Lenovo's ThinkPad batteries failing

Several ThinkPad models are affected by battery problems

Lenovo is offering free battery replacements to users of some of its ThinkPad models after complaints of irreparable damage flooded the internet, but the firm is insisting that it is not an official recall.

A notice on the firm's support site says that it will replace the batteries in the affected T60, T61, R60, R61, X60 and X61 ThinkPad models if they have a low capacity or show a 'Battery cannot be charged' or 'Irreparable Damage' error message.

To find out if they are eligible, users must run a special diagnostic tool which can be downloaded from the support site. "Run the Battery Diagnostic Tool to determine if your battery has failed due to this issue and qualifies for a free replacement," says the site.

"If the tool determines that your battery is eligible, it will direct you to the site where you can request a replacement. Lenovo is offering replacements only for batteries that have failed due to this problem."

Lenovo has been at pains to point out that "this issue is not a safety recall and does not pose a safety hazard". The message was repeated via a tweet from its official press office Twitter account.

The affected battery parts are 42T4546, 42T4566, 92P1141, 42T4550, 42T4567, 42T4568, 92P1169, 92P1173, 93P5028 and 93P5030.