Sony S15/S13 auxiliary mini PCIe information, any working cards?

Has anyone got a mPCIe card working in the extra slot? I picked up a mPCIe to USB 2.0 but I couldn't get it to work in that slot, I then figured that the firmware is checking some-sort of whitelist, so I swapped the WiFi card in that slot and that didn't work either....

Searching these boards:

one member said that on the SONY SB series the slots worked but were unpowered

And more info on the Sony SB mPCIe mod

Another user postulated that the port simply wouldn't work if the computer wasn't ordered with a WWAN card

The Sony S11 actually had a hardware switch on the motherboard to enable the mPCIe slot.

So anyone got anything working there? Any more info now that this laptop has been out awhile?

I have found these part numbers of WWAN cards that Sony use and their respective dip switch settings.
A-1850-708-B/A-1850-708-C for the GOBI3000 card. (off,off,on)
A-1890-111-B for the LTE JP card. (on, on, on)
A-1890-112-B for the LTE EU card. (off, on, on)

I have also found that there are Dip switches by the RAM slot (under the HD ribbon cable) to activate the different cards. The fourth dip switch setting seems to be some sort of security setting...just leave it alone i guess.

So far, the cards all look like mini PCIe size but only utilising the USB interface.

Thanks!

 

So...nobody has anything to add?

 

BTW, I got it working, if there is any interest, I can explain.

 

yes please do [email protected]

can we plug in a mini pci ssd?

 

I don't think so, pure mini-pci-e SSDs are rare, 99% of them are actually msata which is physically the same but incompatible. the secondary mini pcie port is an unpowered USB (in mpcie form), so I ended up putting in an internal USB port into there and bridging the 5volt power from the wifi chip's USB port.

If you end up putting a WWAN card, you need to activate it by setting the switch under the HD cable which I have circled in green. Just unscrew it and flip the dipswitch, that'll activate the VAIO smart network software to recognize the WWAN card and allowing powering on and off. BTW, WWAN cards are primarily USB, and 3.3 volt, so most will work without any special wiring.


Since MS cards are soooo cheap now and are available up to 64 GB so it's easier to get one of those and stick it into the spare slot rather than add an mpcie SSD.

 

Why would the port be unpowered?
What If you flip the WWAN switch?
Just FYI mPCIe Spec has +3.3v not +5v. the mPCIe USB card has a voltage converter on it.

 

I don't know why it is unpowered, maybe SONY did that on purpose to artificially keep us from expanding too much? Or maybe they didn't allot enough power to the MB?
Yes, you are right, the regular port has +3.3v, and the card I'm doing does the transformation. I believe the auxiliary mPCIEe only has 1.5v on a different pin that the WWAN cards use (though it seems to me 1.5v should only be for an on/off signal). Either way, flipping the switch makes no difference. So maybe it is locked in BIOS or firmware?

 

Interesting.. Thanks for your detailed posts by the way. I am wanting to internally install a micro receiver for a keyboard and have ordered a similar mPCIe - usb card to yours but would rather not solder to the WLAN card.. maybe I can find a point on the motherboard that I can take 3.3v from.. Perhaps SONY has locked the bios to only supply power to the slot if it detects a white-listed card at post.. I'll be sure to post here if I make any discoveries :thumbsup:

 

If you wanted to solder to the MB directly, you better just pull the 5 volts from the USB ports, those ports are protected, and supply more power. I soldered to the wifi card because it was easily reversible if I wanted to do warranty work, I could just take out both cards.

 

If I solder to the motherboard I will hard-wire 3.3v to the mPCIe slot so that the card is easily removable/swap-able still. if RMA is necessary I can just de-solder it.

 

well, my mPCIe to USB adapter card arrived today in the mail so I got straight to work.


I simply did the same as you but on the slots rather than the cards themselves.

I used wire from a telephone cable as that's what I had sitting around.

This is mainly so I can upgrade to an 802.11ac card without needing to solder or disassemble the laptop.

I have a Logitech unifying receiver plugged into the card.

 

I like what you did there! Very cleanly done. I forgot to post what I ended up installing: Razer Ouroboros mouse receiver!

 

I know this thread is old, but is it possible to change the existing Gobi3000 WWAN card without opening the entire laptop and unmounting the mainboard. If I open the maintanance cover, can I simple pull out the old card and insert the new LTE WWAN card. Normally the new card should be inserted at an angle of 45° and then pulled down.

 

Yes, you can kind of force it if you remove everything around it, but you risk scraping the motherboard if you don't take it out. don't forget to unscrew the exposed screw, and maybe try slipping some sort of plastic underneath. It's very hard to orient the board without being able to see it though.