Fix Your Stuff Community Store

Free Shipping on Domestic Orders $75+

Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the WWAN card in your Lenovo ThinkPad T480s laptop.

The WWAN (wireless wide area network) card allows you to connect to the internet without relying on a local Wi-Fi connection. If your computer has a WWAN card installed and you are having trouble using the internet without Wi-Fi, you may have a faulty WWAN card or antenna.

If you are having trouble accessing a local Wi-Fi connection, you may need to troubleshoot or replace the Wi-Fi card or WLAN antennas.

Before attempting a replacement, make sure to disable the internal battery, power down your device, and disconnect from any external power sources.

What you need

  1. Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement, Bottom Cover: step 1, image 1 of 2 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement, Bottom Cover: step 1, image 2 of 2

    • Disable the battery, power down the device, and unplug the power adapter from your device before proceeding/beginning the guide.

    • Loosen the six captive screws with a Phillips #1 screwdriver.

    Edit

  2. Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 2, image 1 of 3 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 2, image 2 of 3 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 2, image 3 of 3

    • Remove the bottom cover with an opening tool.

    • Start from the top edge near the hinge and work your way along the edge until all of the clips are unsnapped.

    Edit

  4. Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 3, image 1 of 2 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 3, image 2 of 2

    • Lift the bottom cover off.

    Edit

  5. Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement, WWAN Card: step 4, image 1 of 3 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement, WWAN Card: step 4, image 2 of 3 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement, WWAN Card: step 4, image 3 of 3

    • Flip the cardboard cover off of the WWAN card.

    • Using the spudger, release the coaxial antenna wires from the WWAN card.

    • When reassembling, reattach the blue wire on the left and the orange wire on the right.

    Edit

  6. Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 5, image 1 of 2 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 5, image 2 of 2

    • Use a Phillips #1 screwdriver to remove one 2.8mm screw.

    Edit

  7. Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 6, image 1 of 3 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 6, image 2 of 3 Lenovo ThinkPad T480s WWAN Card Replacement: step 6, image 3 of 3

    • Slide the WWAN card out from the slot.

    Edit
Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.

3 other people completed this guide.

Author

with 1 other contributor

Sarah Westberg

Member since: 03/11/19

37,275 Reputation

71 Guides authored

Badges: 39

+36 more badges

Team

iFixit Member of iFixit

Staff

124 Members

24,173 Guides authored

1 Guide Comment

You can also install a secondary SSD into the WWAN slot, but it must fit these requirements:
- SSD size: M.2 2242,
- It must be M+B keyed, and
- (Hypothetically, only the SSD being B keyed is needed, but I haven't seen any NVMe SSDs that are only B-keyed.)
- It must be single-sided, with respect to surface-mount components.

Information came from this video for the ThinkPad T480, but the ThinkPad T480s is similar enough to the ThinkPad T480 for this to work.

Tai Lam - Reply Share

Add Comment

View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 5

Past 7 Days: 25

Past 30 Days: 159

All Time: 6,209