Bloggings

Updating my Thinkpad T430 wifi card

06-09-2023

+The wifi card that was installed in my laptop was an Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6205 +

+The N 6205 is a dual band card but unlike the AC 7620, It doesn't have an integrated bluetooth card, nor 802.11ac +

+I previously flashed the bios with 1vyrain see article, which wipes the whitelist that would otherwise prevent me from installing hardware not on the list. So I can now install the AC 7620. +

+The T430 doesn't activate this card unless the 51st pin is removed. I removed the pin with my Dremel (some use tape). +

+This pin is the last pin on the right when the card is face up. I put the laptop back together and checked. +

+The wifi came on automatically. +

+I then installed Bluez: +


+sudo pacman -S bluez sudo pacman -S bluez-utils sudo pacman -S blueman
+sudo micro /etc/bluetooth/main.conf set AutoEnable=true 
+sudo systemctl enable bluetooth.service
+sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service
+

+I made sure pulseaudio was installed: +


+sudo pacman -S pulseaudio
+sudo pacman -S pulseaudio-bluetooth
+sudo pacman -S pavucontrol
+sudo systemctl enable pulseaudio
+sudo systemctl start pulseaudio
+

+Then I connected my bluetooth headset and ... it just worked +

+Sources: +

+https://medium.com/@n4ru/the-definitive-t430-modding-guide-3dff3f6a8e2e +
+https://www.jeremymorgan.com/tutorials/linux/how-to-bluetooth-arch-linux/ +
+https://www.sevarg.net/2022/12/03/thinkpad-t430s-wireless-combo-card-upgrade/ +
+