T440s Owner´s Thread

Is this still a default setting??? This issue came up around the 4500MHD era of Intel Graphics IIRC and seems a tad bit dismaying to see it still persists.

 

I believe it is, yes. AMD has its own equivalent called "VariBright," which re-enables itself after every driver update on my X120e. Can't understand why anyone would want this type of "feature" enabled; my only guess is that it helps laptops reach the manufacturer-quoted battery life.

 

I'm so happy right now. Lenovo has the AUO screen in stock and is shipping me one now! Can't wait to have a screen that's easier on the eyes.

 

How did you know? Mine is been shipped from Hong Kong now? Will it've the AUO screen?

 

I am considering the W540 (with 3k display) in place of the T440s. Have any of you considered that alternative?

 

I received my T440s with the 6-cell battery extension.

Is the "Remaining battery time" the sum of the 6-cell & 3-cell internal batteries or the 6-cell battery only?

 

How do you guys like the touchpad in the T440s? I have a feeling I'm going to hate it since I'm so used to having physical buttons in my T400.

 

Should be both.

I'm OK with it. It ruined the trackpoint for me (I use it on my x120e all the time, but never on the t440s), but cursor navigation and 2-finger scrolling are pretty darned smooth. I've gotten used to tapping to click - and 2-finger for right-click is actually an option in the driver/a default, not something that needs to be enabled via a registry edit on Synaptics pads. Still, I'd trade the clickpad for discrete buttons in a heartbeat. Something like the older T4xx/T5xx ones perhaps. Or, at least for the touchpad's buttons (not the trackpoint's), something like HP biz laptops (~6460b and on).

 

How can I active windows 8 in T440s with part number 20AQ006HUS . Thanks.

 

Just a nugget's up for anyone considering a DIY screen replacement: East Coast LCDs on Amazon is advertising B104HAN01.2 screens (supposedly better than the .1 variant), but will ship the .1 if they don't have any .2s in stock. They then try to fall back on the misleading product listing on Amazon, titled "AU OPTRONICS B140HAN01.2 LAPTOP LCD SCREEN 14.0" Full-HD DIODE ( SUBSTITUTE REPLACEMENT LCD SCREEN ONLY. NOT A LAPTOP )", to justify the delivery of the incorrect part number, saying that you're purchasing a "compatible replacement" rather than an OEM replacement. The manager with whom I spoke further went on to deflect the blame by saying that the specification of part number in the Amazon product details is added by Amazon, not the seller, which is why they add "substitute replacement" to the title.

The bottom line is that this is a classic bait and switch. However, they did accept my RMA request and promised to cross-ship a B140HAN01.2, which they currently have in stock. It should be noted that while they didn't charge me shipping to receive the replacement item, I did have to ante up to return the B104HAN01.1 I received. I don't have a lot of time to faff around with this, so I'll just install the screen and call it a day if they send me another .1. I'll update in a week or so.

 

You don't. Windows 8 will be automatically activated upon install. When installing from a USB, the installer skips the product key section because the machine already has the product key built in.

 

Ok, 1 Full week with my New Lenovo Think Pad T440s

Not too many problems, YET. but I did run into a Semi Problem since I Built it with a Integrated Mobile Broadband
Sierra Wireless 7355 - Gobi 5000 card with a Verizon SIM card.

It began with that I didn't know how to find the card information when I called Verizon to add this new device to a Mobile Plan.
After giving the IMEI & IMSI #'s, along with the SIM card number. They couldn't find it on their list
So I went through Hoops to finally have them say they will need to send the info in, to get the Ok to activate my Thinkpad.
This was even after the Verizon tech had to talk to a Lenovo Tech.

Verizon says it will take 1-3 days for them to get the Ok

another problem, which might be apart of the first problem is when you go check out the network panel on the right side. I have no problem turning Airplane Mode, On & Off, or WiFi. But when it comes to Broadband Mobile, it won't switch to On.

I know I read somewhere that there was a few problems going the Verizon SIM card route, but I didn't want AT&T because all my other devices are Verizon.

Anybody have similar problems ?? and if so, what did you do ? was it fixed ? or did you have to change to a different SIM card company ?

 

I thought I would have a problem with it as well. But it's not that bad. I got use to it in no time.

 

New T440s owner here. Checked the specs and I got the HD IPS LG screen.

I'm happy with the screen and there isn't any spotlight syndrome. I don't know what people are on about.

 

I have been using my t440s for around 2 months now. I recently spotted that my keyboard had a slight, nearly invisible tilt in the area near the trackpad. I tried removing the keyboard and found out that the water resistant seal was placed incorrectly and my keyboard wasn't water resistant at all.

The issue I ran into now is my processor I think. When the fan is off there is a clearly audible crackling sound, I believe it is coming from the processor since I don't have HDD but SSD instead. It is not loud but annoying when I'm in a library or just in some quiet place. Does anyone else's computer produce this sound? I'm thinking of going to warranty.

 

The crackling noise is probably from the sound system. I don't think the processor will make such a noise as you described. Unless it's high pitched which could come from the fan or piezoelectric effect from the CPU.

 

How can I find the IPS Screen manufacturer? LG or AUO?

 

Best bet, it is the speakers. Just put your ears next to the speaker holes and see if that is it. If it is, I recommend taking off the back cover and placing duct tape over the holes. It will significantly reduce the noise and when you do listen to music, you won't notice a difference.

 

Upon boot up, go to your BIOS. It should be on the first page.

 

I have had my T440s for just over a week now. It is a very nice computer and I’m pleased with it. However, I would change the configuration if I ordered one again.

If I could start over, I would order a machine with the touchscreen and an i7 processor but keep the disk and ram options at the minimum (standard HDD, 4gb ram) and do the upgrade to a SSD and 8-12gb ram myself and add two m.2 128gb SSDs at the same time. I found my configuration did not include a m.2 connector under the internal battery so I could only add one m.2 SSD. There is an unused connection on the motherboard that would normally have a ribbon connector attached for the m.2 cache SSD on the HDD version, and I am interested in a way to use that connector if anyone knows where to get a ribbon connector. The back cover is a bit of a pain to remove, but is definitely doable with some patience and care.

I loaded Xubuntu onto part of the m.2 drive and it is working well out of the box except that it is not detecting an SD card yet. I loaded it so that the Win8 bootloader was unaffected - when I want Linux I use the F12 key during boot instead of going to grub all the time.

So for those of you out there with some computer hardware ability who are deciding whether to order using Lenovo’s SSD, memory options vs upgrading yourself, my experience points to the later. You will get the extra m.2 slot, and more bang for your money too. This is a great laptop.

 

I couldn't find any info about the IPS Screen or the manufacturer in the BIOS

 

It is definitely not the speakers. I can clearly hear the sound is coming from the inside of the computer. I will go to warranty this week and see what they tell me.

 

I'll add that the smartcard reader option can only be selected on SSD models, as it resides in the area under the battery where the HDD model's caching SSD would be installed in that configuration. I required the smartcard reader, thus losing that m.2 slot was my subsequent trade-off. Be aware of that consequence if you're on the fence about SSD/HDD/smartcard/m.2 options.

Also, in line with the "order barebones and perform DIY upgrades" train of thought, I would recommend against getting the touchscreen simply for the AUO screen unless touch functionality is specifically desired. Instead, I ordered mine with the HD+ (not FHD or touch screen) and will replace with an AUO B104HAN01.2 FHD screen I ordered from a third-party; that's $200+ in savings, plus you get a matte screen. This end-user modification seems to intimidate a lot of people, but rest assured that it's a quite simple, 5-10 minutes swap.

With regard to linux, the latest Crunchbang linux (based on Debian stable) did not recognize ethernet or wifi out of the box, even with updated kernel firmwares and drivers for those specific modules. I could have jumped through hoops to achieve compatibility by updating the kernel itself, but both worked automagically in Arch linux without fuss. I even managed a UEFI + Secure Boot install, though I later disabled Secure Boot.

 

$200+ saving from FHD & HD+? That's alot. On the Lenovo UK site when I ordered mine 3 weeks ago, the difference was just £14.40. Why the huge price difference in the US?

 

Excellent suggestion. I did get used to the touchscreen with a Yoga 13, so for me that tilted the scales.

 

At the time I ordered (US), going from HD+ to FHD was $140. Going from HD+ to touch screen was $300 (taxes apply to both upgrades). The FHD cost me $100 from a third-party. I can't speculate on upgrade pricing disparity in differing markets without additional details regarding UK/EU models, particularly base price and promotions at the time of your observation.

 

Here is a cost comparison for a well equipped T440s factory configured vs basic model that is owner-upgraded to higher specs. The finished product is i7, 500gb SSD (actually 750gb total for the DIY), 12gb RAM, non-touch screen. The DIY cost includes $100 for an AUO screen (may or may not need that) and the factory total does not. The DIY total also includes the cost of 2 128gb m.2 SSDs - not included with the factory total (and the factory version with SSD only has one m.2 slot available). The factory cost is $1972 and the owner upgrade version cost is $1710. These prices are for the USA, parts from Amazon and eBay.

Parts
2 m.2 SSD 158
EVO 840 500gb 250
Crucial Ram 8gb 84
AUO screen upgrade 100
total parts 592

i7+500gb HDD T440s 1118
Total with parts 1710

By the way, physically remove an SD card before removing the back cover....

 

i have a question, i have the t440s with a smart card reader and mobile simcard. i would like to use a m.2 slot for the 30 day sleep function. is it possible to swap my smartcard reader for a m.s ssd?

 

Not easily, no. The smartcard reader has a different interface. You'd need an m.2 ribbon cable to connect to the motherboard as well as the adapter to house the m.2 SSD itself.

 

edited: double post.

 

thanks, i was wondering. is this doable? can i buy such items on ebay or so?

 

Perhaps, but I'd look into ordering directly from Lenovo first.

Sent from my mobile device

 

Is it possible to purchase the m.2 cable and install an extra driver under the battery or is the slot not present at all?

 

The slot is present when configured sans smartcard reader, only.

Sent from my mobile device

 

My config is ssd and no smart card reader and there is no slot/connector under the battery.

I too am wondering if it is possible to buy the ribbon and either the smart card reader/connector or some other adapter.

 

Somebody answered this question on another thread. I can't confirm the info is correct but it looks like it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/740351-t440s-3rd-m-2-slot.html

 

Thank you for the link and the reply.

 

I had this problem: Lenovo Thinkpad T440S, running Windows 8.1 with all the latest drivers & updates (Sept 6, 2014), wouldn't recognize a SSD in a external enclosure through any of the USB ports. Other computers had no problems recognizing and using that SSD in the same enclosure through their USB ports.

Solution:
In the BIOS settings (press F1 while booting, make sure FnLck is ON otherwise function key won't be recognized), go to:
BIOS->Config->USB->USB 3.0 Mode
change to "Disabled"

Now the USB ports will run in USB 2.0 Mode.

With the USB ports set to USB 2.0 Mode, Windows 8.1 had no problem "seeing" the external drive, in Disk Manager, File Explorer, etc.. I was able to clone the factory internal HD to the external SSD, then replace the internal HD with the SSD, and boot up & run with zero problems.

Something isn't quite setup right with the current, most updated USB 3.0 drivers for the T440S (as of Sept 6, 2014). I gave up trying to figure out why and/or find the fabled drivers that would work.

Hope this helps someone save the 7 hours of time that I lost diagnosing crap like this.

 

Is there a way to stop the screen for flashing after a fresh reboot? My T440s has the GT 730M and also the Intel 4400 graphics. I'm guessing the flashing of the screen is when the system is switching GPUs.

 

Does anyone know what the difference between the 45W Yoga and 45W Thinkpad power adapters is, if any? I bought my t440s with a 65W charger, but I'd like to get a 45W one for on the go use (and so I have a spare).

 

After upgrading to Win8.1 (via the windows store), my screen would flash 3 times at every boot and when switching users (so basically whenever the logon screen was displayed).

I did a fresh reinstall with a generic Win8.1 image and I no longer have this issue.

 

Hello. About a month ago one day I started to get blue screens. I said I'll search for it next day. Next day I could hardly boot to windows, I searched on internet and found out SDD is dying (my after almost a year) cause of incopatible combination - T440s is killing Samsung 840 pro SSD's - Page 11 - Lenovo Community ... I had this drive. I tried to save with upgrading firmware, but then it died.
Now I'm in a proccess to buy new SSD for my T440s. Do you think I should go with the same drive again, or better to look to other site (intel 730, crucial mx100, ...) ?

 

Go for Samsung 850 PRO, That's what I'm using on mine

 

Definitely avoid getting the same drive again; that would be...a poor choice.

If you'd like to stick with Samsung, your options are the 840 Evo and the 850 Pro. Between those two, the 512GB versions of each run in the area of USD$230 (Evo) and $400 (Pro). Since it's highly unlikely that any consumer is going to reap any significant benefit from the Pro at almost twice the price, the better deal is easily the similarly performing 840 Evo. However, both are solid choices, as are any of the other competitors you mentioned.

 

Well, I noticed something funny in the FRU list for the t440s: http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkPad/t440s_fru_list_20140217.pdf

The 7260AC cards say "# Issue Fix SKU" at the end. That seems to imply there's a hardware issue on some of those...

 

Does anyone know where in the power management/battery utility that you can find how much capacity the batteries have lost/degraded? I tried the "reset" option but it didnt do what it said (drain battery to 0% and charge to 100%) so seems to have a bug in it.

As an aside, I had to replace the LCD again recently. I had an AUO which developed bright spots. I figured I'd go through backorder hell trying to get a replacement AUO panel but surprisingly they were in stock and I got one overnight. Unfortunately, the LCD "bezel cover" (aka sticker) IS backordered and it seems like they might have discontinued manufacturing that part. The one I had was unusable after going through two LCD panel replacements, so I've been without a bezel for almost a month now and still no sign of them getting stock anytime soon. They've offered to replace my 440s with a refurbished one but hell if I'm going to accept that given the keyboard/screen/etc lotteries on this model.

 

You can use this command prompt. It will give you a great deal of useful information on your power/battery usuage.

powercfg /batteryreport /output %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\battery_report.html

You get: battery capacity, usage information, battery life estimate, and a pretty accurate battery life based on observed behavior. Unfortunately, my T440s gets a max 3 hours and 47 minutes. I am disappointed but I can just upgrade to the larger capacities batteries.

 

It seems to have a screen protector of sorts included - does anyone know if this is this supposed to be removed or not? It seems to give mine (AUO screen) a slightly grainy look (not much different from other matte screens though).

 

Hello Owners out there,

has anyone of you tried to install a second OS like Win 8.1 onto en external USB HDD?

I have a bootable USB Stick to Install Win 8.1 from, but during Setup i get alltime stuck when it tells me that the USB HDD and it's GPT Format/Record are not supported for install.

Is there any known and tested way to get Win installed onto and booted from an USB HDD?

Thanks and best regs
Martin

 

If you've taken the bezel sticker off and it looks like the "screen protector" is held on by black tape, then no, don't remove that. That's your anti-glare coating. If it looks "grainy", "hazy", or "frosted", that's because they over-applied the coating.

GPT is supported by the system firmware, but if you're getting errors in that regard, I would recommend setting your system firmware to "Legacy only" or "Legacy & UEFI". Legacy (aka MBR) should work.