/LegionToolkit

Lightweight replacement of Lenovo Vantage for Lenovo Legion laptops.

Primary LanguageC#GNU General Public License v3.0GPL-3.0

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Lenovo Legion Toolkit

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Lenovo Legion Toolkit (LLT) is a utility created for Lenovo Legion series laptops, that allows changing a couple of features that are only available in Lenovo Vantage or Legion Zone.

If your laptop is not part of Legion series, this software is not for you. Please do NOT open compatibility requests for other devices. Issues will be closed and not looked at!

It runs no background services, uses less memory, uses virtually no CPU, and contains no telemetry. Just like Lenovo Vantage, this application is Windows only.

 

Join the Legion Series Discord: https://discord.com/invite/legionseries!

If you are looking for a Vantage alternative that was made for Linux, check LenovoLegionLinux project.

 

Click here for more screenshots...
Keyboard Battery
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Custom Mode Custom Mode

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

The tool comes with no warranty. Use at your own risk.

Please be patient and read through this readme carefully - it contains important information.

Download

You can download the installer from the Releases page or install using winget:

winget install BartoszCichecki.LenovoLegionToolkit

Next steps

LLT works best when it's running in the background, so go to Settings and enable Autorun and Minimize on close. Next thing is to either disable Vantage and Hotkeys or just uninstall them. After that LLT will always run on startup and will take over all functions that were handled by Vantage and Hotkeys.

If you close LLT completely some functions will not work, like synchronizing power plans with current Power Mode or Actions.

Required drivers

If you installed LLT on a clean Windows install, make sure to have necessary drivers installed. If drivers are missing, some options might not be available. Especially make sure that these two are installed on your system:

  1. Lenovo Energy Management
  2. Lenovo Vantage Gaming Feature Driver

Problems with .NET?

If for whatever reason LLT installer did not setup .NET properly:

  1. Go to https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/6.0
  2. Find section ".NET Desktop Runtime"
  3. Download x64 Windows installer
  4. Run the installer

After following these steps, you can open Terminal and type: dotnet --info. In the output look for section .NET runtimes installed, in this section you should see something like:

Microsoft.NETCore.App 6.0.15 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.NETCore.App]

and

Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App 6.0.15 [C:\Program Files\dotnet\shared\Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App]

The exact version number can be different, but as long as it is 6.x.x it should be fine. If after these steps LLT still shows an error on startup that .NET couldn't be found or similar, the problem is on your machine and not with LLT.

Want to help with testing?

Join the Legion Series Discord and head to #legion-toolkit channel. Beta versions of future releases are posted there frequently!

Compatibility

Lenovo Legion Toolkit is made for Lenovo Legion laptops, and other similar laptops like Ideapad Gaming, LOQ and their Chinese variants.

Generations 6 (MY2021), 7 (MY2022) and 8 (MY2023) are supported, although some features also work on the 5th generation (MY2020).

If you are getting an incompatible message on startup, you can check the Contribution section down at the bottom, to see how can you help. Keep in mind, that not always I can make all options compatible with all hardware since I do not have access to it.

Support for other laptop that are not part of Legion series is not planned.

Lenovo's software

Overall the recommendation is to disable or uninstall Vantage, Hotkeys and Legion Zone while using LLT. There are some functions that cause conflicts or may not work properly when LLT is working along side other Lenovo apps.

Other remarks

LLT currently does not support installation for multiple users, so if you need to have multiple users on you laptop you might encounter issues. Same goes for accounts without Administrator rights - LLT needs an account with Administrator rights. If you install LLT on an account without such rights, LLT will not work properly.

Features

The app allows to:

  • Change settings like power mode, battery charging mode, etc. that are available only through Vantage.
  • Spectrum RGB, 4-zone RGB and White backlight keyboards support.
  • Deactivate discrete GPU (nVidia only).
  • View battery statistics.
  • Download software updates.
  • Define Actions that will run when the laptop is i.e. connected to AC power.
  • Disable/enable Lenovo Vantage, Legion Zone and Lenovo Hotkeys service without uninstalling it.
  • ... and more!

Custom Mode

Custom Mode is available on all devices that support it. You can find it in the Power Mode dropdown as it basically is 4th power mode and it allows for adjusting power limits and fans. Custom Mode can't be accessed with Fn+Q shortcut. Not all features of Custom Mode are supported by all devices.

If you have one of the following BIOSes:

  • G9CN (24 or higher)
  • GKCN (46 or higher)
  • H1CN (39 or higher)
  • HACN (31 or higher)
  • HHCN (20 or higher)

Make sure to update it to at least minimum version mentioned above for Custom Mode to function properly.

RGB and lighting

Both Spectrum per-key RGB and 4-zone RGB backlight is supported. Vantage and it's services need to be disabled to avoid conflicts when communicating with hardware. If you use other RGB apps that might conflict with LLT, check FAQ for solutions.

Other lighting features like both 1 and 3 level white keyboard backlight, panel logo and rear ports backlight are also supported, however there are some constraints:

  • GKCN54WW and lower - some lighting features are disabled due to a bug in these BIOS versions causing BSOD
  • some (mostly Gen 6) laptops models might not show all options - this is due misconfigured BIOS that doesn't report availability of these features

Lighting that required Corsair iCue is not supported by LLT.

Hybrid Mode and GPU Working Modes

There are two main way you can use your dGPU:

  1. Hybrid mode on - internal laptop display is connected to integrated GPU, discrete GPU will work when needed and power off when not in use, giving better battery life
  2. Hybrid mode off (aka dGPU) - internal laptop display is conenected directly to discreted GPU, giving best performance but also worst battery life

Switching between two modes requires restart.

On Gen 7 and 8 laptops, there are additional 2 settings for Hybrid mode:

  1. Hybrid iGPU-only - in this mode dGPU will be disconnected (think of it like ejecting USB drive), so there is no risk of it using power when you want to achieve best battery life
  2. Hybrid Auto - similar to the above, but tries to automate the process by automatically disconnecting dGPU on battery power and reconnecting it when you plug in AC adapter

Discrete GPU may not disconnect, and in most cases will not disconnect, when it is used. That includes apps using dGPU, external monitor connected and probably some other cases that aren't specified by Lenovo. If you use the "Deactivate GPU" option in LLT, make sure that it reports dGPU Powered Off and no external screens are connected, before switching between Hybrid Modes in case you encounter problems.

All above settings are using built in functions of the EC and how well they work relies on Lenovo's firmware implementation. From my observations, they are reliable, unless you start switching them frequently. Be patient, because changes to this methods are not instantanous. LLT also attempts to mitigate these issues, by disallowing frequent Hybrid Mode switching and additional attempts to wake dGPU if EC failed to do so. It may take up to 10 seconds for dGPU to reappear when switching to Hybrid Mode, in case EC failed to wake it.

If you encounter issues, you might try to try alternative, experimental method of handling GPU Working Mode - see Arguments section for more details.

These options are not Advanced Optimus and work separately from it.

Deactivate discrete nVidia GPU

Sometimes discrete GPU stays active even when it should not. This can happen for example, if you work with an external screen and you disconnect it - some processes will keep running on discrete GPU keeping it alive and shortening battery life.

There are two ways to help the GPU deactivate:

  1. killing all processes running on dGPU (this one seems to work better),
  2. disabling dGPU for a short amount of time, which will force all processes to move to the integrated GPU.

Deactivate button will be enabled when dGPU is active, you have Hybrid mode enabled and there are no screens connected to dGPU. If you hover over the button, you will see the current P state of dGPU and the list of processes running on it.

Keep in mind that some apps may not like this feature and crash when you deactivate dGPU.

Overclock discrete nVidia GPUs

The overclock option is intended for simple overclocking, similar to the one available in Vantage. It is not intended to replace tools like Afterburner. Here are some points to keep in mind:

  • Make sure GPU overclocking is enabled in BIOS, if your laptop has such option.
  • Overclocking does not work with Vantage or LegionZone running in the background.
  • It is not recommended to use the option while using other tools like Afterburner.
  • If you edited your Dashboard, you might need to add the control manually.

Windows Power Plans

Lenovo Legion Toolkit will automatically switch Windows power plans when Power Mode changes and when Lenovo Vantage is disabled.

On some laptops though, Lenovo Vantage never switched power plans. If you have one of the laptops where Lenovo Vantage does not change Windows power plans automatically you can override this behavior in Settings. This will allow Toolkit to always change Windows power plans, even if Lenovo Vantage is running in the background.

Laptops that have S0 Low Power mode enabled, also known as Modern Standby, do not work well with mutliple power plans, especially with performance power plans.

Donate

If you enjoy using the Lenovo Legion Toolkit, consider donating.

Donate with PayPal

PayPal QR code

Credits

Special thanks to:

Translations provided by:

Many thanks to everyone else, who monitors and corrects translations!

FAQ

Why do I get a message that Vantage is still running, even though I uninstalled it?

Starting from version 2.14.0, LLT is much more strict about detecting leftover processes related to Vantage. Vantage installs 3 components:

  1. Lenovo Vantage app
  2. Lenovo Vantage Service
  3. System Interface Foundation V2 Device

The easiest solution is to go into LLT settings and selection options to disable Lenovo Vantage, LegionZone and Hotkeys (only still installed ones are shown).

If you want to remove them instead, make sure that you uninstall all 3, otherwise some options in LLT will not be available. You can check Task Manager for any processes containing Vantage or ImController. You can also check this guide for more info: Uninstalling System Interface Foundation V2 Device, if you have troubles getting rid of ImController processes.

Why is my antivirus reporting that the installer contains a virus/trojan/malware?

LLT makes use of many low-level Windows APIs that can be falsely flagged by antiviruses as suspicious, resulting in a false-positive. LLT is open source and can easily be audited by anyone who has any doubts as to what this software does. All installers are built directly on GitHub with GitHub Actions, so that there is no doubt what they contain. This problem could be solved by signing all code, but I can't afford spending hundreds of dollars per year for an Extended Validation certificate.

If you downloaded the installer from this projects website, you shouldn't worry - the warning is a false-positive. That said, if you can help with resolving this issue, let's get in touch.

Can I customize hotkeys?

You can customize Fn+F9 hotkey in LLT settings. Other hotkeys can't be customized.

Can I customize fans in Quiet, Balance or Performance modes?

No, it isn't possible to customize how the fan works in power modes other than Custom.

Why can't I switch to Performance or Custom Power Mode on battery?

Starting with version 2.11.0, LLT's behavior was aligned with Vantage and Legion Zone and it does not allow using them without an appropriate power source.

If for whatever reason you want to use these modes on battery anyway, you can use --allow-all-power-modes-on-battery argument. Check Arguments section for more details.

Note that power limits and other settings are not applied correctly on most devices when laptop is not connected to full power AC adapter and unpredictable and weird behavior is expected. Therefore, no support is provided for issues related to using this argument.

Why does switching to Performance mode seem buggy, when AI Engine is enabled?

It seems that some BIOS versions indeed have weird issues when using Fn+Q. Only hope is to wait for Lenovo to fix it.

Why am I getting incompatible message after motherboard replacement?

Sometimes new motherboard does not contain correct model numbers and serial numbers. You should try this tutorial to try and recover them. If that method does not succeed, you can workaround it with --skip-compat-check argument. Check Arguments section for more details.

Why isn't a game detected, even though Actions are configured properly?

Game detection feature is built on top of Windows' game detection, meaning LLT will react to EXE files that Windows considers "a game". That also means that if you nuked Xbox Game Bar from your installation, there is 99.9% chance this feature will not work.

Windows probably doesn't recognize all games properly, but you can mark any program as game in Xbox Game Bar settings (Win+G). You can find list of recognized games in registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\System\GameConfigStore\Children.

Can I use other RGB software while using LLT?

In general yes. LLT will disable RGB controls when Vantage is running to avoid conflicts. If you use other RGB software like L5P-Keyboard-RGB or OpenRGB, you can disable RGB in LLT to avoid conflicts with --force-disable-rgbkb or --force-disable-spectrumkb argument. Check Arguments section for more details.

Will iCue RGB keyboards be supported?

No. Check out OpenRGB project.

Can I have more RGB effects?

Only options natively supported by hardware are available; adding support for custom effects is not planned. If you would like more customization check out L5P-Keyboard-RGB or OpenRGB.

Can you add fan control to other models?

Fan control is available on Gen 7 and later models. Older models will not be supported due to technical limitations.

Why don't I see the custom tooltip when I hover LLT icon in tray?

In Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft did plenty of changes to the tray, breaking a lot of things on the way. As a results custom tooltips not always work properly. Solution? Update your Windows and keep fingers crossed.

How can I OC/UV my CPU?

There are very good tools like Intel XTU (which is used by Vantage) or ThrottleStop made just for that.

What, if I overclocked my GPU too much?

If you end up in a situation where your GPU is not stable and you can't boot into Windows, there are two things you can do:

  1. Go into BIOS and try to find and option similar to "Enabled GPU Overclocking" and disable it, start Windows, and toggle the BIOS option again to Enabled.
  2. Start Windows in Safe Mode, and delete gpu_oc.json file under LLT settings, which are located in "%LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit.

Which generation is my laptop?

Check the model number. Example model numbers are 16ACH6H or 16IAX7. The last number of the model number indicates generation.

Arguments

Some, less frequently needed, features or options can be enabled by using additional arguments. These arguments can either be passed as parameters or added to args.txt file.

  • --trace - enables logging to %LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit\log
  • --minimized - starts LLT minimized to tray
  • --skip-compat-check - disables compatibility check on startup (No support is provided when this argument is used)
  • --disable-tray-tooltip - disables tray tooltip that is shown when you hover the cursors over tray icon
  • --allow-all-power-modes-on-battery - allows using all Power Modes without AC adapter (No support is provided when this argument is used)
  • --force-disable-rgbkb - disables all lighting features for 4-zone RGB keyboards
  • --force-disable-spectrumkb - disables all lighting features for Spectrum per-key RGB keyboards
  • --force-disable-lenovolighting - disables all lighting features related to panel logo, ports backlight and some white backlit keyboards
  • --experimental-gpu-working-mode - changes GPU Working Mode switch to use experimental method, that is used by LegionZone (No support is provided when this argument is used)

If you decide to use the arguments with args.txt file:

  1. Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit
  2. Create or edit args.txt file in there
  3. Paste one argument per line
  4. Start LLT

Arguments not listed above are no longer needed or available.

How to collect logs?

In all troubleshooting situations, logs provide important information. Always attach logs to your issues. Critical error logs are saved automatically and saved under "%LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit\log".

To collect logs:

  1. Make sure that Lenovo Legion Toolkit is not running (also gone from tray area).
  2. Open Run (Win+R) and type there: "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\LenovoLegionToolkit\Lenovo Legion Toolkit.exe" --trace and hit OK
  3. LLT will start and in the title bar you should see: [LOGGING ENABLED]
  4. Reproduce the issue you have (i.e. try to use the option that causes issues)
  5. Close LLT (also make sure it's gone from tray area)
  6. Again, in Run (Win+R) type "%LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit\log"
  7. You should see at least one file. Theses are the logs you should attach to the issue.

Contribution

I appreciate any feedback that you have, so please do not hesitate to report issues. Pull Requests are also welcome, but make sure to check out CONTRIBUTING.md first!

Translation

Crowdin has been selected as the tool for handling translations. If you want to contribute, go to https://crowdin.com/project/llt and request access.

Bugs

If you find any bugs in the app, please report them. Always attach logs to your issues. You can find logs in %LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit\log.

Compatibility

It would be great to expand the list of compatible devices, but to do it your help is needed!

If you are willing to check if this app works correctly on your device that is currently unsupported, click Continue on the popup you saw on startup. Lenovo Legion Toolkit will start logging automatically so you can submit them if anything goes wrong.

Remember that some functions may not function properly, so keep this in mind.

I would appreciate it, if you create an issue here on GitHub with the results of your testing.

Make sure to include the following information in your issue:

  1. Full model name (i.e. Legion 5 Pro 16ACH6H)
  2. List of features that are working as expected.
  3. List of features that seem to not work.
  4. List of features that crash the app.

The more info you add, the better the app will get over time. If anything seems off, write down precisely what was wrong and attach logs (%LOCALAPPDATA%\LenovoLegionToolkit\log).

Thanks in advance!