Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

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Chkon
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Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#1 Post by Chkon » Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:48 am

Hello! I've got Thinkpad w520 7460 modification notebook and I want to upgrade my wifi module to Intel Network 7260.HMW at Amazon. Is it compatible to my notebook? Thank in advance!
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ajkula66
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Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#2 Post by ajkula66 » Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:17 am

Welcome to the forum!

You'll need a modded BIOS in order to utilize that card.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

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Chkon
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Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#3 Post by Chkon » Sat Sep 28, 2013 2:21 pm

Thank you! Could you explain a little more detail? I'm planing to use new WiFi card with this router Asus RT-AC68U.
PS: Will it broke my warranty?
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ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
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Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#4 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:53 am

Lenovo - just like IBM before them - maintains a "whitelist" of approved wireless and WWAN cards in BIOS, and if an "unauthorized" card is present, the machine will throw an error and refuse to boot.

Installing a modded BIOS would void one's warranty, theoretically speaking.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

AARP club members:A31p, T43pSF

Abused daily: R61

PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
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Chkon
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:39 am
Location: Tver, Russia <unverified>

Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#5 Post by Chkon » Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:24 am

Are there any wifi ac in 'whitelist' or where can I find bios for my w520 witch support other wifi adapters?
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ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
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Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#6 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:57 am

Chkon wrote:Are there any wifi ac in 'whitelist'
No. W520 predates 802.AC
or where can I find bios for my w520 witch support other wifi adapters?
Not published anywhere...
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

AARP club members:A31p, T43pSF

Abused daily: R61

PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
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Chkon
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:39 am
Location: Tver, Russia <unverified>

Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#7 Post by Chkon » Sun Sep 29, 2013 9:56 am

So there are no way to upgrade my WiFi card to ac version?
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ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
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Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#8 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:03 am

Unless you are OK with flashing a modded BIOS there is no path to installing an AC capable card.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

AARP club members:A31p, T43pSF

Abused daily: R61

PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
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Chkon
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:39 am
Location: Tver, Russia <unverified>

Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#9 Post by Chkon » Thu Oct 03, 2013 5:28 pm

Are there any instructions for flashing and modifying BIOS?
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ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
SuperUserGeorge
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Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:28 am
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Re: Upgrade thinkpad's w520 wifi card

#10 Post by ajkula66 » Thu Oct 03, 2013 6:51 pm

Chkon wrote:Are there any instructions for flashing and modifying BIOS?
Not on this forum, but there are several others that are dedicated to stuff like that...
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

AARP club members:A31p, T43pSF

Abused daily: R61

PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
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