Thinkpads Forum

Hey all. I just bought a new wireless card that supports up to 450Mbps and want to install it onto my T420 laptop but as I understand there is a specific list of wireless NICs that are allowed. Is this true? I am not happy with the onboard realtek crap and I should be able to install any wireless card I want to for my laptop. Can anyone shed some light on whether or not installing this wireless card will be an issue? Its an iwave (atheros) card I ordered online.

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, it most likely will be an issue.

ThinkPads require a "whitelisted" card. You could've gone with one of the newer Intel ones - with a FRU number (Lenovo-issued in other words) - and it would've worked just fine.

Good luck.

I don't care for centrino cards. I prefer Atheros as they are well supported by linux, my preferred OS. Are you telling me lenovo is telling me what OS to use and which brand of cards to use? Do you not see any issues with this?

If I'm forced to remove the whitelist on my laptop just to install my perfectly good wireless card on my laptop I won't be happy. I'll be sure to share the method and tools with everyone. And then I'll boycott future lenovo products.

I suggest allowing people to use their paid for products as they see fit.

iambobby wrote:I don't care for centrino cards. I prefer Atheros as they are well supported by linux, my preferred OS.

I prefer Atheros myself for a slew of reasons but was just pointing out another option.

Are you telling me lenovo is telling me what OS to use and which brand of cards to use? Do you not see any issues with this?

First and foremost, Lenovo's not the only one with a "whitelist". HP and Panasonic maintain them as well.

Secondly, you're a little late to the party. We've been dealing with this for over a decade, back in the IBM days when we were told that it was a FCC requirement.

If I'm forced to remove the whitelist on my laptop just to install my perfectly good wireless card on my laptop I won't be happy. I'll be sure to share the method and tools with everyone.

You do understand that you're looking at a full-blown BIOS mod, right?

And then I'll boycott future lenovo products.

They won't care. Nevertheless, it's your right.

I suggest allowing people to use their paid for products as they see fit.

Many of us here would agree with you, but we're not the ones in charge...

Mind you, Lenovo has absolutely nothing to do with this forum: it's privately owned and has been around longer than they've owned the ThinkPad brand...so if you feel like complaining you may as well do it on their own forum:

http://forum.lenovo.com

Good luck.

iambobby wrote:I don't care for centrino cards. I prefer Atheros as they are well supported by linux, my preferred OS. Are you telling me lenovo is telling me what OS to use and which brand of cards to use? Do you not see any issues with this?

If I'm forced to remove the whitelist on my laptop just to install my perfectly good wireless card on my laptop I won't be happy. I'll be sure to share the method and tools with everyone. And then I'll boycott future lenovo products.

I suggest allowing people to use their paid for products as they see fit.

hello bobby...

no, lenovo is telling you this works with the OS supplied.. not which OS to use..

and we ALL quite agree.. Atheros is a better NIC card..
but as george said, its an FCC issue.. my guess is lenovo (and before lenovo, IBM) would have preferred not to have to mess with such silliness as rules..
(even though sometimes some rules simply make disparate things work together better)

i bit of historical perspective..
consider, the FCC, for decades, gave AT&T (aka Ma Bell) a virtual monopoly on telephone communications.. enter competition (after the breakup of AT&T) and viola!, prices go down, service choices abound, amazing hardware becomes available and the free market gives us such things as iPhones to communicate with rather than the old mobile telephone service once called IMTS..

like all good government tyrannies they are loath to give up their powers and rule making is one way to control to population..

SO, now, you complain about the atheros cards not being allowed due to the whitelist..
well, lenovo knows the thinkpad models work with the NIC cards supplied.. when users mess around, unanticipated results might occur..

i don't like it and few outside and probably many inside lenovo like it less..

but there it is, a fiat accompli'.. done, finished..

i hope that you make a work around work and that you let us all know how to do it..
knowledge..
we all wish for knowledge..

go for it..

All wireless cards are certified by the FCC. Otherwise these cards wouldn't be on the market. Every single wireless card I've bought is certified and therefore will work fine on any laptop on earth. The problem is corps don't like having to pay for (anything) FCC stickers so they force people to purchase overpriced products to cover the cost of their additional FCC sticker costs with huge markup. There is no difference between the wireless card I purchase and the rebranded/approved card. The only difference is the BIOS is designed to allow only the rebranded card. This type of anti competition *should* be against the law.

The fact that other laptop makers are doing this is sickening. If you like anti competition so much just goto N.korea or something.

According to lenovo's T420 spec I am "allowed" to install one of about 7 extremely [censored] wireless cards. How exactly is this choice? When did this become communist russia? Where the f*ck are my open market free options? Oh thats right, some corp decided maximizing profits at the cost of anything is the way to go.

FCC has nothing to do with this. It's corp greed. period.

iambobby wrote:All wireless cards are certified by the FCC. Otherwise these cards wouldn't be on the market.

Not entirely true. You can get cards - especially from places like Amazon or feebay - that are actually illegal to use in this country since they are capable of operating on channels not mandated by FCC.

Where the f*ck are my open market free options?

Different people have different understandings of the much abused term "free market". Your "free market" option in this case would've been not to purchase a ThinkPad in the first place, but go with a manufacturer that doesn't whitelist wireless cards, such as Dell.

In all fairness, had you done minimal research prior to buying that T420, you would've known what you were up against. It's hardly a secret that ThinkPad WLAN as well as WWAN cards are whitelisted, and have been for the longest time.

Not that I agree with that practice, but it is a fact of life.

Lenovo - or any other manufacturer for that fact - has no obligation to provide units that are upgradeable to meet your, mine or anyone else's needs. Likewise, none of us has an obligation to buy their products.

Caveat emptor applies in every market, including the free one.

Just another reason for a business to go down. It seems Dell is doing the same.

iambobby wrote:Oh thats right, some corp decided maximizing profits at the cost of anything is the way to go.

But that's exactly what "free market" entails, no? Manufacturers are free to do whatever they want to increase profit?
If you don't want these vendor lock-in strategies, sure, let the federal government come up with legislation that ban such blacklisting, then hail your free market choices courtesy of government intervention! Oh wait... </sarcasm>

iambobby wrote:[..]According to lenovo's T420 spec I am "allowed" to install one of about 7 extremely *****Expletives removed by Moderator***** wireless cards. How exactly is this choice? When did this become communist russia? [..]

I'm pretty sure in communist Russia you won't be allowed to choose between 7 wireless cards but the card will choose you!

iambobby wrote:Every single wireless card I've bought is certified and therefore will work fine on any laptop on earth.

Logic and credibility = zero!