Lenovo laptop casing coming apart

P933alilli

I bought a Lenovo ideapad 3 from Currys in April 2022 and for the last 2-3 weeks the bottom corner casing of the monitor has started coming away. Ive pressed it back in thinking it would seal it a couple of times. Then this morning when i opened the laptop it came away completely and a screw fell out. The casing is now warped and i can see some of the fixings inside. The laptop is out of warranty. I went onto the Lenovo website and had a chat with a bot which said my problem was customer induced damage! Well, it is if simply opening and closing the thing every day is classed as such! I havent been rough with it or anything and it sits on a desk in my living room.

   So, anyway, im wondering how to proceed. Should i just take it to a pc shop to see if i can get it repaired or take it back to currys? I'm not part of their 'care & repair!' so would they have to send it to Lenovo or could they repair it in house? Which would be the best option? I paid £499 for it!

Mark_d

Screws can sometimes work themselves loose over time.  I would just retighten a screw that comes loose.

Without seeing your kit it would be difficult to assess how repairable it is.  Currys shoud be able to give you a rough estimate of the repair cost even if they're not able to repair it themselves.

Newcad

It sounds to me that a hinge screw has come loose, or the plastic that it screwed into broken.
A laptop hinge becoming over-stiff and then something breaking is fairly common.

That stiff hinge will also be why the casing became uncliped in the botton corner. they only clip in. 

Is it the casing itself, the bit that has the keyboard, or is it the lid/screen bezel that has become uncliped? See the photos below.

Can it be fixed?
It can usually be fixed, but depending on just what may have broken it may be more difficult.
Without seeing it, and possibly cracking it open, I wouldn't like to hazzard a guess how easy/difficult it might be.

Personally-
This doesn't sound like what you have here - but if the hinge isn't too stiff and is still working then I would simply put the screw to one side, and firmly push the casing or screen bezel back in place. it should snap back in. (If it doesn't then a plastic tab may have broken off. some tape or a dab of glue could keep it in place. I'd advise against using superglue though, you may want to open it again at some time).

However if the hinge is too stiff and isn't working like it should so is still prising the casing apart then it's going to need much more work.
You can see some examples of what can be involved in repairing damage that may have been caused by a sticking hinge on an ideapad 3 in these two Youtubes.
Yours is probably a different model but they are all much the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu7GA5dD9B0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utnMUU_s0Ls

If that isn't the kind of repair you are comfortable doing yourself then any local computer shop or repairer should be able to quote for fixing it, or for replacing the broken casing and hinges altogether.
Or you may prefer to send it back to Lenovo who would no doubt replace the casing rather than repairing damage.

Either way it going to cost, only you can decide if that cost is worth it or whether it's time to get a new laptop.

PS. I also have an ideapad 3 (I got it from Argos in February for a bargain £280 sale price, it's back at £349 now) so this question has been a heads-up for me to keep an eye on how stiff the hinges might get.

outtatune

Lenovo service manuals are pretty easy to find online. What model is it?

P933alilli

Newcad said:

It sounds to me that a hinge screw has come loose, or the plastic that it screwed into broken.
A laptop hinge becoming over-stiff and then something breaking is fairly common.

That stiff hinge will also be why the casing became uncliped in the botton corner. they only clip in. 

Is it the casing itself, the bit that has the keyboard, or is it the lid/screen bezel that has become uncliped? See the photos below.

Can it be fixed?
It can usually be fixed, but depending on just what may have broken it may be more difficult.
Without seeing it, and possibly cracking it open, I wouldn't like to hazzard a guess how easy/difficult it might be.

Personally-
This doesn't sound like what you have here - but if the hinge isn't too stiff and is still working then I would simply put the screw to one side, and firmly push the casing or screen bezel back in place. it should snap back in. (If it doesn't then a plastic tab may have broken off. some tape or a dab of glue could keep it in place. I'd advise against using superglue though, you may want to open it again at some time).

However if the hinge is too stiff and isn't working like it should so is still prising the casing apart then it's going to need much more work.
You can see some examples of what can be involved in repairing damage that may have been caused by a sticking hinge on an ideapad 3 in these two Youtubes.
Yours is probably a different model but they are all much the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu7GA5dD9B0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utnMUU_s0Ls

If that isn't the kind of repair you are comfortable doing yourself then any local computer shop or repairer should be able to quote for fixing it, or for replacing the broken casing and hinges altogether.
Or you may prefer to send it back to Lenovo who would no doubt replace the casing rather than repairing damage.

Either way it going to cost, only you can decide if that cost is worth it or whether it's time to get a new laptop.

PS. I also have an ideapad 3 (I got it from Argos in February for a bargain £280 sale price, it's back at £349 now) so this question has been a heads-up for me to keep an eye on how stiff the hinges might get.

Thanks, its the 2nd of those scenarios, the lid bezel has cracked open and a screw broken off and fallen out. It cannot just be clipped back in and i think will get progressively worse although it isnt as bad as the one in the video. So, it looks like i'll have to take it to my local pc shop. I had a new battery installed last year and i'm wondering if that has caused it to weaken. Anyway, i cant believe i paid £500 for it if , as you say, its been going for £200 less at argos although the reduction in price is probably due to it now being an older model? The model is the 

IdeaPad 3 14ITL05 .

outtatune

This appears to be the maintenance guide you need, but do check!
https://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/ideapad3_hmm.pdf

born_again

3 year old laptop, if you can DIY, then give it a try if not try local computer repair shop.