upgrade WLAN 4965 abg to 4965 abgn

My T61 has an Intel 4965 card with 'N' disabled. I'm wondering if I were to purchase a 4965 with 'N' enabled, will I have to make any other changes/adjustments to the computer or will it be a plug and play?

I would prefer to get the Intel 5100 but I don't know if those are available for this model as it is discontinued. I can't find it on the Lenovo web site.

I know whatever I get it has to be approved for use in a Lenovo system.

Thanks

 

The 4965 is superior the the 5100, if you're going to get a 5 series card, be sure to get the 5300.
Other than that, you already know about the whitelist. Just make sure you go to Intel's website and download the latest drivers for whatever card you do buy; the drivers you have installed now may even work without an update.

 

One important thing to note.

The 4965 AGN card does NOT support 40MHz (fat channel) mode on 2.4GHz networks. As a result, it will not achieve full 802.11N speed unless you are using a 5GHz network.

Both the 5100 and 5300 support 40MHz on 2.4GHz networks, but you must manually enable it.

The 5300 should be superior to the 5100 in range and/or speed, but I have been satisfied with the 5100 in my x200 Tablet. Read my detailed thread on 802.11N and the Wi-Fi 5100.

 

Thanks for the replies!

Another questions if you don't mind about downloading drivers from the Intel website. My experience in the past was that is was best to use the computer manufacture drivers over the WLAN module manufacture drivers because the computer manufactures tweak them for their systems. At least that's how it was with Dell. This is the first Think Pad I've ever owned.

Thanks

 

I prefer manufacturer drivers per device, not per system, because this is how you get the most updated drivers. Then again, having updated wireless drivers does not really provide much benefit the way updated chipset or video drivers might - and it's true that computer manufacturers may tweak or modify the drivers for their systems - so it's your preference. Just make sure you have some drivers to install for the new card.

 

There were endless threads on this topic earlier, all revolving around whether or not the additional antenna needed for N was installed in the 4965 -N disabled T61's. Some said yes, some said no - evidently it was not always installed. Does anyone know the definitive answer to this question, before Waltz wastes his time?

 

Mine does have the N wire, I removed the keyboard to check. The current 4965 module has all 3 wires (black, gray, white) connected to it. It's printed right on the module 'a/b/g' no n. I don't know why the gray wire was connected. Usually it's just the black and white if there's no n feature (again, at least on the Dell's). I checked e-bay, I can get a new one there for 50 bucks.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

You might have to modify your bios, otherwise the computer will not post and give you a message like "Unauthorized Card Detected"