X300 / 3G / Driver / Activation

[Tamerlan]

Hi,

I' bought one week later a X300 type 6478 model 14G

I did not find where the 3G dirver is?
I would like to use my telephone Sim into my laptop for internet surfing.
How it's working ?

Sorry for my gramar, I'm French and I don't use to speak english.
Thank's for your help.

[Troels]

Hello, and welcome!
I searched for some time for the 6478-14G, and all the places i looked there is no mention of WWAN (that means you can connect to 3G and HSDPA networks).
Are you sure you have a WWAN card inside the X300?

If it's from the US, it will likely have the MC5725 EV-DO card which cannot be used in Europe (not the same network), and it is locked to Verizon. In that case there is no SIM-card holder either. You'd need new antennas+an MC8775 card+a sim card holder, if your's either have the MC5725 or no WWAN.

You can also use non-Lenovo branded WWAN cards, but you will need a modified BIOS in order to make that work. That would also void your warranty, but it might save your some money.
MC8775 from Lenovo is very expensive.

[H1]

Are you sure about needing new antenna and SIM card holder if the machine is from the U.S. ? If so it applies only to X300s with EV-DO WWAN but why couldn't the same antenna be used for HSDPA?

I ordered my X300 from the U.S. without WWAN and added HSDPA later by simply installing MC8775 (appx. 275 €). Everything else was built-in.

More info: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=62030

[Troels]

EVDO uses the 800 or 1900 MHz bands, while HSDPA uses 2100 MHz. The EVDO antenna will work fine with 2100 MHz, but not at the same signal strength. However, these frequencies are relatively very close, so i'd say don't worry too much, unless you live in rural areas or order parts by Lenovo anyway - it's a very inexpensive part i believe

I do not have an X300, so i can't say exactly, but if it's anything like the patch antennas from the T60p, but hidden inside, it's a cheap part.

I still haven't seen any sim card slot available on EV-DO models, they are locked to Verizon.

EDIT: Made a mistake, the MC8775 is tri-band HSDPA, so it can choose between 850, 1900 and 2100 MHz. Humn, but i'm not sure if 1900 MHz is supplied in Europe or not...

[H1]

I think the antenna is same in all X300s. According to the Hardware Maintenance Manual the only antenna FRU is 44C4042.

I'm not sure but the SIM card slot seems built-in. It'd be strange if it wasn't in all models as HSDPA is available also in the U.S. for AT&T customers.

Btw, doesn't Verizon EV-DO require a SIM card?

[Troels]

Hmm interesting. It is probably multiple antennas incorporated in one assembly. That's probably a better solutiong overall, especially for travelling.
About the EV-DO and SIM: I'm pretty much in doubt now - all the t60ps i've seen with EVDO had no sim card slot installed, even though they came with EV-DO from the factory.

[Strandum]

Is it possible to use the WWAN card with other carriers and countries? Or is it AT&T/Verizon and US only?

[H1]

Vodafone/AT&T WWAN works in Europe. Verizon's EVDO card is U.S. only.