Retrofit WWAN to Thinkpad T500

I have a T500 that's a couple years old. When I was configuring it, I had no need for anything but WiFi so it shipped with just the basic 5300 AGN adapter. I'm now about 15 miles outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and would like to use WiMax to connect. Everyone else here uses USB dongles; I'm tempted to instead install the SIM card directly into my laptop for a cleaner and potentially better-performing solution.

My question is, what hardware am I lacking? My impression is that I need to both replace my existing WiFi card with the 5150 ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/270767638803...ht_3242wt_1037), and install a modem in my WWAN slot ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sierra-Wirel...ht_1805wt_1037). I know that some of the wireless cards interfered with the camera, so you had to choose- I have a webcam, so do I need to look out for conflict there? Do I need an antenna as well?

If I need both cards, that adds up to about $150 worth of hardware. That's a bit much just to not have to look at a USB stick... would you expect the performance to be significantly better than the $20 modem in the dongle?

Thanks for the help!

 

To install WWAN you need to have antennas, modem and possibly SIM-card reader (depends on wwan type).

Have you checked that your laptop actually has that extra slot for the WWAN card, antennas and that there is a sim-card reader inside that slot behind the battery?

If all those check out, then upgrade is just plug in the wwan card and surf away. Unfortunately there is a small chance some of those were left out at the factory when computer was ordered without wwan.

I don't know why the wifi card would need to be replaced. I'd keep the old one just in case and replace it only if there was some issues later.

The other option: wlan router with usb stick connected. It could share the connection wirelessly to multiple computers. Share the hardware costs and connection fees between other users.

 

So I definitely have a SIM card slot behind the battery, and an empty PCIe slot with two unconnected wires run to it inside (I recently replaced the fan). Does the fact that those wires are there mean I have WWAN antennas? I don't see anything of interest in my device manager.

About the modem- I'm a bit hesitant to order since it seems like there's a couple reasons it could not work. One is that Lenovo has blocked use of non-approved cards in general- it checks everything during startup, and if there's anything not factory-approved installed, the computer won't boot. ( Numeric Error Code 1802 - Unauthorized network card) The second thing is, apparently these modems are sometimes locked, such that they only work with one service provider... here's a thread about how someone's modem would only work with Verizon ( forum.thinkpads.com • Help !!! WWAN modem: Sierra MC MC8775 or Ericsson F3507-g?. To get different cards to work, I've seen talk of taping a pin on the modem (pin 20) to block it being turned off by the software, or hacking the BIOS to make it work... I'd love to avoid that kind of thing all together.

It looks like there's three versions- the MC8755 is for anywhere except North America, the 8765 is for NA only, and the 8775 is for anywhere. I think this one is what I need: IBM Lenovo MC8775 WWAN CARD 4 X61 T61 R61 X300 new | eBay . The FRU# is the one called for by Lenovo. Much cheaper!

I was under the impression you had to change the WiFi card because of this: Which Wi-Fi LAN adapter to buy in a new ThinkPad Laptop? [Archive] - AnandTech Forums . But, that's not referring to the T500 and the adapter model numbers mentioned are different from those used here. Here's the options that were available for my computer:

Intel 802.11agn Mini PCI Express wireless adapter on selected models.
ThinkPad 802.11bg Mini PCI Express wireless adapter on selected models.
Intel 802.11agn+802.16e WiMAX wireless adapter on selected models.
Qualcomm HS-USB for Verizon Wireless WAN (UNDP) on selected models
Ericsson Wireless HSPA WWAN Minicard for Verizon and AT&T on selected models

Maybe WiMax and WiFi are more separate in my notebook and I don't have to mess with the WiFi card? Because my computer was configured to order, I can't look up an equipment list specific to my computer.

Tell me about this USB-router option. When I've used sticks from local providers in my laptop (Natcom and Vodaphone) you had to install software to drive the modem. How does that work with a router?

I will say though, it looks to me like the modem actually can be had for ~$25, maybe I don't need a WiFi card and I already have the antennas, so internal WWAN access may actually be totally affordable.

 

One other concern about the modem- as I mentioned, I have two antenna wires running to the PCIe slot where the modem would go. However, all the options on eBay only have one antenna connection. Is there something else I could put in there that would use both, or is there a better WAN card that would use both?

 

I just got home, started looking and found from those links this one:
Intel® Centrino® Advanced?N + WiMAX 6250

Wimax and WiFi are on that same Intel card. Obviously that would then be the reason WiFi has to be changed if you want to have Wimax... For 3G wwan you just add the 3G modem card and sim.

Yes, those are the antennas. They are just blank wires without the card, so nothing will show in the device manager.

Safest bet would be getting a Lenovo branded card, same stuff you get when you configure the laptop in the beginning. Just like mobile phones, 3G cards are just phones in different format and they can be operator locked.

3G modems (and phones) use different frequencies around the world. So one important thing is to confirm that your modem supports whatever area you are in.

There isn't many actual manufacturers for those usb sticks, so the router software has built in generic drivers for quite a few models. Basically you'd need to figure out what models the providers have and then find a router that supports them directly.

Just check first that 3G vs. WiMax situation, which one you actually need.

 

OK, so I can fit either a dedicated 3G modem in my open mini PCIe slot, or a dual function WiFi/WiMax card that replaces my current WiFi adapter.

The WiFi/WiMAX card you linked to only has two antenna connections, so I'm thinking it would be a downgrade from my current 3-antenna adapter in terms of WiFi performance. I found a similar card that I think preserves the current WiFi performance ( New Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Wifi Card Lenovo 60Y3233 | eBay. I'm assuming WiMax and WiFi will share the same 3 antennas, but not at the same time, rather than the WiFi side taking 2 and the WiMax side taking one, or something along those lines.

Here's a much better list of what's whitelisted to be installed in my computer: MiniPCI Express slot - ThinkWiki

Our main internet access comes in over a Motorola OSU-2510 RSV, which some Googling shows to be a WiMAX device. That's coming from a broadcast point miles away. There's a Natcom tower just up the road, and here's what I found out about them: Natcom (Haiti) Mobile Network Information . 3G, specifically W-CDMA 2100.

If I do go 3G, it looks like there are multiple cards identified on that ThinkWiki. They get faster (and more expensive) towards the bottom, and they also support a wider range of standards/frequencies. The Sierra only has one antenna port, is the slowest and only does HSDPA 3G. The Ericsson has 2 antenna connections, does twice the download speed and better up, and supports GPS. The Qualcomm has 2 antennas, even better up, but no GPS.

The Ericsson is the only one that is actually listed as having come installed in T500s in the ThinkWiki, so that's a good reason to go with that one, seems to me. It's also the best bang for the buck.

Here's a random question... are there any interesting uses for having both adapters in the computer? Can you share the 3G connection over WiFi, or use both at once for different tasks? Especially if I don't get an unlimited plan, I can see all sorts of reasons for doing that.

So, I guess I'll go ahead and order the Ericsson modem... it looks like FRU# 43Y6537 is the one to get, with the bugs ironed out.

Thanks for your help!

 

Sounds good but please note that Intel 6300 WiFi card doesn't seem to have Wimax So it isn't the upgrade you want/need either.

Getting some specific application to run on a certain connection is possible but not that simple. 3G sharing is simpler and there was an application that makes Win7 computer to act as a wireless router.

 

You're right- there's no way to both have the top-shelf WiFi card and use WiMAX. Seems like a weird gap in the chips Intel made available.

Anyway, 3G all the way. Thanks for the Connectify tip... the main thing I want to do is be able to use a iPod Touch running Skype to connect through the WWAN 3G, which is totally possible using that app. I can also let other people share my connection, which I'm sure will come in handy. I'll work on using WiFi and 3G simultaneously once I have the hardware working.