Adding an LTE radio to the Librem 13v3

Hardware
1

Hello,

I am interested in adding an LTE radio to my Librem 13v3, but I don’t know much about hardware, so I want to have a plan before I open anything up.

Can someone direct me to a list of what slots are available inside of the Librem 13v3? (or even better, to a compatible LTE radio that is known to work with only free software).

Thank you!

– Alec

2

Are you trying to avoid doing this via USB?

“Works with free software” is different from “contains free software” i.e. you have no idea what the device itself is doing, which could be a concern of equal importance to some customers.

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3

Are you trying to avoid doing this via USB?

I would prefer to install the radio into the device itself for aesthetic reasons (but if you have a recommendation for a USB dongle, I’m still interested to hear it!).

I’m comfortable removing a few screws and plugging something into an available slot or possibly swapping it in for the existing WiFi module if no slot is available. I just want to have a rough idea of what I am doing before I open anything up.

“Works with free software” is different from “contains free software” i.e. you have no idea what the device itself is doing, which could be a concern of equal importance to some customers.

That’s an excellent point. I would prefer that the radio contains only free software, but I’m willing to compromise for just working with free software if that’s my only option for having it inside the device.

4

I don’t own a Librem laptop so can’t test anything for you.

Other thoughts:

  • An internal wireless broadband module probably isn’t going to be covered by the radio kill switch. So you may be compromising on that.
  • Perhaps once the Librem 5 (the phone) is out the door, Purism will have more experience with wireless broadband modules and could consider that for a future laptop. Just blue-skying. In no way do I speak for Purism.
  • An internal module would ideally allow an external antenna, which may require that to be designed in to the laptop from day 1 - depending on the kind of areas you intend to visit i.e. how good the signal is in those areas.
5

There is almost no chance to integrate a cellular modem into the L13.
There are no matching antennas in it and placing cellular antennas into the case is not easy since most parts are metal and would shield them off. The M.2 socket has the wrong key for an M.2 modem card and especially the SIM card slot is missing etc.

The best way I would suggest is to use a mobile phone as “hotspot”, either over WiFi or tethering with Bluetooth. There also standalone cellular hotspot devices (4G access points) if you do not want to use a phone and have a second SIM card (which you would need with the modem in the L13 anyway). The other possible alternative is to use a cellular USB dongle, but then you have that cable thing dangling to your lapto which I personally do not like. A wireless connection seems much nicer and you can keep the cellular device in a pocket and still enjoy the liberty of wireless data on your laptop.

Cheers
nicole

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