802.11n wireless access point compatible with ThinkPad T61

No experience, but I suggest you get the name and version of the installed wireless card on the T61 and then google that card and check it's website to see which kind of "N" it is and then find out which ones use that technology.

There are many ways to determine the card - ask if you can't tell.

Another direction would be to go to the thinkpad forums and ask.

Steve

It should be an Intel 4965AGN.

Thanks! That was enough to get me pointed in the right direction. On Buffalo's site they have a Connect with Intel Centrino Processor Technology identifier , which indicates that "compatibility and real-world performance with laptops based on Intel Centrino Duo processor technology." The ThinkPad T61 is certified Centrino Pro, so they should work together.

What do you know about that, marketing information that's actually useful? I hope it's actually accurate.

For future reference, here are the Centrino 802.11n gigabit WAPs I've found:

Anyone else care to add to the list?

pay your money, and take a chance... Just to be sure you are aware, the marketers LIE, there are *NO* ratified n specs yet..... And there's no law against calling something N (or any other letter, wanna buy a pre-z? ((I call it a Z, whos gonna stop me?))) to try and make sales.... If you buy something now, you can just HOPE that it will be updated and work with whatever is finally approved (I think currently in dec of 2008)... Just because a certain card works now, does *NOT* mean it will work in the future when they finally get around to definitions/updating things...

However, considering you have a T61, and that will most likely be supported in the future by one of the bigger manufacturers (you list most of them above), chances are that no matter what the final specs are, your existing card will probably be supported.... I'd just go with one of them, rather than trying to save a few bucks by getting an elcheapo import....

I'd go with Buffalo. Seem to be among the best of the current consumer level stuff.

And my experience (as well as others) has been good for reliability - as long as you don't plug in the wrong power supply !

When I did that, it took a while to realize that my laptop adapter fits perfectly in the Buffalo router. Much higher voltage, though. Made the leds all light up very nicely, but the rest of it didn't like

19v.

Had it been an older Linksys WRT54G (not an N) then it might have tolerated this screw-up, I understand.

Steve

Intel is throwing many millions of dollars at their Centrino marketing campaigns. I'm sure they can sue companies if they claim to be compatible when in fact they aren't. The question is, will they find out, will they decide to sue, and how long will it take to get the offending claim to be retracted? So I agree it's a bit of a crapshoot even now, and we may need to look at buying a new WAP in the future. Even so, it's worth a try to get 802.11n working now.

That's what I'm thinking. I was just wondering if anyone had real-life experience with the new ThinkPads. I guess I'll just see for myself, and report the results back.

Thanks!

Steve Chapel hath wroth:

They would more likely have been sued for making Centrino product incompatible. The first mutation of Centrino wireless devices used a Philips chip and did almost everything in software. It would barely connect to high end access points and consistently fail with cheap routers. The various vendors begged Intel to fix their Centrino drivers, but Intel pretended that there was nothing wrong. It's not the first time they've done this. So, the router manufacturers had to modify their firmware to accommodate Intel's creative idea of proper packet timing and protocol exchange. There was a rather large number of "Centrino router updates" issued about 3 years ago.

When Intel finally starting shipping their own chipsets (18 months late incidentally), the story repeated itself. The next generation of chips again used the Proset series of drivers and utilities, and once again would not connect with anything on the planet. To Intel's credit, they did fix the problem, but then left Proset to drift for about a year while a growing number of "oddity" complaints accumulated. With the release of 10.x drivers, things rapidly improved and Proset support is finally decent.

I don't have an answer. However, my guess(tm) is a repeat performance of release prematurely, drift for a year, and fix in a hurry when the complaints pile up. Intel isn't the only one's that does it that way.

My only hope for any change is if the Wi-Fi Alliance certification of Pre-802.11n devices actually tests and enforces the details within the

802.11n protocol. This is unlikely as they haven't even figure out that there are multiple and incompatible mutations of MIMO devices on the market and can't seem to keep them separated. They also haven't bother to even mention, much less fix, the chronic WEP ASCII to Hex conversion mess, so I wouldn't expect them to deal with proprietary extensions in any useful manner.

Not me. I can't afford one.

That seems to leave only the D-Link and NetGear, as Buffalo doesn't seem to have the Wi-Fi b/g/n logo on its page. I was strongly recommended to avoid all D-Link products, so I guess that leaves NetGear as the best shot.

Incidentally, I was in a store looking for other options, and they don't seem to have the certification logos on the boxes. You have to go home and look up the web pages of the products to see what they're compatible with. I had to do that to find out the Linksys doesn't claim Centrino compatibility.

Steve Chapel hath wroth:

Not really. All of them are going to change when 802.11n is finally approved by the IEEE or when hell freezes over, which ever comes first. The problem is that the Wi-Fi Alliance is testing for compliance to Pre-N Draft 2 specification. That's a problem because this draft is really a conglomeration of two radically different techniques. One is based on True-MIMO using the Airgo chipset to combine multiple streams. The other on the Ruckus Wireless beam forming method. There are others. All are mutually incompatible, yet all will be Pre-N Draft 2.0 compliant. Are you sure you want this mess?

Yep. When the technology and acronyms change so quickly that any certifications and endorsements become obsolete literally overnight, it's a bad idea to plaster the boxes with stickers that might indicate that the box is out of date. In most cases, a firmware update will bring the product up to the latest standards compliance, but you can't tell that from the box.

Methinks you may have it backwards. Centrino (Intel) needs to claim Linksys compatibility. There was a time when I got rather tired of Centrino based products with Proset software not working with some wireless routers. It's really a question of whether the dog is wagging the tail or the reverse. Since Intel is the biggest dog in town, I guess they do the wagging.

802.11n by Mar 2009. Looks like Draft 3 might hit in Sept 2007.