X220 WWAN card (Ericsson F5521gw) - Power draw

[Classic600X]

Hello,

I installed the Ericsson F5521gw into my X220 last year. However, my mobile provider now allows tethering via my iPhone, so I no longer use it. I don't really want to remove the card as it may prove useful in the future.

Is there any way to stop the card drawing power? I'm not sure if disabling it in Windows Device Manager does this? I just don't want my battery life being impacted by a piece of hardware I no longer use.

Thank you

[RealBlackStuff]

You can try to disable in BIOS and Device Manager.
If that doesn't work, remove keyboard/palmrest and then the card.
You can always reinstall it later on.

[Classic600X]

Thank you for the reply. I had a look in the BIOS and I can't see a setting in there for the WWAN card.

I have it turned off in the Fn F5 'Change Power Settings of Wireless Radios' box, so maybe it's not using any power.

I really do like the built in WWAN card, such an elegant solution compared to USB dongles.

[raket]

You can turn it off via it's comport (USB) in some terminal program. (minicom)

AT+CFUN=0 should really turn it off.
But it will probably go on after suspend/resume anyway.

[shawross]

I have had issues when I turn off the WWAN cards on an X201 - Gobi 2000 and an X301 - Ericsson F3507G discovering the card again. I haven't been ready to use it so I haven't progressed further. I would not turn off a WWAN card again whether through BIOS or access connections. I may have had some faulty cards or been unlucky. I am overseas at the moment so I can't test further but it may be worth keeping in mind.