Much has been said about planned obsolescence when it comes to the latest smartphones. Many are made to be replaced in a remarkably short time — sometimes less than a year.
When buyers shop for a desktop computer, however, they might expect this larger purchase of more robust equipment to last longer than a phone. For some gamers who bought a prebuilt computer from Lenovo, that allegedly wasn't the case.
What's happening?
A 2023 video from TikToker Aren outlines the case against the computer company. "To all my fellow gamers out there, I am begging you, please do not buy Lenovo prebuilts," they say in the video.
@dykegarfield @Lenovo @Lenovo Legion Yall have been talking about a 'fix' with Nivida for over a year now and I do not have the money for a brand new PC. I am a college student who needs this thing to do work! Yall need to own up to your mistake and actually do something bc its been literally 2+ years! #computer #gamingpc #gamingcomputer #gamingcommunity #pcgaming #pcgamer #pcgamingsetup #lenovo #lenovolegion #legiont5 #nividia #videogames #ffxiv #palia #stardew #bg3 #bauldersgate #bauldersgate3 #gamers #lesbian #nonbinary #gamingontiktok #gamingfyp #pcsetup #pcbuild #lenovot5 ♬ original sound - Aren 🪲✨ (any prns)
According to Aren, they purchased a T5 28IMB05 prebuilt computer from Lenovo. After just two to three years, however, the computer became inoperable.
"Basically, Lenovo cheaped out and did not check to see if the NVIDIA drivers would be incompatible with the motherboard," Aren continues. "I had to roll back my driver to stop my computer from blue-screening every, like, 10 minutes."
According to Aren, that was only a temporary solution. "Now we're getting to a point where games are upgrading, and now my roll-back driver is no longer really compatible." Aren indicated that there was no repair or upgrade that would fix the problem.
"Lenovo basically stole my money," they conclude.
"Yall need to own up to your mistake and actually do something bc its been literally 2+ years!" they wrote in the caption of the video posted last year.
Why does a crashing computer matter?
Obviously, a desktop gaming computer is a huge investment for an individual, with new models ranging from the high hundreds to thousands of dollars. If it doesn't run the programs that users want, or stops after only a handful of years, buyers are out that money.
Plus, when a computer stops working, it becomes e-waste — a type of garbage that's full of toxic components. Ideally, it would be scrapped for usable parts and recycled into more electronics, but far too much e-waste is disposed of improperly, contributing to pollution.
The best way to reduce e-waste is to build long-lasting computers so that users only need to buy one. Lenovo appears to have failed that mission.
Of course, Lenovo did not appear to respond directly to the TikTok with its perspective on why the computer didn't last, and the story of it becoming obsolete is complicated by the fact that the device may not have worked well to begin with (apparently forcing the user to "roll back" to an older level of function). Yet that might have only accelerated the demise of a computer that ultimately did not last long.
Is Lenovo doing anything about this?
Aren's video referred to a class action lawsuit against Lenovo. According to Top Class Actions, Lenovo's response to at least one related set of lawsuits was to call for dismissal. It did not appear to offer any remedy to buyers.
As for reducing waste in other areas of its operations, the company claims it is trying.
"One of our environmental objectives is to minimize environmental impacts associated with solid waste generated from Lenovo operations and products," says the company website. "To support this, we set an annual target to direct 90% (+/-5%) of Lenovo's global nonhazardous waste to recovery operations."
Lenovo claims to have met this goal in its most recent sustainability report.
What's being done about e-waste more broadly?
If you've got electronics you want to offload, many companies offer recycling programs, some with incentives like store credit, discounts, or even cash. You can also donate electronics that still work.
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