Thinkpads Forum

Hey all ...yesterday the headphone jack in my x61T started going on the fritz. I only get sound from both earbuds when I have the plug pulled partially out of the jack. This is obviously a contact issue. I remember having this issue when the jack would go bad in my old walkmans (yeah, i said walkman). It's not the headphones either because they work fine in my ipod. My question is if I get this repaired am I going to need a new motherboard? Also, what is the turn around on a repair like this? I've never had to send away a Thinkpad before and I don't want to be without it forever especially with the holiday traveling I have coming up.

Any information would be great ....thanks.

jnorman39 wrote:snip.....My question is if I get this repaired am I going to need a new motherboard? Also, what is the turn around on a repair like this? I've never had to send away a Thinkpad before and I don't want to be without it forever especially with the holiday traveling I have coming up......snip

1. Depends on how severe the problem is.

2. 5-7 business days depending on parts availability and time of the year more importantly.

I believe that the severity is simply that they need to replace the headphone jack which will consist of resoldering a new one on. I'm just not sure if they will go through the hassle of actually resoldering a new jack on or just replace the whole motherboard and be done with it. Does anyone have any knowledge of how "technical" the repair depots actually are? Or ....are they just going to do something that I could do with the correct replacement parts?

jnorman39 wrote:I believe that the severity is simply that they need to replace the headphone jack which will consist of resoldering a new one on. I'm just not sure if they will go through the hassle of actually resoldering a new jack on or just replace the whole motherboard and be done with it. Does anyone have any knowledge of how "technical" the repair depots actually are? Or ....are they just going to do something that I could do with the correct replacement parts?

I feel the same way. I've been soldering since 1984. I've made lots of repairs, and built several projects. I just don't feel comfortable soldering a jack on a really THIN PCB board that may have many layers of traces, and teeny weeny SMD resistors and caps nearby.

Hey, we're neighbors.

Hey, we are neighbors! ...too bad you have an X60T and not an X61T ...or I'd trade ya

As far as the soldering goes I wasn't going to mess with that at all. I can solder but there was no way I was going to attempt it on this ...primarily because of all your aforementioned reasons. I was just thinking that if they sent me a replacement mobo I could easily swap that out. I've been tearing these things apart for years ...just for the fun of it. How has your luck been with the repair depots? You've got an A31 so i figure you had to have dealt with them at least once over the years

jnorman39 wrote:snip.....Does anyone have any knowledge of how "technical" the repair depots actually are? Or ....are they just going to do something that I could do with the correct replacement parts?

Although techs are trained professionals however it really depends on how efficient he/she is. The backup method for them is a motherboard replacement but time is the key element in all this process.

And no they'll not send out a replacement Planar card (motherboard) to you.

jnorman39 wrote:Hey, we are neighbors! ...too bad you have an X60T and not an X61T ...or I'd trade ya

As far as the soldering goes I wasn't going to mess with that at all. I can solder but there was no way I was going to attempt it on this ...primarily because of all your aforementioned reasons. I was just thinking that if they sent me a replacement mobo I could easily swap that out. I've been tearing these things apart for years ...just for the fun of it. How has your luck been with the repair depots? You've got an A31 so i figure you had to have dealt with them at least once over the years

I am so glad I have the X60T instead of the X61T with all the problems I've read here. This thing has been flawless.

I've done all my own repairs on the A31 since day one.

Go ahead proaudioguy ....throw salt in the wound why don't ya

Actually ...all in all I've had very good luck with my x61T. I look at this headphone jack as a minor issue which probably isn't the fault of Lenovo.

Hey, I have the same issue with my x61s. I only noticed today after having the notebook for more than three months. (I've always docked the laptop) Did you ever get this fixed?

I thought I had this problem with my X60s -- turned out I had a rogue program that turned the audio balance all the way left every time it ran (go figure!).

I know a guy who had the exact same problem with his x6* (I don't remember exactly which one he has), and Lenovo just replaced the whole mobo for him.

ryengineer wrote:And no they'll not send out a replacement Planar card (motherboard) to you.

Really? Bummer. Dell does if you ask them to. (I own a Dell lappy right now)...but I just ordered an x61 Tablet and I can't wait for it to come!

One thing I really like about Thinkpads (aside from all the other stuff) is the great warranty service. They will provide you with the proper packing material for you to ship the laptop to them. And the turn around is great.