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    M14x mobile broadband mod

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by hanuman33, Jun 13, 2011.

  1. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    Hi,
    I used to own a M11x R1 (UK) and chucked in a dell 5520 WWAN mobile broadband card to use my 3g sim when out and about.
    Does anyone know what card I can chuck into my M14x? I still have the 5520, or would I need something like the 5620 from Dell?
    PS I have no worries about tearing down the machine to put in the antenna.
    Cheers
    Hanuman
     
    hanuman33, Jun 13, 2011
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  2. solrac13

    solrac13 Notebook Evangelist

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    I think you need this >>> Wireless 5530 HSPA Mobile Broadband Mini-Card for Dell Alienware M14X
     
    solrac13, Jun 13, 2011
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  3. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    Ah OK thanks Ill give it a try, if I get it up and runnning ok then ill post a guide
     
    hanuman33, Jun 13, 2011
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  4. solrac13

    solrac13 Notebook Evangelist

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    May be u want to buy it from here

    Yes please do as I am also wandering if that could make work the 3g slot who seems useless

    Sherrrs
     
    solrac13, Jun 13, 2011
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  5. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    OK I got it to work, ill update with a quick guide after i have some food yum yum!
     
    hanuman33, Jun 16, 2011
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  6. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    OK, so first off I am running BIOS A01 on a UK M14x.
    I followed this guide for my M11x:
    Adding Dell 5520 Internal WWAN Card To Alienware M11x | The Singaporean Gamer
    and got the WWAN working fine with a 5520 Toshiba card. So thought I would have a go at the M14x as I like to have network wherever I go.
    I tried the 5530 as seen on the Dell upgrade page but it wasnt recognised by the system. I tried my older 5520 from my M11x and it worked a charm using the method in the link.
    It was just a case of placing the card in the HD wireless slot and installing an aerial and the drivers manually in Win7. The aerial is a bit of a challenge, I havnt routed it under the display LCD yet, I have it sat under the keyboard on the RHS above the DVD drive. I am getting 4bars of coverage on the 3G network in the UK. Hopefully I will get some time soon to take some photos for anyone interested.
     
    hanuman33, Jun 16, 2011
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  7. Aikimox

    Aikimox Weihenstephaner!

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    Awesome job! Good to know it's doable. I will do similar mod on my M18x.
     
    Aikimox, Jun 19, 2011
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  8. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    nice work. Shame about the 5530 as I have one spare and was hoping to install it when my 14x arrives
     
    ninja2000, Jun 20, 2011
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  9. Aikimox

    Aikimox Weihenstephaner!

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    If you don't need it, could you sell it to me? I'd like to experiment with the M18x.
     
    Aikimox, Jun 20, 2011
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  10. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    I could, but I am in the UK.
     
    ninja2000, Jun 20, 2011
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  11. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    the 5530 may work on the newer bios, but I am still on A01. I have got some flat antenna coming soon so I am going to try and fiddle about with the placement of wires and things. When I get it looking pretty Ill post some pics.
     
    hanuman33, Jun 20, 2011
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  12. Aikimox

    Aikimox Weihenstephaner!

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    Where do you get the antennas from?
     
    Aikimox, Jun 20, 2011
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  13. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    hanuman33, Jun 20, 2011
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  14. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    If you just want to test without installing wires, just use one of your WLAN cables.
    The WLAN will work fine with one cable but you will lose some range. Then if you get it working you can worry about antennas
     
    ninja2000, Jun 20, 2011
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  15. Aikimox

    Aikimox Weihenstephaner!

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    BTW, do you even have a sim card slot on your M14x?


    Edit: never mind, yes you do. The M18x doesn't have it, guess there's no mobile broadband for me :(
     
    Aikimox, Jun 20, 2011
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  16. solrac13

    solrac13 Notebook Evangelist

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    Great Job, i been asking this on and on and no one answered, so you are positive it works great!

    Could you please tel me if the SIM card slot that we all have on the M14x works, ones you install the WWAN card?

    Is it this one the 5520 Toshiba card


    Also who would ha pend to our wifi card ? do we have 2 connectors, sorry i dont know much about the insiders of our computer!

    Thanks and ones more BRAVO
     
    solrac13, Jun 21, 2011
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  17. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    Hi,
    the SIM reader works outright, but until a WWAN card is installed the laptop will not read the SIM at all.
    My WWAN is a 5520 Toshiba OEM branded Novatel EU870D card, I can look for the serial numbers if anyone requires, but I will have to do it later as I am gaming at the moment.
    I think there are also Dell OEM versions of the card that require different drivers, but mine is definitely the toshiba one.
     
    hanuman33, Jun 21, 2011
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  18. solrac13

    solrac13 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hanuman

    What would hapend to our current wifi card 6205?

    Can we keep both?

    Thanks
     
    solrac13, Jun 22, 2011
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  19. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    Hi, so here is a pic of the two cards installed, my 5520 wwan and my bigfoot killer N, there are two PCIE mini slots, one is for the wifi and one for hd wifi, but as they dont offer hd wifi in the uk spec i decided to put my 5520 in
    width='450' height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://backend.deviantart.com/embed/view.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="id=214442905&width=1337" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://backend.deviantart.com/embed/view.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width='450' flashvars="id=214442905&width=1337" height="385" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object>
    m14x wwan mod by ~ hanuman33 on deviant ART
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 7, 2015
    hanuman33, Jun 22, 2011
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  20. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    hanuman33, Jun 22, 2011
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  21. LauraAmerica

    LauraAmerica Newbie

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    I also would like to know if this is an upgrade, an add-on or a replacement for our actual cards.
     
    LauraAmerica, Aug 6, 2011
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  22. Truckert

    Truckert Notebook Enthusiast

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    hi can you confirm that the antenna you tried in the above quote worked ok ??
    If It does I'm going to buy me a mini card and the antenna and fit it in my M14X.
    Can you tell me what other mini cards would work and also once I have fitted a mini card where do i get the drivers and software ??
     
    Truckert, Sep 19, 2011
    #22
  23. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    Hi Truckert,
    I didnt get a super strong signal like you would if it was an antenna in the back of the screen. But it did have 2-3 bars strength most of the time. I got the drivers for the mod from this page (I also followed the driver installation guide)
    http://thesingaporeangamer.com/blog...ll-5520-internal-wwan-card-to-alienware-m11x/
    As far as other cards the Dell site originally named the 5530 as compatible and had some drivers on the US site, I tried to get that card to work but had no success. The cards now advertised on Dell are the 5620 and the 5800 depending on whether you want 3G or 4G, drivers are on the US site for these cards but I havnt tried them.

    Hi Laura America,
    sorry I havnt been online for a while so late reply. The WWAN card is an add on that fits in the HD WIFI slot, there are various combinations of connectivity you can make but in the UK we didnt get the HD WIFI option so I put the 5520 card in the empty slot.
     
    hanuman33, Sep 19, 2011
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  24. Croatoan

    Croatoan Notebook Consultant

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    I added one to my m1530 xps years ago, not much use for one these days with tethering available for most smart phones. Not sure I would want a second contract...........
     
    Croatoan, Sep 20, 2011
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  25. Kantide

    Kantide Notebook Geek

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    I just wifi tether myself 8O
     
    Kantide, Sep 20, 2011
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  26. hanuman33

    hanuman33 Notebook Guru

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    In fairness the most use I have had out of the mod was using PAYG SIMs when I was abroad as the hotel WIFI cost a fortune!
     
    hanuman33, Sep 20, 2011
    #26
  27. c1ro

    c1ro Notebook Consultant

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    Just get a HSPA+ pocket wifi router. Huawei E586 is brilliant
     
    c1ro, Sep 20, 2011
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  28. LauraAmerica

    LauraAmerica Newbie

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    I need broadband in my m14x. The Chinese site is in Chinese lol. Could I just order any of those or is there an specific card? Or is there anyone willing to sell me a wwan if you don't see any use for it? thanks.
     
    LauraAmerica, Dec 21, 2011
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  29. xxtkidxx

    xxtkidxx Newbie

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    How to use WWAN 5620 on m14x laptop ?
     
    xxtkidxx, Mar 21, 2012
    #29