My nightmare with X1 Extreme – Very bad wifi signal – Bad design?

Hi there,

My (nightmare) story so far:

I purchased 6 months ago a X1 Extreme 20MF000X (i7 8750H - 32 GB RAM - 1 TB SSD). From day one, I noticed that I had very bad wifi signal (at 2,4Ghz band). More specifically, when I was in my office, which is in a room about 15 meters away from the server room (where the router is located), I had very slow internet speeds, so slow that I couldn’t even browse normally. On the contrary, I never had such a problem with any other Thinkpad of our company or even my iPhone, when using the same wifi network. The distance is not so far to justify the massive drop in internet and download speeds (I had normal speeds only when I was near the router). Moreover, from such a distance, I couldn’t even connect to the 5Ghz band.

Taking several tests using Speedtest.net, I had the following results (in a 50 download / 5 upload line):

• Thinkpad T530: Download: 40Mbps, Upload: 4.5Mbps
• Thinkpad L580: Download: 35Mbps, Upload: 4Mbps
• Thinkpad X1C (Gen 6): Download: 35Mbps, Upload: 4Mbps
• Macbook pro 13 (2014): Download: 45Mbps, Upload: 4.5Mbps
• Iphone X: Download: 40Mbps, Upload: 4 Mbps
• Thinkpad X1E: Download: 4Mbps (!!!), Upload: 4Mbps! The only way to achieve download speeds of 40Mbps was to move the laptop near the router (at the same room)!

I tested the above laptops to other networks, other routers and other places, but X1E always presented the same bad wifi signal when I was far from the router (but not so far to justify this). I tried EVERYTHING: new drivers, new bios, fresh Windows install, checked with live Ubuntu, etc. EVERYTHING I could do, but nothing changed. Even with Linux, it presented the same bad signal.

So, after all my efforts, I sent it immediately back to the seller for replacement (DOA). The seller denied the replacement because he claimed that the laptop was working fine (he told me that since he can watch youtube, then for him everything is fine...!!!). So I sent it to Lenovo Support. The Lenovo service denied too to replace the laptop (as it is covered by warranty) and they suggested changing the wifi module and the antennas. I have necessarily accepted to move with these actions. While in service, they informed me that they had a problem with the board and they had to changed it too. I requested a replacement because it is completely unacceptable to have a BRAND NEW laptop and in the end it ends up with so many problems and so many components replacements. But my request was rejected too…

Anyway, after all the hassle, I received back my laptop with new wifi module, new antennas and new board, hoping that at least now everything will work fine. But it does not…!!! I STILL have THE SAME bad wifi signal (tested with different routers and networks)!! This is CRAZY!! This machine, with such bad wifi, is completely unusable!!!

So, is Lenovo having a bad design with the wifi of X1E? Has anyone else noticed this behavior? If not, what else it could be? What can I do??? I paid 3000€ for a top class laptop and it ends up a garbage!!!

Please help,

P.