Getting dell WWAN card to work inside T60?

[own6volvos]

I got past the first step, the bios. The computer will boot fine, and windows recognizes the thing as a data device. Problem comes with the drivers. Dell drivers want a dell machine, and Lenovo drivers dont recognize the dell card. Any ideas?

Its the dell verizon card.

[laowai]

No can do... well, can do, but it's gonna void your warranty and possibly destroy your machine.

You can thank the industry for taking a great technology and marginalizing it by locking down miniPCI

[woodpusherghd]

I'm surprised you got your thinkpad to boot. There a couple of threads on work arounds with non-lenovo branded wifi card which invole bios hacks. I don't know about wan cards. Apparently, it's something to do with FCC regulations about emissions which requires Lenovo to prohibit the addition of non Lenovo branded internal cards.
I guess you could fork over the dough and buy the Lenovo card from IBM parts.

[Zender]

I'm very sorry I probably won't be helpful with your problem, but I would also like to ask how did you get over the bios problem. I'm thinking of buying UMTS card meant for T61 and using it in T60, which I'm not sure my bios will be sympathetic with.

Try to get to know what generic card the Dell one is and search for drivers for that. Perhaps try extracting the Dell driver package and if you find the driver files itself, you can install it manually (point windows to where the files are).

[BillMorrow]

when makers certify their hardware with the FCC (and other international RF regulating bodies(just look at the bottom label on a thinkpad)) they certify for a specific hardware configueration..

THAT is why the lockouts and restrictions..

it is so it and other RF devices will work and not cause interference with one another..

highly unlikely to "destroy your machine" nor is it a plan by big government or nasty corporations "for taking a great technology and marginalizing it by locking down miniPCI"..

there really was not a second shooter on the grassy knoll and the government really did not fly those planes into the WTC..

[burhan]

Hello Everyone, first post -- so please be gentle

I'm a big lover of thinkpads and have used most of them (Z,R,T) and have now ordered a T61p with the built-in WWAN Verizon card.

Since I live in Kuwait, I cannot use the Verizon card so I was thinking about replacing it with the AT&T card (which is GSM) -- but then I found out that it is locked and to get it unlocked, I would have to fly to the US, setup an account with AT&T, wait for 90 days -- call their international department, request the unlock code -- basically a circus that I would rather avoid.

If you are wondering why I bought the one with Verizon? I got a decent deal on it on ebay -- and since that model has not even landed in Kuwait yet, I was eager to get my paws on it

So, my questions:

1. Is it possible to purchase an unlocked AT&T card for this laptop and if so [a] where can one purchase it and if I simply swap it out, will everything work?

2. Is it possible to unlock the card? I searched and I found the thread at attwireless where some mystery man seems to have developed some software that unlocks these things; but has since disappeared from the forums -- I have also seen instructions for Sony Vaio's that involve telnetting to the device and issuing commands .... any definitive answer for Thinkpads?

3. Would Lenovo Europe have an unlocked card available, or is this a US-only option?

Thanks!

[GomJabbar]

I bought an unlocked Sierra Wireless 860 AirCard (GSM) on ebay awhile back. I tried it on both the T-Mobile and Cingular service and it worked fine. This is a PC Card that fits in the slot on the side of your notebook. This is by far the easiest solution.

[snife]

I'm surprised that the system booted with the Dell card too but if its recognised within Windows then its just a driver issue so should be possible. If you have the PnP ID for the card you could find the actual manufacturer and model of the card and try to get a basic driver direct from them.

Regarding unlocked cards, there are unlocked cards available for T61, but I don't think any of were available for T60 but if you buy a locked HSDPA card from Lenovo, you should be able to get the unlock code by phoning EMEA support.