Lenovo offers customers ThinkPad laptops to exchange batteries after ‘incidents’

Lenovo has initiated a major international replacement campaign for lithium-ion batteries used in select models of ThinkPad and Edge laptops sold between October 2010 and April 2011. There is probably a risk of overheating.

Lenovo customers who have purchased a particular laptop during that period can exchange the battery at no additional cost, regardless of whether they are still under warranty. These are the ThinkPad models T410, T420, T510, W510, X100E, X120E, X200, X201 and X201s. In addition, the ThinkPad Edge 11, Edge 13 and Edge 14 mentioned in the period contain the relevant batteries. These are batteries with 3, 4, 6 or 9 cells. With a tool, users can automatically find out whether their battery qualifies for replacement.

Lenovo does not disclose the reason for the replacement action, but does speak of a ‘small number of incidents’ that are known to the group. This is probably due to the risk of overheating, which in the past has often led to fire hazards with laptop batteries.