Thinkpads Forum

I have a ThinkPad T440p, model number 20AWA20LLM. The price was too good to pass up, but this was a machine for the Latin American market and came with a Spanish keyboard. I bought an English keyboard on Amazon, but it is a generic Chinese unit and feels terrible.

I am looking for a Liteon illuminated (back-lit) keyboard. The IBM parts price is silly ($336), and in looking for this unit 00HW837 or FRU 04X0169, I have not found a vendor who sells the Liteon manufactured keyboard.

Any help with finding a source that will guarantee they are selling the Liteon keyboard would be greatly appreciated.

Forgive me if I'm violating a rule on bumping my own post, but almost 100 views and no results?

mixz1 wrote:Forgive me if I'm violating a rule on bumping my own post, but almost 100 views and no results?

There are many eBay resellers that offer "similar" and then offer to supply any particular FRU that you'd like if their offering doesn't seem to satisfy your request. Most or some of these mention their product isn't a "knock-off" but are actually supplied from Lenovo contractors. Have you contacted any of them? What FRU was priced to you for the $300+?

WVZR1 wrote: There are many eBay resellers that offer "similar" and then offer to supply any particular FRU that you'd like if their offering doesn't seem to satisfy your request. Most or some of these mention their product isn't a "knock-off" but are actually supplied from Lenovo contractors. Have you contacted any of them? What FRU was priced to you for the $300+?

Thanks for the reply. As I stated in the OP the 336 dollar keyboard from IBM direct parts sales was FRU 04X0169. I have not found one eBay reseller willing to guarantee or certify that the part they ship is the keyboard manufactured by Liteon. The keyboard I am typing this on, with its reluctant b, finicky space bar and overall mushy feel was ostensibly one of these. But there is no Liteon label. And the ridiculous obstacles that Mexican customs puts in the way of sending or receiving makes returning it an exercise in frustration almost as bad as waiting the one month for it to clear customs when it arrived. My limited time in the US (10 days) also places a barrier on "auditioning" an eBay keyboard. That's why I'm holding out for the ideal circumstance of buying a Liteon keyboard from a Liteon dealer/distributor.

If I were you I would also consider the UK-version with FRU 04X0168: http://www.ebay.com/itm/122235898667
IMHO UK layout is much nicer than US.

RealBlackStuff wrote:If I were you I would also consider the UK-version with FRU 04X0168: http://www.ebay.com/itm/122235898667
IMHO UK layout is much nicer than US.

I''d agree if I were typing UK English. But moving through at least 4 machines a day, the commonality outweighs the layout. Besides, the three layer function keys drive me mad and also remind me of the early days of WordPerfect.

But the overriding factor is FRU whatever, is it available from Liteoon and where to get it?

Found it by examining photo after photo, finally stumbling into one on Amazon's US site. Correct numbers and a Liteon label.