HowTo: Upgrading ABG To ABGN

I was bored and decided I wanted to upgrade my Z61M WIFI card from the Intel ABG to the ThinkPad ABGN. I will not be showing every step since the HMM (Hardware Maintenance Manual) makes removing parts straight forward. Others have just replaced the WIFI card, but I decided to add the 3RD antenna as well. Let's begin:

Here is the unit with the keyboard and palmrest removed


Next, the keyboard bezel and speakers need to be removed


The card to the left is the old Intel ABG and the one on the right is the ThinkPad ABGN


Here, both the Gray (left) and the Black (right) antenna's have to be removed from their tape and crevices so the screen can be pulled out


The screen has been removed so that the 3RD antenna can be installed


Here is the LCD ready to have its bezel removed


Here I had to remove three screws before the bezel would come off. I used a 1.4mm screwdriver to remove the screw caps so I could get to the screws. Very little pressure was needed to remove them and not touching the back end of the caps with your fingers once removed will make them stick back without a problem


The bezel here is removed from around the screen. Don't be shy about prying it apart. This was a pain because you have to push the hinge latch to the right while prying on the bezel


The filler piece has to be removed so the antenna can be installed


Here the antenna is installed and the cable routed through the hinge. This is the bulge some were complaining about. It will either be the WWAN or 3RD antenna for N as is the case here


The LCD and bezel have been reinstalled and now it’s time for the card


The best way to install antennas on the card is with it at this angle so that one hand can be below the card while the other is used to evenly push down on the pins


Here the card is fully installed and antennas routed. The order of the antenna's from left to right is Gray-White-Black


Here the laptop is fully assembled


The card is recognized in Device Manager as a ThinkPad ABGN


The end result is 300Mbs of glorious N through my DIR-655

 

Awesome guide optomos. Definitely saved for future reference. Thank you!

300mbps

 

nice guide but I think I would never do that to my laptop

 

I was noticing. What kind of screen and resolution is that? It looks awesome and very clear

 

Its an LG-Phillips WSXGA+ (1680 X 1050). It is a nice screen and better than the Samsungs IMHO.

Coldplay, I used to work for Lenovo so I know all the ins and outs of these machines....well almost.

 

Nice guide, Optimos. Where did you find that nice looking wallpaper?

 

I was thinking the same thing. The water looks really nice.

 

I downloaded it it from interfacelift.com. They have some nice photos and at various resolutions; even 1080P. That photo is called "London Eye" which is a photo of Thames River.

 

Nice Wireless SSID name.

 

awesome work! next time put the camera in macro mode though!

 

Nice work, Optomos.

Maybe put this on the "other" Lenovo forum as well.