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]
    1•2 days ago

    I can’t help you with the budget. That’s not enough money to buy a laptop new with that particular functionality.

    If you can tolerate getting something older (and your described use case doesn’t sound like it would prohibit an older device!), thinkpads, MacBooks and the like almost always have removable wireless and Bluetooth modules.

    These older devices are often a better choice than newer ones because they’re repairable and parts are plentiful and inexpensive. You will be much happier spending $200 on a used t480 or 2012 mbp than you will buying a new computer at that price.

    You need to yank the antennas too if you’re really a paranoiac, but if a killswitch would be enough then you’re very clearly not that person.