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Took me four hours to swap a laptop battery because the screws were stripped from the factory.
Bought a used ThinkPad T480 for $200 and couldn't even get the back cover off without drilling out three screws, has anyone else run into Lenovo using thread locker that makes zero sense for a user-serviceable part?
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west.casey2mo ago
factory screws stripped" oh man, that hits close to home. My buddy bought a similar ThinkPad last year and he had the exact same nightmare. He spent a whole weekend just trying to get the back panel off because one of those little screws was basically glued in with thread locker from the factory. He ended up using a rubber band and a bigger driver bit to get enough grip, but he still had to drill one out. To make it worse, when he finally got inside, the battery connector was so tight it took him another hour to pry it loose without breaking the motherboard clips. He told me he'd rather rebuild a car engine than swap another laptop battery. For a machine that's supposed to be user-serviceable, it felt like Lenovo really missed the mark on that one.
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roberts.leo2mo ago
actually the rubber band trick works okay on phillips heads that are barely stripped but once they're fully rounded out it just shreds the rubber. my buddy ended up using a tiny flathead and hammering it in a little to get a bite. but here's my real question though - did yours have that stupid security torx screw in the center under the little plastic cover? because that was the one that really made me mad. like why even bother making it look like a normal torx if you're gonna hide a security pin in there. and the thread locker thing is real, i've had to heat up screws with a soldering iron just to soften the glue. what model year was yours? because i've heard the newer ones have less of that problem but i'm not sure i believe it.
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lily_torres312mo ago
Gotta say that sounds a little dramatic for some stripped screws, lol.
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