Home » Hardware » notebooks » ThinkPad x201
notebook ThinkPad x201
model: ThinkPad x201(model id: 1625)
subtype (notebook, netbook, motherboard, tablet):
notebook
vendor:
Lenovo
architecture:
x86-64/amd64
does it have a free boot firmware (BIOS,UEFI,...) ?
no
can free operating systems be installed?
yes
does the device prevent installing wifi cards not-approved by the vendor?
yes (see the details inside the description entry)
year of commercialization:
2011
compatibility with free software:
C-silver
tested on:
Debian GNU/Linux 7 wheezy
Debian GNU/Linux Testing
Trisquel 6.0 Toutatis
tested with the following kernel libre:
3.13.0-48-generic
video card model:
Intel Core IGP (i915) (works with 3D acceleration)
wifi model:
Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (rev 35) (it does not work)
webcam model:
(not specified how it works)
Description:
Wifi card whitelist

All thinkpads have a Wifi card whitelist at the BIOS level that prevents installing certain WiFi cards. The restriction can be bypassed with a BIOS modification: either installing Coreboot or editing the official Lenovo/IBM BIOS.

Miscellaneous
Everything works besides Wifi and Ethernet. Swapping the wifi module to e.g. Atheros AR9285 solves the problem but is a bit tricky as Lenovo has only approved chipsets whitelisted. If you change the module the x201 refuses to boot (!) until you remove it again. Flashing the bios kills the whitelisting feature and enables you to change the module to whatever you want. Here is a tutorial on how to do so - sadly only in German - but the commands should be understandeable: http://vinzv.de/wie-man-den-wlan-chipsatz-in-einem-thinkpad-x201-austauscht/

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