Does the T420 4180 have a wireless card?

[Dangerous_Dave]

Hello all,

I just got a T420 off ebay and was having difficulty getting it to acknowledge it had wireless capability. Then I looked in the compartment with the extra ram slot and there is a vacant space for a wireless card there and some unattached cables. Other laptops I've had have had a spare wireless card slot, so I'm still wondering if the T420 has built-in wireless functionality (which isn't working) or if there should actually be a wireless card there.

Any help appreciated

Cheers

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

The wireless card on the T420 is not physically soldered to the motherboard.

The wlan card should be miniPCIe located under the keyboard, and not on the underside of the laptop (that is used for the WWAN or mSATA).

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60007.pdf

[bogatyr]

I don't think you can buy a T420 (or any ThinkPad) without wireless.

If the laptop doesn't have the wireless card where lead_org describes, then the eBay seller or someone else pulled it out.

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

you can buy a T420 without wireless but this no wireless option is only available if you do bulk order or if you are an enterprise customer.

[Dangerous_Dave]

Thanks for responses. Can you recommend a model of wireless card for it? Will any appropriately sized card work?

[Dangerous_Dave]

For example would this work?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-WIRELESS-4965AGN-802-11N-MINI-PCI-E-CARD-DELL-/190441954366?pt=UK_Co...

Is it overkill?

[CorkyG]

What kind of wireless? Wi-Fi? Broadband modem>? Wi-Fi is open. A broadband modem card is tied to a service provider like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. Wi-Fi is open - depends on availablility at a public site. Broadband wireless can also be via Express card (Sprint) or USB. I guess we need to now what is your access objective?

[Dangerous_Dave]

I was referring to the basic wifi hardware - the type that on previous Dell laptops has been supplied by a little mini PCIe card. Does anybody know if the above card would be alright?

[bogatyr]

Typically there is a whitelist of cards that will work. You can check the hardware maintenance manual for the part numbers that go with that model.

For example, the Intel 6205 card you can order with it is: 60Y3253. However the price of it online is pretty high.

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

you would need the Intel 6300, 6205, 1000 cards, there are some variants of Thinkpad cards that can also be used. However, these cards must be for Lenovo, generic one would give you an error due to the whitelist problem.