iFixit - Answers With Device "Lenovo ThinkPad T480"

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: I think I short a fuse when changing the screen

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:26:54 -0700

I was careless when I swapped the screen and did not remove the battery thinking that powering it off would be enough. Unfortunately, the screen boots up with a barely visible Lenovo logo on startup. I know everything else is fine when I tested the laptop when I first got it. Browsing r/Thinkpad on Reddit it looks like I need to replace the SMD thing (unsure what this is), but looks like I have to solder something.

1) Is it possible to fix this? Do I need advanced soldering skills?

2) Is there a good tutorial to follow for this so I don't mess up further?

⟐ Answer edited September 01, 2025 at 19:26 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: There is a very tiny button that I have heard you press to reset.

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:51:45 -0700

There is a very tiny button that I have heard you press to reset the system to prepare for a new battery.

On my T480 it's a few inches away from the external battery gold contact pins. What I don't know is when do you press it and for how long.

Most videos i find are not for T480s but they all seem to say hold this button for 15-30 seconds. any idea if you do this with both batteries installed or just the internal or both batteries removed.

I can't seem to find definitive information on what to do. Once i changed my internal battery, Windows now says that the external battery is not present when i know it is installed properly.

⟐ Answered September 27, 2022 at 14:51 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Does the T480 have a whitelist in the BIOS

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 06:06:33 -0700

Does the T480 have a whitelist in the BIOS or should any card work?

⟐ Commented January 03, 2025 at 6:06 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Screw dimensions for attaching internal battery.

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 09:30:20 -0700

I have bought a refurbished t480 thinkpad which came with only an external battery, no internal one installed.

I want to install an internal battery, but I don't have any screws.

This guide [ Lenovo ThinkPad T480 Internal Battery Replacement ] mentions "the two 4.6 mm screws securing the internal battery to the frame".

I'm assuming 4.6 mm is the length, can anyone help me with pitch or gauge? Or are they M# something or another style where all that is standardised?
Or any idea where I could look for a part number?

Thanks, any hints greatly appreciated!

⟐ Commented September 09, 2024 at 9:30 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Why is there a white rubbery foam rectangle on fan replacement?

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 17:14:51 -0700

So I purchased a few months ago a fan and heatsink replacement for my Lenovo t480 and since replacing the fan it blows cool air however the fan is really loud still making that loud fan air noise whenever I have my laptop on with literally

nothing running. I bought some thermal paste and went back in to check the fan yesterday and noticed there was a small plastic rectangle sheet on top of a white rubbery rectangle pad that’s attached to the fan replacement they provided me and on top of the sheet was thermal paste but the plastic sheet came off and now it’s just the foam rectangle. Do I need to put on thermal paste on that or is that a thermal pad and I tried running the laptop with just the foam pad and it’s still blowing cool air but still making the loud fan noise when nothings running.

⟐ Answered March 29, 2024 at 17:14 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Is it okay to use a magnetic scewdriver for my PC repair?

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 11:23:36 -0700

I tried to install 64 GB RAM that was advertised on Amazon for 8th generation processors. Corsair Vengeance SODIMM DDR4 2933 MHZ. BIOS shows 65536 system RAM passed. Bookworm (Puppy OS Linux) 65709784 KiB RAM. After closing it up. Had Battery problems. Light beside plug did not come on. Windows 10 showed the computer as plugged in not charging. ReInstalled BIOS, Battery Firmware. First battery not available. I now have Charging up to one hundred percent for external battery. Runs a long time on battery. Computer runs happily.

I suggest using a magnetized screwdriver to remove battery screws, as the tops of the screws are never barely above the top of the close by battery. Only a magnetized. I dropped screws onto MOBO, which I had tweezers to pick out. Only a magnetized screwdriver.

Which is why I wrote this. Is using a magnetized screwdriver dangerous to the components?

Since the amount of RAM displayed is incorrect, I plan on putting the original 16 GB back in. (??)

⟐ Commented November 22, 2023 at 11:23 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Markings on battery, T480, problematic?

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 18:34:16 -0700

Hi guys,

I bought a secondhand T480 at a reasonable price. It had a slightly weird smell, and opening it, I wonder if it had some wine spills or similar. Anyways, most looks good inside, but there are these two strange ‘sparkle’-markings on the battery that do not come off. I’m unsure if these are a problem or just a curiosity, any opinions? (there are two of these, alongside the battery, picture shows one of them)

⟐ Commented March 18, 2021 at 18:34 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Thinkpad won’t charge

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 07:46:02 -0700

I have been having a hard time charging my laptop. The only way it would charge is if I tensioned the charging cable, so I bought a new charger. The new charger charged for a bit and then it stoped charging the laptop too( I have also tried charging the laptop from the thunderbolt port nothing there either). I have updated the bios to the latest version, so I’m having a hard time figuring out the problem. Could it be the charging port itself?

⟐ Answer edited March 01, 2026 at 7:46 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Where can I buy the 45N5864 RTU CMOS battery?

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:21:04 -0700

Hi, tried to find the CMOS battery 45N5864 on the iFixit site but no success. Any tip on where to find it?

⟐ Commented February 13, 2026 at 0:21 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: It can't provide wireless and has disabled flight mood

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 08:30:08 -0700

My laptop can't provide wireless even after updating drivers and changing from windows 10 to 11

⟐ Answer edited November 03, 2025 at 8:30 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Not charging and not turning on

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 20:13:26 -0700

My laptop is not showing any charging indication and also not power on and I tried with removing battery and charging but it fails to power on

⟐ Answered June 13, 2025 at 20:13 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Laptop keyboard is on but screen is not on

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:47:46 -0700

When I turn on my laptop.

He is beeping and keyboard lights are on

But screen is Still Off

⟐ Answered October 16, 2024 at 14:47 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Keyboard seems clean but the arrows keys are stuck

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 10:00:11 -0700

The keyboard looks relatively clean but the arrow keys seem stuck. I am unable to type using the number and letter keys because the arrow key, while not pushed down, seems stuck "on" so that it continually selects whatever options are on a screen. Right now I'm stuck on the windows log in screen watching it select and move from each input option on thr screen.

⟐ Answered August 06, 2024 at 10:00 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: What are the details of the WiFi+BT card and slot?

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 04:25:27 -0700

What’s the 4:4 PCI ID of the T480 WiFi card?
What’s interface does it use: NGFF, mini-PCIe or 1/2 mini-PCIe?
What would be the maximum dimensions of a card in that slot?
How many antennas wires are present?

⟐ Answer accepted June 17, 2019 at 4:25 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Why is bluetooth on my pc not working?

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 09:13:05 -0700

I have tried downloading intel bluetooth drivers and even performing a windows update, but its still not working. My laptop says that bluetooth isn`t available. Any ideas on how to fix this problem?

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Why is my laptop always changing even when not plugged in

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 21:24:04 -0700

Why is my laptop always changing even when not and I can't turn it on without first pressing the small reset button

⟐ Commented August 14, 2025 at 21:24 MST

Lenovo ThinkPad T480: Why isnt the laptop charging or turning on?

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 04:31:49 -0700

I went on a vacation and left the laptop at my house, before then it was working perfectly fine but when i came back from the vacation and tried turning it on it didnt, so i plugged it in and tried turning it on again and nothing happened. The charging cable i used works fine on other laptops i have so i think theres something wrong with the laptop itself. when i charge the laptop usually a small light blinks but it isnt anymore. also idk if this is important but on the laptop we have a battery extender thing im not sure what its offically called but it just replaced the normal battery that comes with the laptop to extend the battery life