Flex 5-14ITL05 Laptop (ideapad) - Type 82HS bricked after BIOS update

[Jogger9663]

Hello all! New here, trying to fix a Lenovo Flex 5 14ITL05 laptop.

TL;DR: How do you connect a programmer to a "leg-less" SPI Flash chip? Model: Winbond W25R256JVEIQ on a board with part number 5B21B33119.

Attached are photographs of the board for context. One is of the SPI chip close-up, the other is of the full board with the chip highlighted.

I have a Lenovo Flex 5 14-ITL05 with the following symptoms following a BIOS update:

• Black screen / no display
• Caps lock indicator stuck ON
• Power LED blinking
• FN Lock key on at boot, but can be toggled off
• Fans spin up after a few seconds

I suspect that the BIOS update bricked the laptop.

Here's some of the steps that I've tried:

• Disconnect battery and AC adapter, hold power button, connect power button, and boot
• Followed the instructions in a YouTube video titled "FIX Lenovo Laptop HAS POWER but NO DISPLAY/BLACK SCREEN", which boils down to:
  1. Even though the screen is blacked, assume that it actually boots into a recovery mode
  2. Navigate the BIOS menu blind
  3. Change Boot > Boot Mode from "BIOS" to "UEFI"
  4. Save and exit settings
• Hold the Novo button to boot it
• Attempt to boot from a Ubuntu Live USB
• Followed instructions in the article "Black Screen issue with Windows 10" from Lenovo, which involves holding down "Windows key + Shift + Ctrl + B" at the same time
• Connected an HDMI monitor cable

I popped the laptop open and wanted to try to reprogram the BIOS. I was trying to take a back-up from it, but the flash chip isn't something I'm used to connecting to. It's "leg-less" (not sure what the proper term for this is). I'm not sure if it's possible to program it even if I were to remove it from the board.

It's a Winbond W25R256JVEIQ flash chip on a board with part number 5B21B33119.

I noticed that another post in the BIOS requests forum made reference to this chip.

I would appreciate any advice that you can offer me.

[reformatt]

Re: Flex 5-14ITL05 Laptop (ideapad) - Type 82HS bricked after BIOS update

You need the right gear to do it, which you may not have. Quickest and simplest way is to remove it off the board with hot air, put it in a WSON8 to DIP8 adaptor and dump the contents with a SPI programmer. You upload the contents to the BIOS group, and one of the guru's there will fix it. Reprogram and put it back on the board.

So you are going to need a hot air station, the programmer and an adaptor.

[Jogger9663]

Re: Flex 5-14ITL05 Laptop (ideapad) - Type 82HS bricked after BIOS update

Hey reformatt, thanks for your prompt reply.

The WSON8 to DIP8 adaptor was what I was looking for. I understood the kinds of equipment I'd need for the desoldering, the programming, and the soldering--but not how I'd get it to connect without any legs.

It's my first time soldering and this might be well out of my league, but I'm going to practice on some boards and give it a shot since the laptop's dead. Thanks for your advice.

If you (or anyone else reading this) knows of any resources regarding SMD (de)soldering, I would greatly appreciate it.

As an aside, I'm wondering what exactly the gurus here do to make a "clean" BIOS image compatible with my specific laptop. I understand there's some device-specific details inside the firmware that performs some pre-boot verification (e.g. Intel ME might initialize in the SEC phase of a UEFI boot to verify the next step in the boot chain). Do you know of any resources regarding that process?

Anyway, thanks for the help you've given me already. I'll try to post an update whether or not I succeed.

[reformatt]

Re: Flex 5-14ITL05 Laptop (ideapad) - Type 82HS bricked after BIOS update

It's a bit of black art. Manufacturers have their own tools in order to program the BIOS with serial numbers etc, but these are not publicly available. Most of the repair is done by using reverse engineering, hex editors and tools like UEFI tool. There are plenty of guides for doing a Clean ME region. Some official tools have been leaked but for the most part, we don't have access to them. The knowledge by SMDFlea, Peste etc for BIOS repair is extensive. I do fix my own BIOS from time to time, but if it's an obscure model, I don't reinvent the wheel and they kindly assist you. Saves time.

As far as hot air goes, this does take practice and there are many variables. If you don't have a schematic, it's a good idea to take a photo of the area beforehand and/or measure each component. It's easy to apply too much heat in the beginning, and s small resistor/cap next to the chip disappears in the process.

[trepachka]

Re: Flex 5-14ITL05 Laptop (ideapad) - Type 82HS bricked after BIOS update

I have Ideapad 5 Flex 15ITL05 laptop. It, too has Winbond W25R256JVEIQ chip on it.
How do I properly read the data of it and then subsequently write into it? I am using CH341A programmer software and it does not have W25R256 chip in the list.

Is there another chip I can use in the list to properly read the data off it?