2011 MacBook Pros can support Handoff/Continuity

[Patriot24]

Good news for 2011 MacBook Air and 2011 Mac mini owners, here's a refreshed tutorial that enables Continuity on those machines as well. No hardware upgrade is required on these Macs. Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and iOS↔OSX Airdrop now fully work. I've tested it with Yosemite GM (14A379a).

...

I upgraded from the GM to the final release and had to re-apply the kexts, which reminded me to make a blog post pointing folks to this great tutorial:

http://www.thirty-ninea.com/blog/2014/10/21/how-to-enable-handoff-on-a-2011-macbook-air-mac-mini

Thanks again!

 

[rfic]

i have a same macbook pro. can u point me guide for bluetooth replacement?

i try to find it in ifixit, find they have different guide for airport & bluetooth, which i though it should be combo

thanks

Really happy to say I've had success on my Early 2011 17" MacBook Pro with the modified .kext from Manic Harmonic in post #40 and this card:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/BroadCom-App...rnal_Network_Cards&hash=item20c990779e&_uhb=1

The install of the card wasn't too bad, though for some reason I thought it'd be much larger than it actually is.

 

[Gameboy70]

Stock 2011 iMacs have an Atheros Bluetooth 2.1 EDR chips, according to iFixit. This configuration isn't compatible with the tutorials, which focus on Bluetooth 4.0 LE chips of the Broadcom brand. Your best bet IMO is to find out whether other people with 2011 iMacs successfully made handoff work through a wireless card replacement.

In System Report, under Bluetooth, my 27" mid-2011 iMac lists the following:

Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: No
Handoff Supported: No
Instant Hotspot Supported: No
Manufacturer: [B]Broadcom[/B]
Transport: USB
Chipset: 2046
Firmware Version: v208 c518

Is the lack of BLE/Handoff support a hardware limitation of the chipset, or is there hope for this Handoff hack to work after all?

 

[Gameboy70]

I just got SMS relay working on the 2011 iMac. "Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud Devices," doesn't appear in System Preference » General, so I don't know if I'll be able to get the full suite of Continuity features working, but at least I've got the main feature I wanted: SMS to and from the desktop.

I only got as far as step 7 in the tutorial—the terminal command. I didn't edit the AirPortBrcm4331 configuration. I'm pretty sure I tried SMS in Messages unsuccessfully before entering the terminal commands in the tutorial, so it looks like they had some effect.

UPDATE: BCM2046 is a BT 2.1 chip.

 

[Camillionaire93]

I'm ordering one via Prime to have it delivered Sunday.

I'll follow up to if it's a *CAX model. If it's not, I'll just easily return it saying it doesn't match the item description for a refund. Perks of the item being "fulfilled by amazon".

i ordered it and it got here today, it wasn't the CAX model.

Can someone link me to where i can get one?

 

[score4fps]

Do you have Bluetooth on on both devices? Do a reset of both devices as well ns make sure to logout and in on both iCloud accounts. Also, enable keychain on both devices.

Did that first time and everything works well but calls. Should I do it again? I vaguely remember reading somewhere call don't work if using wi-fi calling via T-Mobile, but not sure...tried disabling wi-fi calling to no avail...

 

[rvaldez22]

Thanks L3m!!

I got the hand off support working!!
when i got into system preferences i see handoff and instant hot spot working!
you guys are awesome!
special shout to L3mme!!!

 

[iamjob]

Still No Worky

So I went step by step.. And it shows it's all good in System Report.. But not working.. Wifi didn't work the last time I rebooted but worked after rebooting again before signing back into iCloud..

So now not only does the OS X handoff not work.. the handoff between my iPad and iPhone no longer work? What's that all about?

What am I doing wrong?

 

[mbpcharlie]

Hi,

I've a MBP 13" early 2011 with id Mac-94245B3640C91C81, and my girlfriend has a MBP 13" mid 2012 with id Mac-6F01561E16C75D06.

She doesn't have an iphone and i do, so i want to know if i can change the BT boards from one to another?

If i do so, do i have to change the files too in order to make handoff and continuity to work on my MBP early 2011 with iPhone 4s?

Thanks

Yes, you can change the bt boards. I did that with a MBP 13" mid 2012 spare part

I've the MBP 13" early 2011 with id Mac-94245B3640C91C81 too

 

[etsi]

mac mini 2011

Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.3.0f10 14890
LMP Version: 0x6

How to enable handoff and continuity ?

 

[Lem3ssie]

mac mini 2011

apple bluetooth software version: 4.3.0f10 14890
lmp version: 0x6

how to enable handoff and continuity ?

#1042

 

[neiives]

Yes, you can change the bt boards. I did that with a MBP 13" mid 2012 spare part

I've the MBP 13" early 2011 with id Mac-94245B3640C91C81 too

After you change the bt board, do you have to change the kext file too, or it just worked?

Thanks

 

[mbpcharlie]

After you change the bt board, do you have to change the kext file too, or it just worked?

Thanks

Yes, you have to change the kext file too

 

[etsi]

#1042

Thanks, I get an error

AirPortBrcm4360.kext has invalid signature; omitting.

 

[CarlosVR2]

Hi people, I have been following this thread with great interest.

I have just bought on eBay the AirPort Extreme Card with Broadcom chip BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX, from the same vendor some people have mentioned. They had run out of stock, but now they have it again.

This is the link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281474817392

I'll post my experience once the card arrives. I'm eager to enable Handoff on my Late 2011 17" MBP.

Good luck!

 

[abjefri]

Cannot Save

I have done but up to Step 17, the system does not allow me to save the changes. Please help..

Good news for 2011 MacBook Air and 2011 Mac mini owners, here's a refreshed tutorial that enables Continuity on those machines as well. No hardware upgrade is required on these Macs. Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and iOS↔OSX Airdrop now fully work. I've tested it with Yosemite GM (14A379a).

The tutorial is built on top of previous great tutorials made by forum members mikecwest and Lem3ssie (thanks guys!).
The new steps basically disable a blacklist in the Bluetooth drivers.

Update 20.10.2014: UncleSchnitty has posted a complete, up-to-date guide with a more detailed tutorial and extra troubleshooting steps. Good stuff. I recommend you head over his post instead of mine if you want to give the tutorial a shot. Tip: carefully read the whole thing first, don't rush, and stick *exactly* to what is written.

TUTORIAL

1. Download and install 0xED in your Applications folder, you can get it from here:
http://www.suavetech.com/0xed/

2. Download and install KextDrop in your Applications folder, you can get it from here:
http://www.cindori.org/software/kextdrop/

3. Open Terminal and type :

sudo nvram boot-args="kext-dev-mode=1"

4. Restart your machine.

5. Open Finder, type CMD+Shift+G and go to /System/Library/Extensions/

6. Copy the files below to your desktop and then delete the originals. Make an extra backup copy of the 2 files in a separate folder just in case.

IO80211Family.kext
IOBluetoothFamily.kext

7. Go to Terminal, and type: (exactly as below)

ioreg -l | grep "board-id" | awk -F\" '{print $4}'

8. Your result should look like : Mac-742912EFDBEE19B3, (yours might be different.). Copy it to your clipboard (Select and CMD+C). Don't close terminal yet.

9. Open Finder and hit CMD+Shift+G, go to ~/Desktop/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/Plugins/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/MacOS
Note: if you have a different OS language, you might need to replace "Desktop" in the path with your local translation.

10. Right Click on AirPortBrcm4360, and choose OPEN WITH: OTHER: 0XED

11. Press CMD+F, search for "Mac-" (without the quotes). Make sure the search type is Text and not HEX.

12. Look at the first result, for example, it might be Mac-C3EC7CD22292981F

13. Go back to the FIND box, in the FIND field enter that first "Mac-" number that you found.

14. In the REPLACE field, enter the number you got in Terminal, (remember you left it open.)

15. Click REPLACE

16. Repeat steps 11 to 15, but this time for the last "Mac-" result that you can find in the file.

17. Click SAVE (the red circle button)

18. Open Finder and hit CMD+Shift+G to open the "Go to" popup, and go to ~/Desktop/IOBluetoothFamily.kext/Contents/MacOS

19. Right Click on IOBluetoothFamily, and choose OPEN WITH: OTHER: 0XED.

20. Press CMD+F.
In the SEARCH field type:

MacBookAir

Click FIND NEXT.

21. You will find a block of text containing

'MacBookAir4,1''MacBookAir4,2''Macmini5,1''Macmini5,2''Macmini5,3'

Manually replace the numbers with ones only so they all look like:

'MacBookAir1,1''MacBookAir1,1''Macmini1,1''Macmini1,1''Macmini1,1'

Important: Be careful not to add any character while doing the replacement.

22. Click SAVE (the red circle button) and quit 0xED.

23. Open KextDrop, and Drag and drop the IO80211Family.kext that you modified into the window.

24. Click INSTALL.

25. Repeat steps 23 and 24 but for your modified IOBluetoothFamily.kext

26. Go Back to Terminal, and type the following commands. Wait for each one to finish.

sudo kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel

sudo kextcache -system-caches

27. Reboot. Make sure you have an Internet connection for the next steps.

28. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> GENERAL, at the bottom click ENABLE HANDOFF.

29. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> ICLOUD, click on SIGN OUT.

30. On your iOS Device, go to SETTINGS> ICLOUD and SIGN OUT.

31. Restart your Mac and iOS device.

32. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> ICLOUD, and enter your credentials to sign in.

33. On your iOS Device, go to SETTINGS> ICLOUD and SIGN IN.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/zNF1hbr.png]Image[/URL]

Edit: added more manual steps (steps 20 & 21)
Edit 2: clarified step 6 and intro, corrected typos

 

[hsdneo]

Hi,

i tried both tuts (#609 and #1042) but without success.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" from Begin 2011. So my Bluetooth Softwareversion is 4.3.0f10 14890.
Will this work with my hardware or not?

If i do the steps from #609 i get errors if i execute the terminal commands at step 26. There are some errors.

....."invalid signature..."

If i copy the script from #1042 to a textfile and rename it to .sh and change the permission to execute, i get an error if i execute it via terminal.


...."syntax error"...

Is it possible with this mac and i do some mistakes or is the mac the problem?

Thanks

 

[Lem3ssie]

Hi,

i tried both tuts (#609 and #1042) but without success.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" from Begin 2011. So my Bluetooth Softwareversion is 4.3.0f10 14890.
Will this work with my hardware or not?

If i do the steps from #609 i get errors if i execute the terminal commands at step 26. There are some errors.

....."invalid signature..."

If i copy the script from #1042 to a textfile and rename it to .sh and change the permission to execute, i get an error if i execute it via terminal.


...."syntax error"...

Is it possible with this mac and i do some mistakes or is the mac the problem?

Thanks

Maybe we can share screen with Messages so I can do the hex editing on your Mac.

 

[slazh]

Help

Hey Lem3ssie, I have changed the card in my early 2011 MBP 13' (Mac-94245B3640C91C81), and i have followed every step in you guide, and when that didn't work I followed every step in the the first post on this thread. But for some reason it does not seam to work

My Wifi is up and running, and everything seams to work, but I do not get the handoff button in settings, or the "handoff compatible" in the "About this mac".

Any ideers?

 

[hsdneo]

Maybe we can share screen with Messages so I can do the hex editing on your Mac.

Yeah, why not. How do you want to do this? Teamviewer? Now?

 

[Lem3ssie]

Hey Lem3ssie, I have changed the card in my early 2011 MBP 13' (Mac-94245B3640C91C81), and i have followed every step in you guide, and when that didn't work I followed every step in the the first post on this thread. But for some reason it does not seam to work

My Wifi is up and running, and everything seams to work, but I do not get the handoff button in settings, or the "handoff compatible" in the "About this mac".

Any ideers?

I would like to try screen sharing, and make it from home.
I have to go now, but i'll be back in one hour, if someone who is desperate wanna try, i'm your man.

----------

Yeah, why not. How do you want to do this? Teamviewer? Now?

No, Messages app has what it takes. I'm back in an hour.

 

[slazh]

I would like to try screen sharing, and make it from home.
I have to go now, but i'll be back in one hour, if someone who is desperate wanna try, i'm your man.

You are more then welcome to try

 

[hsdneo]

No, Messages app has what it takes. I'm back in an hour.

What do you need for it?

 

[slazh]

Thanks

I would like to try screen sharing, and make it from home.
I have to go now, but i'll be back in one hour, if someone who is desperate wanna try, i'm your man.

Forget what I said, after downloading your kext from your dropbox folder it started working. Thanks a lot!

 

[hsdneo]

Forget what I said, after downloading your kext from your dropbox folder it started working. Thanks a lot!

And what have you do with this kext? Only install with kext drop and execute the terminal commands?