XPS 15 (L501X) and Retrofitting WWAN

Question

Hi there!

Just ordered a new XPS 15. I'm upgrading from a XPSM1530 which has given me two years of excellent service. I'm a field software engineer so my laptops end up in some extremely volatile environments. Apart from having to glue and patch things back up (most notably the aluminium cover), having a few chunks out of the screen, and being on my second battery, the 1530 is still going strong! The screen ribbon has just started to give out which means it is going to have to go in the bin, though (or get retired to the parts pile).

On the XPS1530, I added the Dell Mobile Broadband 5520 card to allow for Mobile Broadband using the Sim slot under the battery. In my job it was much easier than having to plug in a 3G USB stick every time, and for Windows to not recognise it/for it to fall or get kicked out/etc

During my purchase, I asked a Dell "Online Advisor" whether I would be able to take my 5520 card out of my 1530 and put it into my new L501X. He said that it "should be OK".

I now have a fear, however, as I've discovered that potentially the back panel of the L501X laptop WITH the WWAN is different to the back panel of the laptop WITHOUT the WWAN (even though I didnt get any back panel options during the purchase).This further leads me to fear whether the antenna for WWAN is installed, etc, as I havent specced the laptop with mobile broadband. I also cant find any installation instructions for putting the WWAN card in a L501X after purchase.

Is there any chance someone with a L501X WITHOUT WWAN could pop the back cover off and let me know whether the WWAN slot is there and whether the two wires are there ready to plug into the WWAN card? If they're not, I will be having to give Dell a roasting!! I've managed to find a couple of YouTube videos showing the back off, but it is difficult to see if the wires and slot are there.

Obviously it may be that the 5520 will not work even if it is plugged in (I think I need the 5540) but worth a try.

Any help would be appreciated :-)

gatsoman · Answer

Just had a quick look at a non WWAN model and it still has the big hatch on the back, but didnt have time to open it

chawbs · Answer

Hi

I too have XPS L501X. I read up and thought 5540 was only compatable card so bought one off ebay allong with a couple of small antennas to test with. Install kit first then drivers then SIM card & no problems - all up and running.

Only real issue isthat signal could be better so looking for option of factory fit antennas but cannot find any links / suggestions as to what to buy. I get 2 or 3 bars on phone but only 1 bar on laptop which makes it workable here at home but could be dodgy elsewhere :-( Also GPS does not lock on so need better antenna there...

Anyone know if I can order parts from DELL (knowing that warantee would be void when I open to install - hey I've been fixing laptops for many years...)

Thanks

mrpoptop77 · Answer

What operating system and what drivers did you use for it?  I can get the modem to work just fine in my E6510, but I cant get the gps drivers to load.  I am running win7 64 Pro

chawbs · Answer

I too have win7 64 Pro. The laptop came with win7 64 home which I upgraded. The drivers are the ones from the dell support site for my laptop as suggested by the service tag. I'm still on the lookout for a good antenna because the small internal ones do not work in anything but excellent signal area - being out in the sticks certainly does not count in this respect!

I have not been able to lock onto the GPS with the small antenna but it does respond with NMEA data.

At first I installed the driver but the card did not respond at all when putting it in afterwards. I then removed and re-installed the driver and that sparked everything into life (with SIM card inserted).

Support site describes driver as "R2T03, A10" with following compatibility:

Systems

XPS L401X

XPS L501X

XPS L701X

Operating systems

Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit

Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit

Microsoft Windows XP

Microsoft Windows XP x64

theGreenGrinGo · Answer

I just recently ordered the XPS 15 L502X (the newest model), but didn't bother to get the broadband mini-card for it.  I may later, and when I called my order in to speak with someone (to ask questions as I ordered) I did mention that I may want one later and she said that I could either order one from Dell or go to my local service provider (in my case, Verizon) and they would arrange to get and install the card themselves.  I'm guessing this implies that the connections and antenna hardware already come installed as a standard whether you actually get one or not.  As I mentioned, I'm with Verizon so the compatible card for my system (according to Dell) is the 5620.  I looked it up and it says it costs about $120 for the card.  I am curious...if I were to get the card, would the GPS work with some compatible software without actually activating the broadband with Verizon?  As long as I had the right drivers for it installed and used some GPS software that recognized the card, I could use it like any other GPS navigator device?

ejn63 · Answer

Almost certainly not -- the GPS feature is an extra-cost addition with Verizon. It's highly unlikely any software will use the GPS feature other than through Verizon's network (for which you pay an extra $10 a month over and above the cost of your data plan).

XPS4GEMINI · Answer

Gatsoman, did you ever resolve this issue? I found myself in a similar situation. I too purchansed the L501X without the broadband card originally installed and proceeded to order from Dell. The online advisor promised the antenna and mounting screws were included with detailed installation procedures and none of which were included.

Did you find a fix for our situation?

As you said, any help would be appreciated.

gatsoman · Answer

Hey guys

Re that GPS question, it looks to me like the GPS is a true GPS receiver - so it should work regardless of whether you have a SIM installed in the PC or not. I was tracking myself on a train the other day in Google Earth and I was without any GSM signal for about 20 minutes. Even though the map couldn't update, the GPS worked fine...

gatsoman · Answer

Hi there

It turned into a absolute time-consuming nightmare for me. I did get it fixed but had to get Dell involved.

I finally got to speak to someone who knew what they were talking about at Dell and they confirmed I had to buy a 'kit' which included the back casing (behind the LCD screen) which comes with antennas for the GPS and the 3G modem, as well as the Dell 5540 card. Also, I needed an engineer to fit to avoid voiding my warranty.

All in, it cost £250. It's a bummer, as I made a standard saving on the machine as it was on sale, and then found a further voucher online, so this £250 has wiped out the saving I made. I think I have a good case to approach Dell for a refund, but this PC was a company purchase, and as it's not my money, I can't really be arsed despite having the online chat transcript where the guy states that it should work.

So to answer your question, the parts are available, and they do leave it to you whether you want to fit or not. It took the guy about 45 minutes. The part is down as a "System Hardware Configuration Change" on my bill, with a part number of 682-19817. This may well be the part, or it may just be a generic part number for a custom change. I had to stick on the phone to Vijay_S_S [at} dell.com for one hour in order to get this all organised, 45 minutes of which was on hold while he did... whatever! Maybe email him and point him to this thread.

Once installed, you have to install the "Dell Mobile Broadband Manager" to get it all working and it is all great then. I still have the slightly flakey issue I had with the old XPS where sometimes after waking up, the PC wouldn't see the card, but that's about the only problem. The built in GPS is quite cool - it works with Google Earth!

Cheers

cavallino308 · Answer

I am in a similar situation--

I upgraded from my old XPS M1330 to a brand new L502x. I have removed the WWAN card from my 1330 and installed in the L502x but I cant seen to get the antenna removed from the old unit and installed into the new one. Furthermore, upon looking thru the internet for antennas it appears that it is more than just a simple wire but has a solid plastic attachment to it that needs a home to be screwed to.....

I tried Dell support to see if i could order a new antenna but they said no........

so for now i'm stuck having to go back to my ancient USB plug in unit of buy a "hotspot"

Chuck

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XPS 15 (L501X) and Retrofitting WWAN

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