14 DAY TRIAL // Lenovo has recently announced that it’s recalling the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th-generation laptop due to an issue impacting the battery and potentially increasing the risk of a fire.
While this is the only model that’s affected by the problem, it looks like it’s all being caused by an unfastened screw that can damage the laptop battery, eventually causing overheating and posing a fire hazard.
Just “a limited number of such laptops” is hit, Lenovo says, though no specifics were provided. The company did say that model numbers 20HQ, 20HR, 20K3, and 20K4 are affected.
78,000 units recalled
To determine whether your own Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop comes with the unfastened screw, what you need to do is to check the product label on the back of the device and look for the “machine type” code.
The product name must be “5th Generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon” and the machine type code must be one of those mentioned above. Lenovo says only laptops built between December 2016 and October 2017 are affected, with newer models not impacted. You can also check the manufacturing date on the product label to see if the device is potentially affected, as pictured below.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission says approximately 78,000 laptop units are included in the recall, with 5,500 units sold in Canada. The organization also reveals that no injury or overheating reports were sent in the United States.
“Consumers should immediately visit https://support.lenovo.com/X1C_5GEN_RECALL to see if their laptop is included in the recall and for assistance in locating the nearest authorized repair center for inspection and repair. If the laptop is included in the recall, stop using it immediately,” the US CPSC says.
All repairs will be offered free of charge, and Lenovo says that it’s trying to fix the unfastened screw as fast as possible and not cause any inconvenience to its customers.
