Is your USB port somewhat loose? Whenever I plug my USB drive or USB cable for my hub, it moves around in the USB port. It doesn't seem to lose connection, but if it is loose like that I am afraid over time it will get looser. I had this problem with my old Toshiba, but in that the USB port piece inside actually started moving and losing connection.

is this occurring on all three usb? my one doesn't exhibit this problem, as such it is advisable that you seek warranty help on this, otherwise you may end up having a broken usb port.

Yes all three, the yellow one is the loosest, then the bottom left, and then top left ports. Top left is probably the tightest, but still there is movement.

Here is a video, testing different drives and cables.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4IXsVvEOE
When you plug yours, is it completely flush?

my one definitely doesn't exhibit such problems, everything i plugged into my X220 usb ports hardly ever move. Even my T40 don't exhibit that sort of movements when something is plugged into the usb port.

I think you should just contact Lenovo warranty and let them sort the thing out.

Thanks, they said the order the part and I should receive a call on Tuesday. I am not sure what part they are considering changing that will fix all three USB ports. Additionally, I noticed that the yellow plastic inside the powered port is wiggling as well, anyway I will keep you posted.

Oh, so that isn't normal for these machines?

I've had 3 that do that (2 T510s and a W520)- and one port did break from plugging stuff into it (a Wacom tablet).
Every port on those machines did that too.

The only port that doesn't do that is the eSATA/USB combo port, which I use exclusively because of that wiggling.


Keep us posted on what gets fixed because I might take that up with them also.

The yellow plastic inside the powered USB port broke off yesterday (it looks like it had a crack on it, and when I pulled out my mouse, it came off with it).
It definitely should not be doing this. Wiggling is OK to a certain degree, but it is also very difficult to tell from that video, it had a lot of room on all 4 sides.
The other two ports are OK, they still wiggle but you cannot move the USB cord as much in all four directions while plugged. Non of our other 5 laptops (dell, toshiba and one old low-end compaq) has USB ports that wiggle this much, and they have devices plugged in and out multiple times a day (they are on the move, they get mouses, keyboards and port replicators get plugged on them).

My older 5 year old laptop had this issue but it there wasn't any space between the port and the chassis, it was actually the metal USB casing inside that was moving.

Edit:

I hope you don't have to wait for your part as long as I did very recently. I sent in a brand new X220 for depot repair the first week of September. It sat in Memphis for 3 weeks on a parts hold. They gave an ETA of Sept 26 for the part. When they revised the ETA to mid-October, I requested an RMA of the machine for a full refund. They attribute the parts shortage to the Japan tsunami, which I can understand. and I give Lenovo customer service high marks for a no-hassle RMA and refund.

Thanks, I hope not, luckily I got on-site warranty so I can continue to use my laptop, however it is inconvenient that I cannot use the right side USB now.
I was planning to get a dock anyway, and I think after this service it would be really wise to get one ASAP to avoid usb port wear and tear, looks like it is not the best type. I am just seeing 4 teeth inside USB port, sticking out like fork.

But if I have to wait 3 weeks like you, and if any of the remaining 2 ports stop working, I would ask them to replace my thinkpad.
What did you get after returning your thinkpad?

Another X220, of course

When you said refund, I was a bit concerned. In these cases, refund would not be much beneficial since the deals come and go, unless you can afford waiting for a deal, I would just ask them to send me a replacement. Unless of course, if I was upgrading.

PS: I just got a phone call recorded message from Lenovo about the part being backordered (I wonder what kind of part it is that can fix the issue, maybe a whole new motherboard? That would be extreme). This is pretty good service.

We discussed that option, but the way that works is "we'll put in a request for a replacement; someone will get back to you in 5 business days" - which hardly sounded like a replacement would be coming ASAP. So I decided that, yes, I could afford to wait. Luckily the wait wasn't long. I found a good deal on the outlet the same day.

Seems like outlet is a popular source for these. Are they used/refurbished or just surplus, stuff ordered then cancelled like their e-mail claims surplus@lenovo.com

I've bought several outlet ThinkPads, though only when a really good deal appears, given the higher cost of extending the warranty beyond the first year on outlet purchases. The refurbs have always been indistinguishable from new, as far as I could tell. This latest purchase was labeled as New.

basically they would need a new motherboard, not sure whether the right hand usb is on the sub card like it was on the Thinkpad X200/X201 or not.

Yes, they confirmed it is the mother board and it is back ordered, 1 week later, it still shows back-ordered, and they have no ETA.
I was told to wait until Tuesday and if I don't hear from them, to call them back and they would escalate the case to a special team and they would try to find a solution.
I really don't mind using it like this, even though it is a pain to connect USB on the right side due to space & position of stuff next to it, but I am managing for now. And it would really be bad if any of the other ports broke. So if I don't get any update by Wed I will push for RMA.

azX32, outlet doesn't seem to have a lot of X220s, and actually non with 2.6Ghz

They come and go ... and so do the deals. I just happened to be very lucky with my recent outlet purchase. Many of the X220s I've seen there since then really weren't any better deals pricewise than just buying at lenovo.com using the discount code du jour.

At least you still have your mostly-functional X220 to use while you wait. That's one advantage of onsite repair versus depot repair.

Certainly. I will hold onto it as much as I can.

The Yellow USB port broke off yesterday on my 2 month old Thinkpad X220. It has never been bent or hit, the yellow part just came off with a USB plug. What is left are three pins, and the rightmost pin that is shorter and seems to be broken.

I am in Europe for schoolyear, and won't be back in the US until May. does anyone know if I can leave the Thinkpad in for warranty repair in Europe? And would it be possible to have then *first* order the spare parts, as the x220 is the only computer I brought along, and I cannot possibly go without it for months.

I have now ordered Express Card USB ports from e-bay -- Even in the unlikely case that the 2 dollar nameless ports are as poor quality as the Thinkpad ones, at least they are easily replaceable if they broke

That's a shame. Does anyone know if Lenovo recently started using a different motherboard for these recent orders? (Around same time as mine)

Tap, when you receive the express port usb, let us know how it works for you, it might be a easy solution for those with no warranty left. I am planning to order a base as soon as possible so I don't have to use the USB ports daily in the office.. I am afraid others will break or wear easily.

Part arrived, he will show up tomorrow and replace the board.
Will my thinkpad be the same? It feels like it will be violated... I hope it gets put back together easily and won't have squeaks or gaps.

Swap was done and it feels as good as it felt before it was cracked (unscrewed ) open and guts spilled about. Anyway, the tech who did it, Robin, if he is reading it, I think he did a great job. And if your USB ports are loose, please consider getting it services asap. Now they are tight and there is a very slight (normal) movement.

I am waiting for a deal on docks so I can get myself a mini dock series 3 asap for the office.

Good news and bad news. the first one of the cards I ordered from China arrived today. This was not the one I was shopping for, but I came across this combined
USB3 / ESATA Express Card, and decided I wanted one.

Good News: Not only does the USB work, it reads and writes my 1TB external USB2 HDD faster than the X220 USB ports. Atto benchmarks give read/write speeds up to 45432/43473 megabits per second for the Express Card USB3, while the corresponding values for the X220 USB2 ports are 25516/32856 .

(Notice... The HDD is USB2 only, and yes, the Express card has faster write than read.)

The bad news... My Nokia USB 3G modem won't work when I connect it to the Express card USB, so there are some compatibility issues. For me, for as long as my two remaining X220 ports survive, it is not a problem.


I have no USB3 devices, so I cannot test how they work, and I haven't had the time to test the ESata port yet. But seems like not a bad purchase for $20.

here's the link to Express Card 54MM to 2 port USB 3.0 & eSata Adapter:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230663816554?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Hi Tap,
Thanks for the update.
Does the card heat up? I heard they get really hot. Is there a potential problem of fusing itself to the laptop if it gets that hot? Does it sit flush?

It does not heat up, but it does get warm. Normally the x220 palmrests are cool, with the usb3/esata xpresscard in use, the left side gets noticeably warm. Nothing I'd be concerned about, other than I just prefer my Thinkpads cool, so I save the card for the occasions I need to transfer large amounts of data fast. (Yesterday I transferred 24 GB of video via Esata, that transmission rate was consistently 50-55 MB/sec -> 24Gb took about six minutes.. Not bad =o)

Also, Any heat means battery drainage. I found that the expresscard just sitting there with nothing connected to it, uses about 2-3 watts, a wiresless mouse connected to it another 2 watts = 5 watts. (The mause takes the 2 watts even when connected to X220 port) . When my normal word processing battery usage is 7-9 watts, that is significant. I am actually finding, that with the way I use the X220, I should have as few things connected to it as possible

Thanks for the info, looks like a good choice if anyone needs more USB ports or an eSata port.
After my motherboard swap, now I have problems waking up my thinkpad from sleep. The function key doesnt work, the keyboard is stuck in Num Lock and the wireless card is not working. I have to restart. I will be calling Lenovo about this issue, maybe there is something in Bios that might fix this.

If your USB port is slightly loose but still works fine, I suggest live with it as long as possible, USB ports were fixed, but now I have another problem: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=99936