Last week i bought a used thinkpad T14, Gen 2 (product nr: 20XLS3BX00, Ryzen 7 pro is still a beast, 2022 model) from a friend of mine. Today, i started exploring it with the Lenovo Vantage utility, i updated the bios firmware i was ready to wipe out the ssd with Win11 and install EnOS. But before i entered the bios setup, i saw a popup warning msg from Absolute Persistence module, clicked OK and proceed to the bios setup menu, everything is ok (SecureBoot is OFF) only the AP module in security settings is enabled and activated.
Can i use this laptop with Arch, EnOS only? (No dual boot)
Other than that, laptop looks like brand new and never used before!
Did you check if there is a different BIOS available for your Lenovo, because this could be working on all Lenovo devices , but I don’t know never heard of this before.
Shouldn’t be a problem. I see the Bios update for this machine if i have the correct one is ending in W which means it includes the absolute persistence. If the Bios file ends in P it means it is removed. But I don’t think that is necessary and I don’t see the P version.
Edit: It’s usually enabled but not activated.
Edit: Installing a P-version BIOS is generally considered irreversible, meaning you cannot return to the “W” (with Absolute) version.
To Disable: Enter BIOS setup (usually by pressing F1 or F2 during boot), go to Security > Absolute Persistence Module, and select Permanently Disabled, then save and exit (F10).
Permanent: Once permanently disabled in the BIOS, it generally cannot be re-enabled.
I forgot to add that "AP module in security settings is enabled and activated” …and greyed out. So, i have no option to change it cause it’s a corporate device as the seller told me. I sent an email to Absolute support with all the details, Product Nr, Serial, etc to unlock and unlink it remotely. No reply yet. Seems that AP module works only in Windows machines so far.
I’m not sure that it really matters. I don’t see another Bios that ends in P that will remove it. Maybe you can get that from lenovo and just flash it with the Bios ending in P and it will be gone.
The reply from Absolute was really quick! Here it is:
This device XXXXXXX (Serial nr) is already disabled. So now please restart the device and make sure the device is connected to a wired network, has an O.S Windows 10/11 installed, at least 24 hours to completely remove. Then the rpcnet on Task Manager should be removed.
Thank you,
Khoa Nguyen
Technical Support
Absolute
Case: 0076xxxxxxx
Status: Awaiting Customer Response
Severity: 3 - Standard
Now i have to wait for at least 24 hours to see if it’s removed!
I think there is some misunderstanding here. The device was removed from Absolute which would show it being removed from Windows in the task manager. Do you still have Windows on it? Absolute Persistence is part of the Bios file that allows the device to be registered. So maybe I misunderstood what you were trying to accomplish. It sounds like you just wanted the device unregistered from absolute since it was previously set up this way.
Exactly, bios firmware will be intact (Aug 2025). Besides the removal of Windows Absolute agent (rpcnet.exe), in security settings→ AP module→ i will have the option to set it to “Permantly disabled” (now it’s greyed out and activated) .
Still waiting though, nothing happened so far.
Let’s say tomorrow AP module will be unlocked (that’s why windows 11 is needed), I’ll go on with EnOS installation. Lenovo uploads bios firmware to LVFS portal, so i’ll have no issues for future bios updates, https://fwupd.org/lvfs/devices/com.lenovo.ThinkPadR1MET.firmware
Lenovo ThinkPad T14/P14s Gen 2 AMD System Firmware R1MET62W, Version 1.32, see the W at the end, “Contains Absolute Computrace Agent”.
On the other hand, some users report that once the APmodule is PermantlyDisabled and run the official lenovo bios update utility (Windows only) they get the Non Absolute Computrace Agent firmware with the P at the end. That’s what i want to achieve
No but I understood what you were trying to achieve. I just didn’t see the P version of the Bios on the site. I thought maybe you had to ask for it specifically and they had it available on another web page. I was thinking you could just flash with the new Bios and it would be gone not having to worry about disabling it because the new Bios wouldn’t have it? But Maybe I guess it doesn’t work that way.
@HuskerDu
I do have two Lenovo laptops. I just flashed a new Bios onto the K14 which is under the Thinkpad banner. It does have the Absolute Persistence settings in the Bios but has never been enabled. My other Lenovo Thinkbook may have it also but I’ll have to check on that one too. I don’t use these laptops often. Mostly I use my desktops.
After 48 hours with thinkpad eth connected to internet nothing changed. I emailed to support again, they replied in a few hours with the final steps,
Now please run a force call (as below screenshot) - → reboot → force call → reboot → force call.
including the AbtPS_SDK_1.3 files, in terminal as admin i run,
AbtPS.exe -startCall
AbtPS.exe -isCalling
reboot
…and boom! rpcnet is not running in task manager and in bios setup now the AbsolutePersistence module is “Disabled” and have the option to “Permantly Disabled” available!
In case that i need Win11 in future, i dual boot for now with systemd boot loader, i only noticed that the default EFI partition is 2G in Calamares installer, i think it was 1G before.
