Lenovo launches Sandy Bridge trade-in scheme

PC vendor reacts to Intel's chip defect news with repair or refund offer

Lenovo has launched a trade-in programme for customers whose PCs may have been blighted by Intel's defective 6 Series chip.

Earlier this week, Intel released a statement confirming that a defect had been found in its recently launched Intel 6 Series chip.

The chip is also known as Sandy Bridge and is used in the vendor's Second Generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors.

As a result, the company has called a halt to shipments of the chip until an updated version becomes available later this month. The vendor said it expects shipment volumes to return to normal by April.

The document claims that relatively few customers will be affected by the defect, as the chip was only released on 9 January.

In a statement sent to Channelweb, PC vendor Lenovo confirmed that it has responded to Intel's announcement by offering affected customers the option of a full refund or free repair.

It also revealed that the firm had shipped a "limited number of units" since the chip's launch, and ceased doing so two days ago.

It states: "Lenovo has announced a special service programme that will enable customers who purchased affected PCs to receive a system board replacement free of charge, as soon as those parts become available.

"If any customer is not satisfied with the system board replacement programme, we will work with [them] to find an alternative remedy, including a full refund at point of sale."

Lenovo said the defective chip may affect the latest generation of its IdeaPad laptops and its IdeaCentre desktop PCs, but stressed the products are still safe to use and should not cause any data management problems.

Meanwhile, Lenovo rival Dell has also released a statement announcing that four of its products have also been affected by the problem.

It said: "We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products and will provide further details on this as it becomes available."