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Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

X200/X201/X220 (including equivalent tablet models) and X300/X301 Series
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nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#751 Post by nitrocaster » Sun Dec 24, 2017 11:14 am

Shipped 4 first orders today. I have to find some way to speed things up.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

evening_hunger
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#752 Post by evening_hunger » Tue Dec 26, 2017 7:14 am

Funny. Looking at your spreadsheet one guy (525) hasn't paid the deposit but he has an invoice sent. How come?
T14amdR7-4750U/32GB/500gb.ssd/debian_testing (main driver)
X320/i7-2620M/8GB/256gb.ssd/FHD13.3''IPS/debian_testing (ex-main driver)
T30Pentium-M 4 1.8Ghz 512MB RAM - under restoration
X230/i5/8GB/500gb.hdd+256gb.m2ssd/IPS/debian_stable+win7
755CE, 486DX, approx 28MB RAM (Win95 JP)

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#753 Post by nitrocaster » Tue Dec 26, 2017 7:31 am

Shipped another 19 orders today. Tracking info will be emailed soon.
evening_hunger wrote:
Tue Dec 26, 2017 7:14 am
Funny. Looking at your spreadsheet one guy (525) hasn't paid the deposit but he has an invoice sent. How come?
Some people are those I had conversations with before accepting deposits, some others asked to ship ASAP. As a rule, early submissions are served first.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

seasonshu
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#754 Post by seasonshu » Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:08 am

Can I get input which connections / cable to check ?(checked thread history without success). Behaviour is: everything is working as it should. However, sometimes (or after N times?) waking from sleep I do not get display, only the background light can be adjusted, hdd/wifi leds showing windows is running. Previously a hard switch off fixed it, nowadays however it doesn't, including removing battery and pressing the power button for 30 seconds to get everything "reset".

Interestingly, when I remove the keyboard screws and lift the keyboard up it starts working again. Seemingly I don't do anything else. I believe it must be an improper soldering somewhere that is causing this intermittent error. Is there any particular connection that needs to be checked? ...or if I need to take it to a repair shop (to a different one where it was originally done as we have moved), would it be better to ask to recheck all connections? Or can it be the lcd ribbon cable? Thank you.

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#755 Post by nitrocaster » Wed Dec 27, 2017 7:43 am

Hook up external monitor and see if the FHD display is being detected when you have no image on it.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#756 Post by Matteone » Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:23 am

Hello,

the Rev. 3 board was installed in an i5 X230 yesterday.

Everything worked fine with my SPB3 for about 2-3 hours. Very happy!!!

Turned my X230 off and the next time I booted my backlight was not working anymore. Put the battery out and booted with AC attached and backlight was working again. Only the brightness control was fixed. Did a reboot then... brightness control and backlight worked light normal again.

Today I booted the Laptop and the backlight is not working anymore again... very frustrating.

I see the Thinkpd logo and my booting screen when I point a light direct on the screen.

The connection should be fine. Two different people where cheking the solder points/connections and cables. Everything looks fine. Resoldered the top of the white wire though.

Still no backlight.

My next step would be to test the old display if the X230 hardware is still working.

Nitrocaster or somebody else, any idea how to fix this?

What part of the connector is responsible for the backlight and where do I find the fuse for the backlight on the X230 board?

Thank you very much!!!

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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#757 Post by boutch55555 » Thu Dec 28, 2017 12:07 pm

VBL20 fuse is F1 circled here. It should also be 20v between it and the ground (square in the pic).

You probably should test first with old screen.

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#758 Post by nitrocaster » Thu Dec 28, 2017 4:48 pm

Yeah, first test with the old screen.
Post a picture of your installed adapter board with both cables attached to it.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#759 Post by Matteone » Fri Dec 29, 2017 7:04 am

Thank you!

I tested the old display. Everything works fine with the old non HD display. Backlight is ON :)

FHD still has no backlight :(


Here are some pictures of the installed adapter: Last one is the best one:

https://imgur.com/a/Tioj1

Thank you for your support!

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#760 Post by nitrocaster » Sat Dec 30, 2017 5:51 am

What happens if you boot into OS with FHD screen?
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#761 Post by Matteone » Sat Dec 30, 2017 6:31 am

Nothing changes.

I used the laptop for around 2 hours with a beamer. Three displays (incl. FHD) are displayed in the Linux settings.

FHD display and Laptop are working perfectly. There is only no backlight to really see the screen.

Where can I look, what can be wrong? Is the sense wire maybe responsible for the malfunction of the backlight? Or the EDP Cable?

I dont understand why the backlight was working for some hours and then stopped to work.

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#762 Post by nitrocaster » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:08 am

I don't understand too. Sense wire is involved in the backlight operation only when LVDS output (Dummy display) is inactive. Maybe the MCU decided to die.
Do you have a multimeter?
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#763 Post by Matteone » Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:28 am

I can test the MCU later. What should I check with the mutlimeter?

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#764 Post by nitrocaster » Sun Dec 31, 2017 6:15 am

First check if built-in panel is being recognized as 'Dummy display'.
Then take a meter and check if BACKLIGHT_ON and PANEL_BKLT_CTRL are present on LVDS connector (see schematic/boardview for reference). Wait until OS boots. BACKLIGHT_ON should be 3.3V, PANEL_BKLT_CTRL should vary from 0V to 3.3V depending on brightness setting. Then measure 7th and 8th pins of eDP connector (count from the bottom). Their voltage levels should be like on PANEL_BKLT_CTRL and BACKLIGHT_ON respectively.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#765 Post by Matteone » Mon Jan 01, 2018 1:06 pm

Both displays are shown in the settings:

Laptop LVDS1
LGD13 DP3

Multimeter also has shown that the connectors are fine.

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#766 Post by nitrocaster » Mon Jan 01, 2018 1:21 pm

Matteone wrote:
Mon Jan 01, 2018 1:06 pm
Multimeter also has shown that the connectors are fine.
What exactly does that mean?
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#767 Post by Matteone » Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:56 pm

System after boot:

The connector Backlight ON to the board has 3.3 V and Backlight Ctrl: 3.1 V

I do not know where to measure the EDP connector exactly. Can you mark the spot on a picture please?

Any other ideas. Maybe a faulty board?

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#768 Post by nitrocaster » Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:22 am

Matteone wrote:
Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:56 pm
I do not know where to measure the EDP connector exactly. Can you mark the spot on a picture please?
Here you go: https://ibb.co/dX6gPw
Disconnect eDP cable before test boot (remember to remove the battery and AC cord) to probe the connector.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#769 Post by Matteone » Tue Jan 02, 2018 7:46 am

Boot without cable:

Backlight ON and Backlight Ctrl: 0 V

Boot with cable attached:

Backlight Ctrl. 0,3V
Backlight ON: 0,2V

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#770 Post by nitrocaster » Tue Jan 02, 2018 11:27 am

Could you measure resistance to ground on these pins?
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

Matteone
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#771 Post by Matteone » Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:39 am

BL Ctrl: ~950 Ohm
BL ON: ~1040 Ohm

Can that be?

Machine is turned off.

seasonshu
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#772 Post by seasonshu » Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:17 pm

Was reply on my #754:
nitrocaster wrote:
Wed Dec 27, 2017 7:43 am
Hook up external monitor and see if the FHD display is being detected when you have no image on it.
I hooked up the external monitor, was showing image. I removed the keyboard (now while running, yay), did not help. It seems that hard reset + removing the keyboard together helps (when it started, hard reset was enough). After that replacing the keyboard, I don't seem to have problem for another 3-10 sleep cycles (varies). I am attaching a picture of the board, it's all covered with kapton tape. I was thinking, maybe I need to cut off more of the keyboard bezel (bottom left corner) as it's pressing the board? Just a desperate idea. Thanks.

[EDIT]: I found that two rect "pins"(?) (at the bottom of the board, just left to the eDP connector) were not covered. Those may have gotten shorted from the keyboard, sounds like a plausible explanation to me. I put some tape on them, we'll see how it goes...

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#773 Post by nitrocaster » Sat Jan 13, 2018 2:17 pm

seasonshu wrote:
Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:17 pm
I was thinking, maybe I need to cut off more of the keyboard bezel (bottom left corner) as it's pressing the board? Just a desperate idea. Thanks.
That's not necessarily a problem, but you can do it.
seasonshu wrote:
Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:17 pm
[EDIT]: I found that two rect "pins"(?) (at the bottom of the board, just left to the eDP connector) were not covered. Those may have gotten shorted from the keyboard, sounds like a plausible explanation to me. I put some tape on them, we'll see how it goes...
Those pads don't make contact with the keyboard
Matteone wrote:
Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:39 am
Can that be?
Machine is turned off.
I'll do my measurements of a known good device tomorrow.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

xash
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#774 Post by xash » Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:23 pm

running fhd for some time now, have a couple of questions:

1) do anybody having the LP140WF6(SP)(B4) display had a chance to calibrate it? It will be nice if I had a .icc file for this screen, as my lcd looks a bit pale.
2) was the problem with battery drain due to two working screens has been solved yet? coreboot, etc.?
x220: i5-2540M / 16Gb / 240Gb+128Gb M.2 / Bt4.0 / WiFi5Hz / MacOS Sierra / 1290x1080 nitrocaster full hd mod

nitrocaster
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#775 Post by nitrocaster » Thu Jan 18, 2018 5:11 pm

For all of you who sent me an email asking for an estimate on delivery, updated installation guide or if I haven't forgot about your order.

Shipping: I'm having an extremely busy schedule lately and my local PO works like garbage. Obviously, this doesn't help me to fulfill paid orders faster. I found a way to ship relatively large amounts of kits during the weekends, so the next shipping is scheduled on January 20.

New installation guide: I know, the current one is kinda outdated and lacks some hints, pro-tips, good pictures, etc; but in order to release an updated guide I have to prepare a vanilla X220 or X230 (both of them if we want a really good guide) and make step-by-step pictures explaining how to do the installation properly. I have some ThinkPads prepared for this, but I just don't have time to do this right now.

Forum & email questions: I try to reply to every email and every question I receive, but I have too much of this stuff last days and chances are that some of you are still waiting - please be patient. I expect to sort things out in about 1-2 weeks and have more time to send more invoices and ship more paid orders.

Next batch #4: I'm still getting submissions from the google form and some people ask if I have plans on doing another batch. The answer is probably yes - if there is enough demand. However, batch #3 has to be sold (i.e. paid) before we move on to the next batch.
Want to buy X220/X230 FHD mod kit? Read this before sending me a PM!
T60 | X230 i7-3520M FHD Win10

TeroS
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#776 Post by TeroS » Wed Jan 24, 2018 3:02 pm

This should be fun. Now it's just a waiting-game for some parts, excellent work!

evening_hunger
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#777 Post by evening_hunger » Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:19 pm

Hmm tracing current efficiency of nitrocaster's shipments, and using the online spreadsheet, I estimate I should be getting the kit in about a month or two. Time to think about the screen. What do you guys recommend? By the way I'm completely lost as to whether Linux does, or does not have brightness control by default. There's an accumulated of mixed-bag infos about varying revisions of the kit, various kernel patches, but untangling this is beyond me. So: I'm gonna get latest kit revision, I'm on Debian testing with 4.14 kernel, what to expect?
T14amdR7-4750U/32GB/500gb.ssd/debian_testing (main driver)
X320/i7-2620M/8GB/256gb.ssd/FHD13.3''IPS/debian_testing (ex-main driver)
T30Pentium-M 4 1.8Ghz 512MB RAM - under restoration
X230/i5/8GB/500gb.hdd+256gb.m2ssd/IPS/debian_stable+win7
755CE, 486DX, approx 28MB RAM (Win95 JP)

boutch55555
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#778 Post by boutch55555 » Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:26 pm

LP125WF2-SPB4 seems to be what most people buy.

Regarding linux, it will work as is with display mirroring for backlight control. It will work with a single screen with the kernel patch.

evening_hunger
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#779 Post by evening_hunger » Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:48 am

Thanks. How much does one loose in battery life if he's lazy and doesn't apply the kernel patch?
T14amdR7-4750U/32GB/500gb.ssd/debian_testing (main driver)
X320/i7-2620M/8GB/256gb.ssd/FHD13.3''IPS/debian_testing (ex-main driver)
T30Pentium-M 4 1.8Ghz 512MB RAM - under restoration
X230/i5/8GB/500gb.hdd+256gb.m2ssd/IPS/debian_stable+win7
755CE, 486DX, approx 28MB RAM (Win95 JP)

sheinz
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Re: Upgrading X220/X230 to FHD 1080p

#780 Post by sheinz » Thu Feb 01, 2018 7:27 am

evening_hunger wrote:
Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:48 am
Thanks. How much does one loose in battery life if he's lazy and doesn't apply the kernel patch?
I haven't noticed any power consumption difference with and without the kernel patch. I suppose the patch only influences what screens are visible to user.
I like the patch because without it some display management software is confused about the dummy screen.

The brightness works out of the box in linux even without the patch but you have to keep the dummy display active.
There was also a minor nuisance with lowest possible brightness. When I set brightness to 0 the brightness turns full ON.
I suppose it is because when the mod doesn't see the brightness control signal it cranks up the brightness, which is reasonable behavior.
I dirty-patched my xfce4-power-manager so it stays away from brightness 0.

My panel is cheapest possible on aliexpress B125HAN02.0 from win0win. It came with one dead pixel which is a shame. But overall the quality of the screen is good. It has no PWM flicker whatsoever (the stock IPS panel has).

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