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

[MacModding]

That is interesting. I went through pain upgrading the single X5690 5,1 in my signature. The WIFI card upgrade was easy enough but I wasn't careful enough to connect the cable from the BCM94360CD to the cable running from the default Mac bluetooth antenna at the back. So the connector was broken.

Then I crashed my bicycle and broken femur so out of action for 6 months, so no pulling apart heavy Mac Pros.

Eventually I ordered spare original bluetooth antennas to fix it but they are a massive PITA to replace - you have to pull everything out, the backplane board, the lot and then you are left with a very hard to undo screw securing the antenna in place.

I had to use a tool to grip the screw and loosen it. Once I did that, all good and was more careful connecting the cables. In the Apple Technician Guide for the 5,1 they make it sound so easy, use a jewellers screw driver to loosen that screw, easy right, no, not at all!

What I love about the upgrade on the 5,1 is that it works so seamlessly with my 7,1, I can use same keyboard and mouse for both, sharing things between both easily, air drop, everything - it just makes the old machine feel much more up to date. It's really excellent.

Same applies to the screw with which the tiny BT 2.1 is mounted, extremely tight and regularly impossible to unscrew with any tool in the house that resembles a screwdriver. I usually manage with a 'side cutter'.

When it comes to antennae, I have installed plenty of external BT-antennae in Mac Pro's, especially because of the poor functioning of the internal antenna. Is quite easy, just make a 6.5mm hole in one of the blind PCie covers or a hole in the cover of a USB card or carrier card for a Flash Blade. Mount the antenna in the hole, and lead the cable towards either the existing BT 2.1 module (shorter cable) or to a more modern one (with slightly longer cable). Of course, one needs to get a cable with the right plug on it (can often be bought as a set of antenna + cable); there are also plugs much smaller than the ones used in the Mac Pro.

 

[mattspace]

Yes, the cable & plug shown on the third photo plugs into the tiny 4-pin Molex Picoblade plug on the logic board.
The other cable will run from a Type A male plug to either:
- a 2-pin female JST XH plug when using the typical Chinese boards with the two connection points for D+ & D- on their PCB. In case one has directly soldered the wires to the PCB up to now, one would make it a bit neater by placing a 2-pin male JST XH on the PCB
or
- a 2-pin female Molex Micro-Fit plug to connect with an OSX WiFi board or similar
or
- a 4-pin female JST plug to connect to a Fenvi T919 board

This solution is partly comparable with cdf's wonderful creation, but his solution offers a wider range of connection points. This solution aims primarily at just connecting the BT-part of the combo module in a neat and effective way.
It does, however, have the option to connect more than one USB-plug if so desired, in case one needs a second connection for, e.g., a Thunderbolt card. Devices such as wired keyboards & mice should not be connected this way because of their relatively high power draw (and actually don't work via the tiny plug & a hub).

OK... are you doing a production run of them?

 

[MacModding]

I may consider that. Looking into the possiblities this week. Shipping outside EU is going to be a hassle though. Since 2020, you can't even ship a give-away ballpoint in an envelope to the States without having to fill in a customs form. No idea about Aus/NZ though.

 

[mattspace]

I may consider that. Looking into the possiblities this week. Shipping outside EU is going to be a hassle though. Since 2020, you can't even ship a give-away ballpoint in an envelope to the States without having to fill in a customs form. No idea about Aus/NZ though.

I received stuff from a UK Etsy producer recently, FWIW. Selling to AUS you're supposed to process Goods & Services Tax (10%). If you're selling through Fastspring they handle that for you.

 

[TheStork]

@MacModding,
Congratulations on a great design/product. I, too, will sign up for your device. Please send a PM to me if and when you will be producing them.

 

[MacModding]

@MacModding,
Congratulations on a great design/product. I, too, will sign up for your device. Please send a PM to me if and when you will be producing them.

Thank you for your appreciation. I am getting some materials in and will keep you guys updated.

 

[osxfr33k]

I may consider that. Looking into the possiblities this week. Shipping outside EU is going to be a hassle though. Since 2020, you can't even ship a give-away ballpoint in an envelope to the States without having to fill in a customs form. No idea about Aus/NZ though.

Please sign me up for two. Can you PM me with the details and pricing. Thanks.

 

[bonshomme]

I upgraded the Wi-Fi card to the BCM943602CDP in hopes of improving my terrible signal but it didn't help. At least I'll have less trouble with later versions of macOS. Now I need to invest in a router.

 

[MacModding]

Do you make use of one of the Chinese styles of Mini-PCIe Adapter Boards for your WiFi/BT combo module, the type that makes the antenna connections go underneath? Do you have trouble keeping these tiny plugs stay in place? Then this little thingy may come in handy, so the plugs can't go anywhere.

In case you have access to a 3D printer, send me a PM for a free STL file.
Best printed in heat-resistant ABS or ASA.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Hi guys. I read the first post, but it seems to be outdated?

I have a spare BCM943602CS, and a Mac Pro 5,1 running Monterey via OCLP. Can I make use of this card via an adapter?

I would prefer an internal adapter, as opposed to PCI + external antenna.

 

[tsialex]

Hi guys. I read the first post, but it seems to be outdated?

I have a spare BCM943602CS, and a Mac Pro 5,1 running Monterey via OCLP. Can I make use of this card via an adapter?

I would prefer an internal adapter, as opposed to PCI + external antenna.

2015 MacBook Pro AirPort Extreme, with smaller antenna connectors that require adapter cables for the Mac Pro antennas.

 

[BeatCrazy]

2015 MacBook Pro AirPort Extreme, with smaller antenna connectors that require adapter cables for the Mac Pro antennas.

Yes it has the tiny connectors, and I realize they'll need adapters.

But which adapter card should I be using?

 

[tsialex]

Yes it has the tiny connectors, and I realize they'll need adapters.

But which adapter card should I be using?

BCM94360CD is the ideal card, same U.FL antenna connectors as the Mac Pro, no BootROM issues.

BCM943602CDP can also be installed, but then you will have trouble booting Mojave and earlier macOS releases and you will always have to double restart after running Catalina/BigSur/Monterey to have BT working with Mojave and earlier or vice-versa.

For the format adapter card, any third party adapter for the BCM94360CD and MacPro5,1 should also work with the BCM943602CS. Needs to be a MacPro5,1 adapter, with the USB+ and USB- connector.

 

[BeatCrazy]

BCM94360CD is the ideal card, same U.FL antenna connectors as the Mac Pro, no BootROM issues.

BCM943602CDP can also be installed, but then you will have trouble booting Mojave and earlier macOS releases and you will always have to double restart after running Catalina/BigSur/Monterey to have BT working with Mojave and earlier or vice-versa.

For the format adapter card, any third party adapter for the BCM94360CD should also work with the BCM943602CS.

Thanks, I'll hunt down a BCM94360CD instead.

Is OSX Wi-Fi the only source of an adapter to keep it on the Mac Pro board? I'd prefer an adapter vs. PCIe slot + external antennas.

 

[tsialex]

Thanks, I'll hunt down a BCM94360CD instead.

Is OSX Wi-Fi the only source of an adapter to keep it on the Mac Pro board? I'd prefer an adapter vs. PCIe slot + external antennas.

No, there are dozens of different sources with three or four main adapter designs that work with MacPro5,1. You can buy from Amazon/eBay/AliExpress etc, look at the last few pages to see where/what people have been buying lately.

 

[sparky672]

I installed a BCM94360CD in a Mac Pro 5,1 quite a few years ago, but machine is otherwise stock and I can't update the OS past High Sierra (10.13). Even after the investment of a new graphics card, would then be stuck at Mojave (10.14) AFAIK.

What is the "OCLP" that was mentioned previously, and what exactly would I need to do to upgrade this Mac Pro to a more modern Mac OS? At lot of hoops to jump through? How high can it go?

Thank you!

 

[ADDvanced]

I did this mod years ago to my 4.1, but once I put my mac to sleep, BT no longer works, and is X'd out in the menu bar. I also noticed my magic mouse had a bit of a lag, compared to the 5.1 I used to have. Has anyone else experienced flaky BT with this mod?

 

[tsialex]

I did this mod years ago to my 4.1, but once I put my mac to sleep, BT no longer works, and is X'd out in the menu bar. I also noticed my magic mouse had a bit of a lag, compared to the 5.1 I used to have. Has anyone else experienced flaky BT with this mod?

BT configuration is mostly done inside the Mac Pro NVRAM, since you need BT HID devices while at pre-boot configuration/POST. If you already double checked your connections for anything flaky, the next thing is to do a deep NVRAM reset. Since it's a cross-flashed early-2009, you have a gigantic chance of the NVRAM being corrupted.

If a deep reset doesn't change your issues, the next thing to look is a BootROM reconstruction service, bit you need to do all the previous steps first.

 

[ADDvanced]

I don't see how that could be it, since it does work fine on restart. Even when it is working tho, there is some lag, just barely, but perceptible when using a mouse. Handoff works tho.