Thinkpad T480 LCD Display Screen Replacement Guide | Lenovo DIY

[@FakeStarrySky]

Don't normally comment but this guide was a lifesaver. Really made it a simple process to replace the screen. Thanks for putting this up.

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Glad you found use in it. Cheers

[@jirirajsky4259]

Thanks for video, I have just upgraded my original crappy TN screen for new IPS panel. Two hints for those who are going to do the same: 1. On the original Lenovo display, there is black adhesive tape around the panel. Keep it on the panel, not on the bezel! It holds the panel layers together! 2. After first boot to Windows, I had just black screen. Don't panic, just restart the laptop one more time, Windows will somehow restore and use correct settings for new panel.

[@desperson]

Thanks for the insights. Where did you get you replacement panel from?

[@catsawkotowaty9111]

Thanks for heads up, there's indeed black tape around the screen keeping it together. On the bottom too - i messed the bottom up. Then there's glue on top of this tape, which sticks itself to the bezel. I separated the bezel and glue with credit card.

[@legoman123481]

I should've watched this before killing my backlight fuse.

[@neophobicnyctophile8264]

Guitar picks are great for prying apart clips. They come in all kinds of thickness and strengths.

[@kozia94]

Thanks a lot for the video! It is quick with good guidance and I repaired my laptop within 30 min. I'm always afraid to use any strength on those plastic covers to not break them, but you showed how to do it properly with the clicking sound 😊

[@ChezDoesStuff]

You're welcome and thanks for watching! I enjoy the clicking sounds and am glad you did too!

[@nomolosbor]

Just did this (along with the wifi, those tips on the connectors were ace), thanks for the video. For folks who may have a refurbished T480 and are changing a stock display, a few things I ran into: I was replacing a screen in a refurbished unit and there was adhesive all the way around the perimeter of the existing display (which wanted to remain stuck to the screen, not the bezel). Not a huge deal, but it explains why the bezel may not come off as cleanly as it does in this video. Another wrinkle I ran into was the adhesive sticking to the foil tape on the existing display at the bottom. When you run your finger inside the bezel at the bottom as the video shows, it may separate the foil tape, rather than the bezel adhesive (which remains stuck). Carefully wedging in between the foil tape and adhesive (and peeling VERY slowly) finally pried it loose. Everything else more or less was exactly like this video. You really do want to double check your connection to the display. Mine was not quite seated and I had to reseat it without the internal battery disabled. You may want to have an external display you can use to disable the internal battery off again before doing this (this is what I should have done!)

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Great tips! Glad it all worked out for you.

[@markvelber8664]

Can't you simply disconnect the internal battery directly by pulling off the connector of the battery itself instead of doing it through the BIOS?

[@neville.davids]

​@markvelber8664 you can with most laptops however this may be because the battery is always hot meaning constantly powering the system so disabling it through the bios might "switch it off". I cannot confirm whether this is the case for the power bridge ThinkPads

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

Lawd, yanking the bezel glue feels like I'm torturing my dear boy.

[@Coleen-Love]

Nice! -- QUESTION -- I ordered a used T480 with the FHD/1080P screen. However, the sent the one with a "touch" screen which is a feature I would never use. It is also FHD/1080p. My question is, I can return it and get the one without "touch". Do they both view the same or is the Touch screen worse quality or a battery hog? Please help. I must decide quickly and I think they intentionally stuck me with this screen.

[@stevehiggins9227]

Thank you so much. My display swap went smoothly but I had a hell of a time getting the cosmetic bezel back on. Thanks for the tip.

[@threvax-1541]

PSA: If your screen doesn't work to turn off internal battery, disconnect it manually. I blew out my backlight fuse this way, now I need a board repair

[@brendal9545]

Great vid! Been looking for a budget friendly laptop for school and I’m loving how upgradable this one is

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Yeah, it's budget friendly and very serviceable for a decent laptop.

[@mhnoni]

One of the best videos I've seen for the screen replacement. good camera angle and showing the correct way to remove the connector. Thanks!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Glad you liked it!

[@legoman123481]

I did a little looking around on reddit and found the backlight fuse and replaced it with one from Mouser. For reference the fuse is about the size of Lincoln's nose on a penny.

[@dereksmyth8596]

I've been throwing an i7 one of these together from a motherboard and palm rest. I've pretty much bought all I need except I had a screen in an old t470 that I was hoping would fit and it did! However my outer bezel cover came and just won't snap over it. The item is 20L5 like the rest. I'm building this to sell because I've realized they are sought after so I'm not sure if I should buy a whole used top for 30$ or buy a new screen 50+ non touch and hope the bezel cover fits it and this is the original top that goes to it. If I were keeping it for me I'd get the touch screen for 70 but I'm already putting all new 32gb ddr4, 1TB m.2 nvme, external battery etc so I'm trying to keep the cost down now but the top lid is a little scratched. I'm also wondering if that rubber plastic can be buffed out somehow. Anyway thanks for the vid!

[@markvelber8664]

hi, Please guide me, I want to upgrade my existing LCD panel to a 4K panel which I heard is 40 pins but my existing one is a 30 pins cable connector what should I do?

[@erickforcamoura]

Do you have a T480? Wich 4k panel did you bought? Model, serial number... @ChezDoesStuff Can you help us?

[@Legta45]

just did this process with the help of this video and it made it so much easier. Thanks!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Glad it helped!

[@ricklanders]

This worked beautifully! Thanks a lot!

[@AlexDiesTrying]

Thank you so much for the Bios tip.What on Earth is this internal battery doing anyway?

[@SonofAmoz]

Would you mind sharing the link to where you bought your new panel? Thanks.

[@Lamian]

Awesome video! Do you have to do anything else if you're going from the 1366x768 screen?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Glad you liked it! Nope, they both use the same 30-pin connector. Only the FHD touchscreen and 4K UHD panels would make display cable swaps necessary, since they have distinct connectors. :)

[@KylesDigitalLab]

@@ChezDoesStuff Can you go from FHD touchscreen to non-touch? That's what I want to do with mine

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@KylesDigitalLab yes that is possible BUT you'd need to replace the cable from 40-pin touch to 30-pin non-touch FHD as well. I did something similar in my T580 LCD replacement video, moving from a 40-pin 4K LCD cable to a 30-pin FHD one. The T580 is essentially a T480 with a num pad, so steps should roughly be the same. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqLUkJSKpdqtns0

[@KylesDigitalLab]

@@ChezDoesStuff does the QHD panel use the same cable as the touch? Wondering if it would be easier just to put in a QHD panel if I don't need to replace it.

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@KylesDigitalLab no, there are three distinct cables: a 30-pin one for up to 1920 width (FHD), a 40-pin one for resolutions above that, and another 40-pin one for FHD with touch.

[@echtschlau8510]

Where did you get the Innolux n140hcg-gq2 screen? Been looking for a reputable place to buy. Also, great stuffs! Hope you will make more T480 upgrades video in the future.

[@ChezDoesStuff]

I got it from AliExpress seller LaptopScreeBuy store or something similar. Best to chat them first and have them put in writing that they'll send you a genuine Chimei Innolux panel and also ask for brackets to be thrown in free with your order.

[@RocketNation07]

Hey, nice video. Can you provide guidance to replace a non-backlight T480 keyboard with a backlight one?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

I can come up with that, yes. Will put it in the queue!

[@RocketNation07]

@@ChezDoesStuff thanks so much.

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@RocketNation07 Hello! Passed over your comment again just now. Please expect the video to come out this weekend. :)

[@RocketNation07]

@@ChezDoesStuff thanks, Mate 👍

[@georgidimitrov6054]

Good man. Thank you very much for your informative videos. Those helped me a lot. And T480 is such a nice laptop.

[@ialeksandrov]

Спасибо тебе за полезное видео. В видео и комментариях под ним получил все ответы. Жирный лайк от меня

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@Coleen-Love]

Nice! -- QUESTION -- I ordered a used T480 with the FHD/1080P screen. However, the sent the one with a "touch" screen which is a feature I would never use. It is also FHD/1080p. My question is, I can return it and get the one without "touch". Do they both view the same or is the Touch screen worse quality or a battery hog? Please help. I must decide quickly and I think they intentionally stuck me with this screen.

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@Coleen-Love the touch screen will use more battery, for sure. I'd stick with the non-touch if possible.

[@thnxm8]

bro what are those screws behind the bezel called? the four ones holding the monitor in place. I need to buy some.

[@A4orce84]

Hi @chez - Can you post where you purchased the Innolux Panel? Seems a lot of fake ones out on Aliexpress and eBay. Nice video and thank you!

[@jasons407]

Great video, thanks so much! I just did this for my T580 (innolux N156HCG-GQ1) . I'm having a strange problem though - the screen seems to be "pulsing" slightly dimmer and brighter every second or two. It's barely noticeable in a well lit room but in dimmer conditions it's painfully obvious. Did you run into anything like this? Could it be the cable not properly seated? Did you reinstall any drivers after this update? Thanks

[@filipmilic9802]

try disabeling automatic brightness in windows setting mate

[@Smackindaface]

Do you have a video on swapping the 30 pin connector to the 40 pin?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Not for the T480, specifically, but I covered it on my T580 4K to Innolux FHD swap video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqLUkJSKpdqtns0

[@KylesDigitalLab]

How do you install one of the panels that don't have screw holes? I went and got a BOE panel without any screw holes at all and I can't install it. I can't get it to be properly centered so the bezel isn't cutting off any pixels. Some people have suggested double sided tape. Should I put double sided tape on the panel or on the lid where the panel will go?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

On newer Thinkpads, the panel is mounted using double sided tape sandwiched between the back of the panel and inner lid. You can partially remove the lining of the double sided tape (exposing lining "pull tabs") and center the panel properly before fully committing and removing all of them. Alternatively, you can get creative and make spacers to take up side to side and up and down slack between the panel and the guide tabs around it.

[@KylesDigitalLab]

@@ChezDoesStuff The panel did not come with any tape. I'm going to buy some double sided window tape. Do I apply the tape to the panel or the lid? Also, how do I center the panel (it's not wide enough) so that the bezel doesn't cut off any of the picture?

[@117TheKill]

Great job with the video, it was really a very good tutorial. Excuse my ignorance but if the screen of my T480 is not a touch screen, could I put a touch screen on it without any problem as you show in your video or is something else necessary?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

You will also need the 40 pin cable that's for touch screen FHD panels (not non-touch UHD) and replace your old cable with it.

[@117TheKill]

@@ChezDoesStuff Thanks for the response and I hope one day you can make a video tutorial on how to do it step by step. More than anything for those like me, who are inexperienced.

[@timursenchenkov8704]

Hey, knowledgeable guys, could you please tell me if the screen from T480s would fit T480? And would it be easy to swap it?

[@XeusPirate]

Thanks for the video content. This is really helpful especially for the people who has same unit. I bought mine few months ago (second hand). I upgraded the ram and ssd to 32GB and 512 GB. My problem is I am experiencing intermittent freezing of laptop, but the mouse is really responsive. I am seeing this in Windows and Linux environment. BTW, I already replace thermal paste but the issue still occurred. Do you have other thoughts that I can check?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

I once had that issue and removed one RAM stick at a time to rule out bad RAM, and one of them turned out to be defective indeed.

[@Stowy]

I got a T480 with an IPS touchscreen panel, would it be worth it to upgrade to the innolux one ? I terms of battery life for example

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Battery life - for sure, yes. You'd need to replace the 30-pin cable as well since the 1080p touchscreen uses a 40-pin one.

[@MrShaka1221]

What panel did you buy?

[@paulitoeg]

Hola, realize el cambio de pantalla segun las indicaciones mensionadas, solo olvide desactivar la bateria interna, me paso que ahora al poner el nuevo panel lcd si recibe imagen pero la pantalla no tiene el brillo, volvi a usar el panel viejo y esta igual sin el brillo de la pantalla, la imagen se ve pero muy oscura, espero no haber malogrado mi equipo.. :(

[@splashboi898]

I bought my t480 i7 variant very cheap and i expected it to have the fhd already but somehow ended up being the 768. Luckily i have a compatabile display in my t440p

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Thats awesome.

[@PSPALAN1]

Hola para cambiar el panel de la thinkpad t480 de 1366x768 a 1920x1080 hay que remplazar algo más ?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Google Translate: ¡Hola! No es necesario cambiar el cable de la pantalla, ya que los paneles de visualización de 768p y 1080p utilizan el mismo conector. Lo siento si la traducción de Google Translate no es tan buena.

[@PSPALAN1]

@@ChezDoesStuff Muchas gracias

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@PSPALAN1 de nada!

[@drzewnyz]

Hey. Is that low power screen fits to the connector wires that comes to t480 screen? Is it plug & play?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Yes, it's plug and play if you already have an FHD 1080p panel in it.

[@Agtsmirnoff]

Wish these older Lenovo laptops had replacement screens that were more than 300 nitts

[@ChezDoesStuff]

The one I installed here is 400 nits. Screens as high as 500 nits are available, but you'll have to check the wattage for them lest you blow the backlight fuse. You can discover and compare screens at panelook.com

[@Agtsmirnoff]

@@ChezDoesStuff Thanks man, T480 refurb and upgrade seems like a cool hobby I might get into lol

[@Agtsmirnoff]

@@ChezDoesStuff Did you mean Voltage (I know wattage and voltage are related but I don't see "wattage" anywhere in the specs for replacement monitors

[@thafluu]

Thank you, that made the whole thing easy :)

[@ChezDoesStuff]

You're welcome!

[@bepamungkas]

Hello, hope you can help me. My t480 is fitted with 40 pins touch panel. Is it possible to use GQ2 panel with cable replacement?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Definitely, yes. I did the same on my T580 - removed the 40-pin 4K cable and replaced it with a 30-pin one to install the GQ2's 15.6" brother - the N156HCG-GT1.

[@bepamungkas]

Thanks for the info..

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@bepamungkas you're welcome!

[@baimjelek7585]

Hey chez! I'm planning to replace my t480 screen from fhd touchscreen which is the original screen from t480 to N140HCG-GQ2 Matte FHD 1920x 1080. So are the steps to replace the screen is same like this video? Thanks!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Hi there! You have a 40-pin display cable for your touchscreen and would need to step down to a 30-pin one for the GQ2, so it's not as straightforward. While I don't have a T480 display cable replacement video at the moment, a T580 video is available in my channel. (40-pin 4K to 30-pin FHD + Innolux panel) The steps to disconnect the hinge and route the new cable in should be similar. Cheers!

[@baimjelek7585]

@@ChezDoesStuff hey chez, before i ask one more question i just want to say i really appreciate your reply! So, what about if my own basic screen t480 is just fhd without touchscreen would the display cable pin still the 40 pin display or 30 pin display? Once again i really appreciate your reply! Thank you a lot!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@baimjelek7585 absolutely happy to help! If you have a non-touch FHD to start with, then it'll already have the 30-pin cable in there. The panel swap would then be as straightforward as this video! :)

[@baimjelek7585]

@@ChezDoesStuff thank you so much for helping me chez! You're very helping me top upgrade my thinkpad!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@baimjelek7585 you're welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

[@iamdmc]

Excellent video!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Thank you! Glad you like it.

[@neophobicnyctophile8264]

Is it possible to put the 1440 panel into this model?

[@Pratyush_Pandey4209]

Can we upgrade from non touch to touch?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@Pratyush_Pandey4209 yes, but you will need to replace the cable as well.

[@LuisCarlos-yw4jr]

Hola amigo, tengo una consulta mi t480 tenía la pantalla quebrada y conseguí otra pantalla en buen estado, realice todo el procedimiento que recomendó en el vídeo y retire con mucho cuidado la pantalla quebrada y monte la que está buena. Pero al encenderla casi no logro ver el logo de Lenovo todo se ve pero muy oscuro y le puse un cable HDMI Y si puedo ver la pantalla, pero en la computadora no. Entonces como quise volver a instalar la pantalla quebrada (ya que a pesar de estar quebrada en un lado, si podía ver la imagen en esa pantalla, pero sorpresa me pasa exactamente lo mismo que con la otra pantalla, se ve muy baja la iluminación del logo de Lenovo(. Entonces me quedé peor porque tengo una pantalla buena pero no puedo ver la imagen como debe ser y me quedé con la pantalla rota que también quedó igual, parece que perdió intensidad o volvió a un estado como antes de fabrica, que puede ser amigo, ayuda Y no puedo pagar un técnico y mis documentos están en esa portátil y no puedo llevarla a dónde estudio. Ayuda

[@grasschewer3322]

hi does anyone know what screwdriver to use at 1:58 after the bezel remover? i tried removing them but they are too small for what i tried

[@mindtheyoutubegap]

Will the same display work on the T480S?

[@one_step_sideways]

I guess so, it's smaller than the TN panel that came with my T480, and there's extra unnecessary space left.

[@ParengMoises]

nice very informative. thanks for sharing

[@sreton]

I have TP L480 with HD display but i want to upgrade it with FHD display (Non Touchscreen) is it the same method to do it like shown in this video? if yes then which which company's brand should i use?

[@one_step_sideways]

Innolux N140HCG-GQ2 is going to be the sweetspot. Doesn't cost too much (I got my bracketless version for only $60 with shipping, in my country) and is going to save you lots of power, and it's also got great colour accuracy

[@sreton]

Thanks for your reply @@one_step_sideways I'll check it out.

[@starscream5813]

thank you for the guide

[@emmakane7888]

Super helpful video thankyou

[@ChezDoesStuff]

You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

[@ZetaStormy]

How difficult is it to change the HD display to FHD or WQHD?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Not too hard. You'll just need to replace the cable as well, since the FHD cable is different from the UHD/WQHD cable. The steps should be pretty similar to those shown in my T580 display cable replacement video, where I moved from 4K to FHD to get longer run times.

[@ZetaStormy]

@@ChezDoesStuff Okay, thank you!

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@ZetaStormy you're welcome!

[@My_Old_YT_Account]

So the innolux panel doesn't require a bracket or anything?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

It does. In my case, the seller already stuck them on with adhesive tape. The brackets are pretty inexpensive, so the seller obliged when I asked for brackets to be included for free.

[@My_Old_YT_Account]

@@ChezDoesStuff which seller did you use?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@My_Old_YT_Account I bought the T480 Innolux panel from LaptopScreenBuy Store in AliExpress. Best to message them first and get them to confirm that they'll ship an EXACT model (not just a compatible one) in writing before proceeding with the deal.

[@camwhit8892]

Good guide

[@jonyothan]

mine came with pressure marks on the screen and they wont let me return it :( is there any way to fix? or do i have to order a whole new screen

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Did you buy it from a reputable marketplace/website? If so, they'd likely allow you to return it by opening a dispute or something, as long as the issue is well-documented. I have no experience fixing screens with pressure marks, unfortunately, and would have gone with total replacement in your stead.

[@jonyothan]

@@ChezDoesStuff I got it from ali express which was recommended on reddit. Seems like I am unable to return it. Lesson learned. Do you recommend any specific retailer for screens? I'm reluctant to waste another $120 on one from China now :/

[@ChezDoesStuff]

@@jonyothan I've had good experience with the Gentby and LaptopScreenBuy stores so far. Was it AliExpress or the seller that wouldn't agree to a return? I was able to get a refund for defective Kingsener batteries recently by opening a dispute, despite the seller being unwilling to offer a refund. This route might prove useful, as long as you keep plenty of documentation about the defect. Once you open a dispute, AliExpress provides a platform to upload your evidence, etc.

[@AntonTkachenko-d3x]

Дякую.

[@Camslaw-]

Ahh man.. the innolux panel I got didn’t come with the brackets to screw it in…

[@Camslaw-]

I’m not really sure what to do

[@ChezDoesStuff]

On newer Thinkpads, the screen is held on by double sided foam tape instead of brackets. You can try that, but extra care needs to be taken to make sure the screen is centered to the bezel.

[@Camslaw-]

@@ChezDoesStuff I found a link on Reddit for the brackets. It says 15-30 days to arrive 😭

[@anilkumar-lq1bi]

How much display cost

[@Zooooman]

will my t440p screen fit on a t480?

[@ChezDoesStuff]

This is unfortunately a question I do not have answers for. Sorry!

[@XerosXIII]

my wife, thinkpad T480, yes that how i intro my wife

[@alfredohernandez-gp1ws]

buen video

[@ChezDoesStuff]

Gracias, Alfredo

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

Instructions unclear. Botched the bezel up slightly, should be damaged-operable. Otherwise, seems to be A+ Update: instructions unclear, accidentally gave my damaged thinkpad mobile phone powers

[@rfcdgaf]

0:55 how not to remove a bezel lol. Get the $1 tool ....

[@one_step_sideways]

Tools are for macbook users. A real laptop needs to be upgradable using bare hands and sheer brute force