uHello to the entire LQ community. So,I have bought this Thinkpad T550 recently and installed Debian 11 with XFCE on it for learning purposes. So far it is working pretty great. Then I discovered that has a SIM card slot behind the removable battery on the back.
Now, I would like to permanently install a SIM card in there and use it for internet connection instead of sharing my Phone's connection and making my phone heat up like crazy after 1h+ of heavy usage.
Primarly, I asked on r/debian about any possibility of making it work: r/debian question
The guys around there pointed out after making me run some tests that my laptop actually only has a SIM card slot and doesn't come equipped with a WWAN Module.

That being said, I am planning to buy a WWAN module as well as some antenna and install them myself after tearing the laptop open. For the module, I am planning to go for the Sierra Wireless EM7345. Then, someone told me that EM7345 module has to be Lenovo branded (FRU 04X6014) because of the BIOS whitelist.
I was browsing though Aliexpress and found this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32617529934.html

It comes with the antennas together and is being advertised as Thinkpad-compatible and has the inscription FRU04X6014. It costs less than $20 and I don't know if it will work or not. Did anyone ever had any similar experience? I am very curious to know.

After that, I went to the Lenovo website and found the EM7345 documentation and drivers. It strikes to me that the latest Drivers (123 MB) are only given for Windows. Therefore it begs the question: How do I get the latest drivers compatible with Debian or GNU/Linux in general?

If all else fails, I am ready to coreboot the BIOS if it's possible on the Thinkpad T550 in order to remove the whitelisting. Although that is a risky move, I know that there is a possibility to completely brick my machine by corebooting but I am willing to take the risk if I cannot use this equipment. (I hope I will also gain some hands-on knowledge by doing this).

Your research has confirmed that the fru you located is designed for that machine. I would not over-think the issue and try what all you have posted shows is the correct answer.

The card is not soldered in place but socket mounted so other than opening the machine to install it there should be no problems related. Install it, then you will be able to do more research if needed about the firmware/drivers.

About the drivers found online (for windows only).
That is a quite common situation since the manufacturers cater to windows for their business. It is also quite common to find that someone has produced a similar driver for linux, but the exact chipset ID is needed to confirm it will work for your device and that may not be available until after the device is installed and you can look at it from the OS.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks a lot for stopping by, it is always helpful to get some reassurance especially when you don't really know what you are doing. I have just placed the order, I am patiently waiting for it arrive as of now. In case I face any problems with the firmwares/drivers, I will definitely get back to this thread.