Lenovo have upset many of their existing customers and have no doubt put off many new customers by ditching their ThinkVantage System Update service.
What this means for people who already have a ThinkPad laptop is that they will no longer be able to download software updates and drivers automatically. Instead they will have to go to the support website and download all the files they need, all by themselves each and every time.
I just wonder why they would pull the plug on TVSU, which incidentally was a very popular service, without giving their customers any warning or indeed any reason for it.
Lenovo’s support website simply states “Lenovo is changing the way customers obtain updates for their PCs and Servers. For our PC customers, automatic updates via ThinkVantage System Update (TVSU) are being discontinued. Customers can continue to download updates by accessing the Lenovo support site at Lenovo Support & downloads. Lenovo is pursuing alternative solutions for system updates and future offerings will be communicated through the new Lenovo Message Center Plus.”
So not only do you have to go and get the updates yourself, you have to make a point of checking to see if and when an alternative solution is being offered.
Ok so if you know what you’re doing you might be quite happy to navigate your way to their site and manually download whatever it is you need to stay up to date but in reality, the majority of people are going to be inconvenienced at best or won’t bother to update their software at all.
Lenovo forums are already awash with dissatisfied customers who are venting their anger and dismay at what they see as a bad move by Lenovo and the general feeling is that TVSU was a major advantage that Lenovo had over their competitors and without it, they are going to lose business.
“Is there any reason why Lenovo would do this? That software has always been a big positive in Lenovo’s favour when compared to other system vendors. By eliminating Lenovo is removing one more reason to choose them” says one post.
“One of the reasons I have always told family members (who are not computer enthusiasts) to buy Lenovo products is because they ‘maintain themselves’ via TVSU” says another.
And as for buying Lenovo products in the future, one unhappy customer writes “Well I think I know of what brand of computer I am NOT buying next if things like this are going to keep getting pulled”.
It looks like Lenovo have some explaining to do.
