Mark Lutter

Review of ComputerWare

I brought my new Lenovo laptop which was having in...

I brought my new Lenovo laptop which was having internet issues. The laptop would not work one room away from the router when numerous other electronic devices had strong signals. I checked in both my apartment and my parents house, both of which had the same issue. I downloaded all the relevant drivers and the problem persisted. The problem disappeared when I brought it in to the Computerware shop. However, the problem re-appeared as soon as I brought the laptop home. Even though the laptop was under warranty, I was charged $50 because they could not diagnose a problem.

I got a replacement product from Lenovo which had the exact same problem. Again, I checked in both my apartment and my parents house. This time I downloaded Ubuntu to check if it was a software or hardware issue. The problem persisted with Ubuntu which made me believe it was hardware.

I called Computerware to ask if they could replace the wifi card under warranty. They said they would need to diagnose it. As the previous attempt demonstrated that the wifi worked in their shop, I offered to take a video of the change in speed the further away from the router I was, comparing that to older machines that maintained acceptable internet speeds at comparable distances.

At this point is was clear that the receptionist had little understanding of the problem as she was advising me to buy a wifi extender. I could have had a on site visit which would not be covered by warranty and which the receptionist made clear that Computerware would likely still recommend an extender. A new laptop should have wifi that works as well as a laptop several years old. Additionally, even though a wifi extender would have fixed the problem in my apartment, I travel frequently and need a laptop which works in hotels. Given that I have had wifi problems in two separate locations I have little confidence that my laptop would be reliable in hotels.

I understand that the primary audience of Computerware is boomers who need help finding the any key. However, their lack of interest in even understanding the problem I am having demonstrates a lack of professionalism. I will also be reporting them to Lenovo as I do not believe Lenovo should be represented by such sloppy service.