Remove change Verizon EV-DO with Cingular UMTS possible?

[fahim]

Hi,
I did just bought a T60 with verizon ev-do card. In germany there is no ev-do, so I wanted to ask if it is easily possible to change the verizon with a cingular umts card? Does anybody know if both cards use the same antenna and which parts has to be changed? Does it safe much battery if I remove the ev-do card because I have no use for this card within germany.

Thanks

[bontistic]

Hi Fahim,

Welcome to the forums.

Yes it is easy to change. You just need to remove 5 screws at the bottom of your T60 marked with the keyboard icon. Then 2 more screws holding the WWAN card.

See the T60/p movie matrix herefor more help.

Yes they use the same antenna except that you will leave the auxiliary cable (blue) open or disconnected. Make sure you cover this with tape or another insulator to avoid short circuiting with the motherboard or other components. Only the red antenna cable will be used for UMTS.

There is a disable feature in BIOS so you don't need to go through the hassle of removing the card yourself.

Enter BIOS setup page by pressing F1 after power on > select Config > Network > Internal Wireless WAN Device > change from Enabled to Disabled.

You can see the T60 BIOS simulator here.

[sugo]

bontistic, I wonder if you have seen a T60 that was actually modded from EV-DO to a working UMTS?

My X60s comes with EV-DO and a SIM card slot but it's not clear if there is anything hidden that will prevent the mod from working properly.

[fahim]

Thank you very much for this fast and good described reply.
In germany we need a sim slot for using UMTS. Do you know if although T60 notebook with verizon has this slot? And how does this slot work with the miniPCI?

THank you very much...

EDIT: One more question: I looked at the T60 HMM but can't find any UMTS or EV-DO card there. Does anybody know where I can get such miniPCI cards? Thanks a lot

[EOMtp]

In germany we need a sim slot for using UMTS. Do you know if although T60 notebook with verizon has this slot? And how does this slot work with the miniPCI?

The SIM card slot is accessible from underneath the notebook, after removing the battery. The SIM card holder FRU #41W1353 is not present on machines with Verizon WWAN, but can be added easily after removing the keyboard.

[sugo]

fahim,

Since you are in Europe you want the 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA. The HMM lists FRU 42T0835 Sierra Wireless MC8755 PCI Express MiniCard. I saw there are a few more FRUs for the same card locked to Vodafone.

[fahim]

fahim,

Since you are in Europe you want the 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA. The HMM lists FRU 42T0835 Sierra Wireless MC8755 PCI Express MiniCard. I saw there are a few more FRUs for the same card locked to Vodafone.

Thanks for the FRU. 400 Euro for only this part + TAX... thats unbelieveable

So I have to wait until somebody want to sell his umts card.
Thanks

[sugo]

Yes it's unreasonably expensive. I gave up on the internal UMTS idea long time ago and got a Sierra Wireless 850 HSDPA pcmcia card instead for my EV-DO X60s. With the antenna removed, the card has zero protrusion. The 3G Watcher program is a joy to use.

[bontistic]

Sugo,

I cannot recall exactly but I remember that there are some models with some functions particularly disabled. But I have seen T60 changed from EVDO to UMTS and HSDPA and working in the test labs. Im pretty sure if you get an ulocked UMTS card, you can get it to work with your X60s.

Fahim,

The SIM slot as described by EOMtp should be under the battery and might not be present if you are using an machine with a Verizon card pre-installed. A quick way to check is remove the battery and check using a pocket light. The SIM opening of a machine without the SIM reader should be covered with a foam-like (or actual foam) material.

You might want to get MC8755 rather than MC8765 since 55 will have UK/EU coverage as 65 has US/CA coverage.

I saw some sellers on ebay before selling 55/65 cards. You can check them out and they wont cost 400 Euro