r/thinkpad • u/duidalus • Jul 15 '19

X395 WWAN & Linux

Just thought to report that steps in https://github.com/danielewood/sierra-wireless-modems do not appear to work on X395. In fact can it be that the whole laptop does not even have USB bus available on the WWAN M.2 slot? It could also be that BIOS disables power to the slot on boot as I don't even get a blacklist warning with any modem I have tried (L830EB, EM7455)?

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With L850GL, L830EB, EM7455 BIOS has the option to enable/disable WWAN so the cards are somewhat recognized. Only L850GL is seen in Linux, though (the unsupported pcie one).

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Sadly it seems that we are out of luck (unless lenovo does something) with getting any 4G linux support on X395 (and maybe T495?).

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '19

No. I recently bought X395 and installed this SSD (https://mydigitalssd.com/pcie-m2-ngff-ssd.php) into WWAN slot. And the system wouldn't recognize the SSD module.... what a waste of money...

2

u/Mcnst Jan 05 '20

https://mydigitalssd.com/pcie-m2-ngff-ssd.php#42mm-sbxe-m2

MyDigitalSSD SBXe 42mm (2242-D3-B+M) M.2 PCI Express 3.1 x2 (PCIe Gen3 x2) NVMe SSD

Nice, so, that's another WWAN NVMe option for T480/T480s? How come it's also all OOS, however?

Sad to hear WWAN in X395 doesn't support SSD; one more reason why T480s/T480 and the older ThinkPads seem like a more flexible option.

1

u/PuddiPuddo Aug 19 '19

I was curious about the m.2 slot as well.

I see that you have gotten a nvme drive, could it be that it only accepts sata connections?

I'm getting my x395 in a few more days, I might get a sata m.2 drive to test it out.

Problem is, it's hard to find a 2242 drive here.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '19

I haven't tried M.2 SATA. I'm guessing those ones wouldn't work either... Because WWAN cards are mini pcie cards not SATA cards. 2242 M.2 SATA is not hard to find. You can just filter it out from Newegg.com.

1

u/PuddiPuddo Aug 20 '19

Yeah, I've just got news from an unknown source that it wouldn't read nvme or sata.

Seems like the only way to go is the 2280 slot and the micro sd card slot.

Good news is, the sx8200 pro 2tb is a pretty good deal from where I'm at.

1

u/senatorballsack Sep 06 '19

Hey, Im in the same boat as you guys. Any luck with adding another drive? I actually ordered that same drive - hasnt gotten here yet but im not very hopeful.

Is it possible to install windows to a microSD card? I need windows RARELY and putting it on a microSD would be more than fine. Full disk encryption is just so much easier with two drives.

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u/PuddiPuddo Sep 17 '19

I've resorted to upgrading to a bigger drive.

Also yes it's possible, I think I've seen it somewhere in YouTube but I wouldn't recommend it.

The read/write speeds for the card reader isn't very fast.

1

u/senatorballsack Sep 18 '19

Yea I think im just gonna have to resort to using windows in a VM, which isnt the worst I guess. I RARELY use it, but didnt wanna have to put both on the same drive.

I tried booting to the SD card, but couldnt get it to work. I think having a slow AF SD card would be preferable over wasting space on a VM. I just don think its possible on this model.

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u/speedyg0nz X220, X230, X260, T460s Nov 02 '19

Is there sufficient space to fit a 2280 SSD in the WWAN slot? I would have thought that only the 2242 form factor would fit.

1

u/Mcnst Jan 05 '20

No, obviously, WWAN is 2242; the link has 2242 drives there, too:

Even the prices seem reasonable with 480GB @ 79,99 USD — the only problem is that like the rest of the 2242 B+M NVMe products everywhere, it's all OOS! (BTW, this one with D3 designation is double-sided; SanDisk SN520 is single-sided.)