802.11ac in Thinkpad T61, T61p or R61 ?

[MaxRoy77]

There is a new 802.11ac wireless adapter mini-PCIe availabe by Intel ~30$

Intel 7260HMW IEEE 802.11AC, dual-band, 2x2 Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PCI Express combo Adapter - 867 Mbps+300Mbps

For us who have the Middleton bios, can we install this one in the Thinkpad T61, T61p or R61 ?

Thanks in advance

[RealBlackStuff]

The wifi-part: YES
the BlueTooth part: most likely NO, but maybe/hopefully I'm wrong.
You'd really need to add a 3rd antenna in the lid, to get full benefits.

[MaxRoy77]

Thanks for the reply !

You'd really need to add a 3rd antenna in the lid, to get full benefits.

Well the T61p already has 3 antennas, right ? So it would be plug n' play ?

T61 and R61 no, is there a guide on how to install a 3rd antenna somewhere ?

[ajkula66]

Not all T61p units have 3 antennae, but some of R/T61 machines have them as well.

[MaxRoy77]

Not all T61p units have 3 antennae, but some of R/T61 machines have them as well.

Ok , thanks for the friendly reminder .

[ansible212]

The wifi-part: YES
the BlueTooth part: most likely NO, but maybe/hopefully I'm wrong.
You'd really need to add a 3rd antenna in the lid, to get full benefits.

I've upgraded both my X200s and X220 with this Intel adapter. It only has capacity for two antennae so the third antenna won't make any difference.

Bluetooth works on both machines, although Fn+F5 only turns Bluetooth on and off on the X220 (and then only with the ThinkPad Bluetooth adapter fitted). I have to use the Intel utility on the X200s to do turn Bluetooth on and off.

I found the best way to get both working was to use the drivers from the Intel website as results with Lenovo sourced-drivers was temperamental:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Search ... ss-AC+7260

(The ThinkPad Bluetooth adapter has to be disabled when the Intel driver is installed. The two do not appear to coexist.)

Chances are, therefore, that Bluetooth will work on other models as well...

Update: I don't seem to be able to connect devices using the latest Intel drivers (17.01.1401.03 - devices pair but then won't connect) and it looks like at least one of the drivers aren't being installed properly (Bluetooth Audio), so I have reverted to the previous version (3.1.1311) which work OK.

[MaxRoy77]

^ Thanks for the reply

Would you please share with us your WIFI average connection speed to your rooter ? in Mbps ?

For exemple on my 802.11n mini PCIe upgraded T61s and 802.11n only router I have 144 Mbps when the theorical max speed of 802.11n is actually 600Mpbs

Thanks

[ansible212]

I'm away from home at the moment so will update this with some actual figures when I'm back.

However, from memory I get something like 766 Mbp/s in the same room as the router, dropping to 166 Mbp/s around 20 feet away through two walls where I struggled to get a connection previously - this could be due to the router, however (Asus RT-AC68U).

[Boy2006]

my T61 have 3 Wifi Antennas and there is an Antenna Kit who have 3 Wifi Antennas to.

[MaxRoy77]

I'm away from home at the moment so will update this with some actual figures when I'm back.

Any data to share for us ?

[RMSMajestic]

Does Fn+F5 work?

[ansible212]

Yes, on my X220 as long as the Lenovo Bluetooth adapter is installed. The Bluetooth LED lights as well.

No, on the X201s (you have to turn the radio on or off using the Bluetooth utility in the System Tray which essentially just disables the adapter in Device Manager). I can't recall if the Bluetooth LED lights up.