Good to know and thank you!Just install Catalina with the original card in first, then do the upgrade afterwards. We did that today on a friend's machine.
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802.11ac and BT 4.2 are here for unibody MBPs and A1342 MB!
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I finally was able to buy one and installed it wednesday! I am so happy it was such a long wait! As soon as I got the email I jumped on it! I already have the 2012 version so the only thing I was missing was the unlock with Apple Watch which worked automatically and perfectly when I booted it up! I used to have a 2011 model that I upgraded with the 2012 card for continuity but ended up giving that to the wife and found this 2012 for cheap for the usb 3.0. so now I have this one maxed out with an i7 2.9ghz 16gig ram 1tb ssd and blu ray burner. and a Mac Pro 2012 with 2 ssds 128g ram, 2 10tb hdds, blu ray burner and a 8 gig graphics card and a usb 3.0 card. pretty good for vintage (that's what apple calls them now) Macs!
Just did the same on my 2012 15" MBP. It's had Catalina since the official release.Just install Catalina with the original card in first, then do the upgrade afterwards. We did that today on a friend's machine.
The install was as smooth as could be. It fired right up and everything just works.
My daughter had traded this to me for an identical MBP because WiFi was intermittent—eventually stopped working completely. Now my WiFi is better than hers. And no, I'm not trading back.
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As many on this thread have reported, the install was a breeze and all has worked flawlessly!
Oh, and that bump in download speeds is the Bee's Knees!
I was unaware of how slow the old card was until I tried updating an app and witnessed the download progress bar race across my screen on a sizeable download, and also being able to share items between my laptop and other Apple devices via AirDrop and AirPlay is a breath of fresh air.
Can't say it enough, thank you again @troop231 for all the countless hours building these devices and responding to all our inquiries!
Oh, and that bump in download speeds is the Bee's Knees!
I was unaware of how slow the old card was until I tried updating an app and witnessed the download progress bar race across my screen on a sizeable download, and also being able to share items between my laptop and other Apple devices via AirDrop and AirPlay is a breath of fresh air.
Can't say it enough, thank you again @troop231 for all the countless hours building these devices and responding to all our inquiries!
Awesome. That's encouraging!
Hope the new install guide and photos made it as easy as possible.Bought and installed in my early 2011 13" this weekend. So far it has worked flawlessly. I get great download and upload speeds and the bluetooth features are amazing to finally have.
One thing I did mess up was that I used a small piece of electrical tape to secure the card to the CD drive right next to it. I was initially getting a lot of interference (my RSSI was like -70) and this was definitely reflected in the usability of the card. Webpages barely loaded and such. I removed the tape and let the card float freely (it is pretty secure without anything, anyways) and the signal immediately improved immensely. Just a thought for anyone facing a similar issue.
Thanks @troop231 for all the work you did on this! This 9 year old laptop has at least 5 more years in it I feel.
One thing I did mess up was that I used a small piece of electrical tape to secure the card to the CD drive right next to it. I was initially getting a lot of interference (my RSSI was like -70) and this was definitely reflected in the usability of the card. Webpages barely loaded and such. I removed the tape and let the card float freely (it is pretty secure without anything, anyways) and the signal immediately improved immensely. Just a thought for anyone facing a similar issue.
Thanks @troop231 for all the work you did on this! This 9 year old laptop has at least 5 more years in it I feel.
I think the big thanks needs extended to @highvoltage12v as well for sorting out alot of the questions and Apple bugs people have had in this thread.
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I use a very little piece of double sided tape to secure the card in place.
OK so after nearly 10 days I finally got the chance to install it... and it works great! My mac book didn't have any issues recognising the new card and it was pretty much a plug and play process. I did follow the instructions to the letter though. I also reset the SMC as recommended and debugged my bluetooth and reinstalled all my devices. Unfortunately I don't have an apple watch to test the unlock features but the new card works perfect for me. I did have to sign out from all my devices to get Handoff to work. From what I've read so far most issues came from the 2011 models. Overall I didn't have any difficulties installing the card to my 13' 2012 model. The Bluetooth range has increased significantly and so has the WiFi speed. a big thanks to @troop231 and the rest of the team, you guys gave a few more years of life to my computer! Keep up the good work!
It'd be very interesting to see how the 2012 13' model would handle Big Sur with the updated card. I'll keep following this post to see whether someone is willing to give it a go in the future.
It'd be very interesting to see how the 2012 13' model would handle Big Sur with the updated card. I'll keep following this post to see whether someone is willing to give it a go in the future.
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Important Update: The Catalina 10.15.7 supplemental update today may make your WiFi stop working, even if you plug in the original (old) card.
Has only happened on one of our two A1278 (2012) machines and we're trying to find a solution. If anyone wants to help, that would be appreciated but do so at your own risk.
We recommend to not install today's update!
Has only happened on one of our two A1278 (2012) machines and we're trying to find a solution. If anyone wants to help, that would be appreciated but do so at your own risk.
We recommend to not install today's update!
Thanks! Although I use Mojave, I think I still have an external disk with Catalina. If I find it, will update and tell you.
Thanks! We're downloading a fresh copy of Catalina to clean install on a second volume on the affected machine to see if it works.
As you can read, still no full installer, and no download links for delta or combo updates. When I can update, I will tell you the results.
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As you can read, still no full installer, and no download links for delta or combo updates. When I can update, I will tell you the results.
Mr. Macintosh - Apple Mac Enterprise IT Blog & macOS MacAdmins News
Looking for a place to keep up with the fast paced world of Apple Mac IT Enterprise Adminstration? Mr. Macintosh will show you the latest fixes and news!
We downloaded the Catalina installer via the dosdude1 patcher tool.
Important Update 2: We clean installed Catalina on a new volume and was able to install the supplemental update with the Wi-Fi still working.
Weird, so the updater seems to randomly choose if your Wi-Fi works or not. I think the safest call would be to remove the upgraded 802.11ac Wi-Fi card, and install the supplemental update via Ethernet, then re-install the upgraded card.
Seems unfortunate to have to do a clean install every time a Catalina update is issued.
@qu35tion @*******
Weird, so the updater seems to randomly choose if your Wi-Fi works or not. I think the safest call would be to remove the upgraded 802.11ac Wi-Fi card, and install the supplemental update via Ethernet, then re-install the upgraded card.
Seems unfortunate to have to do a clean install every time a Catalina update is issued.
@qu35tion @*******
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my wifi is acting up. Its connecting in and out from "looking for network" to "wifi on" and my Tx rate goes from 1200 mbps to 88 mbps.
From installing the supplemental update? Yikes; might have to install Mojave if Catalina is being this difficult.