I am looking for a laptop (or a tablet with attachable keyboard) that does not come with or allows for physically removing/disabling/destroying of all wireless connectivity hardware. Something cheap, around 200€ would be nice. I would only use this device for word processing, file management, and creating backups on LUKS encrypted drives. Should be able to run gnu-linux.

The closest thing I was able to find was the pinebook by pine64.org, which has killswitches for wifi and bluetooth. Sadly, these are controlled through software and not through a hardware switch.

Does anyone know of a cheap device with hardware killswitches, or a device that allows removing/destroying wifi and bluetooth components on the motherboard (without breaking)?

EDIT 1:

I am looking to buy a new device, not used, and with good enough performance to run a modern desktop environment such as gnome, kde, or cinnamon.

EDIT 2:

Following the advice of some commenters here, I have looked for models that I like, and tried to find a image/video of the motherboard. So far, every motherboard that I could get an image/video of, had the wifi/bluetooth chip soldered onto the motherboard. If anyone knows a brand that offers cheap laptop with modular mainboards, please let me know.

EDIT 3:

Some people here suggested buying an old ThinkPad. I checked for newer models made by the same company (“Lenovo”), and according to their hardware manual, the “IdeaPad” model also allows removing the wifi card, just like the ThinkPad did.

Here is a link to the manual for anyone who is interested (see page 43): https://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/ideapad_1_hmm.pdf

This solution will work well for my use case and budget. Thanks you all for the advice.

  • @[email protected]OPEnglish
    11•2 days ago

    This would be great, thank you. A permanent solution is what I am looking for. I already looked into removing stuff from the motherboard a bit, and I must have misunderstood something. The information I found was suggesting that this would likely result in the device not functioning anymore.

    • OtterEnglish
      22•2 days ago

      See if you can find guides for “Wi-Fi card replacement” for the model that you are looking into. For guides, try https://www.ifixit.com/

      If it is a simple matter of unplugging a card (like the image above), it should be easy enough to undo if something goes wrong. Then instead of replacing the Wi-Fi card, just leave it out.

    • Dr. WeskerEnglish
      9•2 days ago

      Dang near every model laptop has a teardown video on YouTube. If you had some models you’re interested in, look for a teardown video and see if the wireless module is socketed.

      I can’t think of a modern laptop I’ve owned that didn’t have a socketed wireless card. Maybe one Alienware I owned.

    • @[email protected]English
      6•2 days ago

      Nah, this is a super common thing for laptops that go into secure areas.

      Wireless cards (bluetooth + wifi) go into an m.2 Key E slot on motherboards, so they’re technically upgradeable to newer WI-FI standards. Some desktop motherboards have this as well. Typically, the chip has two thin cables going to the IO panel on desktops to COAX for antennas to connect to.

    • @[email protected]
      2•2 days ago

      some laptops don’t have removable wifi cards, few don’t allow you to boot without it installed because of a whitelist