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MP 1,1-5,1 802.11ac, BT 4.0, Continuity, and Handoff Working on Mac Pro 2010
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I am looking at this solution:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-P...878844?hash=item360ccb387c:g:CIEAAOSwZG9WiESb
It says it is a BCM94360CD
Do you think it might work out of the box?
Also, when you refer to CAT, is it thins you are talking about?
https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool
thanks in advance!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-P...878844?hash=item360ccb387c:g:CIEAAOSwZG9WiESb
It says it is a BCM94360CD
Do you think it might work out of the box?
Also, when you refer to CAT, is it thins you are talking about?
https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool
thanks in advance!
I have removed CAT due to ongoing issues. Apple Watch never worked - well it never woke the damn thing up, just kept it awake all the time. Handoff never worked properly - it would momentarily appear and disappear quickly, too fast to try and interact with it though. My User account would unexpectedly quit back to the login screen - when I logged back in it was from the start again (no apps were open etc). Finally had a guts-full when I had a series of kernel panics.
But my setup is unconventional, so I'm not surprised I had problems. I have a BCM94360CD installed but BT doesn't work cos I broke off the u.fl connector on the board itself (not the aerial end) when trying to plug the aerial into it - I use a BT Dongle instead for the BT side of things.
I have more BCM94360CD's arriving in a couple of weeks. I've made (soldered) my own USB wiring cable to run from the BCM94360CD to the BT back-plane connector - JST GH 1.25mm 4-pin. Question: Does the D- or the D+ connect to the top wire on the back-plane plug (the connector is oriented vertically, just to the left of the BT card on the motherboard)? Instructions around talk about red and black wires, but that doesn't help me because my mini PCI-e card has the power connector on the right hand side of the front face (i.e. the top side of the card when looking directly into the cMP) but diagrams and photos etc all show the wiring connecting to the rear of the mini PCI-e card which is shown as the left hand side of the front face (bottom side). Mini PCI-e card: red to D+ and black to D-. And the JST connector plug (when plugged in vertically): red, black, yellow white (yellow and white are secured as they're not required).
Another question: what can I do to help keep the aerials stuck to the aerial connectors (u.fl) on the BCM94360CD board itself? Is there a glue or other option (not soldering)? Every time I connect the aerials, and then turn the board around to plug it into the mini PCI-e board, one or more of the aerials pull off. I've got guitar-user-like calluses on my fingers pushing down so hard to connect the aerials (i.e. I've had to do this so many times it's wrecking my fingers!!).
The antenna connectors on the antenna cables snap in to the connectors on the BCM94360CD. No glue or anything is required. It takes a bit of patience (and time) to get them plugged in correctly...
Also, BCM94360CD and BCM94360CS use different sized connectors. The stock antenna cables of Mac Pros have connectors that fit the BCM94360CD.
As Pastrychef points out, are you sure you get the same card as you ordered? Those new card for iMac looks really very very similar to the one that fit the Mac Pro, but with the IPX4 connector, therefore, the Mac Pro's IPX1 antenna won't fit into it. If the connector is correct, it should be a very easy job to connect the antenna. Just put the connector at the right position, apply a little bit force, you can then feel it fit in the detent. You can turn it, but it won't come out unless you apply force to pull it out. However, if you try to put the IPX1 antenna on a IPX4 connector. It looks like fit, but you can never make it fix in the right position. In that case, you can either by a IPX4 -> IPX1 adaptor (a short cable). Or a iPX4 -> SMA extension cable, connect it to a SMA Antenna, and then put the antenna at anywhere you want (this can greatly reduce the chance that BT suffer interference from USB 3.0 or the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi).
Also, I don't think CAT really cause the issue. May be it will, but rarely heard about that (I did use CAT as will). Anyway, did you try reset BT (hold Shift + option, then click the BT menu bar icon -> Debug -> Reset the BT module). I did that after installing my BCM943602CS (the card that use IPX4 connector), which makes every works flawlessly. Those handoff function is not stable right after I install the card, they shows up on the dock, but will fail to open. And I did a BT reset, every work like a charm in few seconds.
Do you need to run CAT even though you installed 94360CD BT card? I have 2010 MacPro and installed just like the first page of this thread. I got it to work first when I installed and but since MacOS upgrade, it seems to work when it wants to work and I don't think Handoff doesn't work anymore.
Thanks pastry chef. the u/fl connectors aren't made to be plugged in multiple times, as has occurred with them popping off literally dozens of times when I've tried to fit the card, hence why the antenna end is a bit sloppy and why I damaged the connectors on the card (had to do some surgery on them cos they had collapsed a couple of times). I'll just crimp the antennae end slightly to try and get a tighter fit.
I've ordered the exact same model cards (BCM94360CD), so not expecting any issues there.
What I haven't done is remove the plastic cage to fully expose the back-plane - I just remove the CPU tray and work from there. It would probably make it easier to connect the antennas without the cage. Does anyone have some advice regards to removing the cage or not?
[doublepost=1480563172][/doublepost]Thanks for your response h9826790. Indefinitely have the IPX1/u.fl connectors all matched up. It's such a confined space to work in - maybe I'll remove the cage as I mention above.
And I did do the reset BT method a couple of times (over a couple of days of troubleshooting) but still no luck. Once the ordered BCM94360CDs arrive I'll get it all sorted. Funny thing is my cMP 1,1 had no issues whatsoever (didn't have to use CAT - everything just worked), and the best thing is it didn't need a data cable to make it work - everything worked thru the mini PCI-e card connector.
Really appreciate the advice and help on this. Will let you know how things pan out.
I never had to use CAT on my Mac Pro. As a matter of fact, I don't even use it with my hackintosh and Continuity/Handoff/iMessage work as advertised.
Yes, it's much easier to work without the cage. I did that when I install the card.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...0-keep-updating.1748061/page-25#post-23654356
However, I highly recommend you to get the servicing manual, and follow the steps there to remove the cage, its more then just unscrew the cage. (e.g. you have to remove PCIe card, cable, connector, PCIe fan, etc)
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Anyone able to confirm which pins on the back-plane connector go to the D- and D+ pins on the mini PCI-e adapter card? The connector on the motherboard sits vertically, and the D- and D+ wires from the mini PCI-e adapter card are supposed to be connected to the two top pins, but I can't confirm whether the D- connects to the top or bottom one, and vice versa for the D+.
Yes, I had the same too, however, Apple Watch unlock does need CAT to enable it on a Mac Pro.
This is the case for both models of ac/BT cards floating around.
Continuity/Handoff/iMessage all work fine without having to use CAT.
I don't have CAT installed though I have upgraded my wifi card.
It's funny it shows up in my security setting and I can click the box. If my watch isn't unlocked it tells me to unlock my watch. But when I check the checkbox it just spins.
Bluetooth won't find any devices. I think I need to do something with the antenna.
Yes, this is exactly what I experienced on clean installs of Sierra with both cards.
As soon as I ran CAT it activated Apple Watch unlock instantly.
Did anyone else have Bluetooth problems with this card? Did BT work out of the box?
For Apple watch connection, you better try CAT. Quite a lot of people need CAT to activate the watch unlock function.
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Went thru this entire 28 pages on this posting and found the answer to my question on page 9, post 221.
D- goes to the top pin on the original Bluetooth connector on the backplane (the connector sits vertically).
D+ goes to the 2nd pin down.
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Well, I really screwed this one up. I was installing the card above and when I tried to connect the middle adapter wire on the card to the main Mac Pro antenna wire, the male end broke off inside of the female coupler on the antenna. At first, just the solder broke off. But when I tried to remove the male end, the little square circuit board broke off the metal connector. Sigh. Getting the end decoupled is going to be really difficult since everything is so small. Plus, I have to find a replacement adapter wire now. Ugh.
Another option might be to run a custom adapter wire back to the unused bluetooth antenna on the right side of h9826790's pic.
Does anyone know where I can get one of these adapter wires?
Since it seems that you can get the same card from Taobao, therefore I do a quick search on Taobao "ipx4 to ipx1" and have this result.
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...942&pvid=e2d8e224-1f7c-406e-9d7b-a3295937d5cf
I didn't check if this cable is 100% correct. Anyway, the connector on the card is ipx4, your MacPro's antenna is ipx1. Make sure you get the correct combination.
For your case, if you can't recover the antenna (my understanding is that part of the adaptor stick to the antenna). You have few choices.
1) connect only J0 and J1, but leave J2 unconnected. J0 is for Wi-Fi, J1 is for BT. Without J2, Wi-Fi still works, but may be slower (you can still get >1000Mb/s by only running one antenna, mainly depends on signal). J1 is a must, otherwise, almost no BT connection at all.
2) get a long adaptor cable to use the native BT antenna. Or disassembly the Mac Pro, get the BT antenna out for the card.
3) get an ipx4 antenna (usually it is a ipx4 connector -> short cable -> notebook antenna)
4) get an ipx4 to SMA wire (prefer long cable), and then connect a SMA antenna on the other end. So that you can place the antenna anywhere you want, or even outside the Mac Pro case to make sure good reception.
In my own experience, use a pliers to connect the antenna is much much easier than use hand (especially with that little ipx4 - ipx1 adaptor). And use a forceps to disconnect is also easier to apply force correctly to avoid damage.
Can you all tell me what I actually need to make this whole thing work in my 2009 Mac Pro running El Capitan? I see links to all different kits, some with cards, some without, some with bluetooth some without. Links to cables, other cables, more cables. . . .
I have a 2009 Mac Pro running capitan, I'd like to get AC wifi and bluetooth working so I can get handoff and continuity working. Can you tell me what I need to make it work. I'd rather not spend the $100 I see on kits. But there isn't a post I've seen that sums everything up.
I have a 2009 Mac Pro running capitan, I'd like to get AC wifi and bluetooth working so I can get handoff and continuity working. Can you tell me what I need to make it work. I'd rather not spend the $100 I see on kits. But there isn't a post I've seen that sums everything up.