Installing a WWAN card on an old Thinkpad, will it enumerate?

I realised an old Thinkpad T490s had a SIM card slot. As I opened the laptop, I saw there was an empty m.2 -like slot close to the SIM card holder. It appears to be an unpopulated slot for a WWAN card, i.e. an LTE mobile broadband modem.

As I looked in to this, the key learnings were

  • First make sure the laptop has the antennas installed. You can find tiny coaxial cables with connectors in protective covers and taped to the slot.
  • Be sure to get a WWAN card that has Lenovo FRU -number on it.

  • Remember to activate the card in setup menu
    • Setup, Security, I/O Port access, Wireless WAN - needs to be ON
    • Without this, the device will not enumerate in the OS
  • Antennas are color coded. To figure out what goes where, see the markings on the modem.

I chose Fibocom L830-EB and paid 5€ for a tested working one.

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