Lenovo ThinkPad T560 Troubleshooting

The computer will lose its charge very quickly, or the computer will not charge when plugged in.

Check that the power cord for your computer is plugged in all the way. Try taking out the cord and then plugging it back in. There should be an icon next to the battery symbol in the lower right of the screen indicating that the computer sees a power cord has been inserted.

Plug your power cord into different electrical outlets to see if any of them provide power for your computer.

Some Lenovo laptops have different battery settings that favor either better laptop performance or longer battery life. Check to see if the laptop is switched to a “Better Laptop Performance” feature, which may discharge the battery more quickly.

Disconnect the external battery by clicking the two switches on the bottom of the laptop next to the battery, and then remove the external battery. Afterwards, follow the replacement guide to remove the internal battery. Plug in the power cord. If the laptop doesn’t turn on, then this may indicate a bad power cord, which should be replaced.

This laptop has an external battery and an internal battery. The internal battery is a lithium ion battery, and these types of batteries can go bad after a few years, causing them to lose charge more quickly or not hold any charge. Follow this guide to replace the internal battery.

When the computer is powered on, the display flashes between a black screen and the current screen.

If the device is flickering when it is powered on, ensure that the device’s display driver is up to date. Go to the Windows logo button and search “Device Manager.” Look at all the drivers from the results. Then go to support.Lenovo.com and search for all the drivers; download them. Expand the "Display Adapters" section, right click the listed adapter, and then select "Uninstall Device." Select “Delete the driver software for this device,” and then select "Uninstall and Restart Device."

If the device is flickering when it is powered on, ensure that the device’s BIOS is up to date. Go to support.Lenovo.com and search “Lenovo ThinkPad T560 BIOS update.” Click the product and select “Drivers and Software.” Select "BIOS/UEFI" and expand the category. Select the button next to the BIOS update. Next, click on the "download" button and open the .exe file that downloaded. Follow the instructions to install the latest BIOS update. Restart the device.

If the previous solutions did not fix the screen flickering, then the device may have a hardware issue. Check that cables in your device are properly connected to the screen. If the cables are not properly connected, then reconnect all the cables. Try removing and connecting the cables using the guide here.

Individual keys in the keyboard cannot be physically pushed down, or when they are pushed down no input is received.

The first attempt to resolve the issue should be to restart the laptop and allow it to reset itself. This can be accomplished by pressing the windows button, selecting the power options, and then select restart.

If any individual key is unable to go down when pressed, the most common cause of this is an obstruction underneath the key. Check for a buildup of dust, dirt, or possibly larger items that may have found their way into the device itself and are blocking the key from going downward. If needed, follow this guide to remove the keyboard so any debris can be removed.

If the keys are able to be pressed down, yet there is still no input, check that the keyboard drivers are up to date. Locate the “Device Manager” page on your device by searching for it in the search bar. Right click on the keyboard section and then check for hardware changes. This should make sure that any hardware related to the keyboard is up to date.

Trackpad is unresponsive to touching or clicking

1. Press the windows key + i or windows key + s.
2. Type "touchpad."
3. Using arrow keys to move down list, select "turn the touchpad on or off" using the "Enter" key.
4. Make sure that the touchpad is set to "on".
5. If touchpad is not set to on, use the Tab key to select the Touchpad option and use space to toggle the option.

1. Manually download and install the latest drivers
   1. Download the latest Synaptics ThinkPad UltraNav Driver from the Lenovo Support site
   2. Click on "Synaptics ThinkPad UltraNav Driver for Windows 10 (64-bit) - ThinkPad."
   3. Click on "View All Files."
   4. Click on the download icon next to "Synaptics ThinkPad UltraNav Driver."
   5. Open the downloaded file and allow the driver to update.
2. Update using the automatic scan option
   1. Go to the Lenovo Support site.
   2. Click on "Start Scan" and follow the instructions provided.

1. Press the windows key + s.
2. Type "Device Manager."
3. Select "Device Manager" using the arrow keys and Enter key.
4. Use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down the list until "Mice and other pointing devices" is highlighted.
5. Use the right arrow key to expand the sub-item list.
6. Use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down the list until "Synaptics Pointing Device" is highlighted.
7. Press the "Enter" key to open the properties page.
8. Use the left and right arrow keys to navigate to the "Driver" Tab.
9. Use the tab key to navigate to the "Roll Back Driver" button, and press the "Enter" key to roll back the driver. (If the button is gray, there is no driver to roll back to.)

1. Press the Windows key + s.
2. Type "Control Panel."
3. Select "Control Panel" using the arrow keys and "Enter" key.
4. Press the "Tab" key until "Hardware and Devices" is highlighted. Press the "Enter" key to select.
5. Press the "Tab" key until "Mouse" is highlighted. Press the "Enter" key to select.
6. Use the left and right arrow keys to navigate to the "Pointer Options" tab.
7. Press the Tab key until the slider labeled "Select a pointer speed" is highlighted.
8. Use the right arrow key to increase the pointer speed.

1. If the touchpad works in safe mode, then the issue is related to software or drivers.
   1. How to enter safe mode in Windows 10 - ThinkPad
   2. Start your PC in safe mode in Windows 10

With normal use of the Lenovo ThinkPad T560, the device is hot to the touch and in some instances shuts off without notice.

The device can overheat when the vents and fans are obstructed by dust or debris. Check to see if the device’s vents and fans are obstructed. If they are obstructed, carefully use a compressed air can to blow the dust/debris out. If the removal of the back panel is necessary to clear debris, refer to this guide. If the fan needs to be removed or replaced, follow the fan replacement guide.

Having too many applications running at once can overstress the computer and lead to overheating. To check the computer’s app usage, click on the bottom left search bar where it says “Type here to search.” Then, type, “Task Manager”. Click and open the "Task Manager" app. Under the “Processes” tab, the number of applications open can be seen. To stop an application, right click the name, then click “End task.”

Thermal paste in the device helps regulate the temperature of internal components. If there is not enough thermal paste between the cooling assembly and the source of the heat, the computer can get too hot. To replace the thermal paste, refer to this guide