Retrofit WWAN on T61P (6457-5KG)

[michaelandsimon]

Hello everybody,

I have a T61P today (6457-5KG), which I am very happy with. What I am thinking about now is if it would be possible to upgrade my T61P with an WWAN card?

If so, which combinations of wwan card, antenna and sim-card reader would you recommend? I live in Sweden, so it is important that it supports european networks.

Also, do I need an antenna or does the T61P come with an preinstalled antenna?

Ideally, I would like to use the ericsson card F3507G, but from what I've understood this card is blocked by lenovo for the T61 - which is a big negative.

Any help is appreciated!

/ Michael

[iwishiwasinwhistler]

If you'd like to use the ericsson f3507g it's not really a problem if you're willing to reflash your BIOS with a non lenovo one from middleton. You'll find the new BIOS downloadable here...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... ost6501443

....make sure you choose the correct one for your model. This will remove the lenovo whitelist in your T61p and you'll have a wider choice of compatible cards (they don't even need to be lenovo branded ones). I understand some users have also had great results with the Sierra cards. I use this BIOS in my T61 and X61 and it works great. In fact I use the f3507g in my x61 and it's been flawless. However if updating your BIOS is new to you then please do read around, including that thread, to familiarize yourself with the process and the risks and benefits. It's best to go into it with your eyes open.

As for the rest of the hardware, yes you'll most likely need to install the antennas too but I'm hoping that one of the forum members with a better understanding will chip in here............

[TuuS]

The WWAN antenna's are a very uncommon option on T61/T61p. There is also an optonal Sim card reader you can install, so to do a full install just like it was a factory option, you'd need the following...

WWAN card
Two WWAN antenna
Sim card reader
LED clear plate (required only if you want the wwan led light to work)

I've installed these on my T61p. I don't know if I have another set I'd be willing to part with, but I'm pretty sure you can use wifi antenna for wwan, and I have many of them (read as cheap), and I believe you can successfully install them in the palmrest area the laptop so you won't have a lot of work trying to get them into the lid assembly, so I'd say a bare minimum would be...

WWAN card
Two antenna

If you're interested in trying I could pull a couple antenna and send them to you, send me a PM if interested and we can work something out.

I'd also consider one of the PC-Card options. They are usually all-in-one construction so need no antenna and best of all, you can swap it between your computers as needed. I do like having internal wwan, but it does limit you to only one computer that can go online. Also consider that wwan is only half an internet connection. You're permanently firewalled, so you're going to have problems if you want to run any type of server, bittorrent client, VoIP, or some types of gaming. It's not nearly as good as a real internet connection.