WWAN basics?

[Paul Unger]

I've been in Solomon Islands with my X201 since I got it two and a half years ago. I'm getting ready to head back to Canada for a while and I've been thinking I should figure out what to do with the SIM card slot tucked away in the battery bay. Do I just plug a SIM card in there and connect? Nah, it probably couldn't be that easy... But I've been out of the tech world for quite a while and frankly don't have a clue where to start. Could anyone help me figure this out? Or point me in the right direction? Thanks for any help!

[EOMtp]

The fact that you have a SIM card slot does not necessarily mean that you have a WWAN card and WWAN antennas installed in the machine. If you have a WWAN card installed, then you have the antennas, but you might have only the antennas and need to install a WWAN card.

As to what type of card, that depends if your WWAN carrier/provider uses GSM or CDMA. If GSM, then you will use a SIM card. A SIM card is not used on CDMA systems.

About the WWAN card:
You may have a CDMA card, a GSM card, one that "does both", i.e., a Gobi 1000/2000/3000 card (but the Lenovo Gobi card is likely SIM-locked to Vodafone) ... or a WiMAX-capable WLAN card such as an Intel 5350 or similar.

Typically, the carrier you want will determine the card you use, not the other way around. You will select the carrier you want based on availability, coverage, plan price, etc., and then you will select a WWAN device that works on that carrier's system(s).

Finally, WWAN USB sticks are small and convenient, so you may pick one of those if you do not have an internal WWAN card that matches the carrier you want. Further, if you want "4G" WWAN, i.e., some LTE flavor, then there are no internal Lenovo cards for the X201, so you probably will have to pick an external WWAN device.

[Paul Unger]

Thanks for the helpful reply, EOMtp. I'm having a hard time sorting through all the acronyms(!), but it looks like I'm just going to have to sort through this when I get home... Scope out the carriers, see what I need, see if Lenovo still offers it (I'm not seeing a WWAN card available for the X201 (it looks like the Gobi 3000 is only for the X220?). I was hoping to avoid a USB dongle, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks again.

[EOMtp]

I know the acronyms are annoying, but spelling them out makes the matter even more confusing since most people, including the carriers' employees, know only the acronyms.

Basically, there are 3 WWAN technologies in use: for 3G there is GSM-based HSPA and CDMA-based EV-DO. For 4G there is LTE (in multiple "flavors" with mutually incompatible frequencies) and WiMAX.

Even though there are only a few "official" WWAN cards for the X201, if you install a modified BIOS on the machine, then you can add whatever internal WWAN card you want and the machine will accept it. Installing a modified BIOS is simple and effective, so do not feel that you are restricted to the "official" list of cards available for the X201. Any card you want that fits physically can be installed once the BIOS restrictions are removed by the modified BIOS.