T440s Owner´s Thread

@Krycho: This is a well-known problem with many IPS display implementations, and there have been multiple reports of this with varying severity in the T440s. The thin bezel of the T440s non-touch seems to make the backlight bleeding more prevalent on those models, but I do see a hint of it on the top left corner of my T440s touch model as well.

In short, not much you can do about it. The bleeding will be most obvious on the boot screen, as the screen is at max brightness on a black background.

 

Hello
I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a T440s. When I previously bought a Lenovo there always seemed to be some sort of discount/coupon/promotion etc going on. I noticed that currently none of those exist for the t440s. Should I expect to see a sale etc anytime soon on this model, ie. are there any rhythms or patterns to the 'deals' on various lenovo models? thanks in advance

 

There was a sale from the 7th to the 12th of this month (this is when I ordered my t440s, hasn't arrived yet but it should get here tomorrow or the next day).

You can also look on lenovo outlet to see if they have anything with the specs you want

 

You may find EPP discounts such as ibm (I got and used one from a forum, forgot the link).
They always seem to have discounts going on.

Good luck with Lenovo forgetting to charge you and then charging you multiple times. Their customer service is great in the USA, but it's crap in Canada. I'm having a hard time getting/clearing refunds and double charges with the canadian part. It's like they're doing you a favor, and they keep on rushing and complaining about how many calls they still have to answer, do your job.

 

Hi
is there someone out there who can do me a favor and measure the size of the box the T440s came in?
I am also interested in the weight of the whole package or the weight without the laptop...

thanks in advance

 

Ok, typing this on LiteOn -- it arrived from ipWeb today. This is so much nicer than Chicony! I agree with everything you said -- it's no doubt a higher quality keyboard. Chicony is a bit flimsy and clacky in comparison.

No problems with the frame alignment (I had some with Chicony).
The backlight is white, not blue, and blends much less.

Thanks for the tip.

 

I truly admire you guys!

You get ready to "fix" your ThinkPad before it is delivered. You are willing to "improve" your ThinkPad as soon as you lay your hands on it. You brave the back cover, prying it open with your fingers, your fingernails, a spudger, an old credit card... exclaiming obscenity as you struggle for over 30 minutes to get to the RAM slots and the drive bay.

AUO screen, LiteOn keyboard, whatever... Lenovo can't sell you a great notebook? And you spend how much? $1500, $1800, $2000?

And that's after "web discount" and "special discount code"!

Still, after all the above, there are things like backlight bleeding that you have to sigh and bear.

 

thanks for the replies. I have two final questions:

- the t440s seems to have two adapters to choose from. I am curious about their relative sizes and tradeoffs
- for those who have gotten the 6 cell additional battery could you comment on the form factor for typing on table and on your lap. I currently have an x230 with a battery that bulges at the bottom and i quite like it as facilitates the one handed grab and carry. By eye, the t440s six cell looks like it might extend out the bottom more than the x230 one. Also, any issues with portability with the six cell (heaviness, fitting in bags etc)

thanks

 

Haha, yeah, it must seem insane to some people. But I like tinkering with my computers. My X201 actually started life as a plain X200. Pretty much the only thing left from it is the case. I even replaced the clear plate under the screen with one that says "X201"

 

I just got my T440s tonight. Before I even turned it on, I opened the bottom and installed a brand new Intel 530 250GB SSD, the MyDigitalSSD 128GB and a Crucial 8GB RAM stick. My BIOS is still showing the 16GB cache SSD. Where the heck is this thing located? Is it soldered onto the board??

 

AFAIK, it's under the built-in battery or smart card reader. It's not soldered, it's in the 3rd M.2 slot that's located there. The slot is present only on machines that shipped with the cache SSD.

 

The 16GB cache SSD is in the 3rd M.2 slot under the built-in battery. Can you take photos of the 3rd M.2 slot with the SSD? I did not order T440s with micro hard drive option. I'm wondering if the 3rd M.2 slot assembly can install a 2280 M.2 ssd.

 

Just got my T440s. Planned on replacing hdd with ssd and adding ram, but first went to get it setup and get the latest BIOS. Unfortunately the keyboard is completely non functioning. I can't even get into the bios or type the PC name in the windows startup wizard. This is what I waited a month for, ouch.

Anyone else have a keyboard DOA right out of box?

 

It seemed that my keyboard and mouse were having issues right out of the box too. However, after installing drivers, the only issue I had was WiFi. It stalled on a 40MB file transfer from my home NAS. I got the AC dual band card and have an Asus RT-AC66U at home. Wife was also having WiFi issues, so we'll see if they go away today while she's not using her laptop.

Just so you all know, I've found the 16GB cache SSD. It's located under the internal battery. I had to take out the screws holding down the battery, then take out the speaker next to the battery (2 screws) and finally another bracket that was holding down a metal plate that had the 16GB M2 SSD in a slot. The 16GB M2 SSD that's in there is a single sided device. I was able to cram the MyDigitalSSD 128GB M2 SSD (double sided) into that slot and put everything back with no issue. BIOS and Windows detect the device. So now, I'll be purchasing another 128GB MyDigitalSSD to put in the laptop. Then probably dual boot my Intel 530 240GB SSD (running Windows) and the 2 MyDigitalSSDs (running linux with mirroring). I've got some pix that I took and posted on my G+ page. Here ya go!

 

Mine is beyond issues, it's almost like its unplugged, doesn't respond at all. I can't access the bios sine teh "enter" key doesn't register. I also can't type a machine name into the windows startup guide. The odd thing is that backlight and functionlock lights do function. Going to look under the covers when I get off phone with support.

 

If you hold down F1 while cold booting, do you get into BIOS? This sounds similar to my experience last night. I couldn't type in a hostname. I had to click around before it finally let me do it.

 

The only way I can get into the BIOS is by pressing "Enter" on cold boot with an external keyboard. Oddly this then triggers somehting that makes the internal keyboard work in the BIOS. However after exiting the BIOS neither internal or external keyboard work for typing into the windows setup screens. The most recent trip to the BIOS allowed the external keyboard to modify settings but touching any key on the internal would just give be a loud beep.

Maybe its some security setting? This is bizarre.

 

Fingerprint reader working great since I disabled powerdown, thanks for the advice.

New problem:

I keep changing my two finger scrolling direction to the classic setting (I can't remember whether it's called reverse or not), where you scroll down on the touchpad and it moves DOWN the page. The T440s' default settings are to scroll UP the page when you move your fingers down and it's driving me crazy. The touchpad driver randomly seems to reset itself back to defaults. Not only does the scrolling get reset, but the edge swipe-in which I disabled is magically re-enabled.

Everything up to date, etc.

Anyone else having these issues?

 

I took the keyboard off and checked the connection. Looked good, I pushed and prodded some for good measure. Put it back together and now everything works, kinda scary; hope it doesn't conk out again.

 

Now that the keyboard works, I plan to replace the HD with an SSD and install Arch linux. Does anyone know if I need to turn off the Intel rapid start in order to do so? I read something about a bug in the bios that rears its head when replacing the HD. I have bios version 2.21 I believe. Machine made in March '14.

 

I swapped my HDD out of the machine before even booting it up. I left the BIOS in UEFI mode and turned off SecureBoot. I was able to install Windows 8.1 from a USB stick (after creating the USB Stick with Windows 7 USB Downloader, then copying all files off the USB stick, and formatting it to FAT32, then copying files back). I never encountered an issue in that regards. We'll see when I either load Arch or Ubuntu on the other 128GB SSDs.

 

Hey everyone, first post on this forum

I'm about to pull the trigger for the T440s, but just wanted some reassurance.

1. Does the touch-screen T440s always comes with the AUO screen?
2. Is there a reason why the touch-screen (FHD) is $30 cheaper than the non-touch FHD screen, besides the 0.3lb added weight? Dunno if I will use the touch-screen, but don't really want to deal with LG/AUO screen issues...
3. I understand that the specs say that the T440s is 0.8in thick, but could anyone post a picture of their T440s with a ruler and/or quarter up against it to pull me away from the X1 Carbon (been debating between these too, just need the extra push)? Touch-screen version is preferred, as I read that it is 0.1in thicker than the non-touch.

(noticed I quoted the wrong person yesterday)

Hi MidnightSun,

Were you able to fix these problems with the RAM? I'm planning to get a M500 SSD drive and 4GB RAM stick from Crucial, but will look elsewhere if there's some compatibility issue with the T440s and Crucial products.

*If the SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW issue(s) are fixed and it really is noticeably faster than the M500, I don't mind paying an extra $20 investment (since it also has 10gb more space). Same goes with any RAM sticks (4gb) better than Crucials. Any inputs?
(don't really know much about compatibility other than how to use the sites that do it automatically)

Sorry for multiple edits/questions. I read on page 106 of a person getting a 25% off coupon from Lenovo for their birthday. Do they really give a 25% off coupon, because I don't remember ever inputting my DoB. My birthday is next week so I don't want to pull the trigger this week and get a coupon next week that potentially could have saved me a couple hundred dollars haha

 

I have it too. I would turn on my computer from sleep, swipe once, and nothing happens. I would just type in my password but it is annoying. I tried the fix and hopefully, that will end the problem.

 

Hi everyone,
A simple question about touchpad. How is the middle click region on the top enabled to work with the touchpad ?
It looks line only working with trackpoint to scroll. I only use touchpad and can't find any option to define a region for middle click in the Ultranav settings. The only way I can see is to define a 3-finger tap.

 

You could try out the following: TPMiddle

 

Just got my T440s non-touch and I won the lottery! The screen is manufactured by AUO. And it is far superior than my old X200T's.
Very happy about it.

Notice that I ordered in 3.10 using corporate perks' employee discount and the configuration page was different from the one directly opened through the official link. The smartcard reader and 16gb internal ssd were customizable.
I am not sure if this is related to the reason why I got the AUO screen. But as more people who purchased non-touch version recently claim they got AUO screen, there's a good chance that lenovo continues shipping T440s non-touch with AUO.

 

I just got a chance to check out the new clickpad (not on a T440s though), and I have to say - it seems absolutely terrible. Right-clicking is tricky (seems better if I only use one finger - which I don't have to do on anything else), when I click with the trackpoint I tend to move the mouse a bit (since that's also touchpad surface), and the easiest way to click and drag is to click with the same finger I'm using to navigate, possibly in the middle of the pad (if I keep a finger toward the bottom it creates unwanted cursor movements, unlike most laptops).

Have driver updates improved the situation much? Note: I use both the trackpoint and touchpad, depending on what I'm doing.

Sadly, I don't see many business machines out there with 13-14" 1080p (or better) displays, and I'm not a fan of consumer machines in general (plus many have crappy keyboards). Even the rMBP's keyboard is decent, despite it being thin (I wouldn't mind more travel, but I can get used to it). I like being able to replace components when needed though...

 

My t440s just came in, it's perfect except the touch pad is a little rattle-y. Has anyone had a good experience asking Lenovo to replace it because the touchpad is clacky? Would it be worthwhile? Or would I just end up with another one with the same clackiness.

 

So I think I've decided on what setup I want with the T440s:

i5-4200U because I doubt I'll need anything higher than that, and I've read that unless you do heavy media editing, it's better to put the investments towards more RAM and an SSD.

Touch-screen because it's (for some reason) $30 cheaper than the non-touch FHD display, and I may want to use it when scrolling through webpages and pdf's. The added weight/thickness is a bit of concern, but I've read that it's only 0.3 lb and <0.1 in added on (total 3.9 lb and <0.9 in), so I think I can live with that.
Also want to guarantee that I'll get an AUO screen, although it seems that Lenovo has been shipping more and more AUO non-touches lately.

3 cell battery because 6+ hours is probably enough for my uses.

7260AC because my friend said that the $30 investment is worthwhile.

As for the hard drive and RAM, I plan to buy them separately and install them myself. Currently plan to get a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO and still deciding on which RAM stick...does it even matter as long as it's DDR3-1866?

Still trying to find out whether Lenovo really gives out 25% off coupons on your birthday. Sort of want to get the order in by the end of this week, but I'd be willing to wait until next week if this is the case.
Anyone know of any coupons I can use to get a discount? I've tried a couple coupons sites but they all seem to be expired =/

 

Thanks for the info. However the description says it enables scrolling with trackpoint, this already works with stock driver. What doesn't work is the middle click for touchpad users. The only way I could find was to assign middle click to "three button click" (not tap). But this is horrible, it doesn't register for %50 of the time because of the travel in the click.

Any information on a reasonable way to use middle click on touchpad (not trackpoint) will be appreciated.

 

TPMiddle does exactly what you want. I just installed it and it allows me to middle click on links and open them in a new tab. You have to set it up as a startup process so it turns on every time.

 

Thanks for pointing that. I tried and it is better than 3-finger click. It also only accepts click and clicking on this touchpad is very inaccurate. cursor moves, and registers wrong etc. Maybe my fingers are to blame.

Taps are much more convenient on this touchpad. I will look for converting all taps into clicks using Autohotkey if I can find time.

 

You can set it so there is absolutely no taps. I notice the touchpad doesn't move if you are using the TrackPoint. I love the TrackPoint and think individual buttons would be great but I also love the large and smooth track pad. It is great for lazy scrolling in bed.

 

If I plan to upgrade my 500GB HDD to a SSD on my own, should I still get the 16GB Micro hard drive? I noticed that it's automatically unchecked if you click on another hard drive, then click on the 500GB HDD again. The price decrease by $50 as well.

*Nevermind, thought the Micro hard drive was some special drive, when (from what I've read, I assume) it's not. Basically paying $50 for a 16GB SSD. Also found these posts that lead me away from adding it on my configuration.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/734969-t440s-owner-s-thread-48.html#post9481295

 

Hi Phasee,

I ended up getting the 16gb+500gb config, and swapped out the HDD for a Samsung Evo 250gb.

I've repurposed the 16gb drive for holding the Intel Rapid Start (Lenovo 30 day standby) partition and my page file. I'm happy with that config and it offloads 16gb off my primary ssd.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

Intel Rapid Start basically saves power when you put your laptop into sleep mode by putting it into a deeper sleep, but boots it up as fast as if it were in regular sleep right? Considering the battery life of the T440s, I dunno if it would justify the extra $50 on the 16GB SSD. Especially since if I do want to use it, I can just use 16GB of my primary SSD (I think?).

Did a bit more research on this, it seems that Hibernate on Windows 8 basically does the same thing? http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T5...-Trying-to-enable-30-day-standby/td-p/1318393

Also, is there anything special you did to transfer everything from the original HDD (i.e. the one that has OS and Lenovo software on it) to the new SSD? I plan to just the HDD to make sure the computer works, then switch it out for the SSD right away. Is there a specific guide or something to transfer the OS and Lenovo software to the new SSD?

Thanks in advance~

 

Yes, the 30 day standby mode puts the computer in deep sleep after 3 hours to conserve power while in a standby state. Regular sleep consumes 1-2% battery per hour, while 30 day standby mode consumes almost nothing. Windows 8 hibernate is effectively the same; the advantage IMO to 30 day standby is you can choose where the hibernate file is located. Windows 8 standby forces it to the c drive. You're also correct that you can use a partition on your main drive if you want the 30 day standby feature. My use pattern sees hibernation used frequently, and I prefer to not have those writes (up to 12gb per transition) hitting my main ssd.

Another benefit I saw to configuring a cache drive at time of purchase is that you get the third m.2 slot on your motherboard, if that matters to you. I don't think the third slot is present if you don't get the cache drive, but it also isn't well known that one slot is underneath the battery after you open the laptop up, so I may be wrong on this and it may be present regardless.

To transfer to the ssd: I created recovery media on a flash drive using the facilities in windows 8 with the HDD installed. I suspect it just copies the recovery partition from the HDD to the usb drive. I then installed the ssd, booted off the flash drive and restored onto the ssd. It worked perfectly, and booted up as if I had received it fresh from lenovo.

I also added 8 GB of ram, which made a huge difference. The second stick puts the laptop into dual channel ram mode, and really enhanced my frame rates on the few games I play like Diablo III, CK2, and EU4.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

I see, so 30 day standby is useful if you have the 16GB M2 because you can choose to write to it, whereas hibernation and 30 day standby would work the same if I only have one drive. I think I'm going to pass on the M2 slot though because I'm planning to keep most of my media on my externals and also plan to only have 8GB RAM (so up to 8GB per transition).

Yep, I did notice that the System Expansion Slot: 3rd M2 SSD slot is only included if you purchase the 16GB M2 slot. I'm curious as to whether the 2nd M2 SSD slot comes with the T440s even if I do not purchase the 16GB SSD.

Thanks, I was worried whether I would be able to do that or not. I'm planning to get an 8.1 Pro upgrade disk through my University, hopefully that doesn't get rid of all the pre-installed software. I heard that Lenovo "bloatware" is actually somewhat good.

Yep, definitely intend to upgrade my RAM, although only another 4GB stick (Crucial). So much cheaper than upgrading through Lenovo >.>

Dunno if you would be able to answer this question: Do you know whether Lenovo gives out coupons on your birthday? There was a post on page 106 about someone receiving a 25% off coupon, but I don't remember ever inputting my DoB when creating an account...

 

Does anyone know if I can modify the 3rd M.2 slot to fit at 80mm M.2 SSD? I know it is connected using flexible cables so it would be interesting to reposition it and enable a 80mm M.2 SSD. They consume less power than standard SSD.

 

It doesn't look like it would (easily). Check out my G+ post regarding this:

https://plus.google.com/113961368928225067650/posts/JGtzG4r1CuJ

 

Perhaps as a bit of a newbie question, but I have a question about how to set up the 30 day standby feature. I purchased a 500GB+16GB refurb from the Lenovo Outlet (great deal btw!) and installed a 240GB Seagate 600 series drive. I would like to use the 16GB cache drive for a hibernation/hybrid sleep/30 day standby partition. Do I manually set the ID to D3BFE2DE-3DAF-11DF-BA40-E3A556D89593 and do I then not need to install anything or change any settings to make this 30 day standby work?

 

Thanks. Finally someone posted pictures of the 3rd M.2 slot. One question though. Does this replace the smart card reader or can you have both? Because this metal bracket seems to be in smartcard shape and I don't see anything else resembling the reader anywhere in your pictures.

 

My SmartCard reader is still in the laptop. The reader is actually attached to the motherboard and not part of the 3rd M2 slot/board.

 

Finally pulled the trigger on the T440s. Here are the configurations I made to the base model: Touch Screen, Intel 7260AC Wireless, Removed M.2 16GB SSD.
It's set to ship on 4/23 and deliver on 4/30. Really looking forward to it and I'll report back here with any new information!

Thank you to all the informative posts in this thread, especially to optomechanical for confirming my questions regarding the M.2 16GB SSD and transfering over the contents of the HDD to a SSD!

 

woke up this morning to find out my wifi looks toasted trying to revive it via driver updates.

 

Updated UltraNav driver: Synaptics ThinkPad UltraNav Driver for Windows 8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), 8 (32-bit, 64-bit), 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - ThinkPad The issue with the two-finger scrolling now seems solved.

 

Hi! Is there any chance I'll talk someone here into running DayZ on this notebook with HD4400? My current notebook runs it with ~15 FPS, I'm very curious how things are there. Though I think I will buy it anyway. xD

 

Just want to make sure before I buy my upgrades. This RAM and this SSD are both compatible with the T440s right?

 

What exactly is/was that issue?
I do remember on the first model I got (non-touch LG), scrolling it sucked big time, specially when in metro.

My current model has always worked fine.

 

That's what I used with success. I went with 8GB instead of 4 though. Back cover removal is a pain, a couple tabs got deformed and I was very careful.