Lenovo ThinkPad X240

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Reason: Reference to "current time" in the tip; generally too short - provides only a basic overview. (Discuss in Talk:Lenovo ThinkPad X240#)

The Lenovo X240 is the latest version of the Lenovo Ultrabook Series and also is a complete redesign of the X Series. This can be observed especially with devices like the touchpad, which has been changed to be a one-click touchpad instead of having the classic 5 button touchpad. The X240 is a very light device, weighing in at just 2.84 lbs (1.36 kg) and measuring 12.02" x 8.19" x 0.79".

Tested Configuration

Tip: Below were the tested configurations at the current time.
Feature X240 X240 (20AMS4SM00)
CPU Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4210U CPU @ 2.7GHz
Graphics Intel HD 4400 - Haswell-ULT Intel HD 4400 - Haswell-ULT
Ram 8 GB 8 GB
Disk Samsung 5120 SSD Seagate ST500LM000-SSHD-8GB
Display 12.5" IPS FHD (1920x1080) 12.5" IPS FHD (1920x1080)
Wireless Intel Corporation Wireless 7260 Intel Corporation Wireless 7260
Built-in Battery 9 Cell 9 Cell
Additional Plugable Battery 6 Cell 19+ 6 Cell 19+
Backlight Keyboard Yes Yes
ThinkLight No No
Fingerprint Scanner Yes Yes
Bluetooth Yes Yes
Camera Yes Yes

System Configuration

Use analog sound card by default in ALSA

You likely need to change the ALSA default sound card if you want to output sound via line-out by default.

Install the alsa-utils package, run aplay -l and inspect its output:

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: HDMI [HDA Intel HDMI], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC3232 Analog [ALC3232 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

The card that drives the analog line-out is in this case card #1. Create a global configuration file to make it the default:

$ cat /etc/asound.conf
defaults.ctl.card 1
defaults.pcm.card 1
defaults.timer.card 1

Alternatively, the same configuration may be set in $HOME/.asoundrc.

Touchpad

The touchpad works out of the box. You will need to install xf86-input-synaptics.

Some users may prefer to use the trackpoint over the touchpad. In that case, the touchpad can be disabled via synclient TouchpadOff=1(Will be gone after re-login). See Synaptics for more information and options.

TrackPoint

The TrackPoint is usuable out of the box, but the default parameters for speed, sensitivity and inertia yield only insufficient navigation ability given the high-res display. The following udev configuration delivers a snappy experience:

$ cat /etc/udev/rules.d/10-trackpoint.rules

SUBSYSTEM=="serio", DRIVERS=="psmouse", ACTION=="change", ENV{SERIO_TYPE}=="05", ATTR{press_to_select}="1", ATTR{sensitivity}="196", ATTR{speed}="255", ATTR{inertia}="4"

Consult the ThinkWiki for other configuration possibilities such as scrolling.

Fingerprint Reader

The fingerprint reader is a Validity Sensors model (138a:0017) also used on the Thinkpad X1 Carbon and T440. ThinkFinger does NOT support this reader. This fingerprint reader requires libfprint to be build from the current git (https://github.com/ars3niy/fprint_vfs5011.git ) as yet no stable fprint release supports it.

Caveats

Common hardware problems

This page provides a list and links regarding common issues with X240 hardware.

Grey noise with analog audio when audio is not muted

On some X240 and other TP 4xx models, persisting grey noise is hearable when the audio mixer has not been muted. The issue has been reported to the ALSA developers, but as of now, the issue persists. Affected users are encouraged to report their situation in the linked thread.

More later (ToDo)

- kernel
- powersave
- backlight
- keyboard

See also