Buying replacement keyboards and other parts

[cbrace]

Hi all,

I'm new here, first post. Looks like a friendly and informative community

I have mixed experiences ordering replacement keyboards. Ordered an X220 (en-US) from China, turned out to be a cheap knock-off. I later found a "genuine" replacement from a dealer here in NL at (obviously) a far higher price.

Someone told me that only "genuine" Lenovo parts display the FRU part number. Non-Lenovo stuff may (?) only be listed as "compatible".

Is this true?

At the moment I am in the market for a keyboard for an X201. Would be interested in any tips on identifying a decent replacement. Yes, I read the reviews and feedback etc.

Also, the lid on this X201 is cracked on one edge. Not a showstopper, but if I can find an affordable replacement... Question: are all plastic parts (bezels, palm rests etc) created equal?

Speaking of the lid, the Thinklight doesn't work, but I should probably search the forums before pursuing this further...

TIA

[dr_st]

Welcome to the forum!

I have mixed experiences ordering replacement keyboards. Ordered an X220 (en-US) from China, turned out to be a cheap knock-off.

Out of curiosity: where did you order, how much did it cost, and in what way was this knock-off different from a genuine keyboard?

[cbrace]

Thanks!

I ordered it last December through Aliexpress. Brand NEW US layout keyboard for Thinkpad T410 T420 T410S T510 X220 compatible with FRU 45N2141 45N2106. It was around US$30 with shipping.

It didn't have the same crisp tactile "feel" as the UK keyboard I was replacing. Pressure was uneven. What really drove me nuts was that the space bar didn't work unless I pressed it in the middle. IOW, hitting it with my left thumb next to the Alt key didn't work! Super annoying.

I later found an "official" (?) replacement from a local Lenovo parts dealer, which cost around €55. When I mentioned my experience to them they told me that there are a lot of "counterfeit" parts in circulation these days.

As you can see on the page above, it is listed as "compatible with FRU 45N2141 45N2106"

I was told by an online seller that you can identify genuine parts because they are listed as "original", not "compatible" and labelled with the FRU. Just wondering how true that it is.

Edit: Unfortunately I couldn't check the first keyboard w.r.t. part number labelling because I threw it in a recycling bin before I learned more about how this stuff works....

[dr_st]

It didn't have the same crisp tactile "feel" as the UK keyboard I was replacing. Pressure was uneven. What really drove me nuts was that the space bar didn't work unless I pressed it in the middle. IOW, hitting it with my left thumb next to the Alt key didn't work! Super annoying.

Interesting. I would like to pop the keys up and compare the mechanisms, but I don't feel like spending $30 just for this research at the moment... There were 2 or 3 different mechanisms of the original keyboard as well, so that comparison would have to be thorough...

I was told by an online seller that you can identify genuine parts because they are listed as "original", not "compatible" and labelled with the FRU. Just wondering how true that it is.

That's assuming the sellers are honest, which I would not automatically do. Definitely with batteries in the past years I've seen many counterfeit ones sold as "genuine/original" in the listing title. I would definitely not use FRU as indication to anything, because sellers often list all compatible FRUs, whether the part itself is genuine or not.

The only thing I would sort-of trust is pictures of the exact item in question (assuming you can identify an original part).

[cbrace]

A short follow-up question: I understand one has to be careful buying replacement parts like keyboards and batteries. But what about the plastic stuff, covers, bezels, palm rests, and the like? Is there much variation in quality?

I ask because I recently picked up an X201 and the cover is slightly cracked at one edge. This isn't mission critical, but if I can order a reasonably priced, decent quality replacement that would be nice...

[skx]

A short follow-up question: I understand one has to be careful buying replacement parts like keyboards and batteries. But what about the plastic stuff, covers, bezels, palm rests, and the like? Is there much variation in quality?

I ask because I recently picked up an X201 and the cover is slightly cracked at one edge. This isn't mission critical, but if I can order a reasonably priced, decent quality replacement that would be nice...

chinese knockoffs are perfectly fine. it is plastic in the end, and the genuine lenovo plastic was made in china as well

[zoltan87]

chinese knockoffs are perfectly fine. it is plastic in the end, and the genuine lenovo plastic was made in china as well

I wouldn't be so confident saying that. I bought a Thinkpad T60 palmrest in the past from China, and while it was new as advertised, it was bent and twisted all over the place (especially the small bridge above the trackpad cut-out), and had a cheap looking IBM sticker on it when I compared it to the original palmrest. I ended up not using it, so not sure about the actual fit, but I think I would have had problems with that, because of all the bents and twists it had.

So I would rather buy a used genuine part, or even a whole laptop, that is broken and sufficiently cheap, so I could use the parts of it for a rebuild. I also have bad experiences with buying batteries that are advertised as genuine, capacity is never as advertised. But in that regard the cheap third party batteries are even worse. They state A++ cells, but the batteries has like half the capacity compared to a genuine new battery.

[cbrace]

My experience so far with third-party batteries is that capacity is as stated, but that they lose that capacity very quickly.

For example: I bought a used X220 a year ago. The refurbisher shipped it with a new third-party battery. Within a year of use, it only has 60% of its original charging capacity. This after only 15 or so charge cycles

The tlp utility in Linux indicates this clearly: original capacity, first date of use, and current charging capacity.

I've also bought ten-year old Thinkpads whose original batteries still have >90% capacity even after hundreds of charge cycles. I'm sure many of you have also seen this.