[Guide] Lenovo ThinkPad T440S

[Fobos531]

@Sniki

Since i'm kinda impatient for the parts (DW1820A) to arrive, my question is: can I install macOS now according to this guide and use it normally but connect to internet via ethernet? And then when the card arrives, flash the modded bios, install the new one, and do any additional tinkering (if needed) regarding wifi in macOS? Is any part of this guide (e.g. power management) dependent on me having the new card/modified bios in there? Or is it better to wait for them to arrive and do ALL of it at one go? Will any updates be made to this guide in the near future (apart from the audio kext) that may suggest it's better for me to wait for the parts to arrive?

TIA

 

[Sniki]

@Sniki

Since i'm kinda impatient for the parts (DW1820A) to arrive, my question is: can I install macOS now according to this guide and use it normally but connect to internet via ethernet? And then when the card arrives, flash the modded bios, install the new one, and do any additional tinkering (if needed) regarding wifi in macOS? Is any part of this guide (e.g. power management) dependent on me having the new card/modified bios in there? Or is it better to wait for them to arrive and do ALL of it at one go? Will any updates be made to this guide in the near future (apart from the audio kext) that may suggest it's better for me to wait for the parts to arrive?

TIA

No problem,
You can install and everything should work like you had the card installed except no wifi till you get the hardware.
The only thing that "might" not work correctly is if bluetooth gets assigned to a different usb port but thats not a problem anyway as intel is not supported.

You can proceed with installation, it shouldn't affect anything at all,but if it does for some reason,im here to help you and we fix it.

Good luck !

Btw use these new files from this post https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-lenovo-thinkpad-t440s.244798/page-8#post-1766271 as i didn't update the guide yet.
Also use rehabman VoodooPS2Controller, not the one on the OP.

 

[Fobos531]

No problem,
You can install and everything should work like you had the card installed except no wifi till you get the hardware.
The only thing that "might" not work correctly is if bluetooth gets assigned to a different usb port but thats not a problem anyway as intel is not supported.

You can proceed with installation, it shouldn't affect anything at all,but if it does for some reason,im here to help you and we fix it.

Good luck !

Btw use these new files from this post https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-lenovo-thinkpad-t440s.244798/page-8#post-1766271 as i didn't update the guide yet.
Also use rehabman VoodooPS2Controller, not the one on the OP.

Hey, thank you very much!

I just finished installing and setting up macOS. Most of the things do work and they work very well. Apart from the WiFi (obviously), the thing that doesn't work and stands out the most is audio. From your OP it looks like you make audio work with help of two files: the audio kext and the prebuilt SSDT-T440s.aml). I installed the kext into /System/Library/Extensions/ (as with other kexts) and installed the alc_fix. I also used the SSDT-T440s.aml you provided in your last post (NOT the one from OP), but I used the ALC3232.kext (and alc_fix) from the OP. Is this specific combination of files causing the audio to not work? Am I required to wait for you to finish setting up your updated audio kext? I would love some insight on this.

Another question: do you by any chance remember on which BIOS version were you when you were replacing your WiFi card?

I'm intrigued by this post by @CoBrA2168 : https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-lenovo-thinkpad-t440s.244798/page-2#post-1723025
He states that the 2.36 version of T440s's BIOS completely removes WiFi whitelist. Unfortunately, due to Lenovo's limitations, I'm unable to downgrade to that version from the latest that I'm currently on (2.49). At first I was a bit bummed, but then I thought to myself: If 2.36 removes the WiFi whitelist (and assuming there was indeed a whitelist in versions before 2.36), why would there be a reason for Lenovo to "reintroduce" the whitelist in newer BIOS versions? Why would they remove the whitelist in 2.36 in the first place? Could it be that the WiFi whitelist is gone for good from version 2.36 onwards? I'm wondering if I'll even need to flash a modded BIOS. I mean, there's no mention of the whitelist in Lenovo's BIOS update changelong in ANY of the BIOS versions. It would be great if my suspicions are true. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Sniki]

Hey, thank you very much!

I just finished installing and setting up macOS. Most of the things do work and they work very well. Apart from the WiFi (obviously), the thing that doesn't work and stands out the most is audio. From your OP it looks like you make audio work with help of two files: the audio kext and the prebuilt SSDT-T440s.aml). I installed the kext into /System/Library/Extensions/ (as with other kexts) and installed the alc_fix. I also used the SSDT-T440s.aml you provided in your last post (NOT the one from OP), but I used the ALC3232.kext (and alc_fix) from the OP. Is this specific combination of files causing the audio to not work? Am I required to wait for you to finish setting up your updated audio kext? I would love some insight on this.

Another question: do you by any chance remember on which BIOS version were you when you were replacing your WiFi card?

I'm intrigued by this post by @CoBrA2168 : https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-lenovo-thinkpad-t440s.244798/page-2#post-1723025
He states that the 2.36 version of T440s's BIOS completely removes WiFi whitelist. Unfortunately, due to Lenovo's limitations, I'm unable to downgrade to that version from the latest that I'm on currently (2.49). At first I was bummed, but then I thought to myself: If 2.36 removes the WiFi whitelist (and assuming there was indeed a whitelist in versions before 2.36), why would there be a reason for Lenovo to "reintroduce" the whitelist in newer BIOS versions? I'm wondering if I'll even need to flash a modded BIOS. I mean, there's no mention of the whitelist in Lenovo's BIOS update changelong in ANY of the BIOS versions. It would be great if my suspicions are true. What are your thoughts on this?

Sorry for the audio part, i built the new files with different layout ID injected (Layout21) while the current ALC3232.kext is on Layout ID 28, i will finnish quickly the kext and upload it. i will upload it in 30 min.

About the Bios, if you upgraded to latest model you can't downgrade i believe, so best thing if you plan to mod the bios is to update to latest version so when you send to mod it, you send the latest version and you have an up to date modded bios without whitelist.

 

[Fobos531]

Sorry for the audio part, i built the new files with different layout ID injected (Layout21) while the current ALC3232.kext is on Layout ID 28, i will finnish quickly the kext and upload it. i will upload it in 30 min.

About the Bios, if you upgraded to latest model you can't downgrade i believe, so best thing if you plan to mod the bios is to update to latest version so when you send to mod it, you send the latest version and you have an up to date modded bios without whitelist.

Thanks, it's very much appreciated. Regarding BIOS, yes, I can't downgrade, but my point was: maybe I don't even need to mod the bios in the first place (if it turns out that the wifi whitelist is gone from version 2.36 onwards). Guess I'll have to try booting with the WiFi card and non-modded BIOS and see if that's really the case.

 

[Sniki]

Thanks, it's very much appreciated. Regarding BIOS, yes, I can't downgrade, but my point was: maybe I don't even need to mod the bios in the first place (if it turns out that the wifi whitelist is gone from version 2.36 onwards). Guess I'll have to try booting with the WiFi card and non-modded BIOS and see if that's really the case.

you can try no problem, but i believe it was only a mistake or something that they unintentionally did on v2.36.

 

[Sniki]

@Fobos531 here is the new alc3232.kext

 

[Fobos531]

I just tested battery status and it doesn't seem to be working properly. I tried enabling battery status in menu bar (in system preferences) and it pops up in the menu bar for a split second only to disappear right after. Also it reports current battery charge as 0%. As said before, I used your latest .aml. Did you experience a similar issue?

EDIT: My bad, works fine, was an error on my part.

 

[Sniki]

I just tested battery status and it doesn't seem to be working properly. I tried enabling battery status in menu bar (in system preferences) and it pops up in the menu bar for a split second only to disappear right after. Also it reports current battery charge as 0%. As said before, I used your latest .aml. Did you experience a similar issue?

EDIT: My bad, works fine, was an error on my part.

Ok, does the audio work now ?

 

[Fobos531]

Ok, does the audio work now ?

Yep, it works perfectly. Thanks