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

[crjackson2134]

The darn fast shipping is the problem.

We did a photo shoot for install and are trying to get it online.

May have to have a dropbox download until site gets refreshed.

If anyone else gets one before we do, the BT antennae goes on "J3"

Make sure the extender gets snapped into the little clip so the brass point can't short onto board. (or wrap in electrical tape)

Be patient and careful when plugging the USB/BT cable into logic board, the side with the wires goes UP.

Just take your time and move it around, it will go in when lined up right.

The antennae wires themselves are a pain, nothing I can do about that. If you have sausage fingers, find someone with smaller ones.

Glad card works well.

Please post a link when available. I for one will surely need the guidance. A short video would really be appreciated.

 

[MacVidCards]

http://www.macvidcards.com/wifi-and-bluetooth-card-installation-in-a-41-or-51.html

Let us know if there is anything unclear.

A small magnetized screwdriver is best.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

http://www.macvidcards.com/wifi-and-bluetooth-card-installation-in-a-41-or-51.html

Let us know if there is anything unclear.

A small magnetized screwdriver is best.

Question: Does the antenna order matter?

I plugged them in the same order as OP showed, 3, 1, BT, 2. But from the instructions, it seems to suggest that the order of wires 1, 2 and 3 don't really matter.

Is that right? Or is there some optimal arrangement to improve range?

 

[TomTomTuning]

http://www.macvidcards.com/wifi-and-bluetooth-card-installation-in-a-41-or-51.html

Let us know if there is anything unclear.

A small magnetized screwdriver is best.

Well done, although I wish the photos enlarged for more detail.
I just purchased this one and I can't wait!

Do the 3 OEM antenna connectors plug in a certain order on the new card?
I didn't see any detail about this on the instructions.

 

[MacVidCards]

Well done, although I wish the photos enlarged for more detail.
I just purchased this one and I can't wait!

Do the 3 OEM antenna connectors plug in a certain order on the new card?
I didn't see any detail about this on the instructions.

I don't think it matters, but the cables are typically labeled 1,2,3 and the antenna connections are labeled J0, J1, J2.

Honestly I just settle for wherever I can get them snapped on. Even for people on Wireless "N" these cards are faster, nice little uptick.

You will need the Broadcom drivers from Bootcamp package in Windows. The very thing that makes them work flawlessly in OSX (Apple vendor id) makes them a little more trouble in Windows.

Well done, although I wish the photos enlarged for more detail.

Ask and you shall receive...now they do !!!

We just got the site up today so going to be going through teething issues.

Will shortly offer lower prices than our Ebay store.

 

[malcbo]

Bought the last one available form MacVidCards.

Hope the current "native" compatibility won't break with the final release of Yosemite.

 

[TomTomTuning]

I don't think it matters, but the cables are typically labeled 1,2,3 and the antenna connections are labeled J0, J1, J2.

Honestly I just settle for wherever I can get them snapped on. Even for people on Wireless "N" these cards are faster, nice little uptick.

You will need the Broadcom drivers from Bootcamp package in Windows. The very thing that makes them work flawlessly in OSX (Apple vendor id) makes them a little more trouble in Windows.



Ask and you shall receive...now they do !!!

We just got the site up today so going to be going through teething issues.

Will shortly offer lower prices than our Ebay store.

Ahhhh, so much better!!! Thank you!

Is the higher eBay prices to help offset fee's? Either way, I was impatient and pulled the trigger already haha.

 

[crjackson2134]

We just got the site up today so going to be going through teething issues.

Will shortly offer lower prices than our Ebay store.

The prices we pay for being early adopters

Well mine arrived today, and I'll be installing sometime before Monday. A very professionally done kit.

 

[crjackson2134]

Finally installed the kit

I finally did the upgrade. It didn't go smooth due to my own fault. It shouldn't take more than 20 min. to do this upgrade, but it took me about 2 hours.

I didn't have a magnetic screwdriver on hand and I should have just bought one. As you can imagine, one of the WiFi screws fell into a place where I couldn't get it even with a magnet, or turning upside-down and shaking vigorously.

I ended up having to remove things (Fans / Processor Cage / Drives / PCIe Cards / etc...) and then I was able to shake it out. Now you must be wondering why that took so long. Well, I've never had a MP apart before, and even removing the stated assembles were a challenge with out internet or instructions.

As you can see, I finally got it, and it seems to be working very well. The great thing about this upgrade is how easily reversible it is. I left my original BT card in place and just unplugged the board connector. If for some unknown reason I need to remove the upgrade, all I have to do is reconnect.

I haven't tested it in Yosemite yet but I've no doubt it'll work just fine.

Thanks MacVidCards

Just wondering why Handoff isn't supported. - RESOLVED, SEE BELOW

I'm hoping I've just overlooked or misunderstood something about the setup. I've sent a message to MacVidCards, hopefully he'll see this and have a solution.

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because only DP2 had the option to see that, starting in DP3 it only shows up as you see it

ask anyone running DP4 to do same screen shot, it only says "BT Low Energy supported - yes" now

The fact that you get option in General is the proof it works. People with BT 4.0 but no WiFi AC don't get option
Thanks !!!

Got an answer, seems all is well.

 

[crjackson2134]

Ok, so I got my kit, installed it, and it works like a champ. WiFi is working about twice as fast (I have it in a horrible spot, so this is a great improvement). Bluetooth works, but have a USB keyboard handy as you will need to remove all your bluetooth devices in systems prefs, and re-pair them to get everything working.

Comments. No instructions came with this. They really should do a one pager here. I used this forum OP's to see which antennae wires need to be plugged in what spot. MacVidCards provides a BT antenna extender, it works great.

What I like about this upgrade is it's basically like a stock machine, and I don't have to drag a USB cable outside the machine to plug in. You just plug in the min jack connector where the OLD bluetooth chip used to plug into. I just left the old bluetooth chip screwed in, but unplugged, even though you dont need to do that.

The antennas are a bit of a pain to snap in. They thread through a nice holding clasp, but I would and did remove them from that clasp as they torque to much pressure with the new card, and having them outside the thread/holder makes it a bit easier to place the antennas without them touching one another.

I got the part really quickly. So minus the complete lack if instructions, this was a really good upgrade. Thanks MacVidCards!

Can you tell me if your Yosemite System Info report shows that Continuity is supported when looking at the Bluetooth section? I did the upgrade, and my BT mouse is working fine but the system report does not show Continuity support at all. The WiFi is showing the ac support.

EDIT: MacVidCards advised this is normal since DP3 - Since I'm on Public Beta 1 I'm in that category.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Can you tell me if your Yosemite System Info report shows that Continuity is supported when looking at the Bluetooth section? I did the upgrade, and my BT mouse is working fine but the system report does not show Continuity support at all. The WiFi is showing the ac support.

EDIT: MacVidCards advised this is normal since DP3 - Since I'm on Public Beta 1 I'm in that category.

Sorry, I'm not using 10.10 pre-realeases. I'm on 10.9.4. AC seems to be working, and bluetooth as well. It reports the correct chipset.

 

[Kissaragi]

Is there any chance that we will have a USB dongle based solution in the near future? Something that doesn't involve opening the mac pro case I mean.

 

[MacVidCards]

Is there any chance that we will have a USB dongle based solution in the near future? Something that doesn't involve opening the mac pro case I mean.

Installing these cards isn't hard.

Toughest part is the antenaes are tiny.

I have a BT USB dongle that works but now you also need a card that loads 94360 kext. Likely there will be a hack but may not work on the older wifi cards in CMP

Doubt there will be a USB that does both

 

[didier.ma]

Question:

Is there any harm to leave the original BT card in the Mac Pro 2008 3,1 as the screw is extremely tight :-/ I have got the card from MacVidCards and it works great Just wonder if the BT 2.0 in it would interference the other BT 4.0 / AC Wifi... Btw, it took me just barely 10 mins... Just remember to unplug the 6-pin power before, coz I thought the card wasn't fit (really it's just fit) but actually was just blocked by the 6-pin power. You can safely re-plug the 6-pin power after.

 

[jameslmoser]

Question:

Is there any harm to leave the original BT card in the Mac Pro 2008 3,1 as the screw is extremely tight :-/ I have got the card from MacVidCards and it works great Just wonder if the BT 2.0 in it would interference the other BT 4.0 / AC Wifi... Btw, it took me just barely 10 mins... Just remember to unplug the 6-pin power before, coz I thought the card wasn't fit (really it's just fit) but actually was just blocked by the 6-pin power. You can safely re-plug the 6-pin power after.

I don't believe so... I think I read posts where others left them in and the newer ones were just automatically used.

 

[crjackson2134]

I don't believe so... I think I read posts where others left them in and the newer ones were just automatically used.

I left mine in place but consider that I disconnected the wires. The 3.1 may have a slot/socket connection rather than a wired plug. Since I don't own a 3.1 I can't say for sure. I would wait until MacVidCards chimes in with a definitive answer before declaring it copacetic.

 

[flowrider]

Question:

Is there any harm to leave the original BT card in the Mac Pro 2008 3,1 as the screw is extremely tight :-/ I have got the card from MacVidCards and it works great Just wonder if the BT 2.0 in it would interference the other BT 4.0 / AC Wifi... Btw, it took me just barely 10 mins... Just remember to unplug the 6-pin power before, coz I thought the card wasn't fit (really it's just fit) but actually was just blocked by the 6-pin power. You can safely re-plug the 6-pin power after.

Not sure of this in this application, but in my experience with a BT dongle, I needed Bluetooth Explorer to select the BT card I wished to use. So, yes you can leave the original BT card installed, and use Bluetooth Explorer to choose the new card.

Lou

 

[didier.ma]

Not sure of this in this application, but in my experience with a BT dongle, I needed Bluetooth Explorer to select the BT card I wished to use. So, yes you can leave the original BT card installed, and use Bluetooth Explorer to choose the new card.

Lou

Apparently the new BT 4.0 is in use automatically in my case. I haven't booted into Windows and see how it deals with the two BT adapters yet. Will update.

 

[cparr007]

Oh, did you need to hack the kext? And how do you connect the 4 antennas wires?

D.

No, the was no hack needed. There are 3 wires already installed for the Airport card. I purchased a 4th antenna wire. Basically, it is just a wire with a sticky square on the end.

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Thanks for reading my article and providing a better and more convenient approach! I will post your plan onto the top of the first page. Thanks!

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Thanks for reading my article and providing a better and more convenient approach! So could you please tell me where did you get the conversion card and I will post your plan onto the top of the first page. Thanks!

I got the conversion card from http://www.osxwifi.com. They do not have them listed on the site, just email them.

 

[Kissaragi]

No, the was no hack needed. There are 3 wires already installed for the Airport card. I purchased a 4th antenna wire. Basically, it is just a wire with a sticky square on the end.

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I got the conversion card from http://www.osxwifi.com. They do not have them listed on the site, just email them.

Great site, thank you!

 

[Richdmoore]

New beta, same question......

Did anything change to allow us to upgrade our various macs without having to hack the software to make it work? Can we go back to a simple usb dongle to upgrade, or do we still need to try and upgrade to ac wifi as well?

Thanks.

 

[Angelus]

so, no other way?
the silly thing is that the same usb 3.0 pci card (inateck 7 port) + same wi-fi card + same antenna that i used in the mac pro, doesn't give me any problem on my hackintosh.
on hackintosh it's working perfect. does it depends on the fact that mac pro has a aluminum case?

what about trying to put this http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/DIYIMM12BTS/ both sides on the wi-fi ac card? someone in a thread suggests it and it works for him

I'm interested if anyone has a response to this question. I currently have an Inateck card which is interfering big time with my Bluetooth. My solution up until now had been to use the wired pro keyboard and plug a 4.0 bluetooth dongle into the side USB port on the keyboard.

My main concern if I went with the MacVidCard wifi AC/bluetooth card option is that my bluetooth signal would go to pot again and I'd be back to square one. If I could shield the bluetooth it would give me a nice clean solution again.

Only other option I guess would be just use the wifi portion of the card and continue to use the dongle but that wouldn't work with handoff/continuity would it?

 

[Angelus]

Have just gone back and read the MVC 4.1/5.1 installation instructions again and I have one further question for you MVC.

I remembered reading a thread on USB 3 interference with bluetooth and they posted a fix which involved connecting the OEM bluetooth card to one of the wifi antennas. Here's the link:https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=456627&d=1389833848

It seems in that post that only two "wifi" antenna connections were required to function normally and by using the wifi antenna for bluetooth, the bluetooth range and stability was greatly improved.
Is it possible to use your card in the above configuration so that bluetooth reception improves in the setting of USB 3, while preserving wireless AC/Continuity/Handoff?

 

[osxwifi]

I'm interested if anyone has a response to this question. I currently have an Inateck card which is interfering big time with my Bluetooth. My solution up until now had been to use the wired pro keyboard and plug a 4.0 bluetooth dongle into the side USB port on the keyboard.

My main concern if I went with the MacVidCard wifi AC/bluetooth card option is that my bluetooth signal would go to pot again and I'd be back to square one. If I could shield the bluetooth it would give me a nice clean solution again.

Only other option I guess would be just use the wifi portion of the card and continue to use the dongle but that wouldn't work with handoff/continuity would it?

You can always use different antenna for Bluetooth - http://www.osxwifi.com/wireless-internal-antenna-for-bluetooth-macpro or even external one to have solid BT connection.

 

[MacVidCards]

Have just gone back and read the MVC 4.1/5.1 installation instructions again and I have one further question for you MVC.

I remembered reading a thread on USB 3 interference with bluetooth and they posted a fix which involved connecting the OEM bluetooth card to one of the wifi antennas. Here's the link:https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=456627&d=1389833848

It seems in that post that only two "wifi" antenna connections were required to function normally and by using the wifi antenna for bluetooth, the bluetooth range and stability was greatly improved.
Is it possible to use your card in the above configuration so that bluetooth reception improves in the setting of USB 3, while preserving wireless AC/Continuity/Handoff?

The connectors are all identical so you are of course welcome to try different ones and see how they function for your setup.

For people who need extreme range we offer some external antennas that can stick magnetically. Odd to discover that there is plenty of steel in a Mac Pro, you can stick the antennae to it.