Lenovo ThinkPad T490 Repair

A range of configurations were released in different regions. The T490 was announced in late 2019 - early 2020, with support ending in late 2025 - mid 2026. The Thinkpad T490 is part of a lineup of business-class laptops designed for enterprise and institutional use. The Thinkpad T-Series is known for its durability and lasting performance especially for users within corporations, universities, and government. The laptop along with its lineup have extreme modularity capabilities compared to other modern day laptops of the same era or even newer. Its external chassis is designed for quick access to its components, some of which are user-replaceable, while other more important components are soldered to its motherboard.

Certain components like the keyboard, SSD, battery, and WLAN card have been serviced/replaced many times in the past, reducing the need for early or unnecessary system migration. The chassis is also built according to MIL-STD (Military Standards) which also contributes to its long life. The T490 also has a large secondary market, with users selling, designing, or finding parts to assist each other in repair information.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T490 is a matte black business laptop known for its professional design. Only available in black, it is 12.95” long, 8.94”wide and 0.74” deep, with a red trackpoint nub between the G, H and B keyboard keys. The bottom left of the display bezel has Lenovo printed in a white rectangle, and “T490” on the bottom right. The word ThinkPad is written diagonally in the corner of the top cover, as well as under the keyboard, on the right. It has a three button click pad, with the left and right clicks underlined in red. There is a fingerprint reader on the right side of the touchpad.

The serial number is printed on the bottom cover or beneath the battery. The model information is located right next to the serial number.

Its 14-inch display sits in a compact chassis made for portability & performance. The T490 is sometimes confused with the T480, T490s, or the T14. These models are different with different chassis, design, capacity, component manufacturers and amount of soldered components (making separate repair guides necessary for each).

It’s important to note that there are certain attributes about the T490 that make it distinguishable from other T-Series models. The T480 has an internal battery and thinner chassis, the T490s (“S” meaning slim) uses another thin chassis that has more soldered (non-upgradeable) components. The T14 is a redesign of the T490 with a newer internal configuration including different model numbers and second hand market compatibility.

Sources: Wikipedia, Lenovo

• Processor: Up to 8th Gen Intel^® Core™ i5/i7 vPro™
• Operating System: Up to Windows 10 Pro
• Display:
  • 14" HD TN antiglare (1920 x 1080, 250 nit)*
  • 14" FHD IPS (1920 x 1080, 250 nit)
  • 14" FHD IPS Touchscreen (1920 x 1080. 300 nit)
  • 14" FHD IPS with PrivacyGuard (1920 x 1080, 400 nit)
  • 14" FHD IPS Low Power (1920 x 1080, 400 nit)*
  • 14" WQHD IPS with Dolby Vision^® (2560 x 1440, 500 nit, Adobe 100% color gamut)*
    • * Not available with Healthcare Edition (HE).
• Memory: Up to 48GB
• Battery:
  • Up to 16.1 hours** 50Wh
  • Rapid Charge available with 65W AC
    • ** Based on testing with MobileMark 2014. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage, and other factors.
• Storage:
  • Up to 1TB PCIe SSD
  • Optional: Intel^® Optane Memory*
    • * Not available with Healthcare Edition.
• Graphics:
  • Intel UHD 620
  • Optional: NVIDIA^® GeForce^® MX250*
    • * Not available with Healthcare Edition.
• Audio:
  • Dolby Audio™ Premium
  • Dual far-field microphones
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 329mm x 227mm x 18.9mm / 12.95” x 8.94” x 0.74”
• Starting Weight:
  • FHD IPS / touchscreen & non-touch: 3.41lb / 1.55kg
  • FHD low power: 3.23lb / 1.46kg
  • FHD with PrivacyGuard: 3.67lb / 1.67kg
  • WQHD: 3.23lb / 1.46kg
• Color: Black
• Connectivity:
  • WWAN: Optional: Integrated Global Mobile Broadband LTE-A*
  • WLAN: Intel^® Dual-Band Wire-less 2 x 2 AC /WiFi 6 (AX)
  • Bluetooth^® 5.0
  • Optional: NFC^†
    • * Not available with Healthcare Edition.
    • ^†NFC is standard on the Healthcare Edition.
• Ports/Slots:
  • 2 x USB 3.1 (Gen 1)
  • 2 x USB-C (1 Thunderbolt™ 3)
  • MicroSD card reader
  • Smart card reader
  • Micro-SIM slot*
  • Headphone / mic combo
  • HDMI 1.4
  • RJ45
    • * Not available on Healthcare Edition.
• Camera:
  • HD 720p with ThinkShutter privacy cover
  • Optional: Hybrid Infrared (IR) + HD with ThinkShutter
• Keyboard:
  • Spill resistant
  • Bottom-load backlight with white LED lighting
  • Lenovo Quick Clean^† (App that disengages keyboard / touchpad for up to 90 seconds)
    • ^†Available only on Healthcare Edition.
• AC Adapter:
  • 45W
  • 65W (required for Rapid Charge)
• Security:
  • For T490:
    • Fast Online Identity (FIDO) authentication capabilities
    • dTPM 2.0
    • Optional: Match-on-Chip touch fingerprint reader
    • ThinkShutter, webcam privacy cover
    • Optional: PrivacyGuard
    • Optional: PrivacyAlert
    • Kensington lock slot
  • For T490 HE:
    • FIPS-201 Fingerprint Reader
    • RFID Reader
    • Optional: IR camera with Windows Hello
    • dTPM 2.0
    • ThinkShutter camera cover
    • Optional: PrivacyGuard
    • Optional: PrivacyAlert
    • Kensington lock slot
      
• Supported Docking:
  • ThinkPad Thunderbolt Dock Gen 2
  • ThinkPad Basic/Pro/Ultra Dock
    • Docking stations sold separately.

Source: Lenovo Tech Specs

• Hardware Maintenance Manual
• Removal & Replacement - Videos
• Removal & Replacement - Step by Step Images
• T490 Product Page
• Specifications
• Models
• Find Parts
• How to Buy Parts from Lenovo