Can I connect to mobile broadband, I have a 3G SIM card

[eoin]

Hello,

I'm in Europe.

My X220 has a SIM slot and is "mobile broadband ready".

Question is, does it have a 3G modem built-in? Or does "mobile broadband ready" mean something less than that?

I have put in the internet broadband SIM into the laptop (was not sure about orientation of SIM), and cannot select "mobile broadband" option in Lenovo's Access Connections screen, in the ThinkVantage Toolbox.

Thanks!

Eoin

[ExJamJus]

eoin.

It shows in the Lenovo shop that it's "Mobile Broadband ready (no mobile broadband module)"

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/x220

I think you might need to purchase the WWAN card separately for this.

[Mark_Lenovo Administrator]

Broadband ready typically means you have the antennas in place and just need to add a Lenovo 3G card - the Gobi 3000, etc...and of course then, your sim.

Best regards,

Mark

[eoin]

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

Which slot would be used for installing a WWAN card?

[Eyan]

Hello eoin,

For WAN support, I believe you would need to purchase and install a card in the PCI Express Mini Card Slot. Accessing this slot would be slightly difficult as you would need to remove the keyboard and palm rest for access. 

If you're interested you could Google "X220 Hardware Maintenance Manual" Pages 71-73 should provide a clear picture on where this card goes.

Hope this helps. 

[Eyan]

This would require some serious digging into the system. Maybe you can contact Lenovo to see if they could do the installation for you. Opening it up yourself may void the warranty.

Else, you could look into additional USB dongles for WAN access. Though I know that built in WAN cards offer the best experience (in terms of nothing sticking out the sides of your think pad)

[eoin]

Thanks all!

I already installed an mSATA drive under the keyboard.

Just to be clear, this is a different slot to the PCI Express Mini Card Slot, right?

[billbolton Community Moderator · Accepted solution]

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eoin wrote:

I already installed an mSATA drive under the keyboard.

Just to be clear, this is a different slot to the PCI Express Mini Card Slot, right?

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The slot that where you install that mSATA drive is also the internal WWAN slot..... unfortunately you can't have internal 3G and mSATA concurrently.

Cheers,

Bill

[m2msupport]

You need to buy a 3G module that is approved on a carrier. Also the Lenovo laptop must have been approved on the carrier network. Please check the Lenovo site for laptops that suppport mobile broadband,

[billbolton Community Moderator]

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m2msupport wrote:

You need to buy a 3G module that is approved on a carrier. Also the Lenovo laptop must have been approved on the carrier network.

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Fortunately, global 3G services are NOT like North America! 

Most ISPs will allow any 3G device to connect to their network and don't care what mobile computing device it is associated with.