Are thinkpad a31p upgradeable to wireless and bluetooth

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hello,
I can buy two A31p:

- 2653R3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
- 2653N3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)

Which is better?

Can I upgrade them with wi-fi and bluetooth (I mean CDC or mini-PCI to use internal antenna)?

Can I upgrade to gigabit ethernet?

Thank you very much in advance for your replies!!
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Mario Giammarco wrote:

> I can buy two A31p:
>
> - 2653R3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
> - 2653N3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
>
> Which is better?

Both are the same units, so hard to say which is better. Especially since
You didn't say what CPUs, RAM or disk these systems have...

> Can I upgrade them with wi-fi and bluetooth (I mean CDC or mini-PCI
> to use internal antenna)?

Basically yes, but that's not simple. For Bluetooth You not only need the
CDC module, You also need a system board that has the connector suitable for
the module. You also need the Bluetooth antenna which has to be retrofitted.

With WLAN, it depends if these systems have the IBM Security Chip. If they
do You only can use MiniPCI WLAN cards from IBM, and only those models that
are unlocked in the system BIOS. All other cards prevent the laptops from
booting. If they have no Security Chip You can use either card You want. But
also for WLAN You have to retrofit the antenna if it's not already there
(You can see this when opening the MiniPCI cover: if the antenna is already
built in You'll find the two antenna wires under the cover). Retrofitting
the WLAN antenna is a job for an experienced technician that knows the A31p
since the antenna is integrated in the display. You probably need a new
display cover since they are different for WLAN models.

> Can I upgrade to gigabit ethernet?

No.

Benjamin
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Benjamin Gawert" <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote in message
news:2phifkFk9abhU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Mario Giammarco wrote:
>
>> I can buy two A31p:
>>
>> - 2653R3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
>> - 2653N3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
>>
>> Which is better?
>
> Both are the same units, so hard to say which is better. Especially since
> You didn't say what CPUs, RAM or disk these systems have...
>
>> Can I upgrade them with wi-fi and bluetooth (I mean CDC or mini-PCI
>> to use internal antenna)?
>
> Basically yes, but that's not simple. For Bluetooth You not only need the
> CDC module, You also need a system board that has the connector suitable
> for the module. You also need the Bluetooth antenna which has to be
> retrofitted.
>
> With WLAN, it depends if these systems have the IBM Security Chip. If they
> do You only can use MiniPCI WLAN cards from IBM, and only those models
> that are unlocked in the system BIOS. All other cards prevent the laptops
> from booting. If they have no Security Chip You can use either card You
> want. But also for WLAN You have to retrofit the antenna if it's not
> already there (You can see this when opening the MiniPCI cover: if the
> antenna is already built in You'll find the two antenna wires under the
> cover). Retrofitting the WLAN antenna is a job for an experienced
> technician that knows the A31p since the antenna is integrated in the
> display. You probably need a new display cover since they are different
> for WLAN models.
>
>> Can I upgrade to gigabit ethernet?
>
> No.
>
> Benjamin
>

I was told by various other folks that all a31 models have the antenna
integrated in the screen/lid, and, no security chip in this model, so no
bios lock on which mini pci cards can be used.

hth,

Chip
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Chip Orange wrote:

> I was told by various other folks that all a31 models have the antenna
> integrated in the screen/lid,

That's wrong. For example, my A31 didn't had the antenna so I had to
retrrofit it. There are lots of models without antenna...

> and, no security chip in this model, so
> no bios lock on which mini pci cards can be used.

That's at least something...

Benjamin
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Nope, almost NONE of the A31 series has the built in antenna.
"Chip Orange" <acorange@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ueKdnZA3MMFUV67cRVn-tQ@comcast.com...
>
> "Benjamin Gawert" <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote in message
> news:2phifkFk9abhU1@uni-berlin.de...
> > Mario Giammarco wrote:
> >
> >> I can buy two A31p:
> >>
> >> - 2653R3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
> >> - 2653N3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
> >>
> >> Which is better?
> >
> > Both are the same units, so hard to say which is better. Especially
since
> > You didn't say what CPUs, RAM or disk these systems have...
> >
> >> Can I upgrade them with wi-fi and bluetooth (I mean CDC or mini-PCI
> >> to use internal antenna)?
> >
> > Basically yes, but that's not simple. For Bluetooth You not only need
the
> > CDC module, You also need a system board that has the connector suitable
> > for the module. You also need the Bluetooth antenna which has to be
> > retrofitted.
> >
> > With WLAN, it depends if these systems have the IBM Security Chip. If
they
> > do You only can use MiniPCI WLAN cards from IBM, and only those models
> > that are unlocked in the system BIOS. All other cards prevent the
laptops
> > from booting. If they have no Security Chip You can use either card You
> > want. But also for WLAN You have to retrofit the antenna if it's not
> > already there (You can see this when opening the MiniPCI cover: if the
> > antenna is already built in You'll find the two antenna wires under the
> > cover). Retrofitting the WLAN antenna is a job for an experienced
> > technician that knows the A31p since the antenna is integrated in the
> > display. You probably need a new display cover since they are different
> > for WLAN models.
> >
> >> Can I upgrade to gigabit ethernet?
> >
> > No.
> >
> > Benjamin
> >
>
> I was told by various other folks that all a31 models have the antenna
> integrated in the screen/lid, and, no security chip in this model, so no
> bios lock on which mini pci cards can be used.
>
> hth,
>
> Chip
>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

thanks; now that I think about it, I think I was told that all of them with
the 15" screens did, but of course that's not all of them.

Chip


"Bruce Markowitz" <scosgt@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:2pku3oFkf69hU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Nope, almost NONE of the A31 series has the built in antenna.
> "Chip Orange" <acorange@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:ueKdnZA3MMFUV67cRVn-tQ@comcast.com...
>>
>> "Benjamin Gawert" <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote in message
>> news:2phifkFk9abhU1@uni-berlin.de...
>> > Mario Giammarco wrote:
>> >
>> >> I can buy two A31p:
>> >>
>> >> - 2653R3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
>> >> - 2653N3U with modem (CDC) and ethernet (CDC)
>> >>
>> >> Which is better?
>> >
>> > Both are the same units, so hard to say which is better. Especially
> since
>> > You didn't say what CPUs, RAM or disk these systems have...
>> >
>> >> Can I upgrade them with wi-fi and bluetooth (I mean CDC or mini-PCI
>> >> to use internal antenna)?
>> >
>> > Basically yes, but that's not simple. For Bluetooth You not only need
> the
>> > CDC module, You also need a system board that has the connector
>> > suitable
>> > for the module. You also need the Bluetooth antenna which has to be
>> > retrofitted.
>> >
>> > With WLAN, it depends if these systems have the IBM Security Chip. If
> they
>> > do You only can use MiniPCI WLAN cards from IBM, and only those models
>> > that are unlocked in the system BIOS. All other cards prevent the
> laptops
>> > from booting. If they have no Security Chip You can use either card You
>> > want. But also for WLAN You have to retrofit the antenna if it's not
>> > already there (You can see this when opening the MiniPCI cover: if the
>> > antenna is already built in You'll find the two antenna wires under the
>> > cover). Retrofitting the WLAN antenna is a job for an experienced
>> > technician that knows the A31p since the antenna is integrated in the
>> > display. You probably need a new display cover since they are different
>> > for WLAN models.
>> >
>> >> Can I upgrade to gigabit ethernet?
>> >
>> > No.
>> >
>> > Benjamin
>> >
>>
>> I was told by various other folks that all a31 models have the antenna
>> integrated in the screen/lid, and, no security chip in this model, so no
>> bios lock on which mini pci cards can be used.
>>
>> hth,
>>
>> Chip
>>
>>
>>
>
>