what kinda quality control is this?

I just received my T400. The spring in the lid latch is sticky as hell, and it doesn't latch the lid onto the base when I close the lid. Also, the switch in front of the computer beside the the 1394 port doesn't do anything. it's just stuck in one position.

i have already found two major quality issues with my laptop within the first 3 minutes....

i havent even turned on the computer yet...

I am extremely disappointed and pissed off at Lenovo right now.

 

I understand you're upset, but that is not a license to use vulgar language. It will not tolerated around here at least while I am here. Also, bypassing the language filters is a big no-no around here. Am I making myself clear?

 

Sorry for my misbehavior. I've gotten a lot of helpful comments from people here in the forums, and your reply made me realized that I let my emotions degrade the quality of the forums here. But either case, I just simply didn't know how else to phrase this situation when I first realized the quality defects.

Anyways, I'm going to call Lenovo tomorrow to get this sorted out, and hopefully, I can even convince them to give me a full refund!

 

Why not think about it and see how you feel about it in the morning. It's never wise to make these decisions when you're so upset. Perhaps it'll be easily remedied.

 

I would just return it and get something else. I found dealing with Lenovo to get my X61T fixed to be a long and painful road. You can get an idea of the sort of pain by reading the below:

http://lenovoblogs.com/connections/?p=6

How about a nice HP 6930p or Dell Latitude e6400 instead?!

 

the wireless switch is quite tight, but it should work, it will loosen up over time.

i would not recommend returning it, as there is a 15% restocking fee.

 

Emotional versus Logic, it's so easy to get carried away by the moment I strongly believe. Yes there will be a 15% restocking fee.
Just use the machine and see if you like it, if not then you see what you have to do.

 

Dude he didn't use vulgar language...

 

its been edited...

 

The first post doesn't look edited at all.
Not by the OP nor by a mod.
Still, I guess it was edited because of ZaZ's remark about bypassing the filter.

To the OP; I wholeheartedly symphathize.
Buying a Lenovo product is often done on the basis of it's quality reputation.
After spending a whole lot of money, perhaps having worked your butt off for it and then receiving a flawed product that feels almost like a DOA is gut-wrenching.
I'd advice to get to these issues fixed though and then enjoy your Thinkpad for years and years.

 

well, I just found out that my wifi connection is dropping, which I never experienced with any other computers I've used in my house.

Anyone have any experience with completely replacing their T400 with Lenovo instead of having them fix it? I fear that more problems will come with my particular build.

 

Why not call and ask.

 

The wi-fi drop in connection is often cause by the Thinkvantage Access Connections software, simply uninstall it and you're good to go.

I have expected you would already filed them the complaint, you can access Mark@Lenovo to help you fix your problems with the physical damage, I'm sure something can be sorted out, you would need to not pay any more pennies.

 

You guys have to understand that today "thinkpad" does NOT = quality. The quality of todays thinkpads have reached budget laptop levels. There is simply NO denying this.

Not only do you have to cope with the ridiculously stupid off center screens with laughably thick screen bezel you now have low quality construction, budget-level quality build, flex all over the place due to cheap thin plastic, lower quality components (speakers, touch pad, ect, all have gotten WORSE since the T60/T61).

This is reality people...some people are still brainwashed to think that thinkpads = quality when this is simply not true anymore.

 

I am having this Wifi drop problem too. Does access connection do this even if it isn't what is used to connect to the network? I am using Vista's but in network manager. Would access connection interfere with that?

 

You treat this as if there is no medium. Most of us would agree that thinkpad quality has dropped but that isn't to say that to some the value still exists for arguably higher quality (as a business grade laptop vs consumer grade). You have every right to complain about what you do but don't treat it as IBM thinkpads were the utmost of quality that everyone should buy and that now lenovo thinkpads are utterly worthless and nobody would ever want one.

QC issues are problematic and worth the critiques. But please don't be so arrogant as to call people brainwashed. I don't see thinkpads as without fault, however compared to the premium I paid vs a consumer grade laptop or a business laptop from HP or Dell, I am content with my x200.

 

You seem to be under the impression that ThinkPads of yesteryear never had any issues, which would clearly be untrue. The T4x machine were not terribly rigid, which cause the planars to flex and in turn the GPUs to flex and fail. Though durable, the T30s had memory slot issues. I could go on if you like. I'd say the quality has sort of fluctuated over the years, with some models being better than others in terms of durability. Perhaps were in a lower swell right now. Also, ThinkPads of yore also cost a lot of more money. They had more money to make them better because they cost $3k. Lenovo has to balance features and cost. Perhaps they've tilted towards the cost side for the moment, but that means a lot more people can afford them who otherwise could not have in the past when they were a lot more money. I personally would say the quality is much better than anything you're going to find walking into Wal-Mark or Best Buy.

 

Zaz, saying "the quality is much better than anything you're going to find walking into Wal-Mark or Best Buy" doesn't say alot.
Renee

 

I've had my T400 for a year now and I haven't had any problems with it.

 

ZaZ, you brought up a very good point, in every ThinkPad itinerary, there's been flaws, I don't want to repeat what you just said but there's been many known problems with ThinkPads of the IBM owned era.

 

Really. Here's a few to ponder going back to the mid-90s that I personally experienced:

755Ce - left mouse button failed every 6 months

760/760EL/760XL series = Worst Keyboard Feel Ever - plastic-feel, no response unless you hit the keys with hammer-like force

T23 - palmrest cracks on left side - case cracks above ultrabay door

T40 - board failure due to case flexing

 

I had a T60 three years before I got my T400 and never had any problems with it. I totally agree that it's better than other brands because I have used them all

 

The keyboard feel may not have been directly related to the factory construction, the keyboard may have had dirt/dust/particles underneath it. Some of these problems are like getting a car, never changing the oil in it and blaming it on the company when it breaks down.

 

We all know how iGrim feels --he's posted his opinion before. Just as he knows many of us here aren't in agreement with him.

In this case, I can understand your disappointment, OP. That said, you haven't given Lenovo even a single chance to remedy the issue for you yet. The hallmark of a good company is not in that it never makes a mistake (all companies are imperfect) but how they react in response to that mistake to correct it.

Give them a call, be polite rather than flying off the handle (the Tier I support guy/gal isn't the direct cause of your problem, just the person who can help you fix it) and voice your problem, and (politely) your disappointment. If support through the first person you reach is problematic, ask for a supervisor. You should be able to get these issues resolved fairly easily, and then be able to enjoy your ThinkPad for the foreseeable future.

 

Was this in response to my observation about the 760 x series? If so, it wasn't a dirt/dust/particle related issue unless it was built-in at the factory as I personally had a 760, several 760ELs and several 760XLs as well as a Fortune 50 company full of them that I supported. Not only was I complaining but every one of my users that I spoke with scorched my ear over the bad keyboard.

And I passed the pain along to my IBM rep - hopefully my feedback combined with that of others helped inspire the 600 series keyboard which, to my mind, still reigns as the best keyboard IBM or Lenovo ever produced.

 

I admit I acted a bit irrational to the quality defects because all they had to do was close the lid and open it again to verify the proper functionality of the lid.

Anyways, I called Lenovo and luckily, they had a repair depot like 7 minutes away from where I live, and they were able to fix the issues for me.

turns out the fit was just really tight out of the factory, so the spring wasn't able to engage the latch, and the wifi switch just needed some wear-in.

Laptop seems ok now, except I'm still experiencing wifi connection drop when I try to transfer large amounts of data over LAN to my T400, which I've made another thread.