Adding Bluetooth and Wifi to a Mac Pro 1,1

[cookie709]

Hi,

I recently got my hands on an old Mac Pro 1,1 (running Lion) but unfortunately it doesn't have bluetooth or wifi. I would like to add both but I'm not really sure what the best way of doing this is, or if it is even possible. Would any of the 3rd party USB dongles (such as this ) work?

Thanks guys.

 

[ashman70]

I had one of these machines and was using an external dongle that came with a Microsoft BT mouse, it worked fine, if you use Google there are other inexpensive dongles that work as well. You can also find the internal BT adapter along with the Wifi adapter on Ebay, both which are installed on the motherboard inside the machine, there are wires you need to pull from the top of the motherboard down to attach to both of the adapters to enable them. There are walkthroughs on the web that can help you, I think the adapters cost around $40-50 each, you have to make sure to get the right ones though as they differ slightly between Mac Pro models.

 

[Neodym]

If you go for the internal solution, make sure that the antenna cables are there. Sometimes (e.g. in refurbished machines) they are either missing or are not accessible (e.g. fallen behind the motherboard).

External adapters are significantly cheaper (and may have a better reception anyway). Even if they don't support OSX officially, you can sometimes get driver support directly from the maker of the radio chip on the stick (Google is your friend).

 

[MacinJosh]

I got both internal Mac Pro Wifi+BT from eBay for about $20 with free shipping from Hong Kong.

 

[cookie709]

Thanks guys. I think I will go for the external option, I've had a quick look in the case and I can see where I think the cables where - but there's nothing there so I'm assuming they've just dissapeared over the years or something... Cheers.

 

[ashman70]

They are likely still there perhaps they have fallen behind the motherboard.