y510p - My Intel 2230 probably just died, where can I find the WiFi whitelist to buy a replacement?

y510p - My Intel 2230 probably just died, where can I find the WiFi whitelist to buy a replacement?

I need to work tomorrow, and WiFi kind of non-optional.

 

Seriously, my Google searches only lead to BIOS mods and rumors of whitelists...

 

If your 2230 appears to be turning itself on and off very often, go to device manager, find the card, properties menu, and roll back the driver to 15.6, fixed all my wifi isses.

 

That's what I did on Windows 8 and it didn't help. I'm on Windows 7 now. I really just want to buy a better NIC.

 

You can get a Killer Wireless-N 1202 for 48$ on ebay here:

Killer Wireless N 1202 Dual Band 2x2 with Bluetooth 4 0 Combo Mini PCIe | eBay

But you might wanna give this thread a read:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...02-vs-centrino-wireless-n-2230-best-ping.html

Also, if replacing the Wifi card, make sure to disable secure boot in the BIOS.

Cheers.

 

Is disabling the secure boot the same thing as disabling the whitelist?

 

Your Lenovo Y510p is still covered under warranty. The long-term solution here is to get your WiFi card repaired / replaced by using your warranty.

If you absolutely need WiFi capability as a short-term fix for work, then go to a retail store and buy a USB WiFi adapter for $10. You can buy them just about anywhere... Best Buy, Walmart, Target. And some of those stores open as early as 8am, which you can do before you need to go into work in the morning. It does not need to be the best, or newest, or fastest WiFi technologies. Even something like an 802.11 b/g adapter will work just fine for what you need in the short-term.



If you absolutely need your system for work tomorrow, then this is a far better solution than trying to buy a mini-PCIe WiFi card and tinkering with BIOS whitelists. Take it from my experience... you absolutely do not want to do anything that would render your laptop or smartphone inoperable while you are away from home (OS reformat, BIOS flashing, smartphone custom ROMS, etc. I don't even do driver updates when I am away from home). The reason is because when you are not at home, you cannot guarantee that you will have: (a) a fast, reliable internet connection; (b) access to secondary computers to download software, fixes, drivers, etc in case your primary system is inoperable; (c) access to your software library to re-install software; (d) the several hours it may possibly take to research the problem and apply a fix.

If you absolutely need your system operational and stable for work, then just spend $10 to get a USB WiFi adapter, and deal with the internal WiFi card issue later when you have the luxury of time.

 

I called Lenovo tech support and they said they would charge me money to fix the WiFi card. I thought that was absurd. Then they told me to call the number that I called...

I figure that while their techsupport hours are only while I'm at work, working, and the card is kind of average anyways, I would rather just buy a nicer WiFI nic. But this stuff about a whitelist made an incredibly simple problem and solution impossible.

 

That's ridiculous. Your laptop is nearly brand-new. Getting support (and potentially hardware replacement) on the WiFi card should absolutely be covered under warranty.

I'm guessing that Lenovo probably outsources their phone-based tech support to India or the Philippines. And my experience with technical support from those call centers is that the people working there don't have a clue as to what they are doing. The trick is that if you call and get an answer you don't like, just hang up and call again. Keep speaking to different people until you get an answer that you like.

As for getting a nicer WiFi card... yes, I can definitely see the appeal of doing that. Especially if you wanted a WiFi card with 802.11ac support. I'd still stand by my earlier advice, though... if you need a working system right now, then just buy a USB WiFi adapter and deal with the internal WiFi card later. If you're going to be flashing a hacked and unsupported BIOS onto your system, you want to make sure that you do it when you have the time & resources to fix the problem in case that BIOS update fails.

 

I called them again this morning. This guy told me I would have to ship my laptop to a repair center, presumably for a free repair. It would be a better "value" for me to buy a new WiFi nic than go 1 or 2 weeks without a laptop.

The guy also put me on hold for a few minutes to find out what the whitelist was on the BIOS, but when he came back he said that there was no whitelist on the BIOS for WiFi nics for the y510p.

So I do wonder, did he talk to a technician who was unaware that there is a whitelist, is the whitelist a sub-component of secure-boot, or is the whitelist a myth??? I did get a USB WiFi adapter, but I don't want to rely on it.

 

Uhhh....

Umm....

The reason the technician didn't know what you're talking about is because you're talking about modifying a BIOS. You're talking about hacking. Flashing your BIOS to an unauthorized, modified BIOS that you got from some guy on some internet forum is absolutely something that isn't covered by Lenovo, will void your Lenovo warranty, and isn't something that the Lenovo technicians ever see or deal with.

When you call tech support for any product, you NEVER ask them or tell them about unauthorized hacks, modifications, etc you have done to your laptop. You especially do not tell them about things you have done that would void your warranty. Because once you say anything about those things, it is no longer their job to help you and answer your questions. Once you say anything about hacking or unauthorized mods, it then becomes their job to void your warranty.

If you call tech support, you always play dumb. Always. "I don't know what happened... it just stopped working one day."

 

I think you misunderstood. I opened up a case number explaining that my WiFi nic is horrible and unusable, then I explained that it would be cheaper to buy a nic than it would be go without a laptop for possibly 2 weeks. He said he couldn't find a whitelist. I didn't mention or suggest anything about modifying the BIOS. I really just want some documentation on this mysterious whitelist.

 

That makes more sense.

 

Have you seen this Lenovo thread? Or are you already one of the posters?

New y510p with a wifi problem - Lenovo Community

 

Try reading this thread before you give your 2230 a last ditch:

Intel Centrino Wireless N 2230 conectivity issue!

 

I agree with Ken.

Buy a usb wireless adapter. But I do not advise you to send your laptop to a service center. If it's something you can fix in which case you can certainly do this by yourself, do it on your own. Sending your laptop to a service center can bring additional damages to your laptop.

 

Woah OK, this is a game-changer. I would buy any of the WiFi NICS offered here. Why does XOTICPC sell the Lenovo y510p with incompatible WiFi NICS?

XOTIC PC | LENOVO IdeaPad Y510p (59375625)

Also, I did finally get the other Intel card it was centrino 3XXX something. It is double the length of my current one, so it won't fit.

 

ETA of those systems on XOTICPC is imd-August.

Most likely, they haven't gotten any Lenovo Y510p's in-stock yet to do their custom configuration and testing, and their website is wrong. This includes the fact that their website allows you to pick 2x mSATA drives for configuration in RAID.

My guess is that once they get the systems in-stock, they will cancel existing pre-orders for the Lenovo Y510p due to errors on their website ordering page, and allow you the option of placing a new order.

 

I made a more RMA type call to Lenovo. I demanded that they either unlock the BIOS or give me a refund. I should be called by a customer relations person in 3 or 4 days.