Grunting elephant performs LG Gram 16" 2022 Teardown & SSD Upgrade

[@nezbrun872]

Some additional comments on cloning the SSD, as I lost a few hours trying to get it to work. These are the steps that worked for me. I put the original 1TB SSD into a USB-C M.2 NVMe caddy, and placed the new SSD into the original NVMe slot on the laptop's motherboard. This is the recommended config for Acronis 2022 cloning. I used the Acronis TrueImage 2022 bootable media on an optical drive. To get the laptop's boot menu up, hit F10 immediately and repeatedly at boot, and choose the optical drive to boot. I used the Automatic cloning method which resized the main partition from about 900GB to 3.6TB, and it took about fifteen minutes or so. Make sure Bitlocker is off and the drive is fully decrypted before cloning. To perform a factory reset, with the AC power in, turn on the machine and then immediately press and keep the F11 key pressed until the Windows PE environment comes up. I removed McAffee, Laplink and Alexa, and disabled Teams at startup.

[@Crestonn]

Thank you for your service, Mr Grunting Elephant. Wasn't sure if there was anything attached to the lid like with some laptops.

[@heins4745]

lol 14 minute video: 7 minute unscrewing + 7 minutes fumbling how to open the lid. 20 seconds install

[@nezbrun872]

Indeed! I opened it three or four times since, and I still don't know what the trick is!

[@tklmprice1]

Thanks for the video, I was stuck in the same place on a 2023 model. Saw a comment below that said wiggle (back to front, not side to side). I tried it and one side popped out. Went to the other thinking I had figured it out but still struggled. Stopped for a second and it just popped almost on its own. @@nezbrun872

[@fi0nn]

I just tear down my LG gram today ! thanks for the vid. There are 2 hidden latches at rear exhaust, if you look closely there are some (4) plastic that looks different than exhaust fins., use flathead screw pull toward yourself a bit, you'' hear *clack* sound, so it will pop out from latch, so you can now remove the bottom cover easily.

[@codeblocks]

Thanks for the video, very helpful. The reluctant cover is simple to remove, just slide it a little bit, no force needed.

[@nezbrun872]

Needs a video - are you offering by any chance, it would help this grunting gorilla out!!

[@codeblocks]

@@nezbrun872 Thanks, but I was shaking during the teardown. I hope not to open it again... ever :D

[@zzlife9905]

@@nezbrun872I can second @codeblocks’ comment, that the cover can be remove without much force/trick. Two steps: (1) Tilt the cover open; and (2) Wiggle the cover, and at the same time lightly push the cover towards the back of the laptop. It will release quite smoothly.

[@RaaviGamezz]

@@zzlife9905 This video shows the wiggling you need to do. At first I was a bit confused about the exact motion, but you have to wiggle it back and forward towards the front and back of the laptop, not left to right. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5e3fWeir61neNU

[@kevinjoyce5076]

Hi I do hope you are planning more videos on embedded systems in 2023. I really do enjoy your channel. Far more entertaining than most.

[@kelvindean]

At least we can finally type with the LG Smart UI and LG PC fonts, which were included in the LG TVs since 2020.

[@boedilllard5952]

Thanks for the video - is the Wifi and memory upgradeable?

[@kwong83]

Removing the pre-installed heatsink usually voids the warranty. Just but the heatsinkless model

[@nezbrun872]

As I stated, there was a very substantial discount on this SSD SKU at the time (ITRO $100 cheaper than a bare SSD or so), that is why I bought it. Of course I'd have bought the bare version had it been the same price or cheaper.

[@jchi6822]

Oh, so it still have second m.2 nvme slot? That great! :)

[@wahyudisoekisno7307]

Thanks for your information sir

[@guanzhousong8046]

Just added the additional M2 disk. A knife would make it so ease to remove the glued point

[@papagen00]

hi can you upgrade RAM also?

[@aliaydemir3612]

what is the max supported capacity of the ssd? Can I for example use 4tb x 2? So 8tb in total

[@jackg9006]

I have the 17in model. Anybody know what I can do to make the max volume louder?? I find the audio very low

[@nezbrun872]

Same with my 2020 17" LG Gram and 2022 16" LG Gram. When necessary, either I use an external bluetooth speaker (EWA 106 Pro or Bose Micro Soundlink), or the speakers hooked up to my HP Thunderbolt G2 desk dock.

[@vmogli]

how you experienced any heating issues with the lg gram? It seems like the only glaring issue about the laptop. Also Thoughts on returning and getting the 17 inch version?

[@nezbrun872]

It does thermally throttle for me during video editing 4K60P, but I haven't investigated it any further. If the +view monitor had been 17", I'd have bought the 17". However to match the +view, I bought the 16". I have a 17" 2020 LG Gram already. Thankfully my eyesight + glasses are good enough to see the 2560x1600 screen at 100% scaling on 16" as well as 17". I won't be returning it, I never even considered it.

[@AviKav]

The 17" has thermal throttling for me as well at 20~22W CPU Package Power

[@chasisfan]

are the two slots PCI Express x4 compatible ? Is the original SSD PCI Express x4 ?

[@kamilbuszmann4973]

Can you upgrade ram in this laptop ?

[@nezbrun872]

Nope. You can in the 2020 LG Gram, one of the two SODIMMs is in a socket, so up to 40GB RAM (32GB socketed, plus the 8GB soldered to the mobo).

[@MegazGaming]

Can you provide a link to the SSD you bought please?

[@nezbrun872]

Yes, it was this, www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09F5Z21DF however I since realised that there was a pricing error, I paid only £555.05.

[@MegazGaming]

@@nezbrun872 hmmm LG gram needs TLC nand? Or it doesn’t matter?

[@AmitGupta-zm1wg]

That was quite stressful to watch 😂... Am surprised that no clips got broken...

[@devtejaa]

can ram be upgraded?

[@nezbrun872]

Nope, it's soldered onto the board on LG Grams 2021 and 2022 :-( In contrast, my 2020 version has one 8GB soldered, plus one slot: I upgraded my 2020 up to 40GB with a 32GB SODIMM The soldered in RAM and the max 16GB installed was the reason I skipped the 2021 version (although in some markets later on a 32GB was made available on the 2021 model). Soldered in RAM is built in obsolescence, and should be resisted!

[@SathishKumar-ju7fv]

is that support PCI 3.0 m.2 22880 ssd?

[@nezbrun872]

I haven't tried a PCIe 3.0 NVMe M.e drive in the 2022 LG Gram, but I am pretty certain it will work thanks to backwards compatibility.

[@ejunyhu]

The D shell is paper thin and looks very soft.

[@nezbrun872]

Amazingly, I managed not to deform it. I still haven't figured out the "right" way to remove these clips (there are three, not two) despite going in three or four more times to resolve a cloning issue.

[@ejunyhu]

@@nezbrun872 Yes, my hands were sweating when watching you trying hard to open it, so afraid you would break it...

[@nezbrun872]

@@ejunyhu You and me both! 😀

[@likelone2]

Can it take double sided ssd?

[@nezbrun872]

Yes, the SSD I put in is double sided.