Dell Latitude 7490 Repair

The Latitude 7490 is a business laptop released by Dell in 2018. It has a 14-inch screen with a resolution of either 1366x1768 pixels or 1920x1080 pixels. Some configurations of this laptop use a carbon fiber LCD lid, which is reserved for machines with the “thin” IR camera. The magnesium lid is used on units with a “standard” (non-IR) webcam. Like the 7480, the back of the display on the 7490 has a dimpled texture and a silver DELL logo in the middle, although the “thin” logo is present on the 7490 instead of the “thick” logo Dell has used for years. The keyboard with its characters printed in white and blue (for secondary functions like the numpad) has a trackpoint in the center and three separate left, middle, and right click buttons for your thumbs just above the trackpad. The system can be configured with a fingerprint reader by the left edge of the keyboard for authentication. Charging can be done with a dedicated AC power adapter or USB-C power delivery.
Fingerprint reader note: This feature is not common on most secondhand machines, and requires a palmrest to add due to how Dell “deleted” it from non-factory spec fingerprint reader machines. Buy it with one, or be prepared to gut the unit to add it.

Internally, the 7490 uses a 7th- or 8th-generation Intel Core processors. The graphics are provided by the CPU integrated Intel HD (7th gen)/UHD (8th gen) Graphics. Most components in the machine are replaceable once you remove the screws on the bottom cover, including the battery, M.2 SSD, wireless card and two slotted memory sticks (DDR4). While you need to remove the motherboard to replace the keyboard, it can still be done. The 7490 also has a modular power jack, which gives it a nice reliability boost (the competing ThinkPad T480 which can only take power via USB-C which is soldered to the motherboard). You can find excellent disassembly instructions for the machine in the Latitude 7490 owner’s manual.

You can identify this laptop by the “thin” Dell logo, or looking on the bottom side for the model name “Latitude 7490.” You can also find a sticker here containing the service tag and service code (a.k.a. serial number) which you can enter on the Dell support website for complete information about your machine.

Processor

• 7th-generation Intel Core processor
  • Configurable up to a Core i5
• 8th-generation Intel Core processor
  • Configurable up to a to Core i7

Memory

• Up to 32 GB
• 2 SO-DIMM slots
• 7th-gen. processor: DDR4 at 2133 MHz (2400 MHz memory will be capped at 2133 MHz)
• 8th-gen. processor: DDR4 at 2400 MHz

Storage

• 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD
  • M.2 form factor
  • SATA (M.2 AHCI) or NVMe (PCIe)
    • compatible with both SSDs even if yours shipped with the M.2 AHCI SSD.

Graphics

• Intel HD Graphics 620 (7th gen)
• Intel UHD Graphics 620 (8th gen)

Display

• 14 inches (35.6 cm) on the diagonal
• 1366x768 or 1920x1080 pixels

Connections

• Three USB Type-A 3.0 ports
• USB Type-C port (Optional Thunderbolt 3, all models support DisplayPort)
• HDMI 1.4 port
• Ethernet port
• Smart Card slot (optional)
  • Add-on warning: Requires replacement palmrest, SC reader (if not included with palmrest), USH and flex cable. Some of these boards may have FIPS mode enabled, which tends to be a permanent switch with Dell laptops.
• microSD card reader
• 3.5 mm headphone/microphone combo jack

Wireless

• 802.11ac Wi-Fi (2x2)
• Bluetooth 4.1 or 4.2
• (Optional) SIM card slot and cellular capability
  • SECONDHAND MARKET WARNING: Units with the dummy SIM tray (these can be identified by a lack of SIM eject hole) require a LCD lid with the cellular antenna to properly utilize the WWAN slot.

Dell Latitude on Wikipedia

Dell Latitude 7490 product page

Dell Latitude 7490 official support page

Latitude 7490 user’s manual

Dell Latitude 7290, 7390, and 7490 specifications sheet

Dell Latitude 7490 on Amazon

PC Mag review of the Dell Latitude 7490

NotebookCheck review of the Dell Latitude 7490