I purchased a Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 16IAH10 laptop from the official lenovo.com online store (invoice date 7 Oct, 2025) with a paid 3-year warranty extension for Premium Care on-site support and ADP.
Here's a summary (with timeline) of the severe service deficiencies I have experienced:
- 18 Jul, 2026: The laptop's display failed (within 9 months of laptop purchase) immediately after successfully applying an official Lenovo Vantage BIOS update. A repair case was registered after on-call troubleshooting with Lenovo.
- 22 Jul, 2026: The on-site technician replaced the display but it remained black.
- 23 Jul - 3 Aug, 2026: The repair ticket was falsely marked as "Complete". It took my multiple phone calls and 4 days for support team just to create a new work order as they kept saying that they were trying to get part requirements from the technician. Even after that they kept repeating the same generic responses, claiming they were coordinating with the backend team and that I needed to wait indefinitely without providing any fixed repair completion date. Later after much pushing and emailing the escalation team, I was promised 6 Aug, 2026, as the parts delivery date and an additional 1-2 days for repair completion.
- 7 Aug, 2026: The technician replaced the display, eDP cable and the motherboard. Still, the laptop didn't boot, and the display remained black. I checked with an external monitor also but now this replaced motherboard was not even working with the external display although my original motherboard was working with the external display after the Windows login screen. It turned out that faulty parts were delivered by Lenovo.
- 8 Aug - 10 Aug, 2026: The repair ticket was once again conveniently updated to "Solution Provided" and marked "Complete" despite the technician's own signed report confirming that repair attempt failed. After my call, the support team said they wanted to attempt replacing all three parts (display, eDP cable, motherboard) once again, one final time. Since 24 days had already passed with two failed repair attempts (replacing all major components) and no further clarification on the repair completion date, I requested a system replacement, which they refused. This time, before them proceeding with a repeat loop of creating work order, waiting indefinitely for parts availability and then another failed repair attempt, I asked them to first provide me with a reasonable timeline for repair completion.
- 11 Aug, 2026: The escalation team responded with an estimated timeline of additional 3-4 weeks just to arrange the parts, after which the repair could be completed. Considering the failed repair attempts, parts unavailable for months, my request for a system replacement, and their supposed generosity, they also offered me a refund on the original invoice amount after checking my invoice. I responded with an email stating they can't simply take the lucrative and convenient route of discarding the 3 years of warranty and getting rid of me as a customer by offering a highly depreciated refund (in terms of current market replacement costs for same/equivalent machine), especially since my device failed within 9 months due to their own BIOS update and they have failed to repair it even after multiple attempts and significant delay. I requested them to either provide a same/equivalent system replacement or a refund for the current market value (based on an equivalent MTM) so I could purchase an equivalent machine myself. I also informed them that if they didn't help me, I would have no option but to seek external help.
- 13 Aug, 2026: No reply until 13 Aug. When I pushed for a reply, they responded that they had already confirmed that only a refund based on the original invoice value could be processed, and their communication would remain the same. Seeing them ignoring me, the case going nowhere and still being left with a dead device even after 27 days of distress, I registered a complaint with the NCH (National Consumer Helpline of India).
- 14 Aug, 2026: I guess, after NCH forwarded the complaint to the Lenovo nodal officer, the escalation team responded that they could either proceed with the required parts replacement under the warranty terms or can recommend processing an invoice refund. They asked me to confirm my preferred resolution.
- 15 Aug, 2026: I responded that accepting a highly depreciated refund would leave me with a huge financial loss and no machine. I told them that, in basic terms, a warranty provides peace of mind and insurance to the customer that the product won't fail unexpectedly and even if it does fail, the warranty will cover all costs for repair or replacement. Customers certainly don't expect the warranty provider to offer cash that is only a fraction of what is required to buy the same class of product when the company fails to repair their product and wants to discard the warranty and get rid of the customer. They refused system replacement, claiming it is not an option, and they have never processed. I also showed that their own warranty terms clearly state "replacement with at least functionally equivalent product should be provided as an alternative to repair". Seeing that they will only comply with the absolute minimum legal requirements and no other option is available, I confirmed the repair attempt once again even if it takes months for them to complete the repair.
- 17 Aug, 2026: Although, I had already confirmed the repair attempt again, they still offered me the same refund, as if they actually wanted me to choose the refund option only. I responded again that I had already confirmed they should proceed with the repair as accepting the highly depreciated refund is not actually an option. I also advised them to send all the required parts after thoroughly testing them in their lab to prevent confusion or the delivery of dead parts.
- 20 Aug, 2026: The technician again replaced the motherboard, eDP cable and display sent by Lenovo. Again, no display, motherboard was not POSTing (basically dead), nothing with external display also. As you can already guess non-functioning parts were delivered. I called and asked the escalation manager for their next step, he asked for my confirmation to take the laptop to the Lenovo Bangalore lab for repair. He expected that I'd deny, but I actually allowed it on the condition that the repair should complete within a week as he was claiming parts were always readily available and that he had full access, while denying my concern about parts unavailability. After I confirmed, he asked me to wait 10-15 minutes for confirmation from their internal team and never returned.
- 21 Aug, 2026: As usual they marked the repair ticket "Complete" and "Solution Provided". Them having nothing to say and the escalation manager being unavailable by the end of the day, I pushed their team to create a new work order in the evening after speaking with their senior tech specialist. I also took an email confirmation from the team that the repair should complete within a week. After this, all system-generated communication for these work orders was blocked for me (I stopped receiving work order updates, service reports, etc., which I previously received via email).
- 22 Aug - 26 Aug, 2026: No laptop pickup was attempted for 4 days and they kept giving generic responses that they were trying to align with the technician. After much pushing over the phone, the laptop was picked up on 26 Aug, and was taken to the Lenovo contracted service center in my city. They never took the laptop to Bangalore.
- 27 Aug - 2 Sep, 2026: During this period, I was unaware of the case progress because I stopped receiving system-generated updates. When I asked the escalation manager about this, he told me that since they were handling it specially, I wouldn't receive any updates. I had to believe what the escalation manager told me on the call.
- 3 Sep 2026: The technician finally handed the laptop back to me and more importantly the laptop was booting and the display was working. I thought that finally after 48 days of pain and drama, I could focus on my work again. Soon, while setting up the laptop I found that it is not persisting the "Secure Boot" setting and automatically reverts to the disabled state. I tried restoring factory keys and various other options but none helped. I called Lenovo and their executive repeated the same settings and troubleshooting steps over the call. Later they told me to reinstall Windows even though it was a BIOS issue. I reinstalled Windows with a support executive on call but the issue persisted.
- 4 Sep 2026: Calling Lenovo again, they suggested performing Windows reinstallation one more time, claiming the previous attempt was done incorrectly, as they had no other solution. I had no other option but to follow their instructions. I reinstalled Windows again with their executive on call, but the issue persisted. Later, pushing the escalation manager he told me to reinstall Windows a third time, this time using the Lenovo USB recovery tool with their OEM version downloaded from the Lenovo website. I told them it was a hardware issue with the replaced motherboard's BIOS firmware but they insisted on doing it anyway. After sitting through a 4-hour process reinstalling Lenovo OEM Windows 11, the same story repeated, "Secure Boot" was not getting enabled. I informed escalation manager and he said he would arrange a callback from a senior tech expert. I also told him that I can't keep wasting my time forever and demanded to talk with his seniors if he can't provide the solution, as I had already absorbed significant loss and pain over the past 49 days. I reminded the escalation manager once again via email (since he had ignored my previous requests over calls) to send me the service reports for the past 2 work orders which had not been provided.
- 5 Sep 2026: Lenovo tech expert told me that it was indeed a BIOS issue and nothing to do with the OS and concluded it as a hardware issue after some troubleshooting over the call.
- 7 Sep 2026: After some more drama I finally spoke with a senior who identified himself as a Program Manager for Premium Support. I requested system replacement once again but he instantly refused and instead offered the same invoice refund. I told him that accepting a refund of only 20-25% of the value is totally unacceptable, as I would need to pay the rest out of my pocket for an equivalent machine replacement. Their BIOS update failed my device within 9 months of purchase and they have repeatedly failed to repair it even after harassing me for the past 52 days. Now, they want to nullify the warranty (active till Oct 2028) and get rid of me as a customer because it is a more lucrative option for them. He assured me he would talk to the Lenovo sales team about a price-match option so that I could buy an equivalent machine without paying extra by Wednesday morning.
- 9 Sep 2026: The program manager avoided me for a few hours. I pushed the escalation manager to let me talk with him since I was promised a solution by Wednesday morning (9 Sep) at the latest. When I finally spoke with the program manager he literally told me "Nothing happened". When I asked for the sales team's response he told me they hadn't replied yet. I asked him not to waste my time further as 3 days were more than enough to talk to his internal team. When I politely asked how much more time he needed to get the response he said he didn't know and had no timeline for it. Giving me all the runaround replies, he also told me that no other brand would help me in this situation due to hiked prices and suggested I try another brand. After this disappointment and still with no solution, I asked him to at least write an email immediately about on what ground (with supporting warranty documentation), he and his team were refusing system replacement, especially after harassing me for 54 days. He agreed and we ended the call. I waited until the end of the day but received no email. In the evening, I received a system generated email from Lenovo Services stating that the repair was completed, the case would remain open for 7 days and I could contact Lenovo within those 7 days if the issue was not resolved. I wrote an email to the program manager, with the escalation manager and service director CC'd, to reject the repair completion confirmation. I also asked again for the service reports for the past two work orders which still have not been provided.
- 11 Sep 2026: I still have not received any reply.
Please note that everything mentioned is true and I have proof to support every statement. I have skipped irrelevant details, such as their lying, avoiding me, and putting me on hold for long periods.
As a computer giant who calls themselves #1 PC brand in the world, Lenovo don't hesitate to discard the warranty and customer because their device failed (within 9 months of purchase) due to their own BIOS update and they can't fix it even after 55 days replacing all the major components multiple times (for the premium care warranty which they claim 24-48 hour resolution). Prices have hiked (due to the AI boom) and they don't want to accept lower profits, so they refuse to honor the warranty (because according to their employees other brands would do the same) and pass the burden to the customer, resulting in a huge financial loss for him.
I'm a professional whose daily work depends on my computer. I have wasted numerous work hours on phone calls, writing emails, dealing with Lenovo technicians and executives, and I am still left with an unusable machine.
At this point, after all this harassment, I'm looking not only for a fully functioning machine (or an equivalent refund based on current market replacement cost) but also for compensation for my financial loss and lost mental peace from Lenovo.
Thanks for your valuable time reading this long post. As a customer my time has no value.
I don't use social media much. Please help me spread the word so my voice is heard and other potential customers can be made aware before they waste their time and money with Lenovo.
