Thinkpads Forum

Hello, I've just joined the forum. I've been using X and T series Thinkpads for a couple of decades and am on the verge of a hardware refresh from my venerable X201.

Are there any currently available Thinkpad models that still use the swappable battery design of the older models? From a quick look it appears that they've all gone the way of internal batteries in order to shrink down the chassis.

My preference for a removable battery is for longevity- when used at a desk, I'll leave the battery popped out to run on the power adaptor. Keeping lithium batteries at full charge degrades the cells quite rapidly, even if the battery itself is never subject to charge/recharge cycles. My currently 9 cell X201 battery is about six years old, and still gets well over five hours of runtime.

Last thing I want from a new Thinkpad purchase is to get stuck with a battery that lasts a handful of years and then at replacement time discover that Lenovo has discontinued the part number.

hello and welcome to the forum..
i recently picked up a "refurb" X1 extreme.. the most extreme extreme available in the gen 1 range..
there is a battery application that keeps the battery at 80%, never charging to 100% unless you permit it..
i think the internal battery is now the future.. and if lenovo should want to commit suicide by not supplying internal batteries for thinkpads in the future i'll bet there would be many many others who would step into those shoes rather quickly..

oh! good luck to you hong kongers

Ah, that battery application is very good to know about. When you have a moment, could you check if it can be configured to select the battery charge cutoff? The best figure for long term storage for lithium batteries is closer to the 40% mark.

I'd been a bit worried upon reading posts where people had trouble getting OEM batteries for models that were only three or so years old.

Yes, Hong Kong is certainly interesting these days. We've got a nice hotel stay booked next weekend... in an area that was tear gassed last weekend.

i will check on that..
for myself, i just leave it at the recommended 80% level..
is it not a chinese curse, to live in interesting times..?!
some of us, here in the once united states, watch with interest..
20 years or so, past, a thinkpad forum member and thinkpad customer, who was attending university, here, mentioned he was going back to HK to rejoin the family publishing business.. newspapers i think..
my thoughts i expressed to him, then, were to be careful of that big red dragon next door.. i think his name, or part of it, was Lam..
i keep telling my wife that MY job was to not stand in front of the fan when things were hitting it..

wimbledon wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:31 pm

Ah, that battery application is very good to know about. When you have a moment, could you check if it can be configured to select the battery charge cutoff? The best figure for long term storage for lithium batteries is closer to the 40% mark.

been looking at the battery apps and can not, yet, find a way to adjust the charge level to anything other than its current 80%..
way past bed time so must finish for now..

The Lenovo Vantage should have it. I see a drop down list for 40%-95% for start charge and 45%-100% for stop charge.

Great, thanks for that everyone. Looks like most of my worries about removable batteries are alleviated. The charge level control is good, though the battery is still sitting in an elevated temperature vs being stored in a drawer.

First world problems, as they say. It's certainly more comfortable worrying about laptop choice than local current events, as I've just head that riot police have stormed the shopping mall ten minutes walk away! I guess I'm staying home this evening.