x230 wifi upgrade w/out BIOS mod?

[Ferdamshur]

HI Folks -
I've upgraded everything I can in my x230, yet I can find no joy in my attempts to up the wifi minipci.
I installed a 6205, but got the dreaded 1802 error message. Are there any miniPCI cards that are confirmed to work without flashing the BIOS?
Thanks!

[axur-delmeria]

Perhaps you bought a 6205 card that isn't from a Thinkpad?

The BIOS whitelist in Thinkpads is very specific-- it checks not only the vendor ID and device ID of the wifi card, but also the subsystem ID-- this means it will block 6205's that came from HP, Dell, Acer, etc. laptops.

[Ferdamshur]

it checks not only the vendor ID and device ID of the wifi card, but also the subsystem ID-

Thanks! Is there a subsystem ID, known to be Lenovo x230 compatible, that I should be searching on, before purchase?

[axur-delmeria]

1. If the WiFi card was taken from a Thinkpad T420, T520, W520, X220, T420s, and their xx30 counterparts, it will work.

2. You can use the Lenovo FRU part numbers as search terms. For the X220, the Intel 6205 card's FRU is 60Y3253. The X230 FRU parts list is also a good source.

[Ferdamshur]

Awesome, Thanks a bunch!

[RealBlackStuff]

I still think you should go the IVPrep/1vyrain way, see here.
No special hardware required.
After that, you can use ANY wifi-card that fits in the machine (and a whole lot of other goodies).