TM350 for the i9300/iXPS (Gen1)

I have good news for i9100 and iXPS (gen1) owners who want to install the Truemobile 350 Bluetooth 2.0 module.

The TM300 (2U381) for the i9100/iXPS can be replaced with the TM350 (X5166) for the i9300.

The X5166 has the exact same form factor as the 2U381. Both BT adapters have the same size, length, and thickness. This is what I did for my iXPS:

1) Download the TM350 bluetooth driver for the Dell i9300 from Dell's download page.

2) Go to the Control Panel and uninstall the Dell Bluetooth (Widcomm) software. This will also uninstall the TM300 BT adapter and the BT Network adapter from the Device Manager.

(if you're using Microsoft for BT support then you'll need to figure it out)

3) Shutdown the i9100/iXPS, remove the battery, remove the BT cover plate, and carefully remove and disconnect the TM300 from the cable.

Using a small flashlight and 3x magnifying reading glasses, examine the TM300 and the BT connector on the i9100/iXPS. You will notice that the connector on the cable is keyed and will only insert into the BT adapter when properly matched to the TM300. This is also true for the TM350 (X5166).

4) Connect the TM350 (X5166) to the BT cable. Carefully reinsert the TM350 and replace the BT cover plate. Install the battery. Plug in a USB mouse (or use the the touchpad/stick when you boot the system).

5) Turn on the i9100/iXPS. Wait for it to find and install the new hardware.

(At this point I deleted the Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator from the Bluetooth Devices in the Device Manager. I don't know if I needed to do this or not. I'll explain below).

6) Install the i9300 TM350 driver. The driver software is from Toshiba and you'll hear the "new hardware" beep about 20 times during the install process. This is OK.

After it completed installing, I paired my Thermaltake BT mouse with no problems.

I then reviewed the contents in the Device Manager. Under the Bluetooth Devices the entry for the Dell TM350 was no longer present and several entries for Toshiba were added. Under the Universal Serial Bus controllers is an entry for the Dell TM350.

There is no "My Bluetooth Places" with the Toshiba software. All the tools are on the BT icon (on the System Tray) or from the "Bluetooth Information Exchanger" icon (which gets added to the desktop every time the PC boots). The software options for the TM350 seem to be quite good. I have nothing to take advantage of the BT 2.0 yet - so I'll have to wait. So why did I replace the TM300 with the TM350? ....I wanted to see if it would work, and it does.

I already hate the "Bluetooth Information Exchanger" icon. I do not like it that Toshiba auto-reinstalls it every time. I want it on the Start Menu - so I can launch it only when I need it - otherwise I don't want to see it.

The Dell Truemobile 350 for the i9300 was purchased from Dell Spare Parts on March 31. Part Number: X5166 , price (USD) $13.95 + $8.00 for shipping.

When I called DSP, I only gave them the part number and my Dell account number. I told them that I have an iXPS but was buying it as a gift for my cousin to upgrade their i9300 to include BT - and that I did not have the Service Tag for my cousin's i9300. When asked I told them that the TM350 would not be leaving the USA. They bought the story and sold me the TM350.

Here is a link to 2 pictures from the Device Manager that I placed in the photo gallery forum (I did not want to host the images so I uploaded them).

The 1st pic may appear washed out. click on the zoom button and enlarge it for readability.

http://notebookforums.com/showpost.php?p=796609

For some who have asked....

I have reviewed the Dell on-line service manuals for notebooks that may also be compatible with the TM350 BT upgrade that I did on my iXPS. I have listed the results at the bottom of this page.

I may have missed some notebooks - especially any that do not have a service manual posted on-line.

Also, please don't ask me if your particular notebook is compatible with the TM350 BT upgrade. I'm not doing any more research on the topic.

Does this from the i300m: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...ot.htm#1084976

look like the card from your D600?

(Richard Dawson voice) Survey Says! NO.

The TM300 (2U381) from the iXPS and the TM350 (X5166) from the i9300 are externally identical - which explains why swapping one for the other (and other models) is easy.

In my research I did not find TM350 modules of the form factor that the D600 uses. If you are a really good at soldering, have an i300m's BT cable, have a copy of the BT wiring diagrams for the D600 and i300m, and cannibalize the connector from the D600's TM300 THEN you might be able to build a conversion cable that might (just might) work.

As Astro would say: "Rotsa Ruck!"

mich43L - your PM box is FULL!

I have not tested it for BT 2.0 compatibility. I believe it is just like a multi-port USB 2.0 card that one would add to the back of a desktop - the backplane does not care if the card is 1.0 or 2.0. If is up to the card to provide the 2.0 services. I believe it is the same for the BT card. The notebook only cares that it is a USB device - not the USB specification. I bought the TM350 mostly for the frequency hopping and the 3MB data stream specs. It means the the BT device can save batteries by sending more data per transmission - thereby reducing the number of transmissions needed.