Thinkpads Forum

Hi!

Good old 1802 error after adding a non-fru wifi card to M73 Tiny. Is there any workaround to it?

Best regards

M73 has an UEFI BIOS.
No known workarounds, unfortunately.

That's lovely. I have managed to swap CPU and RAM, but for some reason the wifi card switch is still traditionaly restricted The UEFI BIOS feature seems to be a recent update - http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/ds038325 - 30 january released. At the moment I'm still on regular BIOS.

I'm curious if this card will aslo fit to M73 Tiny - link to ebay

M73 has had an UEFI Bios from day 1.
If that card is not on the Whitelist, it almost certainly won't work.

I've done some research to find the whitelisted wifi cards. So far I know the models - Intel 105, Intel 2230, N7260, N6235, BCM4352 - are supported. But I'm having difficult time in determing their FRU numbers. My desktop is type 10AX.

This most recent documented parts list (for machine type 10AX, 10AY) - link to pdf - shows BCM4352 with a FRU of 03T7135.

EDIT:
Intel 105 FRU: 04W3772
Intel 2230 FRU: 04W3765
Intel N7260 -
Intel N6235 FRU: 04W3777
Broadcom BCM4352 FRU: 03T7135

Anyone knows the FRU of 7260 model?

04X6010 is the 7260AC whitelisted in the M73.   this is the updated FRU with the magic packet wake fix.

The AC version of 7260 seems to be on the 10DM type machines. Google states thaht Thinkpad Yogas have the same card. Seems to be quite rare card. There's also Realtek RTL8723BE (Wi-Fi/BT 4.0, 1x1) cards on the whitelist.

here in the US the 7260AC is a CTO option on the sales site for the M73 tiny so it's safe to say that all M73 machine types use the same FRU.   there's a chance that the current FRU from thinkpads might work but i don't know if the device IDs are the same.

Indeed, compatibility won't be a issue between different machine types. Ordered anyway N6235 04W3777 from ebay for 26$.

Allstar wrote:Indeed, compatibility won't be a issue between different machine types. Ordered anyway N6235 04W3777 from ebay for 26$.

Hi, just curious if that 6235 card off eBay worked for you? if so, can you post a link?
Thanks!

Yes, the wifi card and bluetooth are both working great. Here's the link to ebay.

Better late than never, eh?

• Install the official FHJY79USA update first!
• Using, for example, a CH341A programmer and AsProgrammer, connect another computer to the firmware chip (in the area between the clock battery and the miniPCIexpress slot, there's room for three 8-pin chips, of which two are fitted - it's the leftmost one, "25Q064...")
• After selecting the chip in the programmer software (which for whatever reason was listed as N25...), create three backups (read, then save), and compare them with a hex editor to ensure they're equal (reasonably proving a good connection)
• Open one of the backups in a hex editor, and also the patched EFI: you will see that the latter begins with 16 bytes (by default, one line) of zeros, then a sequence of data, then another 16 bytes of zeros: select the first 7 bytes or so of the 2nd line, then search for them (as hexadecimal) in the full backup
• Copy and overwrite-paste (ctrl+B if you're using HxD) everything from my file over the one you dumped; if done right, the file would remain the same size, but with my file extending until the end (displayed in red, for being unsaved changes, in HxD)
• Save and close the file, open in in AsProgrammer, then erase-write-verify the chip (you can do this one-click via the dropdown on the write button - it will take 10+ minutes)
• I recommend doing a factory reset (by putting the 3-pin jumper between the front of the system and the CPU towards the front, powering up the computer - after unplugging the programmer! - until it starts making pairs of beeps, then removing it and putting it back in the 1-2 position... or on the undocumented pair of pins on the left if you want to disable Intel ME)

And so I managed to get my ath9k wireless card from an Asus EEE 1005HA to "work"... (quotes used because range is extremely poor without an external antenna, and because my ultimate goal is to get Bluetooth, which this card doesn't by itself provide, though now of course I can buy any one which has it)

Good luck!

And keep those backups!!

Hmm, I just tried Intel AC 7260 which supposedly is on the list, but it pops out the whitelist error. Does it has to be a specific 7260 card?
I also went for the newest BIOS, yet still

Jake.Werecat wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:32 pm

Hmm, I just tried Intel AC 7260 which supposedly is on the list, but it pops out the whitelist error. Does it has to be a specific 7260 card?
I also went for the newest BIOS, yet still

Code: Select all

1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power off and remove the miniPCI network card.

It should be a specific card that either came with the M73, or listed as an optional component in official document.

The BIOS whitelist works by checking not only the vendor and device PCI IDs, but also the subsystem ID.

The 7260 has a vendor ID of 8086 (Intel) and device ID of 08b2.

All 7260s will have the same vendor and device IDs, but a 7260AC for Dell will have a different subsystem ID from a 7260 for Thinkpads.
That's why it's best to use FRU numbers when searching, because that generally ensures that the search results are for items that have a very very good chance of passing the BIOS whitelist.

That's what I thought, my AC7260 cards came exactly out of Dell. Searching by FRU is a good advice, though I already have 3 of those 7260 laying around with no purpose, so it was reasonable to try. Pity to leave them useless, and buy yet another one.
Interesting though, that when I was upgrading my T430 to N6300 I just got a random N6300 from eBay and it worked no problem.

Jake.Werecat wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 13, 2022 1:55 am

Interesting though, that when I was upgrading my T430 to N6300 I just got a random N6300 from eBay and it worked no problem.

Maybe you got lucky and received one that came from a Thinkpad.

I was pretty positively surprised that I manged to sell all my Dell 7260 cards on eBay, better this way then keeping them collecting dust in a drawer. I'm now to there other half of the task - buying a new one. But I'm browsing the FRU list, and see no AC7260 (FRU 04X6010) on the list.

Anyone aware if it's really supported?
btw. those descriptions: Canyon Peak, Intel JP2 etc. are anything but helpful...

This one has all the parts you need & claims to be compatible: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/114698775737

Thank You, but I'm rather looking for compatibility confirmation somewhere in documentation, than parts source.

If the FRU on RBS link is correct (04X6010) then Lenovo seems to state that it's compatible with M73-10AX
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/dk/en/prod ... compatible

Edit: sorry that link is for the M73-10AX desktop? ..weird can't seem to find the Tiny version of that model no. on he support site. I'll take another look
Edit2: It only allows me to view the desktop version (and also states that it comes in multiple form factors), the compatibility is likely correct, but you could try entering your M73 Tiny serial no. on that page then see if the result is not the same?

Enig wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:48 am

If the FRU on RBS link is correct (04X6010) then Lenovo seems to state that it's compatible with M73-10AX
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/dk/en/prod ... compatible

Edit: sorry that link is for the M73-10AX desktop? ..weird can't seem to find the Tiny version of that model no. on he support site. I'll take another look
Edit2: It only allows me to view the desktop version (and also states that it comes in multiple form factors), the compatibility is likely correct, but you could try entering your M73 Tiny serial no. on that page then see if the result is not the same?

O, thanks! I'm wondering why there's a discrepancy between those two sources, I guess it's just that the 7260 was added at some point, and FRU list in *.pdf was not updated by Lenovo. Anyway, my doubt is resolved.

Dunno, but You may be correct, bios update text file indicates that they added wifi cards along the way.
Ofc they don’t specify what cards :/

I managed to purchase a Intel 7260 with FRU 04X6011 in decend price, and have it already installed in my M73. I do confirm, that it's supported, no 1802 error, and it works fine. I also bought a pigtail for external antenna on eBay, one last thing remaining is improvising the 2nd, internal antenna, as the original one (FRU 54Y9397) seems nowhere to be available.

My aunt's desktop (HP Prodesk 400 G5 SFF) didn't come with a WiFi card and antennas. Fortunately I had some dead laptops that were recent enough to have M.2 WiFi cards, and took their antennas as well. The service manual showed me where the WiFi antenna should have been, and I simply used some mounting tape to hold the antenna in place. Good thing the antenna cable was long enough (the dead laptop had a 14" screen).

Seems like the Prodesk doesn't have a whitelist, as the WiFi card I installed came from a Lenovo laptop.

Yea, that's my idea as well. To retrofit a notebook antenna or maybe an universal 2.4/5GHz antenna.
AFAIK, Intel 7260 uses secondary antenna connector mostly, if not only for Bluetooth, so it should not be that critically important performance-wise if it's the original one or not.
Dell or HP system are whitelist free, it seems that it's only Lenovo who likes making our lives harder.

Jake.Werecat wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 15, 2022 4:40 am

Yea, that's my idea as well. To retrofit a notebook antenna or maybe an universal 2.4/5GHz antenna.

Laptops with dual-band WiFi cards have universal antennas-- Thinkpads as early as the T61 had them. The main difference with the newer (M.2 form factor) cards is the smaller antenna connector, which rules out reusing antennas from older Thinkpads unless you buy an adapter cable-- though IIRC using an adapter cable slightly worsens WiFi reception due to signal losses through the added connection points.

M73/M93 uses mPCIe cards with standard U.FL (IPX) connectors. Same as seen in T60/T61/T400/410/420/430 series. Not the M2 with MHF4.

I see. In that case, start digging through your box of spare Thinkpad parts--I'm assuming folks in this forum have one... or more.

Ryccardo wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:00 pm

Better late than never, eh?

• Install the official FHJY79USA update first!
• Using, for example, a CH341A programmer and AsProgrammer, connect another computer to the firmware chip (in the area between the clock battery and the miniPCIexpress slot, there's room for three 8-pin chips, of which two are fitted - it's the leftmost one, "25Q064...")
• After selecting the chip in the programmer software (which for whatever reason was listed as N25...), create three backups (read, then save), and compare them with a hex editor to ensure they're equal (reasonably proving a good connection)
• Open one of the backups in a hex editor, and also the patched EFI: you will see that the latter begins with 16 bytes (by default, one line) of zeros, then a sequence of data, then another 16 bytes of zeros: select the first 7 bytes or so of the 2nd line, then search for them (as hexadecimal) in the full backup
• Copy and overwrite-paste (ctrl+B if you're using HxD) everything from my file over the one you dumped; if done right, the file would remain the same size, but with my file extending until the end (displayed in red, for being unsaved changes, in HxD)
• Save and close the file, open in in AsProgrammer, then erase-write-verify the chip (you can do this one-click via the dropdown on the write button - it will take 10+ minutes)
• I recommend doing a factory reset (by putting the 3-pin jumper between the front of the system and the CPU towards the front, powering up the computer - after unplugging the programmer! - until it starts making pairs of beeps, then removing it and putting it back in the 1-2 position... or on the undocumented pair of pins on the left if you want to disable Intel ME)

And so I managed to get my ath9k wireless card from an Asus EEE 1005HA to "work"... (quotes used because range is extremely poor without an external antenna, and because my ultimate goal is to get Bluetooth, which this card doesn't by itself provide, though now of course I can buy any one which has it)

Good luck!

And keep those backups!!

I'd just like to say thank you for this, I was able to follow these instructions and it works flawlessly, this is everything a guide should be, clear and to the point. Without this I think I'd probably have left my m73 in a drawer while I worked out an alternative that let me use this specific mPCIe card.

A few things I came across in the process:

• If you need to install Windows to run the BIOS update tool, I recommend W10, I had driver issues installing W7. Remember to run command prompt as admin when you use the tool!
• FHJY79USA is no longer listed on the download page, as far as I could find. The file is still there though, a little bit of URL manipulation does wonders (https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/thin ... y79usa.exe)
• My BIOS chip is of the type "25L6473E", wasn't a problem at all
• The modified ROM should be copied into the dumped firmware at offset 0x180000 (saves time if you have to write a script like me, couldn't find a hex editor that'd play nice, linux woes)
• I used the tool flashrom, and would recommend it thoroughly if you're doing the flashing from linux, very straightforward