Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen Keyboard Replacement

Step 1

Use a Phillips #0 screwdriver to unscrew the five screws that secure the back cover to the laptop.
The screws do not completely come off from the back cover. Loosen until the screws are completely loose.

Step 2

Use a Jimmy to lift the cover directly up off of the locating pins.
Though a metal opening tool is shown in the image, we recommend using plastic opening tools to minimize any cosmetic damage.
Remove the back cover.
If you encounter resistance when lifting the cover, revisit the screws to see if any of them are still threaded on to the device.

I thank you for these instructions. They were quite helpful and I successfully replaced the fan. There is one thing however. Your instructions stated the following: "Be sure to pull on all of the cables at the same time."

I disagree. One should never pull the wires. I was able to nudge the one part of the connector loose from the other part that it fit into." I then put the new fan in and gently and carefully pushed the connecting parts together.

Otherwise, your instructions were clear and to the point. Thank you very much

ALAN L SILBERLIGHT -

The image shows prying the cover open at the bottom right. In fact, there are tabs securing the bottom edge to the frame. The cover needs to be pried open at the top edge. Once the top edge is released, the cover can be shifted slightly toward the top of the image to disengage the tabs at the bottom.

This error, along with the similar error about removing the battery in step 4, suggests that the instructions were written with the laptop in the opposite orientation than what is shown in the images.

EatCroc3 -

I also don't believe that the iFixit Jimmy is necessary - in fact, it might scratch up the exterior paint of the X1 Carbon Gen 6. Instead, I find the triangular iFixit picks are more appropriate for the task: iFixit Opening Picks (Set of 6)

Also, at least for my unit, the lid comes off easily and I only use the plastic picks if there's any resistance and I don't want to risk breaking any of the clips.

Tai Lam -

Step 3

Use the Phillips #0 screwdriver to remove the four 5 mm screws that secure the battery to the laptop frame.

The screw holes do not align 100%. Dont tighten all the screws as you re-insert them, leave just a little bit of play so that you can push the battery slightly until all the screws fit nicely, then tighten them. A little bit of DIY wisdom helps here. :-)

Michael Dauer -

Step 4

Take out the battery by lifting it from the top edge of the laptop, and then pulling away from the motherboard.

Recommend changing the command language to lifting from the TOP edge, as the BOTTOM edge is secured.

Alexander Van Auker - 07/10/20

Thank you, was wondering what I'm doing wrong

Ash Weber-Campbell -

Agreed, the original description is misleading at best, wrong at worst!

Victor Vojtech Terber -

You forgot to tell people to disconnect the battery from the motherboard before removing…

Becky - 31/03/21

Agree with both comments above: lift from top left and top right of battery. This disconnects it and it lifts out and away.

Marc G -

In my 6th generation X1 Carbon there are two wires that are routed on the edge of the battery and have to be moved out of the way. These are antenna cables, be gentle with them, kinks and indents change their high frequency properties and may lead to problems with your WIFI.

Michael Dauer -

Before removing laptop cover you can disable the battery in the bios before beginning work for extra safety. Battery will be re-enabled at next startup automatically.

Darryl S -

How do I know the generation of my X1 Carbon?

Does this batter fit all generations?

eric gofreed - 12/03/23

The generation info of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is marked on the back cover (i.e., 6th Generation), with shiny black color (ink ?), near the fan's openings.

The battery's original PN for 6th gen is ASM P/N SB10K97587 (FRU P/N 01AV430), marked visible on the battery (after removing the back cover).

vsm -

The #0 Phillips screwdriver furnished with the kit was not well machined; it threatened to strip out the Phillips cross-grooves.

Fortunately, in my own toolbox I had a robust and well machined #0 screwdriver, and was able to remove the battery screws without stripping the grooves.

Otherwise, the kit was excellent.

Roger Mehle - 10/23/23

Roger Mehle -

Hi @rogermehle, I'm very sorry to hear about the Phillips #0 screwdriver trouble. If you would like to reach out to our Customer Support team via help.ifixit.com, they will be able to assist you. Thank you for letting us know. We're happy your repair was a success overall : )

Sarah Westberg -

Yes top edge lift. Can't they change this?

Ravi Sawhney -

Step 5

Use a Phillips #0 screwdriver to remove the single screw that secures the SSD to the motherboard.

Step 6

Carefully remove the SSD by lifting it and pulling it out of the pins towards the battery of the laptop.

Step 7

Carefully peel the thermal pad off of the back of the SSD.
If the thermal pad is in good shape, you can reuse it by applying it to the replacement SSD.

Step 8

Use a Phillips #0 screwdriver to loosen the four screws that secure the fan to the motherboard.
The screws do not completely come off from the fan mount. Loosen until the screws are completely loose.

Step 9

Use nylon tipped tweezers, or your fingers, to gently pull the fan's power cable towards the SSD, disconnecting it from the pins.
Be sure to pull on all of the cables at the same time.

Step 10

Use a plastic opening pick to lift the fan mount.
Use your fingers to gently pull the fan diagonally away from where it is connected.

Step 11

Turn the fan over to expose the interior.
If necessary, clean out the fan or wipe away and replace the thermal paste.

All good. But most of us occasional Fixit-ers don't happen to have thermal paste lying around. Would have been helpful to include it in your list of necessary parts and tools. Otherwise, instructions were clear as crystal and worked as advertised. Tx!

ESR Westchester -

Great call out! I updated this guide to include the Thermal Paste as a required component. Thank you!!

Matt Zieminski -

I'm about to do this repair, and I'm planning to use Honeywell PTM7950 SP rather than thermal paste. It occurred to me that maybe I should ask the experts if this is a good idea. PTM7950 has rave reviews on heat conductivity, and it appears that it will fit fine under the fan. But am I missing a problem that will come back to haunt me someday?

BiggerHammer -

It's probably fine to use Honeywell PTM7950, just make sure to perform a CPU-intensive tasks (such as synthetic benchmarking) so that any pockets of air can escape after initial post-market application. If it doesn't perform as intended, then you can always remove it and use a more conventional thermal paste on the CPU.

Tai Lam -

There is one detail that many videos/guides almost never explicitly mention: you don't put any thermal paste on the smaller "die" for the X1 Carbon Gen 6 - and you only catch this if you see others cleaning the original thermal paste for the first time.

* This is mentioned in the description of a video from Duraputer in February 2024: https://youtu.be/VLb8vIzdi6s

* This is also mentioned in a pinned comment of a video from Salem Techsperts in October 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAIypDVt...

Tai Lam - 31/03/25

Thank you. Mine just died

nitsudg13 -

Step 12

Remove each of the 7 main ribbon cables that connect the motherboard to the rest of the laptop.
Detach the last ribbon cable in the same way as before.
These connectors and cables and are all very fragile. Handle with care.
For the red and orange cables, use a spudger to lift the black plastic bar.
The bar should be lifted to the point where it can move easily.

Somewhere between these steps the battery was removed. Can you add a step here describing that?

Bill Brown -

Battery removal starts on Step 3 above.

steve mooers -

Step 13

Place a spudger under the cables to disconnect them from the WLAN card.
Tweezers or a hook may also be used for this step.

Step 14

Use a Phillips #00 screwdriver to remove the two 3mm screws that secure the IO bracket.

Step 15

The antenna brackets act as a securing mount for the motherboard to the device.
Remove the two 3mm antenna bracket screws using a Phillips #00 screwdriver.

Step 16

Lift from the location of the screw towards you. Then pull towards the screw side to remove the bracket.

Step 17

Lift the white and black wires from their press on connections. Make sure to grab the connector head, not the wire itself

The detaching of the connectors is done in step 8 already

Peter - 15/10/24

Step 18

The housing for the SD card slot is directly attached to the device.
Remove and unscrew the two 5mm screws with a Phillips #0 screwdriver.

Step 19

Using an iFixit SIM card screw head tip, apply pressure to the hole to disconnect the SD card slot from the device.

Step 20

Use a Phillips #00 screwdriver to remove each of the four remaining 3mm screws securing the motherboard to the device.

Step 21

Lift from the top of the motherboard towards you.
Pull away from the IO port side to remove the motherboard.

Step 22

Carefully remove cord from daughterboard.

Step 23

Use a PH0 screwdriver to remove the three 2mm screws holding the daughterboard in place.

Step 24

Remove daughterboard (Explained in another guide).
Use a PH0 screwdriver to remove the two 2mm screws holding the USB port in place.

Step 25

Remove the tape covering screws holding the keyboard in place.

Step 26

Be careful not to lose any of the screws.
Remove the seventy-two 0.5mm screws holding keyboard in place.

I tried removing the screws holding the keyboard with a P000 screwdriver but it was to big for the screw heads. Now I have to find a smaller screwdriver.

James Lestrange -

Step 27

This will break the adhesive, this is necessary.
Carefully push the keyboard from the front, starting at the edge (Left edge is depicted).