Customer Ratings & Reviews

The laptop wouldn’t come on-I had to go into the store & get refunded.

moved slow wouldn’t recommend this item. get a newer one maybe

Poor rating because laptop was defective right out the box brand new.

It was terrible. I bought 3 and it ruined the kiddos Christmas.

I need to returns this laptop the Wifi is not working.

Slow not enough storage can really work on it when on the go or home

Very crappy I am thinking of returning it don’t buy this

The computer didnt even work. Couldnt get on any programs

Garage and Best Buy should be ashamed for selling it.

The computer load so slow and it will take forever

0 stars the worst purchase I have made at best buy

Terrible, cheap, awful product. Do not waste money

I wanted to like this computer. I really, really did. I gave it every chance to let me like it. But no matter how much I tried, no matter how much of the benefit of the doubt I gave it, I could not. The problem can be summed up in one word, and even capitalizing it doesn’t fully convey the situation, and that word is SLOW. Yes, I know that this is a very low-cost computer that features the bare minimum to run Windows 11 in its specifications list. It has 4 GB of RAM, an Intel Celeron processor, and a 128 GB hard drive. But there is a difference between the “minimum” specifications necessary to run Windows and the “recommended” specifications necessary to actually have a non-frustrating, enjoyable, productive computing experience. Where to begin. OK, let’s start with setup. Like most any new Windows computer nowadays, setup is straightforward. Just connect everything, power on the machine, and go through the process of answering questions about what country you’re in, what keyboard you like, etc. Then the machine goes through an update process, and then it gets to finalizing things with lots of messages appearing on the screen like “hi” and “we’re setting things up” and “almost there” and more. This normally, in my experience, takes about a half hour, maybe 45 minutes. With this computer, it took two hours. Then, when any new computer I’m using has completed its setup, I immediately go into Settings/Windows Update and check for more updates. In this case, it found 23 additional updates. You know how Windows does this. It’ll download two or three of them, then stop and wait for you to click “Restart,” then restart, then download another two or three updates, again stop and wait for your to click “Restart, and the process repeats. I can understand why it does it this way, and I’m not really complaining about it because I get it that some updates have to be downloaded and installed before other ones can be. But where I DO complain is that I should not have to hover around the computer waiting for it to ask me to click “Restart” again and again. Also, with this computer, because it’s so minimally equipped, restarts are a SLOW process, and it took about four hours for it to finally finish all this updating. So it was really about half a day between opening the box and finally having a computer that was fully set up and fully up to date. But this is where the real fun did not begin. If you use any kind of decently-equipped Windows PC, you’re used to boot-up taking maybe 15 seconds, then starting your browser and getting to your home screen in a matter of seconds. Not so with this computer. Bootup is about 30 seconds. Loading the browser takes at least 30 seconds, and it never fully loads!!! I had the browser automatically starting at the Google News home page. It would never fully load this!! After watching spinning circles for several minutes, it would finally give up and display the message “such and such a site is not responding.” Nonsense. The website is working just fine as I just loaded in with no problems on my phone and my main computer. What’s not responding is THIS laptop computer! I would try to type in another website. I like to follow professional golf, and I frequently visit pgatour.com. I open a second browser tab, type in www.pgatour.com, and the page WOULD NOT LOAD. EVER. It would eventually load an incomplete page and then display the “not responding” message and give me the option to “wait” or “exit.” Clicking on either of those did nothing. The browser would just simply lockup, and I’d have to start Task Manager to close it (and it took minutes for Task Manager to load!) I tried many times, but I could not get ANY web page to completely load. They would partly load, I’d get the endless spinning circles, and then it would give up with the “not responding” message. Even things that should be simple take forever. To get into Settings, I normally right click on the Start button and then click on “Settings” on the menu that pops up. This all happens in a matter of two or three seconds on a real computer. But on this one? It sometimes took 30 seconds just for the popup menu to actually pop up. When it finally did, and I clicked on Settings, it could take two or three minutes, MINUTES, for the settings page to load. What? All of this is completely unacceptable. For anything involving the internet, forget it. No checking email. No loading a browser and checking the sports scores or making a reservation at a local restaurant let alone working on whatever your job or your schoolwork or whatever requires you to do. Speaking of browsers, like some other new computers, this one comes preloaded with Windows 11 S, which is the “security conscious” version of Windows that only lets you use programs and apps that come from the Microsoft Store. So that means your only browser choice is Edge. I’ve nothing against Edge, but if you want to use Firefox or Chrome, forget it. The computer will pop up a message telling you that these programs are not from the Microsoft Store. Sort of like the opposite of the Hotel California, where you could famously enter but never leave, with Windows S, you CAN leave it and go to a regular version of Windows 11 Home, but you can’t go back to Windows S once you’ve done that. I would not be surprised to hear that almost no one with a Windows S computer stays with it for very long. The one area where this computer MIGHT have some utility is with local programs. It does come with Microsoft 365, so you have access to Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and a few others, and I was able to load those and use them without much problem. But this is not enough. You’re going to want internet access almost immediately, and this is where it falls flat on its face. It’s because of this partial usability that I give this computer two stars. They’re two very generous stars. I would not recommend this computer. Save up your spare change and get a better-equipped computer. My experience says that a minimum of 16 GB of RAM and a decent-speed processor are needed.

It's a interesting pc. For some reason Lenovo only put 4GB of ram in this machine. First sign of trouble. I like the look of the laptop and it weighs next to nothing, very lightweight so a student or casual user wouldn't have any issues carrying it around all day in school (I am assuming that is who Lenovo made this for).It has a nice set of ports that most laptops don't have for some reason. Love the way the keyboard and touchpad feel. When you first turn it on grab a snack. It is going to take a while before you actually can use the laptop. It ships with Windows 11S which I recommend getting rid of as soon as possible. Yes it is safer but hopefully you'll have some disciple when using your laptop on the web. If you are feeling brave just change the operating system to whatever Linux distro you like. I like the USB-C and A ports and the sdcard slot. The USB-C is for data only so don't get excited about being able to charge it via USB-C. The screen is okay for basic use. Hopefully you know that you are not going to be playing any AAA games on this unless you are using a service that lets you stream a game to your PC over the internet. Did I mention it's slow. The laptop is built very well and is solid so it has that going for it. Would I recommend buying this? If your budget is tight and you need something to do homework and browsing the web this will get you there. If it had 8GB of ram instead of 4 I would have no problem recommending this but as it is I don't think I would. There are better options out there.

Although slow in comparison to a lot of other lap tops, its small footprint, thin profile, ease of set up and daily use, and affordability (just a couple of hundred bucks) make this the perfect computer for travel and or for a pre-teen's first computer or a early teen's daily carried to school laptop. No matter the quality of speed of the WiFi this computer is slow if you are going to try and watch a movie, you'll have to set the picture quality on the lowest setting and still it will tend to buffer here and there. But this is perfect for Elementary School and Junior High School, various websites while surfing the general web, emails, etc. etc. etc. And the battery is decent enough with about 5 to 6 hours of run on the Internet and about 8 to 9 hours otherwise. I used it straight to write a monthly performance report on Word Doc for approximately 4 hours during a layover and afterward did emails for a couple of hours and then watched a t.v. show. So even though this laptop computer lacks speed and many features, for or the money this computer cannot be beat and we recommend this computer to family and friends.

First I want to be clear that this is a budget laptop and this review is based on that expectation and understanding. It would not be fair to judge this against my experience with very expensive devices. I do have a fair amount of experience with inexpensive laptops as well, and in that respect this machine has proven to be quite good. For the last couple of years I have routinely used a couple of Chromebooks that were right in the same price range as this laptop. I wanted to get a windows laptop to supplement or outright replace those, if it’s performance was up to the tasks I required. I got this laptop with a couple of expectations. First, as a “full” Windows machine I would have a much better compatibility with the programs I use daily, and greater compatibility across the board. I expected that the functionality would come at the cost of zippy boot-up and generally slower operation. I have been pleasantly surprised that the boot up process is just about the same as my inexpensive Chromebooks, and launching apps is very similar, without the compromises I have come to expect from Chrome/Android apps. In simple terms, I would say that this laptop is every bit as handy and usable as my older Chromebooks with the added features available on a Windows platform. Based on that alone this laptop can easily fill the limited role I have been expecting from the Chrome machines, but I will give a few more specifics about it. Out of the box setup was a much more lengthy process than I had hoped for. My recent experience with Windows machines has been that with so much tied to my Microsoft account, setup has been much easier and faster than with previous operating systems. Once I started the setup process for this laptop (on a fast internet connection) it took several hours of updates, reboots, updates and reboots before everything was ready to use. Probably not so much a hardware issue as an OS thing, but I feel that it is worth mentioning. There is a bit of bloatware installed, like every other device these days, and removing or shutting down some of that took a while as well. Again, this is to be expected with Windows, and pretty much every other device these days. In terms of the physical build of this laptop I was quite surprised how sturdy it is. Again, though 2 years old, the Chromebook model I have been using was right in the same price as this laptop. That device has a very plastic, almost toy-like look and feel. This Lenovo has a thin, but rigid metal top to the keyboard face as well as the back of the screen, and an overall more robust feel. It may not be a premium laptop, but it certainly feels like it is superior quality to my other compact laptops. Despite the fact that this is a larger laptop with its 14” screen compared to the 11” screen of the Chromebook, it weighs exactly 1oz more (2 pounds 14 ounces versus 2 pounds 13 ounces) which was extremely surprising to me given its much sturdier feel. I have found that the touchpad is very responsive and pleasantly clicky when pressed. While the larger form factor makes the spacing to the keyboard better and typing is fine, the keys are a bit squishy for my taste. They seem accurate enough though. The power button is on the top face, and it may be a silly thing, but it is where I prefer it. My expensive laptop has a switch on the side of the keyboard and I often accidentally hit it while positioning or just holding that laptop. The port selection is quite good for this scale and price of laptop with a USB-C,2 USBs (one on each side), 3.5mm audio jack, and an HDMI port. Having the HDMI is huge for me as my compact Chromebooks do not have that and I need to grab the HDMI-USBC dongle any time I need to test a video setup or run a presentation. The screen is just fine for everyday tasks, and again as it is larger than my older devices with much less bezel, and it is much better for my daily use. The internal speakers leave a lot to be desired with thin, tinny sound. They are clear through the full volume range, and they are essentially what you should expect from budget laptop speakers. Finally, the included webcam and mic are adequate. The camera seems better than the camera on my Chromebook, and far end video seemed to have slightly better definition and color, though it is still no where near a dedicated, separate cam and mic. The camera has a simple sliding shutter style camera cover for the privacy conscious. One design aspect that I didn’t notice right away is the slim, rubberized “support” that runs the width of the laptop toward the hinge side. This support does a very good job of providing clearance for the vents on the bottom when the laptop is placed on a flat surface and is much less noticeable than “feet” bumps. With its rubbery coating and fairly wide profile, it is excellent at keeping the laptop from sliding around on smooth surfaces like tables and counters. I found that the placement of this strip also fit naturally along my fingers while carrying the laptop, adding a measure of grip security that I like. One aspect of this laptop that especially impressed me was the battery. To test the battery life I threw on a series of YouTube concert videos playing full screen with audio at about 50% while I worked on emails on second screen connected to the HDMI output. When I started the test the battery was at 94%. Any time I stepped away I left the video/audio running. After 7 hours of this the battery stood at 33%. I have found that the battery drains very little when the laptop is closed down in standby mode, going from 33% to 31% in two days. In my experience, most of my laptops drain down more than this when not completely shut down. In addition to the good battery life, the power charges back up quite quickly. With the laptop still on and running I was able to reach full charge from 31% in about an hour and twenty minutes. That seems pretty good to me. Overall I would say that this is a solid choice for someone looking for an affordable and useful travel/backup/school laptop. It does basic things just fine, but don’t expect it to be a powerhouse. I have been using it daily since I got it for simple testing of network and AV systems as well as emails and remote access to networked systems and it has been just fine. In its market space I can see this as having some advantages over other platforms running different OSs. I can’t say how well it will hold up in the long run- the laptop I am replacing with this has been a solid performer for a couple of years- but for the immediate future I will be using it a lot.

I purchased this laptop in Open Box. Light weight, smaller screen size, and shorter keyboard. It worked well except its processor speed, kind of slow at the beginning which improved some after a few automatic software upgrades. If you are not a heavy online user, running multiple tasks simultaneously on it, it could be a good choice for you.

The first time I started writing a review for the Lenovo Ideapad 1 laptop, I did so from the point of view that it is a competitor with the many other laptops out there that are designed to be extremely fast, loaded down with memory, and able to deliver an amazing video experience. But this is not the purpose of this particular Lenovo. It is designed to give an affordable option to the legions of consumers out there who want nothing more than to check their email, stay in touch with friends and family, and stay on top of the news. Almost every day I talk to people who don't even own a computer or a laptop because they just cannot see spending a small fortune on something that is loaded with features they will never, ever use. And it is for those people that the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is the perfect choice. The Ideapad comes with a comparatively compact footprint...a 14" display. The unit is fairly lightweight, and "feels" durable. It utilizes an 80-key layout which is significantly smaller than the standard 106-key layout that you will find on many other laptops. Part of the difference is that the number pad has been eliminated. The Ideapad comes with a power cord and literature, nothing else. Inside, the Lenovo sports an Intel Celeron N4020 processor. 2023, according to sources, is the last year the Intel Celeron will be produced. The N4020 is a bit dated, and I can understand why Lenovo chose this for the lower-end Ideapad 1. Also on board is 4 GB DDR4-2400MHz memory, and 64 GB eMMC storage. It comes preloaded with Windows 11 Home in S mode 64 bit. If you're not familiar with what S mode, it is yet another Microsoft gimmick in which you are tethered to apps that are available only through the Microsoft store. It is possible to overcome this feature, but I think that for the purposes of most who will buy this laptop, this won't be necessary. The setup of the laptop was mind-bendingly slow. I had to actually check to make sure my internet connection was functioning properly! I once again had to remind myself that this is a purposely-designed budget model laptop with a very basic processor so trying to compare it to my other computers was not being fair. I will say this though, after going through the setup, I ran into several issues. Left-clicking the mouse froze the laptop up several times, Microsoft Edge took so long to open up that I had to do a hard shutdown (holding the power button down until the laptop turned off.) When I booted back up, the issues were still present, so I did a factory reset, and went through the setup once more. I will admit the setup took much less time for some reason. After going through all the normal signing-up here, signing-up there, the laptop was finally functioning properly (except for the mouse left-click issue...???) One more time, I reminded myself this is not a "Bugatti," and is not designed to perform like one. With that being said, programs open with the speed expected. For checking emails, checking out facebook, and even low-level videos, the Lenovo performed absolutely as expected. High-resolution photos took a bit to load, but YouTube videos wouldn't play at all. So what is my final takeaway? For what the Lenovo Ideapad 1 "is designed for," it functions exactly as expected. No frills, no high speed, no mega-storage, no ultra-fast video card... All of this comes at one of the lowest price points I have ever seen for a laptop (currently $129 at Best Buy.) Why then did I give it only a 4-Star rating? Even at an amazing budget price, I think it should have been field-tested a bit more so that issues like the mouse left-click issue could have been discovered and addressed. One last time, you have to remember the Lenovo Ideapad 1 is a purposely-tailored budget-minded laptop, geared for folks who don't need a laptop for anything than the most basic functions. With that in mind, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is looking for such a laptop and who do not want to spend a fortune.

But after a week I updated everything in the settings as instructed and it runs great now. No lag and the internet works great video quality is a solid B- but the computer was only 250 so it’s enough for me. It downloads and plays flash games easily and YouTube and Netflix works great with speed. P.S. I was disappointed with the laptop at first but then I found the settings where I needed to make like 7 updates and after about 2 hours of updates it runs great

This Lenovo Ideapad 1 is a 14.1 inch laptop with a grey plastic clamshell with the keyboard and back of the screen covered with a smooth silver finish. It conveys a business look while still giving a sense of ruggedness. Indeed, this held up to being tossed into a bag that was itself tossed into the backseat of our car and being stepped on when it wasn't noticed that it had slipped out of the bag and was laying on the rear floor mat. The laptop was surprisingly weighty for one with just a celeron processor and eMMC memory. It feels solid, like a regular laptop and boots into Windows. But after the initial setup process and connecting it to my wifi network which serves up my connection to gigabit internet services, a lot of flaws made themselves painstainkenly obvious. The first you'd notice is charging. For a laptop this size, in 2023, one would expect to be able to charge over USB-C. That's not the case here - you're using a power adapter with a barrel DC jack. It's a subtle thing, but a bit annoying that I couldn't just grab any one of the many USB-C cables plugged in around my house and actually had to fully unbox the Ideapad. Next, the browser is incredibly slow to load webpages. I checked several times with different laptops and my phone side by side - when navigating to a new website, the Ideapad is painfully slow, often seeming to do nothing while it load the page. Once pages are loaded, interaction seems to go well. I'm in fact writing this review using the Ideapad and this experience is fine. But getting to this page, that was painful. Maybe 20 years ago, this would not have been out of the ordinary. And to be fair, the last time I intentionally got a device with a celeron processor was about 20 years ago. But as it is, the behavior of the laptop in the present day makes it hard to use for general surfacing where you might open multiple tabs. And yes, don't actually do that. Because if one tab was slow enough, two was even worse. The 4GB of RAM must not be adequate to support any sort of multitasking. The second tab was often not loaded and waiting to be used when you switched over and this behavior carried out to almost any other interaction where you'd attempt to run two different things. Any two apps being open simultanouesly dramatically reduced the performance of the active one, assuming you used the in windowed mode. Or just things ran slowly if you had both in the foreground splitting the screen. I started thinking this could be a lightweight laptop with all day battery life that could be used for light web surfacing tasks in the living room where I'd want a full keyboard interface rather than twiddling thumbs on my phone. But after about 20 minutes of use, I had to give up. My phone is much better and frankly, I'm not even sure I'd want to give this laptop as-is to my kids to use. I feel they'd find the unpredictable slowness even more frustrating. I at least grew up through the period where computers had an actual excuse for sluggish performance. Assuming you could get past the issues with loading pages or apps and your use case is effectively just doing one thing at a time, the Ideapad still falls short in a couple areas. While the screen is decently bright, the DPI isn't that great. It's just not a sharp display and the color reproduction is muted, perhaps biased a bit more towards the blue side of the spectrum. Sound quality from the speakers wasn't good either. Pretty basic, a lot of vibration within the frame of the laptop, one's just better off using the headphone output. What this laptop gets right are inputs and outputs (two regular USB connectors, one USB-C, HDMI, and SD card - plus the previously mentioned headphone out) and the keyboard. The keyboard is well spaced, has surprisingly good travel and feel, and generally was pretty nice to use writing this review and throughout the other things I was doing putting the laptop through it's paces. I could see this being great for someone doing a lot of writing - you load up Word or whatever you're going to use and once that happens go to town, maybe very intermittently looking up a thing or two in a web browser, then continuing on. I suspect as a chromebook, this would do pretty well and I'm hopeful I can complete the conversion soon.