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

[GlynH]

Well it looks like my story has had a happy ending! ?

Quick recap; I have the original install of High Sierra on a blade in PCIe Slot 4 that was originally an OpenCore install (although since disabled albeit not removed) and decided to install a virgin High Sierra on another blade in Slot 3 and although Continuity/Handoff/Auto Unlock didn't work on either they both exhibited different faults.

Slot 4 was showing Unlock with Apple Watch but when enabling the feature and inputting my password the busy pointer just circled around for @5 minutes and then returned the error 'Could not communicate with Apple Watch'

Slot 3 never did show the Unlock with Apple Watch feature at all.

I had tried most of the usual tricks to no avail.

Anyway the Quadro K5000 Mac Edition arrived today so I decided to replace the existing Quadro NVS 510 - the K5000 is huge compared to the tiny NVS.

As part of the process when rebooting and before clean installing Mojave on an internal SSD in Drive Bay 2 I decided to reset the PRAM. I had been putting this off for fear of damaging the Boot ROM after reading many posts here about this and tying myself up in knots over it. I threw caution to the wind and held down Command+Option+P+R and waited for the second chime to sound before letting them go.

Installation of Mojave went well and I changed the ContinuitySupport in the .plist from false to true and done the other mod to the kext as detailed above. I checked the .plist before and after running the command and it did indeed change from false to true. I'm not sure of the difference to the kext after running the other command but ran it anyway.

I setup iCloud and gave it time to do its thing, rebooted and went looking for Unlock with Apple Watch and there it was, staring back at me with the box unchecked.

Clicked on it, entered password and...and...it just stayed blue and the feature was enabled!

Opened a few apps on the iPhone and sure enough the icon to the left of the dock reflected what I had opened on the iPhone. Rebooted for good measure and left the machine go to sleep. Touched the trackpad, felt a little vibration on my wrist and my Watch unlocked the cMP! Result.

Rebooted into High Sierra where there had been no sign of Unlock with Apple Watch and Bingo! there it was just like Mojave. Checked it and it went blue immediately this time with no sign of the busy pointer.

Two out of three so far so good.

Changed Startup disk to the original High Sierra where the Unlock box was visible but wouldn't enable aaaand...it still showed the busy pointer and timed out after @5 mins or so. Bugger.

No joy there so what I am thinking of is nuking the original blade and installing a fresh High Sierra on it and then risking my Mojave SSD install and installing Mojave on the other blade...I am doing this because the blades are both quicker and 1TB and the SSD is 2TB and my original plan was to use the bigger device for shared data storage while being able to dual boot between High Sierra and Mojave.

I reckon it was probably the PRAM reset that pushed Continuity Handoff & Auto Unlock into working but don't know why it still doesn't work on the original blade although I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

It was a long road for me but with the help, support & patience from you guys we got there in the end.

And I get my boot screen back because of the K5000 and I also know the 94360CD card is working in my cMP which I was beginning to doubt so all in all a happy camper!

Thanks for putting up with my trials & tribulations...

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[dono42]

FYI, I ordered a BCM94360CD kit from OSXWIFI I got a kit that similar to BCM94360CDP attached. Comments? I have not tested to date.

 

[mode11]

Poor BT signal, even with external antenna

I upgraded my internal WiFi / BT card several years ago (not sure of precise model, but Sys Info lists the chipset as 20703A1, with Handoff supported). Wifi and BT both work fine, but the BT signal has always been weak despite using an external high-gain BT antenna. My Apple keyboard works fine, but headphone range is very limited and my 8bitdo Pro 2 game controller feels a bit unresponsive. My MX Master 3 mouse was terrible on BT, so I use the Unifying dongle instead.

Is this a widespread issue? Can anything be done? If not, is it possible to disable the internal BT and use a USB dongle instead? In that case, will BT work for Recovery Mode etc? I'm running OC.

 

[kkinto]

Anyone who's made the upgrade on 5,1 can you please help here?

We have had a bit of trouble doing this upgrade in that very guide seems to have different parts to the one we have. And nothing seems to match. But all the cards have a D+ and a D-. Just no-one seems to specific what connects to which pin and often they conflict if we judge by wire colours - which often seem arbitrary??

We have installed as we thought we should but have Wifi good but no BT.

The only variable I can see is in the connection that goes between the adapter card and the connectors next to the original bluetooth card (removed).

On the adapter they are marked D+ and D-
Which pin on the other side do these correspond to? ie The upper one is D+ and the next down is D-? or vice versa? I assume from all the vids and pics the bottom two pins are left untoched.

See attachment - is magenta arrow pin ("top")connected to D+ or D- on the adapter card?

And one more q - what changes to Opencore config (and kexts if needed) are needed to make BT work in Monetery (if any?) Wifi worked without modification to my current config so maybe its the issue above that is the problem.

Thanks

 

[JedNZ]

Post 740 has all the answers.

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

 

[kkinto]

Ive have finally got my new airport card installed and working wifi and bluetooth. However I seem unable to connect to my iphone or ipad. No problem connecting to mice and keyboards. Is there something else I need to do to connect this cMP to airdrop?

 

[GlynH]

When you say unable to connect can you be a little more specific? Is it just AirDrop?

If you instigate an AirDrop session from your iPhone to the Mac or vice versa does anything happen at all?

On my upgraded 5,1 it is a little flaky at times with things Apple Watch Unlock, Universal Clipboard, AirDrop, Continuity Camera etc. working most of the time but it's certainly not perfect.

I assume you have checked;

System Preferences/General/Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices

And have you checked About this Mac/System Report//Bluetooth to see if;
Bluetooth Low Energy Supported:
Handoff Supported:
Instant Hot Spot Supported:
---
---
HCI Version: 4.0 (0x6)
---
LMP Version: 4.0 (0x6)

And further down does it give a list of what devices are paired, Configured etc?

I have a whole heap of devices that I have not connected myself that are either paired or configured such as; keyboard, trackpad, Apple TV's, iPad, Macs, Watch, iPhone, etc.

I also see many people saying it sometimes helps if you logout of iCloud and log back in again. I haven't done that myself yet as I don't want to risk upsetting anything in iCloud

-=Glyn=-

 

[kkinto]

Hi Glyn - I would like airdrop to work. The mac does not appear in either iphone or ipad pro options. If I try to "connect" in bluetooth preferences they both fail to pair. Magic mouse is working fine.

"Allow Handoff" is checked. (isn't Airdrop a wifi thang or am I mistaken)
I can't see the entries you refer to in System Info - am I looking in right place (About this Mac/System Info/Bluetooth) (in spoiler below)?

Tried logging out/into iCloud on Mac, iphone and ipad. No difference.

Cannot connect ipad or iphone to bluetooth on Mac (Connection Unsuccessful "kkMacPro" is not supported.)

I guess I would like to use whatever features I can now with the new card that weren't possible before? Maybe I have something wrong still that allows mouse to work (2 of them) but not connect to airdrop etc?

*EDIT Cleared NVRAM and re-set up O/Core to get back to Moneterey. The ipad is now visible in mac Bluetooth Preferences but not phone.
Consequently in Airdop (Mac) only iPad is visible. iPad airdrop sees MacPro + Phone.
iPhone airdrop sees only iPad.
iPhone Settings/Bluetooth does recognise Macpro as an "other devices" but no connect/pair and does not appear in Airdrop

*EDIT 2 If I boot to Mojave OS the System Info > Bluetooth is very differently listed - now I see the Low Energy, Handoff Support, Instant Hotspot etc. So yes, they are supported. (see second spoiler)

Spoiler: System Info - Bluetooth

Bluetooth Controller:
Address: 28:F0:76:0A:54:23
State: On
Chipset: BCM_20703A1
Discoverable: Off
Firmware Version: v169 c4825
Product ID: 0x0001
Supported Devices: 0x382039 < HFP AVRCP A2DP HID Braille AACP GATT Serial >
Transport: USB
Vendor ID: 0x004C (Apple)
Connected:
kkMouse:
Address: E4:8B:7F:13:8D:6B
Vendor ID: 0x05AC
Product ID: 0x030D
Firmware Version: 3.0.6
Minor Type: Mouse
Services: 0x800020 < HID ACL >
Not Connected: iPad_pro:
Address: 4C:56:9D:2C:61:63
Vendor ID: 0x004C
Product ID: 0x723B
Firmware Version: 15.3.0
Minor Type: PDA

Spoiler: Mojave Version System Info

Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 6.0.14d13
Hardware, Features and Settings:
Name: kkMacPro
Address: 28-F0-76-0A-54-23
Bluetooth Low Energy Supported: Yes
Handoff Supported: Yes
Instant Hot Spot Supported: Yes
Manufacturer: Broadcom
Transport: USB
Chipset: 20703A1
Firmware Version: v168 c4823
Bluetooth Power: On
Discoverable: On
Connectable: Yes
Auto Seek Pointing: On
Remote wake: Off
Vendor ID: 0x05AC
Product ID: 0x8290
HCI Version: 4.2 (0x8)
HCI Revision: 0x12D7
LMP Version: 4.2 (0x8)
LMP Subversion: 0x21A8
Device Type (Major): Computer
Device Type (Complete): Mac Desktop
Composite Class Of Device: 0x380104
Device Class (Major): 0x01
Device Class (Minor): 0x01
Service Class: 0x1C0
Auto Seek Keyboard: On
Devices (Paired, Configured, etc.):
kkMouse:
Address: E4-8B-7F-13-8D-6B
Major Type: Peripheral
Minor Type: Mouse
Services: Apple Magic Mouse
Paired: Yes
Configured: Yes
Connected: Yes
Manufacturer: Apple (0x3, 0x31C)
Battery Level: 91%
Firmware Version: 0x0306
Vendor ID: 0x05AC
Product ID: 0x030D
Class of Device: 0x05 0x20 0x2580
AFH: On
AFH Map: FFFF300780000
RSSI: -59
Role: Master
Connection Mode: Sniff Mode
Interval: 11.25 ms
Host Connectable: Yes
EDR Supported: No
eSCO Supported: No
SSP Supported: No
04-69-f8-bb-bb-76:
Address: 04-69-F8-BB-BB-76
Major Type: Peripheral
Minor Type: Keyboard
Services:
Paired: Yes
Configured: Yes
Connected: No
Firmware Version: 0x0000
Class of Device: 0x05 0x10 0x2540
Apple Wireless Mouse:
Address: 7C-6D-62-F6-D0-5D
Major Type: Peripheral
Minor Type: Mouse
Services:
Paired: No
Configured: Yes
Connected: No
Manufacturer: Apple (0x3, 0x31C)
Firmware Version: 0x0000
Class of Device: 0x05 0x20 0x2580
EDR Supported: No
eSCO Supported: No
SSP Supported: No
Services:
Bluetooth File Transfer:
Folder other devices can browse: ~/Public
When receiving items: Accept all without warning
State: Disabled
Bluetooth File Exchange:
Folder for accepted items: ~/Downloads
When other items are accepted: Save to location
When receiving items: Accept all without warning
State: Disabled
Bluetooth Internet Sharing:
State: Disabled
Incoming Serial Ports:
Bluetooth-Incoming-Port:
RFCOMM Channel: 3
Requires Authentication: No

 

[GlynH]

Just a thought kkinto...the BT signal is notoriously weak on any upgraded Airport Express without additional antennas and I see others saying the same thing.

Have you tried putting your iPhone right next to the cMP to see if it picks it up?

Just happened to me...iPhone in my hand over the desk didn't see cMP on the floor by the side of the desk and vice versa. Put iPhone next to cMP and BOOM! it appeared in Finder/AirDrop like magic.

It is hit & miss for me though. I just switched from Mojave to High Sierra (your card is a newer version of mine and is it fully compatible with Monterey?) because Watch Unlock had stopped working. It's been like that for about a week but now I don't even get the Watch notification when I reboot Mojave but switching back to High Sierra and all working as it should. For now anyway.

I've just been through the Handoff/Continuity features and see the app that I open on the iPhone appear to the left of the Dock on the cMP - well apart from Reminders & Contacts that is.

As I said it's pretty flaky for me (even my keyboard & trackpad plays up at times) and I wonder if an external Bluetooth antenna might improve things?

Good luck!

-=Glyn=-

 

[kkinto]

It seems all my bluetooth problems are somehow related to Open Core and new OS. I keep ending up in Mojave due to boot loops and all sorts of problems with Monterey 12.3 and Open Core and in Mojave everything works perfectly - iPhone and iPad appear immediately in Airdrop on mac. But booting into Moneterey and its all gone completely now, no mouse, no keyboard, no Bluetooth info even in the System Information panel. I'm not really sure where to begin sorting out Monterey and Open Core unfortunately.

 

[GlynH]

Fantastic tool that OpenCore is it's way beyond my skill-set.

Unknown to me when I first got my cMP it had OC installed. The first I knew about it was around the time I upgraded my Airport Express card and I noticed my BootROM version was 9144.x.x.x.x

As I didn't want any trickery going on and intended to stay on High Sierra because my oldest iMac was stuck there I decided to disable it leaving everything in place just in case.

In the end I did install a second blade and installed Mojave on there but don't plan to go any higher although if I did I would be learning more about OpenCore!

Annoyingly as I've already mentioned Continuity/Handoff features are still a little flaky for me on both High Sierra and Mojave and it would be good to resolve this if I could.

Hopefully someone who is running the same combination as you will chip in point you in the right direction.

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[Stex]

It seems all my bluetooth problems are somehow related to Open Core and new OS. I keep ending up in Mojave due to boot loops and all sorts of problems with Monterey 12.3 and Open Core and in Mojave everything works perfectly - iPhone and iPad appear immediately in Airdrop on mac. But booting into Moneterey and its all gone completely now, no mouse, no keyboard, no Bluetooth info even in the System Information panel. I'm not really sure where to begin sorting out Monterey and Open Core unfortunately.

based on your description, this appears to be a well documented issue affecting internal BT module on cMP running Monterey via OC. The internal BT module connects to a USB 1.1 connector on the backplane (the pic you posted above). My understanding is that Monterey deprecated USB 1.1. I think OCLP has implemented some workarounds to allow the use of the internal USB 1.1 with Monterey, but I can’t say for certain as I don’t use OCLP. One more certain workaround is to route your internal BT module to one of cMP external USB 2.0 connectors, such as the ones on the back. That’s what I did. AirDrop and all other features work for me. Search this forum for “BT issues Monterey”, you should end with many results discussing the issue. Another well documented alternative in this forum that fixes this issue is to place a small USB hub between the internal BT card and the USB 1.1 connector on the backplane.

EDIT: i just noticed you also mention BT stops working when booting back into Monterey from Mojave. This also a well documented issue, which happened with Big Sur too, it only happens on the first boot from Mojave into the newer OS. Simply do a subsequent Monterey reboot (warm boot), BT should be functional again, and it will be that way for every other Monterey reboot.

 

[kkinto]

EDIT: i just noticed you also mention BT stops working when booting back into Monterey from Mojave. This also a well documented issue, which happened with Big Sur too, it only happens on the first boot from Mojave into the newer OS. Simply do a subsequent Monterey reboot (warm boot), BT should be functional again, and it will be that way for every other Monterey reboot.

I will look into the rest, but thanks - you just explained why I suddenly had bluetooth back when I booted this morning!

So much good information spread all over the place! Its like the answer is here, the challenge is to find it!

 

[Stex]

I will look into the rest, but thanks - you just explained why I suddenly had bluetooth back when I booted this morning!

So much good information spread all over the place! Its like the answer is here, the challenge is to find it!

For routing the internal BT module to USB 2.0 connector on the back:

Easy way to get Airdrop on a MP 2009 w/Mojave?

Just wanted to follow up as I received that card today. There is a 4-pin cable that attaches to the card, and the other end is supposed to go to the USB header on a normal PC motherboard. Since I don't have a normal PC, it was obvious to me that 2 of the 4 pins were D+ and D- (data for USB)...

forums.macrumors.com

For installing a small USB 2.0 hub between internal BT module and internal USB 1.1 connector:

testing TB3 AIC with MP 5,1

The 4 pin connector goes to the bluetooth header. The single 2 pin connector goes to the WiFi card for bluetooth. And the two 2 pin connectors go to the Titan Ridge card, as shown in my previous post. The hub is really tiny.

forums.macrumors.com

There are more threads/posts with info on the above, these two might help you get started.

 

[Stex]

I will look into the rest, but thanks

These two recent posts by @cdf explain in more detail aspects of the issue I pointed out to you above in post #1,637:

OpenCore on the Mac Pro

What you experienced was likely due to the lack of USB 1.x support in Big Sur and later, a well-known limitation solved by either connecting concerned devices before booting or connecting them through a USB hub. MacPro7,1 vs iMac Pro board ID model shouldn’t matter here.

forums.macrumors.com

OpenCore on the Mac Pro

Actually, each USB port on the classic Mac Pro not only has a USB 2.0 interface (EHCI) but also a USB 1.1 one (OHCI). The issue occurs because low speed devices are automatically connected through the latter, support for which is lacking in Big Sur and later. Anyway, enjoy your new setup!

forums.macrumors.com

 

[spacedcadet]

Hi, posted this in the wrong thread earlier and can't delete, sorry!

I wonder if anyone has had similar issues to me?

Running Big Sur 11.7 via OC 8.0. Have upgraded the internal wifi with the suggested BCM94360CD card via adapter.
Initially had the BT data red/black wires the wrong way round, no bluetooth. Schoolboy error! Hoping I hadn't fried the module, I swapped the wires and everything reports in System Information as expected? See attached. Bluetooth/Wifi options available in Preferences.

Airdrop and Handoff refuse to work. Have done all the usual tricks, turning off WiFi/BT on both iPhone and Mac. Setting Airdrop to Everyone etc. Turning off Handoff in SysPrefs>General and restarting. Logged out of iCloud.

Once in a blue moon my iPhone will show up in an Airdrop window in the Mac Pro's finder. When it does I can send from the Mac to the iPhone. The iPhone usually disappears from the Mac shortly after. On the rare occasion the Mac shows up on the iPhone it gets stuck at "waiting" if I try to send from phone to Mac.

Have tried turning the Firewall completely off and same deal, the phone appears randomly and rarely.

If I bring a MacBook next to the iPhone and Mac Pro here's what happens. They're all on the same wifi network.

Mac Pro – shows iPhone and MacBook in Airdrop window.
MacBook – shows iPhone only in Airdrop window
iPhone – shows MacBook Pro only when trying to Airdrop a file.

MacBook and iPhone can send and receive from each other.
Mac Pro can only send to the other two.

All I can think is that I somehow half-fried the BT part of the card when I plugged the data in the wrong way and now it thinks it works but actually doesn't.

Wifi works fine. iPhone can't see Mac Pro in Bluetooth Devices and the Mac Pro can't see the iPhone in Bluetooth preferences when it's set to discoverable in the other direction...

Thinking I should just buy another wifi/BT card to test. Possibly a loose cable/antennae (will check)?

 

[avro707]

Is there an easy solution for a USB bluetooth dongle to work in Monterey?

I have the upgraded bluetooth in my 2010 Mac Pro (the 6 core one) but the cable to the bluetooth antenna is broken and it's a bug fuss to take out the bluetooth antenna and replace it.

Usually the screw holding in bluetooth antenna is very, very very tight and it's hard to undo it without rounding out the head.

Any thoughts?

 

[spacedcadet]

Hi, posted this in the wrong thread earlier and can't delete, sorry!

I wonder if anyone has had similar issues to me?

Running Big Sur 11.7 via OC 8.0. Have upgraded the internal wifi with the suggested BCM94360CD card via adapter.
Initially had the BT data red/black wires the wrong way round, no bluetooth. Schoolboy error! Hoping I hadn't fried the module, I swapped the wires and everything reports in System Information as expected? See attached. Bluetooth/Wifi options available in Preferences.

Airdrop and Handoff refuse to work. Have done all the usual tricks, turning off WiFi/BT on both iPhone and Mac. Setting Airdrop to Everyone etc. Turning off Handoff in SysPrefs>General and restarting. Logged out of iCloud.

Once in a blue moon my iPhone will show up in an Airdrop window in the Mac Pro's finder. When it does I can send from the Mac to the iPhone. The iPhone usually disappears from the Mac shortly after. On the rare occasion the Mac shows up on the iPhone it gets stuck at "waiting" if I try to send from phone to Mac.

Have tried turning the Firewall completely off and same deal, the phone appears randomly and rarely.

If I bring a MacBook next to the iPhone and Mac Pro here's what happens. They're all on the same wifi network.

Mac Pro – shows iPhone and MacBook in Airdrop window.
MacBook – shows iPhone only in Airdrop window
iPhone – shows MacBook Pro only when trying to Airdrop a file.

MacBook and iPhone can send and receive from each other.
Mac Pro can only send to the other two.

All I can think is that I somehow half-fried the BT part of the card when I plugged the data in the wrong way and now it thinks it works but actually doesn't.

Wifi works fine. iPhone can't see Mac Pro in Bluetooth Devices and the Mac Pro can't see the iPhone in Bluetooth preferences when it's set to discoverable in the other direction...

Thinking I should just buy another wifi/BT card to test. Possibly a loose cable/antennae (will check)?

Update. Replaced the BCM94360CD card and Airdrop and BT device pairing now working. Seems clear plugging the BT data cable with reversed polarity is a BAD THING.

Handoff still not showing up. Have logged out and back into iCloud on the Mac and my iPhone. Not a biggie for me, but will keep trying.

 

[recycleordie]

Update. Replaced the BCM94360CD card and Airdrop and BT device pairing now working. Seems clear plugging the BT data cable with reversed polarity is a BAD THING.

Handoff still not showing up. Have logged out and back into iCloud on the Mac and my iPhone. Not a biggie for me, but will keep trying.

I'm in the same boat, running Monterey 12.6.1 via Martin Lo 0.8 v2 package, BCM94360CD airport card on an adapter, airdrop works fine, bluetooth connections all work fine with Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and AirPods.

Apple Watch unlock and Universal Control remain stubborn, sometimes my iPad appears under add display in Display Preferences sometimes it doesn't.

 

[spacedcadet]

Still no Handoff. I now get my iPhone appearing twice in my Mac Pro's Airdrop window... only one of them works. Weird.

 

[PPatla]

I've built up a MacPro 5.1 with Martin Lo's OpenCore package and have completed many of the upgrades that have been detailed on this site (Processors, Memory, SSDs, firmware, Radeon RX560, etc). I've got boot screen and Monterey, Mojave and Windows 10 all booting. I've been using a USB dongle for BT4 and it works fine. I ordered a Mini PCIe wifi card adapter to install in the cMP.

As of this date, which is the best card to be purchasing to install in a setup like this? Is it still a card from a 2015 era iMAC?

-Pat

 

[recycleordie]

I've built up a MacPro 5.1 with Martin Lo's OpenCore package and have completed many of the upgrades that have been detailed on this site (Processors, Memory, SSDs, firmware, Radeon RX560, etc). I've got boot screen and Monterey, Mojave and Windows 10 all booting. I've been using a USB dongle for BT4 and it works fine. I ordered a Mini PCIe wifi card adapter to install in the cMP.

As of this date, which is the best card to be purchasing to install in a setup like this? Is it still a card from a 2015 era iMAC?

-Pat

A Broadcom BCM94360CD according to OSXWiFi they’re also listing a BCM94360CDP as a limited edition but I have no experience with that. Their shipped was prohibitively expensive to Australia so I bought everything from eBay only drawbacks were I needed solder wires on to the adapter to plug into the usb data header and waiting for things to show up at different times.

 

[JedNZ]

The BCM94360CD remains the recommended WiFi/BT card of choice for cMP 5,1, and is compatible up to at least Monterey (I haven't played with Ventura or checked I there are issues with that).

The iMac AirPort Extreme that works best with a MacPro5,1 is BCM94360CD.

The one that is prone to make a mess with the NVRAM (constantly recreating bluetoothActiveControllerInfo and bluetoothInternalControllerInfo variables) when you boot earlier than Catalina is the updated one with BT4.2, BCM943602CDP.

I don't recommend BCM943602CDP for anyone that have to boot earlier macOS releases and should be avoided in general.

 

[brian.tully]

I've built up a MacPro 5.1 with Martin Lo's OpenCore package and have completed many of the upgrades that have been detailed on this site (Processors, Memory, SSDs, firmware, Radeon RX560, etc). I've got boot screen and Monterey, Mojave and Windows 10 all booting. I've been using a USB dongle for BT4 and it works fine. I ordered a Mini PCIe wifi card adapter to install in the cMP.

As of this date, which is the best card to be purchasing to install in a setup like this? Is it still a card from a 2015 era iMAC?

-Pat

Can you share which USB dongle for BT4 you are using? I tried to install the OSXWIFI upgrade and wound up breaking the Bluetooth data connector on the board (I'm an idiot) so I need to find a USB dongle for Bluetooth that will allow me to upgrade past Mojave using OCLP. Are there any specific USB BT dongles that are compatible/recommended - or alternatively dongles to avoid?

I see a lot of dongles now have BT5, but I'm guessing OSX doesn't support that yet? I haven't been able to find any USB dongles with BT4.1, only BT4.0 -- is that acceptable?

I'm leaning towards the Kinivo USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC BTD-400 (Bluetooth 4.0 Dongle Receiver, Low Energy) - Compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, Raspberry Pi, Linux, MacOS, Laptop & Headphones (https://www.amazon.com/Kinivo-USB-B...USB+Bluetooth+Adapter+for+macOS,aps,83&sr=8-3)

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[MacHosehead]

I'm leaning towards the Kinivo USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC BTD-400 (Bluetooth 4.0 Dongle Receiver, Low Energy) - Compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, Raspberry Pi, Linux, MacOS, Laptop & Headphones (https://www.amazon.com/Kinivo-USB-B...USB+Bluetooth+Adapter+for+macOS,aps,83&sr=8-3)

The dongle you listed only claims compatibility up to Mojave by the manufacturer. I think you would have better luck with the Sonnet dongle which claims to work with Ventura. I don't know, however, if it gets you Mac features such as Universal Control and others.
https://www.sonnettech.com/product/usb-bluetooth4-micro-adapter/techspecs.html