Lenovo ThinkPad T480s USB Card Replacement

Written By: Sarah Westberg

Comments: 5

Lenovo ThinkPad T480s USB Card Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the USB card in a Lenovo ThinkPad T480s laptop.

The USB Card is used for extra storage and data backup and transfer. If your laptop does not recognize the USB Card, you might receive an error message and it will fail to load. The USB card may be corrupted. You may need to replace it but first do some troubleshooting.

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

Tools

Parts

01ER996 - Lenovo Laptop USB sub Card Board - Genuine

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 fan cable from the motherboard.

Step 5

Loosen the six captive screws attaching the fan assembly to the motherboard.
This system was missing the two screws by the fan but I have highlighted them to show where they are located.

I just checked on my model of the T480s, and I don't believe the vertical pair of screw holes on the left are actually part of the fan/heatsink assembly. I know I bought my unit used, but these screw holes also came empty. Despite having visible threading that can accept a M2x2.7 screw (I don't know if this is the actual size of the screw), only the 4 screws around the CPU are the screws physically securing the combined fan/heatsink assembly.

Tai Lam -

I found the screw on position 3, around the CPU heatsink, to be stubborn enough that I stripped the screw with a Phillips #1 drive bit. If you find yourself in this predicament, don't worry - in my case, I discovered that using a flathead #2 drive bit helped me get out of this bad situation (for long enough to loosen and tighten this CPU heatshink screw, at least until I obtain a replacement M2x2.5 size screw).

Tai Lam -

Step 6

Lift the thermal fan assembly from the system and remove it.

Is it necessary to replace the thermal paste on the CPU?

gordonzaft -

Hi gordonzaft, it's a good idea to reapply thermal paste after removing a heatsink or CPU for a repair. You may already know how to apply thermal paste, but if you'd like a refresher or some general instruction, check out the How to Apply Thermal Paste guide. Thanks!

Sarah Westberg -