Replacing wireless card on an IBM ThinkPad laptop

Do you want to replace the wireless card on your IBM ThinkPad laptop but not sure where to find it? Pictures posted on this blog explain how to open up an IBM ThinkPad laptop in order to replace the wireless card.
On some ThinkPads the wireless card is located inside the laptop and you’ll have to remove the keyboard with the palm rest if you want to replace the card yourself.

Laptop disassembly and wireless card replacement procedure:

First of all, unplug the power supply and remove the battery.
Picture 1.
Remove all screw marked with red circles from the bottom of the laptop. These screws secure the keyboard and the palm rest. These screws have different length. I would recommend to make some notes where each screw goes, so there is no confusion during the reassembly process.
Picture 2.
Turn the laptop over. Insert a small flathead screwdriver between the keyboard and the palm rest and carefully lift up the keyboard.
Picture 3.
Disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard and remove the keyboard. You can leave it connected to the motherboard, just place the keyboard as it shown on the picture so you can remove the palm rest.
Picture 4.
Lift up the palm rest and unplug the touch pad cable from the motherboard.
Picture 5.
The wireless card is located under the palm rest, under the touch pad.
In order to remove the wireless card, you’ll have to disconnect wireless antennas first. Unsnap both antenna cables from the wireless card with your fingers. Make a note witch cable goes to the main connector and with one goes to the auxiliary connector on the card. Spread latches on both sides from the wireless card with your fingers until the card is released and pops up at a 30 degree angle. Carefully pull the wireless card from the slot by the edges and replace it with a new one. You can use FRU part number from the old card to find a new one, just search by the part number on Google.

If your IBM ThinkPad laptop came without wireless antenna cables and you would like to install it, continue reading here: Adding internal wireless card to an IBM ThinkPad laptop.

 

 

Static electricity can kill your laptop. I recommend wearing an anti-static wrist strap while working with internal parts of your laptop.

 

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