T420 USB-C 3.1 Mod

[djammin16]

I've had a T420 since they came out and has been my daily driver for the majority of that time. I've been acquiring a larger number of USB-C devices too. So for convenience-sake I decided to see if I could get a port into this laptop somehow.

Where:
-I modded an ultra-bay hdd to hold everything
-I cut an oval into the side of the ultra-bay insert
-I used the mini-pcie slot under the keyboard for the connection
-I used the ultra-bay power port for power
-I used the mSATA/WWAN port on the bottom for the WIFI card

Pros:
I get FAST transfer speeds and powered USB-C Gen1 port (5gbps) - things fly to and from the USB-C thumb-drive.
I can charge stuff with USB cables too.

Cons:
No Thunderbold or PowerDelivery
I lost my wifi card slot and had to DIG for a mini-pcie USB based card to put into the bottom of the laptop b/c I didn't want a dongle sticking out of the laptop.
Some parts were hard to find
Doesn't charge the laptop
When I first boot the laptop, I get an error: 2102: Detection error on HDD1 (Ultrabay HDD) Press ESC to continue. This is because there's power draw on that port, but no data connection.
Not sure if it's a thing, but the wifi will drop out once, then I'll reconnect and won't have the issue again. Between boots? This requires further testing.

Parts:
-Ultra-Bay HDD insert

-Right angle USB-C extension cable (use a razor to strip the rubber off the female end)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QYRB1YW

-Mini PCIe to USB-C adapter card
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L83UJE4

-Mini-PCIe extension ribbon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HMRHLHZ

-SATA Power cord - low profile - like the following but I think I had a shorter SATA head laying around
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z3DBV49

-Mini-PCIe wifi adapter for mSATA/WWAN slot (this took me 3 tries to get a dealer that actually had one to send me, one from China is still out there somewhere)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L3FBRR2

I'm not great with a soldering iron and can probably trim down the "fat" a bit. But for a MVP I'm pretty happy with the result! It would be cool if I could wire in charging functionality in the future and streamline it too.

Pics:
https://imgur.com/gallery/8mOqmeb

[flyingfishfinger]

Ha, that's cool. I'm doing a similar thing for the X210, adding a Thunderbolt port. I don't currently need a USB-based WiFi but when I was thinking about it I landed on a similar chipset. I got it in USB format: https://www.jjplus.com/wmu6213/

Very nice.

R