MP 1,1-5,1 802.11ac, BT 4.0, Continuity, and Handoff Working on Mac Pro 2010

[mateuszd]

Without OC you need to patch Mojave/Catalina to enable full continuity. See post #1558 above for instructions. For Big Sur you have to use OC to enable full continuity.

Cool, damn I was thinking this would have worked without board spoofing.

I'm on Big Sur, installed with micro patcher. However I uninstalled the patch-kexts.sh patches now as the wifi card didn't work correctly when patched.

I'm surprised, I've seen plenty of posts suggesting that handoff works and just requires the card upgrade. The the terminal method won't work to enable Continuity?

 

[sfalatko]

Cool, damn I was thinking this would have worked without board spoofing.

I'm on Big Sur, installed with micro patcher. However I uninstalled the patch-kexts.sh patches now as the wifi card didn't work correctly when patched.

I'm surprised, I've seen plenty of posts suggesting that handoff works and just requires the card upgrade. The the terminal method won't work to enable Continuity?

From what I know the security model for Big Sur won't let you patch the kexts in the system volume. Apple specifically disables continuity for the cMP using board id (which is what is patched in the Mojave/Catina code I referenced previously). The spoofing "fools" Big Sur into thinking the cMP is supported as an iMac....

 

[mateuszd]

From what I know the security model for Big Sur won't let you patch the kexts in the system volume. Apple specifically disables continuity for the cMP using board id (which is what is patched in the Mojave/Catina code I referenced previously). The spoofing "fools" Big Sur into thinking the cMP is supported as an iMac....

That would make sense.
Is that due to the split with the read only system volume? I know there is a micropatcher script to remount the system volume as writable. I can try doing that and patching the kext that way.
So, the plan would be to get board ID, remount system as rw, patch the kext? SIP is already disabled I believe due to the patcher.
If it still doesn't work then log out and log back in to Apple ID.

 

[sfalatko]

That would make sense.
Is that due to the split with the read only system volume? I know there is a micropatcher script to remount the system volume as writable. I can try doing that and patching the kext that way.
So, the plan would be to get board ID, remount system as rw, patch the kext? SIP is already disabled I believe due to the patcher.
If it still doesn't work then log out and log back in to Apple ID.

I really couldn't tell you - I have not studied the difference between the terminal commands for Mojave and Catalina so can't comment on what mods you would need to make in what Kexts for Big Sur. Perhaps someone else could. I did do a bit of searching to see if anyone had posted how to patch Big Sur and found nothing. OC made patching unnecessary.

 

[mateuszd]

I really couldn't tell you - I have not studied the difference between the terminal commands for Mojave and Catalina so can't comment on what mods you would need to make in what Kexts for Big Sur. Perhaps someone else could. I did do a bit of searching to see if anyone had posted how to patch Big Sur and found nothing. OC made patching unnecessary.

Understood, just that I didn't want to have to spoof the board ID as my OCD won't be happy when I see references to the system as a Mac model it actually isn't ?
I'll try to command line patch and see if it works, I'll backup the kext first.

 

[mateuszd]

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I used the micropatcher's remount-sysvol script to mount the root volume as writable.
Ran the plistbuddy command with a modified path to target the mounted volume:

sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set:Mac-F221BEC8:ContinuitySupport true" "/System/Volumes/Update/mnt1/System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist"

verified the file is modified against a backup I made using diff, rebooted, and the file is back to what it was, the change is lost...

Edit:
Modified the plist file using the guide from https://itectec.com/askdifferent/ma...oot-system-filesystem-as-writable-in-big-sur/ and it works. Continuity and handoff that is I think the key mistake was that the new root snapshot wasn't being created by the script - perhaps it was a bug.
However, personal hotspot doesn't work. Potentially because I didn't patch

sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-F221BEC8\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0/" /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcm4360

as the AirPortBrcm4360.kext doesn't exist in Big Sur under that path.

Edit 2: Hotspot started working, then I moved on to OC now with the hybridization tweaks.

 

[overshoot]

Hello,

I have a MacPro 2012 running BigSur with Opencore 7.2 (Martin Lo package).
It's a new installation I've done, drive was completely wiped.

I have in this Mac installed an iMac Wifi card which is using the chipset BCM943602 and this adapter (attached image of it)

I am getting the Wifi to work fine but bluetooth is not detected and I would like to use airdrop.
I've tried with and without attaching the USB lines to the bluetooth connector as some mentioned in another guide but with no difference.

Is this an adapter problem from your experience and I will need to get a PCI-e adapter instead or there something else I can do to fix this?

 

[trifero]

Hello,

I have a MacPro 2012 running BigSur with Opencore 7.2 (Martin Lo package).
It's a new installation I've done, drive was completely wiped.

I have in this Mac installed an iMac Wifi card which is using the chipset BCM943602 and this adapter (attached image of it)

I am getting the Wifi to work fine but bluetooth is not detected and I would like to use airdrop.
I've tried with and without attaching the USB lines to the bluetooth connector as some mentioned in another guide but with no difference.

Is this an adapter problem from your experience and I will need to get a PCI-e adapter instead or there something else I can do to fix this?

I suppose you are giving power to that adapter. Right? Also, there are various types of BCM943602. Not all of them work with macOS.

 

[MeLlamanHokage]

Hello,

I have a MacPro 2012 running BigSur with Opencore 7.2 (Martin Lo package).
It's a new installation I've done, drive was completely wiped.

I have in this Mac installed an iMac Wifi card which is using the chipset BCM943602 and this adapter (attached image of it)

I am getting the Wifi to work fine but bluetooth is not detected and I would like to use airdrop.
I've tried with and without attaching the USB lines to the bluetooth connector as some mentioned in another guide but with no difference.

Is this an adapter problem from your experience and I will need to get a PCI-e adapter instead or there something else I can do to fix this?

There’s a popular suggested adapter and card setup from eBay that is pretty cheap around 40 USD or so. That didn’t end up working for me.

I went with this kit on Amazon

Not cheap but cheaper than the 210 USD setup

 

[Martin Lauren]

Hello,

I have a MacPro 2012 running BigSur with Opencore 7.2 (Martin Lo package).
It's a new installation I've done, drive was completely wiped.

I have in this Mac installed an iMac Wifi card which is using the chipset BCM943602 and this adapter (attached image of it)

I am getting the Wifi to work fine but bluetooth is not detected and I would like to use airdrop.
I've tried with and without attaching the USB lines to the bluetooth connector as some mentioned in another guide but with no difference.

Is this an adapter problem from your experience and I will need to get a PCI-e adapter instead or there something else I can do to fix this?

Hi!

I also faced the bluetooth problem with OC 0.7.2. After system update to 11.5.2 bluetooth gone. Then I tried Martin's OC ver 0.7.0 and voila... bluetooth is back. I noticed this kind of difference between OC versions earlier also. Best!

 

[overshoot]

Null

 

[overshoot]

I suppose you are giving power to that adapter. Right? Also, there are various types of BCM943602. Not all of them work with macOS.

Well I don't have to I believe. It's using the original Wi-Fi card slot so card should be getting power. At least Wi-Fi works, but it's just bluetooth. With the older card, a 2013 iMac card, Bluetooth was working but not Wi-Fi and with the same adapter.

There’s a popular suggested adapter and card setup from eBay that is pretty cheap around 40 USD or so. That didn’t end up working for me.

I went with this kit on Amazon

Not cheap but cheaper than the 210 USD setup

Ok I'll check that. Hoping I don't have to buy anything else. But in case I'll use your advice. Thanks!

Hi!

I also faced the bluetooth problem with OC 0.7.2. After system update to 11.5.2 bluetooth gone. Then I tried Martin's OC ver 0.7.0 and voila... bluetooth is back. I noticed this kind of difference between OC versions earlier also. Best!

Thanks I'll try that first.

 

[tsialex]

Well I don't have to I believe. It's using the original Wi-Fi card slot so card should be getting power. At least Wi-Fi works, but it's just bluetooth. With the older card, a 2013 iMac card, Bluetooth was working but not Wi-Fi and with the same adapter.

Bluetooth controller from all AirPort Extreme models that have it, like BCM94360 and newer ones, are USB devices.

The Mac Pro miniPCIe slot for the AirPort Extreme is just PCIe and don't have any USB signals/no USB data lines, so you have to connect the USB data lines from the original BT connector, to the format adapter.

No connection of the USB data lines, no Bluetooth.

 

[overshoot]

Bluetooth controller from all AirPort Extreme models that have it, like BCM94360 and newer ones, are USB devices.

The Mac Pro miniPCIe slot for the AirPort Extreme is just PCIe and don't have any USB signals/no USB data lines, so you have to connect the USB data lines from the original BT connector, to the format adapter.

No connection of the USB data lines, no Bluetooth.

So that I did it. I've attached the 2 pins on this mini PCI adapter to the bluetooth connector where the USB lines are.

But I'll double check. Thanks for this tip though. It's handy to know that for future troubleshooting.

 

[trifero]

Bluetooth controller from all AirPort Extreme models that have it, like BCM94360 and newer ones, are USB devices.

The Mac Pro miniPCIe slot for the AirPort Extreme is just PCIe and don't have any USB signals/no USB data lines, so you have to connect the USB data lines from the original BT connector, to the format adapter.

No connection of the USB data lines, no Bluetooth.

That´s what I meant when I said "give power". Sorry I wasn´t accurate.

 

[trifero]

So that I did it. I've attached the 2 pins on this mini PCI adapter to the bluetooth connector where the USB lines are.

But I'll double check. Thanks for this tip though. It's handy to know that for future troubleshooting.

Just check the bluetooth appears in System Information.

 

[overshoot]

Just check the bluetooth appears in System Information.

I thought you meant power supply with those USB lines but I forgot to answer that question.

Actually after a couple of reboots the bluetooth is now showing up and Airdrop works.

I don't know what happened but I didn't touch the hardware other than the power button lol.

Anyhow, thanks everyone!
Really thankful you guys answered me.
You gave me luck.

 

[trifero]

I thought you meant power supply with those USB lines but I forgot to answer that question.

Actually after a couple of reboots the bluetooth is now showing up and Airdrop works.

I don't know what happened but I didn't touch the hardware other than the power button lol.

Anyhow, thanks everyone!
Really thankful you guys answered me.
You gave me luck.

Nice!

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

Hi guys,

I installed the BCM943602CS wifi card and I'm on the 10.15.7 Catalina.
My cMP 4.1@5.1 with OC came without the wifi card.
I connected the cMP antennas like this:
1->J0
2 unattached
3->J2
Bt antenna -> J1

BT works, wifi also but the wifi connection speed is just 300mbps and TX rate around 702.
I read it should be around 1300mbps.
Maybe should I connect the cMP antennas differently to get faster connection?
Or that's normal with BCM943602CS with just 2 antennas connected?
Maybe I should do a PRAM reset to unlock higher speed?

PS. On my MBP 16 I get TX Rate 1300 on Big Sur

EDIT: Something changed, 2nd cold restart and now it shows 1300 tx rate, I'm so happy!

 

[s.m.t.]

Hi guys,

I installed the BCM943602CS wifi card and I'm on the 10.15.7 Catalina.
My cMP 4.1@5.1 with OC came without the wifi card.
I connected the cMP antennas like this:
1->J0
2 unattached
3->J2
Bt antenna -> J1

BT works, wifi also but the wifi connection speed is just 300mbps and TX rate around 702.
I read it should be around 1300mbps.
Maybe should I connect the cMP antennas differently to get faster connection?
Or that's normal with BCM943602CS with just 2 antennas connected?
Maybe I should do a PRAM reset to unlock higher speed?

PS. On my MBP 16 I get TX Rate 1300 on Big Sur

EDIT: Something changed, 2nd cold restart and now it shows 1300 tx rate, I'm so happy!

Put a BCM94360CDP in mine, everything appears to be working including bluetooth, but I am also seeing transmission rate of 700mbps instead of the full 1300 of ac. My router is a TPLink C2300, so I know it is capable...

I am getting ready to setup Monterey using OCLP, so will see if I have the same issue there.

Mine wasn't labeled, but matched up the antennas to what is pictured in this post:

802.11ac, BT 4.0 and Continuity & Handoff are working on Mac Pro 2010 (Keep Updating)

Hello everybody. In the last weeks I read a lot about Wifi / Bluetooth in the MacPro 4,1/5,1. I'm aware there are guides on installing Wifi Cards in the MacPro nevertheless I wanted to share my experiences here. My primary goals were: 802.11ac / Bluetooth 4.2 (or at least 4.0) no kext...

forums.macrumors.com

I do wonder what would happen if they antennas were not connected to the correct ports.

 

[grahampayton]

With everyone doing these WiFi upgrades can I ask what everyone is doing with the old WiFi cards that only do 802.11n please? I need one here in the UK for my Mac Pro 4.1

 

[trifero]

With everyone doing these WiFi upgrades can I ask what everyone is doing with the old WiFi cards that only do 802.11n please? I need one here in the UK for my Mac Pro 4.1

Have lots of them.

 

[ReallyLongLogin]

Hi Everyone - trying to get Airdrop working on my Mac Pro 5,1 with a Fenvi T919 PCIe Wifi/BT Card BCM94360CD. I connected the BT to USB as per this post https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pci-e-wifi-bluetooth-card-upgrade-successful.2247185/page-2. Wifi & BT are working but Airdrop is inconsistent.

Continuity is working fine after using the method in this post https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...g.1748061/page-58?post=28732896#post-28732896 but the instructions in terminal seem to be for Catalina and don't work in Big Sur.

Any ideas on how to get Airdrop working? Thanks!

 

[sfalatko]

Hi Everyone - trying to get Airdrop working on my Mac Pro 5,1 with a Fenvi T919 PCIe Wifi/BT Card BCM94360CD. I connected the BT to USB as per this post https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pci-e-wifi-bluetooth-card-upgrade-successful.2247185/page-2. Wifi & BT are working but Airdrop is inconsistent.

Continuity is working fine after using the method in this post https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...g.1748061/page-58?post=28732896#post-28732896 but the instructions in terminal seem to be for Catalina and don't work in Big Sur.

Any ideas on how to get Airdrop working? Thanks!

For Big Sur the only way I have found to get continuity, etc to work is through OpenCore and Hybridization - spoofing the board id to match an iMac Pro 1,1 or MacPro 7,1. I have not been able to find a manual patching method.

However without OpenCore you won't be able to boot Big Sur. If you are unfamiliar with OpenCore read the 1st post in this thread - OpenCore on the Mac Pro

 

[einstein_x]

Hello everybody.
In the last weeks I read a lot about Wifi / Bluetooth in the MacPro 4,1/5,1. I'm aware there are guides on installing Wifi Cards in the MacPro nevertheless I wanted to share my experiences here.

My primary goals were:

• 802.11ac / Bluetooth 4.2 (or at least 4.0)
• no kext patching
• only use internal antennas
• use the internal Mini PCI Express (mPCIe) connector
• use parts that are commonly available / not overpriced
• no kit, since availability is limited / kits are overpriced in my opinion
• don't destroy stuff, aka. don't cut any cables

Basic information about the MacPro Wireless internals:

• the MacPro's internal mPCIe connector misses the USB data lanes (contrary to the standard)
• the three internal antennas are fine for 802.11ac, but a 4th antenna is needed for Bluetooth
• the stock bluetooth chip is connected via USB and uses another internal antenna
• there are about 20cm / 8 inch distance from the Bluetooth connector to the mPCIe socket

General plan (similarly used by the kits out there):

• install a Apple Wifi/Bluetooth Card using an mPCIe -> Apple proprietary adapter
• inject USB D+/D- lanes from the old Bluetooth connector to mPCIe adapter
• extend the Bluetooth antenna to reach the mPCIe socket

As the general plan seems to be pretty easy, the details are a little bit more complicated. To get the right parts, all the connectors need to be known in detail:

• the stock Bluetooth card uses a proprietary cable, which is not widely available. However the connector on the Logic board is 1.25mm hole-to-hole distance, and uses a Micro JST 1.25 4-Pin connector
• all antennas use U.FL (aka. IPEX, IPAX, IPX, AMC, MHF, UMCC) connectors
• macOS supports these broadcom chips:
  • BCM4360
    • BCM94360CD: iMac (Late 2012), MIMO 3x3, BT4.0
    • BCM94360CS: MacPro Retina 15'' (Late 2015), MIMO 3x3, BT4.0 (shared antenna), MHF4 connectors
    • BCM94360CS2: MacBook Air (Mid 2013), MIMO 2x2, BT4.0, MHF4 connectors
  • BCM43602
    • internally soldered: MacBook Pro Retina (Early 2015)
    • BCM943602CS: MIMO 2x2, BT4.2
    • BCM943602CDP: MIMO 3x3, BT4.2

Buying stuff... I prefer websites using english websites, so my main sources are AliExpress and eBay.

• Apple Wifi (12+6 Pin) -> mPCIe Card
  • gernerally traded as WiFi Mini-PCI-E Adapter or BCM94360CD Adapter
  • needs USB D+/D- pinouts (sometimes labeled V3.0)
  • http://www.ebay.com/itm/112048982551: 7.08€
• Antenna Extension Cord (U.FL Male -> U.FL Female)
  • https://aliexpress.com/item/Extensi...ale-jack-terminal-block-1-13/32729403959.html: 1.96$
• Broadcom BCM943602CDP
  • https://aliexpress.com/item/2015-year-A1418-A1419-Wifi-802-11ac-and-Bluetooth-4-0-Airport-Card-BCM943602CDP/32741620368.html: 35.00$
• Micro JST 1,25mm 4-pin connector
  • at the time of buying I didn't know, that the MacPro uses a Micro JST connector, so I bought a wrong DF13 4-pin connector. As the pin distance is the same (1.25mm) I managed to cut some plastic from the connector to make it fit. Today I'd recommend these:
  • https://aliexpress.com/item/Micro-J...nector-with-Wire-Female-Plug/32754080045.html: 4.89$
• Optional stuff:
  • 2 pins to solder to the adapter card
  • 2 wires to solder to the USB extension cord
  • Some shrink tube for soldered cables

View attachment 682746

Final Assembly:

View attachment 682745
View attachment 682747
View attachment 682748
View attachment 682749
View attachment 682750
View attachment 682751
View attachment 682752


So in total I spent 49.34$ for full 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2 in my cMP 4,1.

I'd like to encourage you you do this upgrade in the same manner. The only thing that didn't go well in the first place was the wrong DF13 connector, the rest is pretty straight forward.

I hope this summary helps some of you.

Best regards,
- jonashoechst

I read the manual and I have almost everything ok ... but the order of the antennas ... are 1,2,3 from top to bottom (like pic) ... or 1,2 - these are visible and the 3 under the old wifi card?