X200 + AC7260

[douirc]

Can it be done? Can I install an Intel AC-7260 into my Thinkpad X200 to replace my 5300 AGN? Will AC on 5GHz work? What about BT? Does it matter which I buy?

Thanks!

[ansible212]

Yes you can, but you will need a modified BIOS. I have one in both my X200s and X220.

Already discussed briefly here:

http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopi ... 43&t=11466

I purchased the adapter with part number 7260.HMWWB, which may now be an old model. This is a half sized card, but don't worry as there are mounting holes under the existing wireless adapter.

You'll need a modded BIOS - if running Win 7 64 bit you will need to flash from USB (I couldn't find a version that is compatible with Win 7 64 bit and indeed almost bricked my X200s flashing it )

I have got best results using Intel drivers (and had to play around with different versions), rather than the Lenovo drivers (wifi works OK with the Lenovo drivers, but BT didn't reliably when I went down that route - had to use X240 BT drivers I think and it was hit and miss). You will also have to disable the built in Bluetooth in Device Manager as they will not coexist.

On the X200s I have not been able to get Fn+F5 to turn the Bluetooth radio on and off, and have had to use the shortcut in the System Tray, otherwise everything works OK (OTOH this does work on the X220).

[douirc]

Yes you can, but you will need a modified BIOS. I have one in both my X200s and X220.

Already discussed briefly here:

http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopi ... 43&t=11466

I purchased the adapter with part number 7260.HMWWB, which may now be an old model. This is a half sized card, but don't worry as there are mounting holes under the existing wireless adapter.

You'll need a modded BIOS - if running Win 7 64 bit you will need to flash from USB (I couldn't find a version that is compatible with Win 7 64 bit and indeed almost bricked my X200s flashing it )

I have got best results using Intel drivers (and had to play around with different versions), rather than the Lenovo drivers (wifi works OK with the Lenovo drivers, but BT didn't reliably when I went down that route - had to use X240 BT drivers I think and it was hit and miss). You will also have to disable the built in Bluetooth in Device Manager as they will not coexist.

On the X200s I have not been able to get Fn+F5 to turn the Bluetooth radio on and off, and have had to use the shortcut in the System Tray, otherwise everything works OK (OTOH this does work on the X220).

That's great news! Thanks for the reply. Just placed my order and should have it this week.

Have a pic of the completed installation? Link to modded BIOS with flash instructions? Link to the best drivers for Win 7 x64?

Thanks again for the help.

Btw, can't find the difference between 7260hmw vs 7260ngw.

Found this link on modding the bios for an x200. Can I use someone else's altered X200 BIOS to flash or is that a mistake? I figure the BIOS for all X200's are the same, right?

http://art.ified.ca/?page_id=218

[douirc]

ok, making progress. found this website for the modded x200 bios for model 7454.

https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread- ... enovo-x200

looks very straight forward. flash the bios first using the .exe in windows (there's a link for both x32 and x64), then flash again using the modded bios on a dos usb flash thumb drive. my new problem is finding my x200 battery because the bios flash in windows won't let me execute without the battery.

also, found the intel ac7260 pdf that shows the 3 wifi models; 7260HMW (HMC), 7260NGW and 7260SDW (M.2).

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/pu ... -brief.pdf

they all seem to be the same, just the form factor is different:

Single sided HMC and M.2 modules support multiple connectors for flexible system configuration and platform usages. The new M.2 form factor (2230 and 2226 Solder Down) delivers a smaller, lower profile, more flexible form factor for thin-and-light designs.

I ordered the HMC form factor.

Next step is find Intel drivers for the 7260. Once I find the battery and flash the BIOS, install the card and install the drivers, I should be in business!

[ansible212]

I use the drivers direct from Intel:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Search ... rodId=3714

As mentioned previously, I have experienced some issues with the Lenovo drivers and moreover I have also had to use older Intel drivers to get the Bluetooth to behave on my X220, although that could also be due to the sometimes temperamental behaviour of my Nexus 4 phone.

However, I have updated the drivers on my X220 tonight to the latest versions on the Intel site (wireless 17.1.0 and BT 17.1.1406) and have tested the BT by sending and receiving files between my laptop and phone.

A couple of points:

Firstly, turn on Bluetooth before installing the Intel BT drivers, then disable built in BT in Device Manager, then install Intel.

Secondly, you will also have one or more Bluetooth Peripheral Devices showing under Other devices in Device Manager. Answer is here:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... f70512c6cc

I will update the drivers on my X200s in due course and report back if I have any issues.

[douirc]

ok, so I found my battery, flashed the latest BIOS, then flashed the hacked whitelist BIOS and everything went without a hitch.

next, installed the new AC wifi card which was a piece of cake.

then i booted windows, it tried to install drivers and failed (which is fine, i expected that). i then downloaded Wireless_17.1.0_s64.exe from Intel's wifi drivers site, ran the package, rebooted and now everything is running great in Win7x64. it found the wifi card without a snag, drivers are all running perfectly (no unidentified hardware or driver errors) and the wifi and bt networks are running just fine.

i connected windows to my local wifi router ASUS RT-AC68U without a problem (using the standard windows networking functionality). after connecting i clicked the wifi icon in the system tray and choose option Open Network and Sharing Center. there i clicked the wireless network i am connected to under the "View your active networks" section. the window that pops up has one tab - General, and in it it shows the connection speed - 300Mbps. Shouldn't it be higher? I was expecting more along the lines of 600Mbps or is that unrealistic?

aside from that, everything looks good.

[ansible212]

I have the same router as you.

Just checked the connection speed on my X200s with it situated closed to the router and get 650-866 Mbps (speeds are similar at approx 3m away in the same room).

Remember that either AES encryption or none (i.e. open) are a prerequisite for 802.11ac, so that may be the cause.

[douirc]

Yeah, I'm using WPA2 Personal and AES on my 5GHz network. Any other suggestions? I checked ubuntu too and it also shows 300Mbps, so I'm guessing it's my hardware config and not the OS. Perhaps I'm missing some other setting on the router? I'll try googling around. Btw, what firmware are you running on your 68U? I heard some of the firmwares break AC speeds.

[ansible212]

I am running 3.0.0.4.376.1663. Have never had issues with connections speeds, however, with earlier firmware.

[douirc]

ok, same firmware too. not sure what's holding me back. anyway, thanks for all the help.

[douirc]

so was over at my buddy's place with my x200 connected to his new airport extreme ac and i was getting way faster connections at his place than mine. it was running well over 700 Mbps which was of course awesome to see but extremely irritating that i couldn't accomplish the same at home.

did some more searching and ran across this website with a simple fix. log into the ac-rt68u, switch to the 5GHz network and change the Channel Bandwidth setting from <auto> to 80 MHz. The router rebooted and when the wireless network re-established I was instantly connected at 866 Mbps!! of course it's fluctuating between 680 and 866 but whatever! it's WAY better than the 300 i was getting before!

so, my end result of all this work is basically extreme happiness now that i've got it all working the way it should

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showt ... hp?t=13165

[ansible212]

I checked my configuration, and the 5 GHz Channel Bandwidth is set to 20/40/80 MHz. Forcing it to 80 MHz does not result in any noticeable increase in connection speed.

[heilong]

This thread comes up on the first page in "x220 7260" google search, so I'm reviving it to post my own experience in here.
I have an X220 that originally came with Intel 6250 wi-fi card and a Bluetooth 2.0 Daughter Card. First I've bought a Bluetooth 4.0 Daughter Card (for X240), it worked fine after I've flashed a modified (de-whitelisted) BIOS (google for: x220 1.43 ValdikSS).

Later I replaced the wi-fi card with Intel 7260AC, installed in the half-width slot (I've got an SSD in the full-width slot).
Installed latest Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers for that card (tried ones from Intel and a couple of different ones from Lenovo), but the card didn't show up in device manager. I then taped (later scraped off with a scalpel) PIN 51 on the card (google for: X220T and Intel Wireless-AC 7260 Installation Woes), after that it worked.

If I kept the Bluetooth Daughter Card also connected (but disabled in device manager), the Fn+F5 would allow to power the Bluetooth device on/off, the Bluetooth LED would work, but neither of them would have any relation to the Bluetooth provided by the Intel 7260AC. So I unplugged the Bluetooth Daughter Card.

Summary: Intel 7260AC in the half-width slot, it's pin #51 scraped off with a scalpel; modded X220 1.43 BIOS installed; original bluetooth daughter card removed.
Results: Both wi-fi and bluetooth working. Hardware switch on the left side only affects Wi-Fi, doesn't disable the Bluetooth radio. Fn+F5 menu only lists Wi-Fi, doesn't give an option to disable the Bluetooth radio. The Bluetooth LED is always off.

I'd love to have hardware radio switch, Fn+F5 menu and LED to work with Bluetooth, but I couldn't do so.

Btw, is anybody aware of existence of modded (de-whitelisted) BIOS for X220t? I'd like to install that Bluetooth 4.0 Daughter Card to my wife's X220t.

[RealBlackStuff]

X220, X220i and X220T(tablet) all use the same BIOS, so you can also put ValdikSS's BIOS on your wife's machine.
Here is another option (unless they are the same): http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Custom_BIOS

[heilong]

Thanks, for some reason I assumed the BIOSes are model-specific.
The thinkwiki page just links to an older version of the modded BIOS.

[RealBlackStuff]

It pays (sometimes) to read Lenovo's README.txt for the BIOS/driver/whatever item you want to update.