have the AUO. What is the production date if your T440s? according to the box and the sticker under the battery? Is it a special version (dedicated
Graphics, Touchscreen)?

 

Box label says my T440s was manufactured on 9 Feb 2014.
Screen is FHD non-touch.
Integrated Intel HD graphics only.

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Thank you all for your informative posts.

Due to the poor design decision Lenovo made this time around when developing the X1 Carbon Gen 2, I decided to take a look at the T440s to see if it would match my needs. I have gone through this entire thread and have made the decision to get the T440s.

I look forward to contributing to this thread once my machine arrives.

 

Good call. This is an excellent laptop. The best I've seen from Lenovo in the last couple of years (since the X220 IMHO).

 

Yeah, the t440s is a nice machine. I'm glad I persisted after the issues with the non-touch model and didn't go with a macbook. The machine is a beast to my needs, I can even run some games like bc2 full res with settings at medium/high.
I noticed my keyboard isn't getting any marks/fingerprints at all (lite-on), as opposed to my previous model which had the chicony kb and looked oily after only 4-5 days of regular use.

 

Sorry for popping up here although I am not a T440s owner, but I too did not like the finger oil sticking to the keyboard and trackpad when I had the T440s. Maybe they changed the suppliers.

I am now a X240 owner and I really like the machine and it does not show the finger oil sticking symptons at all. Just dont like the whining noise of the fan when it comes on, but its not a deal breaker really. It has a very nice and bright FHD touch screen and so far I dont see any ghosting issues as reported by a lot of TPY owners.

 

Are you running a 4GB dimm (only way to get dual-channel) or no?

 

No, 8gb, 12gb total.

 

For a while now, chipsets have supported asynchronous dual-channel. If you add an 8 GB DIMM, essentially the first 4 GB will work in dual-channel mode with the 4 GB embedded on the motherboard.

 

Would you say that the LiteOn keyboard provides a better typing experience than the Chicony?

This is what some users have reported stating that the differences between both keyboard types is even bigger than the difference betweent LG and AUO display. I am not very happy with the Chicony on my T440s (especially compared to my X230). I will get a LiteOn keyboard soon to see if it is really that much better.

 

At first I thought it was of inferior quality, but my keyboard was just misplaced. I didn't find the response to be much different than that of the chicony one so I wouldn't say the difference is bigger than the display.

The only thing that I noticed was the fingerprint marks, I used that laptop for about 4 days only at night and some keys were getting really oily/bright specially the space bar, it looked like those cheap dell keyboards. Nothing so far in the lite-on.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I do have the same issue with keys looking oily very quickly (on the Chicony). I will report on what my experience is with the LiteOn keyboard as soon as I have it installed.

 

Did your order it or requested from Lenovo using your warranty?

 

I ordered it from my notebook shop as they are sending me the LiteOn. Lenovo support only sends you a keyboard with the same FRU, so I would have received another Chicony.

 

I've heard about that, but what part of the RAM will the graphics take? (Considering graphics are more sensitive to this than general system RAM.)

 

How do you get the battery to show how many hours are left on it instead of percentage?

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It sounds like the new SSD firmware might fix this problem (at least judging by the most recent entries on the above thread), though no one in that thread has tried it yet.

T440s is killing Samsung 840 pro SSD's - Page 7 - Lenovo Community

 

Hi,

I'm a new Lenovo customer. I just received my T440s (ordered on 16 February). Unfortunately the screen is an LG (I really hoped get an AUO). The screen quality is very disastrous... I have never seen a so poor quality on a laptop!

For me it's not a IPS panel: it's neither more nor less a ty TN panel.










(you can even see a white dot on this one)

So: poor viewing angle, screen bleeding, white = yellow

I plan to contact Lenovo about this problem. The problem is I live in France but I'm currently in Germany for my studies (and it's really difficult to send/receive packages from my german dormitory).

I have read that some of you have bought a AUO panel directly from Amazon or Aliexpress and they have replace the panel themselves. Is it difficult? I'm scared to break my new laptop. Do you think it is possible to change the screen by a professional (in a Lenovo reseller)?

 

Greetings T440s Owners, I am teetering on the brink of purchasing a T440s with a 256GB SSD +8GB RAM. I have read the wonderfully helpful reviews and discussion in this thread, particularly with regard to the AUO display.

I was hoping I might get a couple of pieces of advice regarding this machine. I'm a university professor in the humanities with very little time in the next months to change all the technology in my life (and little support to do so: my university-issue desk tops make my Thinkpads from the mid-1990s seem state-of-the art; our 'procurement' department won't let us buy anything other than a standard issue Lenovo from a reseller; to get a new computer it will be my own salary paying everything--and that means Internet Security--I use Kaspersky--as well as a major upgrade to a 64-bit version of Nota Bene by Dragonfly that is essential to my research and writing) In short, despite being fairly tech-competent for someone in art history, I want to keep this new computer project as trouble-free as possible. That's where your advice would especially come in.

I began planning to leave behind my trusty Thinkpad X301 running WinXP at the announcement that XP would no longer be supported. I realise the entire world is upgrading right now and though I could use the Win7 software on CDs it shipped with to upgrade, its keyboard has been glitchy for several months now and the trackpoint (Ultra-Nav) hasn't felt fluid enough since Service Pack 3. This will make a fine backup computer--off the internet.

The T440s seems to be the best solution for someone like me who still fondly remembers the clickety IBM keyboards of the 90s (and wishes I hadn't sold my like-new IBM Selectric in a moment of weakness in 1998). I've dreaded this moment because I dearly loved my (still-working) T40 bento-box (XP) IBM from 2004 (and the 1995 gem that survived a 2 flight fall in a lightweight leather briefcase and on which I spent years of my life)--and while the X301 with a 128 SSD hasn't been quite as hardy as those two beauties of IBM design, it's been so miraculously lightweight and reliable that I would work on it for another two or three years if I didn't have to replace the keyboard as well as all its software to protect it from malware. I've done enough research to see that the T440s gets great reviews for its keyboard, overall much love for its flexibility as a business machine (multiple USB slots, etc.+ having a VGA port will be very useful for someone at a university where the power-point technology probably won't be updated anytime soon). I want a good screen that would let me work in the sun in the library or an office with lousy shades. I really really care about a reliable and fast SSD drive because I travel constantly. Weight matters to me so I was going to get a non-touch screen and 3 cell battery (I don't like the looks of the extra heft that changes the ergonomics of the chassis when it sits on a desk and I don't really need the extra freedom beyond 5 hours of battery life which will already be much more than the X301 ever had)

But I see little info on this site about those of you new T440s owners who have opted for the Win7 downgrade. Would I be making a terrible decision not to buy this machine with Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 Pro (and what difference is there between them?). I gather that the main reason one needs Win 8 is to be able to use the touch screen, which I also don't really need since I type well over 100wpm and care much more about the feedback on the keyboard, a fluid Ultra-Nav red button, and the potentially uncomfy button-less trackpad than about being able to navigate by swiping my screen (my first reaction at watching a colleague struggling with one last month was: why would anyone get a PC touchscreen when they could have an Ipad with extensive imaginative Apple apps, a fabulous camera, and a Thinkpad-wannabe external keyboard? Maybe that is just to 1990s, sorry if so! ).

The other question I have is: if I get the non-touch FHD screen, I assume that means I probably won't get the apparently wonderful AUO display shipped--and I'm not even vaguely techie-competent enough to replace one. Would I be making a mistake? The non-touch FHD screen is nearly a half-pound lighter and that would really matter to me. Is the screen most people have gotten really so awful as to justify lugging around a touch-screen that weighs an extra half-pound?

Is there anything else I should be thinking about as I prepare this purchase?

I'm a bit stumped about how to make sure I'd get the apparently more desirable FRU-04x0139 LTN keyboard, but I'm guessing that ordering the back-lit keyboard (which I don't really need) will help to get that.

I'm also not sure why one would choose the 7260AC versus the 7260AN Intel Wifi Dual Band card.

I can't figure out what the NFC is that comes with the fingerprint reader though I gather I will be glad I have it (should I opt for this for an extra $20-bucks?)

And I really don't understand the discussion of video cards and GPU (I'm not a gamer, should I care?)

Finally, one question about service in Europe: I had hoped to buy the machine in the my native U.S. and pick it up on a trip in a few weeks but the many problems you new T440s owners report have made me rethink this. I have not had to call on the warranty service much since the 2004 Thinkpad but it sounds like there are enough bugs that I may well be better served by paying the extra money to have a European machine. And it also looks like the cost difference is not as enormous as for other Thinkpads of the past. Could anyone give me any advice about dealing with either the French or the UK Lenovo sites for a computer built to one's specs? I can get a US keyboard and English shipped from either one. I don't care if I have a euro or a pound on it but I assume it will be the same excellent keyboard I expect from the best Thinkpads. Is there anything that I can or can't get--or that I should know about dealing with phone or on-line customer service?

I haven't posted this in the Recommend a Laptop area because my questions really do engage issues that only owners would know and I've come to respect the advice of those on this forum by reading your many detailed discussions of how you've upgraded and transformed and reviewed and complained and hoped for better equipment from Lenovo.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me. And thanks again for your incredibly helpful discussions of your Thinkpad T440s machines.
J. (alias LovedMySelectric)

 

i was thinking of purchasing the 440s but with the lottery of what screen will i get, i think i'll search for another. why can't companies just stick to one screen manufacturer. saves so many headaches.

 

Do you have any advice to remove the base cover screws?
Some screws rotate endlessly impossible to remove!

 

Loving my 6 cell battery. I know in won't get 12 hours but I'm exciting to see how it goes.

http://imgur.com/blYIP9b

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I'm in the same boat. Received my nontouch t440s a week ago. Love the machine - everything about it pretty much except the LG screen. I compared it to my mid 2011 MBA screen and it baffles me why when I pay about $2k for a machine in 2014 the screen is not as good as the cheaper MBA purchased in 2011. Other than that I pretty much love the computer. I want the AUO screen but am hesitant to mess around with support for months to hopefully get the correct screen at the same time I would pay for a new panel but am not comfortable replacing it myself and potentially having a janky bezel attached. I have on site warranty/service which I paid for - whats the best avenue to get the screen fixed with the auo panel? Don't knowhow comfortable I'd be switching it out myself and am not opposed (although it seems crazy with the amount paid for it already) to pay a bit to get the better screen installed.

Also my KB picks up quite a bit of finger print/oil how can I check what kb I have and are the other ones that much better? and if so is it fairly easy to replace on my own?

Thanks in advance - this forum has been a wealth of information for me - so thanks forum members..

 

Be careful, I stripped one of the screws a few weeks ago (look on page 146). Use a high quality screwdriver, if it's not turning with whatever you're using right now, stop and go get a better set.

 

Two screws can not be removed. They always stick to the base cover.

 

Someone post pictures on how he remove the base cover not long ago.
Which two screws? Can you point out?

 

For my screws problem, it's OK now (all the screws can be removed).
I have successfully replaced the HDD by a Samsung EVO SSD.

I have done a fresh install of Windows 8.1 and reinstalled all the necessary drivers (from Lenovo website).
But now the fan is noisy, I have certainly missed something. Any idea?

 

I'm looking to replace my X220 and am keen on the T440s. The only thing that causes me to hold off the purchase is the severe criticism of the LG FHD screen.

However, I am reasonably satisfied with the brightness and viewing angles on what I think is a non-IPS screen on my X220 (device manager lists it as Thinkpad Display 1366 x 768 which I think indicates it is not IPS) so maybe I don't have very high standards when it comes to screens. Given this, am I likely to be satisfied with the LG FHD screen?

 

Get the touch T440s if you can. This way you'll avoid the LG screen.

 

Unfortunately, touch takes it too far over my budget

 

Does the T440s FHD touch have the same (small) light bleed issue as the non-touch? I can't remember if anyone has mentioned that on this thread...

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I'll help in whatever way I can.

1. In terms of Windows 7 or Windows 8, the only real significant difference you'll see immediately is the changed homescreen on Win 8. Microsoft has tried to incorporate their mobile OS with desktop/laptop OS, so there are now tiles (apps) for various programs and Microsoft Store apps. Since your uses for this laptop will be mostly education/professional related, apps probably won't make a big difference in your daily use (I've basically set my computer to boot into the main desktop rather than the tiled homescreen because I use the apps so rarely). IMO, 7 and 8 are about similar enough that you're fine with either. That being said, 8 does "dumb down" things quite a bit in order to make things more user-friendly (e.g. not being able to easily delete previously-connected wifi profiles, you'd need to use the command prompt for that).

2. You definitely wouldn't need touchscreen with Win 8 if you don't have a use for the touchscreen. It does have its uses in certain situations, but I don't think you'll find much use out of it in your situation. In terms of whether you'll get the AUO or LG panel, that seems to still be a lottery for the non-touch models. I can't tell you whether the LG is still practical enough to use daily (maybe other people who've had experience with the panel will know). Just FYI, adding the touchscreen will add 0.1 inches (a few mm, so you can't really tell the difference IMO), and about .3lbs. The nontouch with 3-cell external will be about 3.6 lbs, the touch with 3-cell will be 3.9-4.0

3. Unfortunately, I'm not sure who supplies the non-backlit keyboards for European models.

4. The 7260AC offers the ability to take advantage of the new 802.11ac connectivity standard. If your university has that standard on their network, then you'll get the most use out of Internet download speeds and connectivity. People have had issues with the 7260AC, namely that there have been many connection drops, but I haven't heard of any within the past few months. I have a 7260AC, and it's worked flawlessly for me, so it seems to be yet another lottery in that regard.

5. The Nvidia GPU is basically going to improve graphics performance in games and graphics-intensive programs over the Intel integrated GPU. If you don't use any of those to any great extent, I don't think it's worth the extra money.

6. Near Field Communication (NFC) will work with other NFC enabled devices like many Android smartphones. It basically allows you to bring one NFC device really close to/tap the other, and you'll transfer be able to transfer data like media.

Hope I helped at least a bit!

 

Hey guys, I'm just wondering about something. Is there an easier way, rather then a fresh install of windows on the T440s. I mean, can I clone it using the back up or something? I'm just curious because I really don't want to go through the entire process of installing all the drivers for the T440S, and I wanted to install an Samsung SSD.

I tried the software it comes with, and it kept on failing at 99%, Im going to see how it goes after defragging and shrinking the hard drive.

 

The process of installing all the drivers is just one actually, download Lenovo thinkvantage tools (solution center) and let it get the drivers for you.
Another advantage is you'll have a clean install, no more norton etc bloatware.

 

very true, anyways thats what I ended up doing. I installed the drive, I'm just trying to get my hands on a digital copy of W7 Professional thats legit from a Microsoft link right now, so I can put the ISO on a USB drive and install from there.

 

Windows 7 is simple to obtain direct from Microsoft. See this thread.

 

Thats exactly the link im using, I just came across it through some other website. Whilst downloading, it just stopped at 2 Gigs, just downloaded IDM, and hopefully no more hiccups involved.

BTW, when I was installing the drive, I noticed the slot next to the Wifi, which I assume is the place of the M.2 SSD was not there... Are there two of these slots available? I didn't even know where to begin looking for the second one lol I might Install some linux distro on the 16GB that it came with. I really like this laptop

 

My T440s FHD Touch has a very small amount of light bleed. Not an issue as far as I'm concerned... I would not normally see it.

 

Dear Hkai 1015,
Your answer to my email was incredibly helpful.
I looked into getting the Touch screen (despite the extra weight) to ensure having an AUO but in Europe, it seems impossible to get the Touch with Windows7.
I'm going to order a U.S. keyboard so I'm hoping that getting the backlit one will mean it's the FRU-04x0139 (LTN) rather than the one that has gotten a lot of criticism. If anyone has any further info on the keyboard, it'll be a week or two before I work out the financing to be able to make my order, so I'd be grateful for any additional input on getting the better US keyboard in Europe.

On the 7260AC Wifi: I assume that it's preferable to get that, even with the reports of some drops, than 7260AN ?

Thanks so much for this great site and for your very helpful message! J. (LovedMySelectric)

 

If weight is a concern for you, I'd get the non-touch model and take your chances. It does seem that more and more people have been reporting AUO screens on examples manufactured recently. Many people would also have no problem with the LG screen, it is something you'd have to decide for yourself.

Regarding the keyboard, I don't think from my experience with multiple examples here that the differences are worth worrying about. I'm quite - picky - I have a custom mechanical keyboard I use when docked - but the Thinkpad keyboards all seem quite good now.

I would go with Windows 8.1. The 'touch' side of things can largely be ignored if you treat that interface as a full-screen Start menu. Overall, it is a big improvement in speed, stability and polish over Windows 7. It sounds like you keep your laptops for a long time, so I would go with the latest available OS given that there are no significant downsides for your described use case.

One thing to note about the FHD screen - the resolution is quite high which makes it look great, but note that some older users complain about the size of text and UI elements since Windows doesn't scale well to anything other than native resolution. Some people would be happier with the lower resolution screen.

 

Got my LiteOn keyboard today. Here is a summary of my first impressions:

LiteOn:

- Color of keyboard frame lighter (rather grey, CHY rather black)
- Keys show almost no lateral movement. On the CHY I could twist the enter key left and right for ~ 1mm. Hardly any movement on the LiteOn.
- Keys give more response when typing (=feels better than CHY).
- Greatest difference: keys have a much rougher surface than the keys on the CHY. This might be the reason why the CHY gets oily very quickly (=quicker).

All in all the LiteOn provides the better typing experience. However, for me the differences is not as big as the difference between the LG and the AUO panels as has been reported a little earlier in this thread.

 

How did you get a new one? Was the previous one defective? Did you simply request a different one from Lenovo via warranty orr did you purchase from a third party site? Also, do you have a FRU model number to help us identify the right part? Thanks.

 

The user "LoveMySelectric" mentioned the NFC touchpad. Is this only available in Europe right now? I didn't have the option on my T440s customization to choose the NFC touchpad. I wonder if that's something I can purchase separately?

 

Thanks, sounds the same as the non-touch version that I have...

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Hey guys. if anyone is interested. There is a cheap scratch and dent T440s in the Lenovo Outlet with the i7, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD and HD+ for $918

http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/PF00HBXZ-20AQCTR1WW/445

 

It's sold out but no worries, these T440s either i5 or i7 and either refurb or scratch&dent come and go all the time on the outlet. They usually only last a few seconds before undoubtedly some reseller bot buys them, so if you want one keep watching and refreshing the site. I got mine a few days back, i7 12GB for about $900.

 

Is this a good deal for $1350?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=131141763626

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Absolutely.

 

Thanks. The reason for the specific amount is the seller originally had it for $1,395 BIN (went away after someone bid). After reading his auction, I put 2 and 2 together and figured he was nudging interested buyers to contact him. Messaged him through eBay, asked if he'd take a bit lower since he wouldn't have double eBay and PayPal fees and he said $1,350 shipped would work and gave me his cell. I don't think he's skirting eBay on purpose, but it was really easy to find him. His shop in San Diego (according to Yelp, at least) looks very legit with many, many positive reviews.

I talked with him tonight and he has two left, I may buy one of them. Nice guy to boot. No clue where he got them from (do we ever know with eBay?) but hey, he seems to check out.

I had an X240 and hated the trackpad. I realize this is the same exact trackpad, but I think I'll give it another go.

 

Can someone tell me if there is a way to disable the webcam/microphone from the BIOS?

Thanks