Lenovo ThinkPad T480s Hinges Replacement

Written By: Sarah Westberg

Comments: 1

Lenovo ThinkPad T480s Hinges Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

1 - 2 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the hinges in your Lenovo ThinkPad T480s laptop.

Laptop hinges that are in good condition will allow you to open the laptop lid with ease. The laptop hinges may be malfunctioning if you experience extreme stiffness or looseness when opening and closing the laptop lid. Other symptoms include the lid not shutting completely, the lid not staying open, dislocated hinges, or cracks around the hinges or in the hinges themselves.

Make sure to disable the internal battery, power down your device, and disconnect from any external power sources before you begin.

Tools

Step 1

Disable the battery, power down the device, and unplug the power adapter from your device before proceeding/beginning the guide.
Loosen the six captive screws with a Phillips #1 screwdriver.

Somehow I find the screws for the T480s bottom cover to be slightly more prone to stripping, compared to the ThinkPad T480 and X1 Carbon Gen 6. However, the #1 Phillips screws on the T480s have drives that are cut in a way that also let you use a #3 flathead.

Tai Lam - 03/01/25

Step 2

Remove the bottom cover with an opening tool.
Start from the top edge near the hinge and work your way along the edge until all of the clips are unsnapped.

Step 3

Lift the bottom cover off.

Step 4

Use the spudger to disconnect the coaxial cables from the Wi-Fi card and WWAN card.
When reassembling the Wi-Fi card, reattach the black wire closest to the screw and the gray wire on the other side of the black wire. With the WWAN card, reattach the blue wire on the left and the orange wire on the right.
There are also small color coded arrows on each card that match the corresponding wires, to make sure you connect to the correct spot.

Step 5

Use the spudger to disconnect the LCD cable from the motherboard.

Step 6

Disconnect the camera cable from the motherboard using a spudger.

Step 7

Remove all antenna cables from their routing.

Step 8

Using the Phillips #1 screwdriver, remove three 5 mm screws from the left hinge and three 5 mm screws from the right hinge.

Step 9

Carefully rotate the hinges upward and remove the bottom of the machine from the LCD unit.

Step 10

Using the spudger, pry the LCD bezel up from the edges starting near the hinges.
It is attached by adhesive so be careful not to break it. You may hear loud snaps when detaching the clips; this is normal.

Step 11

Use the spudger to remove the internal bezel.
Start at the corner by the hinge and lift the edge of the internal bezel up with the pointed end of the spudger.
Hold the internal bezel with your fingers and work your way around the perimeter of the screen carefully pulling the bezel up.
You will feel resistance and hear snapping as you remove the bezel because it is connected with clips. Be careful that you don't crack the bezel. The plastic is delicate in places.

Step 12

Remove four 2.9 mm screws from the LCD panel using the Phillips #1 screwdriver.

Step 13

Gently lift the panel and flip it over.
The panel is still connected to the unit by the LCD cable so be careful not to rip the connector when flipping it over.