Group: Hardware/Restrictions/Mini PCIe slot restrictions on wireless cards

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== Description of the issue ==
 
== Description of the issue ==
  
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Some laptop manufacturers restrict which internal wireless cards can be used.
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Several laptop manufacturers (including Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo and Toshiba) restrict which internal WiFi cards can be used. The official excuse for this behavior is the regulation of the wireless spectrum by FCC and other national organizations.
  
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At least Dell, HP, Lenovo (IBM) and Toshiba have been implicated.  
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It is technically possible to do that because the boot software they use is nonfree, and internal WiFi cards usually have vendor and product code that enables software to identify them. The vendor and product codes are for instance used in the Linux kernel to use the right driver for the card.
  
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When a non-whitelisted card is installed the systems will show an error message (e.g. 'Unauthorized') or otherwise refuse to boot.  
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So here, at boot, the nonfree boot software (BIOS, EFI, UEFI) checks if the WiFi card that is installed inside the laptop is in a whitelist of "authorized" cards. If it's not, the boot software will simply refuse to boot and show a scary boot message.
  
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The whitelist is located in the proprietary BIOS.  
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For instance on a Thinkpad X60 with the stock proprietary boot software it prints:
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ERROR
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1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power off and remove the miniPCI network card.
  
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The official excuse for this behavior is the regulation of the wireless spectrum by FCC and other national organizations.
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Some laptop will even refuse to boot if you don't have a WiFi card plugged in.
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Here are some examples:
 
  
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Here are some non exhaustive examples:
 
{| class="wikitable"  border="1"
 
{| class="wikitable"  border="1"
 
! Brand and Model
 
! Brand and Model
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|}
 
|}
  
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There are ways around this by modifying either the Wifi card or the BIOS. This is something that has to be taken into consideration when trying to assemble a computer system which would require as little proprietary software/firmware to operate as possible.
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== Possible solutions ==
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As the whitelist and the code that implement such behavior is in the nonfree boot software, the best solution is simply to choose a laptop with a free boot software which typically do not implement such restrictions.
  
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== Possible solutions ==
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Here is some more information on free boot software:
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* Free boot software typically do not implement such restrictions. Here are some more information on the topic:
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** The [https://libreboot.org/ Libreboot project] supports several laptop and desktop computers
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** The [https://libreboot.org/ Libreboot project]
 
 
** The [https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/single-board-computers article on single board computers] has some information on boot software for single board computers
 
** The [https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/single-board-computers article on single board computers] has some information on boot software for single board computers
  

Revision as of 19:57, 22 January 2019

Description of the issue

Several laptop manufacturers (including Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo and Toshiba) restrict which internal WiFi cards can be used. The official excuse for this behavior is the regulation of the wireless spectrum by FCC and other national organizations.

It is technically possible to do that because the boot software they use is nonfree, and internal WiFi cards usually have vendor and product code that enables software to identify them. The vendor and product codes are for instance used in the Linux kernel to use the right driver for the card.

So here, at boot, the nonfree boot software (BIOS, EFI, UEFI) checks if the WiFi card that is installed inside the laptop is in a whitelist of "authorized" cards. If it's not, the boot software will simply refuse to boot and show a scary boot message.

For instance on a Thinkpad X60 with the stock proprietary boot software it prints: 

ERROR
1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power off and remove the miniPCI network card.

Some laptop will even refuse to boot if you don't have a WiFi card plugged in.

Here are some non exhaustive examples:

Brand and Model Software Restriction
Thinkpad X60 Stock nonfree BIOS The boot software refuses to boot if the internal mPCIe WiFi card is not in the whitelist
HP Envy 15 Stock nonfree BIOS The boot software refuses to boot with a non-whitelisted card or if the card is removed

Possible solutions

As the whitelist and the code that implement such behavior is in the nonfree boot software, the best solution is simply to choose a laptop with a free boot software which typically do not implement such restrictions.

Here is some more information on free boot software:

External links

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