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Airdrop in 2009 Mac Pro?

mattspace

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 5, 2013
3,403
3,021
Australia
Hi Folks,

So I've installed an Airport Extreme card in my 2009 8 core (which Apple support pages say should work), and it's been running fine for many months, but I'm not seeing the option for Airdrop in finder under the Go menu.

The Airport card was salvaged from an iMac (I've got about half a dozen different salvaged Airport cards of different vintages), so maybe it's too new to work? Here's what System Report says about it:

Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x8C)
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.36.16)
MAC Address: 00:1f:5b:c3:f5:d9
Locale: APAC
Country Code: X1
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Wake On Wireless: Supported
Status: Connected


No Mention of Airdrop.

In the Share Menu items of the Extensions prefpane, Airdrop is ticked, but the checkbox is greyed out.

If It's relevant - my memory is that the instructions were to only connect 2 out of the 3 wires to the card - could that be the problem?

Any suggestions, or places to look for more info? Do I need to enable File Sharing, or Bluetooth Sharing?


-------
edit
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Further reading suggests I may be misinterpreting things - what I'm wanting to do is shift files to / from an iPad - Apple's support site seems to be saying that the pre-2012 machines can only do mac <-> mac airdrop.

Is this one of the cases for one of the MVC Airport / bluetooth AC cards or similar, or is it simply not possible?

Cheers,
 
Last edited:
mattspace said:
Hi Folks,

So I've installed an Airport Extreme card in my 2009 8 core (which Apple support pages say should work), and it's been running fine for many months, but I'm not seeing the option for Airdrop in finder under the Go menu.

The Airport card was salvaged from an iMac (I've got about half a dozen different salvaged Airport cards of different vintages), so maybe it's too new to work? Here's what System Report says about it:

Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x8C)
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.36.16)
MAC Address: 00:1f:5b:c3:f5:d9
Locale: APAC
Country Code: X1
Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Wake On Wireless: Supported
Status: Connected


No Mention of Airdrop.

In the Share Menu items of the Extensions prefpane, Airdrop is ticked, but the checkbox is greyed out.

If It's relevant - my memory is that the instructions were to only connect 2 out of the 3 wires to the card - could that be the problem?

Any suggestions, or places to look for more info? Do I need to enable File Sharing, or Bluetooth Sharing?


-------
edit
-------

Further reading suggests I may be misinterpreting things - what I'm wanting to do is shift files to / from an iPad - Apple's support site seems to be saying that the pre-2012 machines can only do mac <-> mac airdrop.

Is this one of the cases for one of the MVC Airport / bluetooth AC cards or similar, or is it simply not possible?

Cheers,
Click to expand...

http://osxdaily.com/2011/09/16/enable-airdrop-ethernet-and-unsupported-macs/

Enable AirDrop Over Ethernet & Wi-Fi for Old Unsupported Macs
  • Launch Terminal, found in /Applications/Utilities/
  • Paste in the following defaults command:
    defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces 1
  • Hit Return, then on a new line in the Terminal type the following command to relaunch the Finder:
    killall Finder
  • Exit out of Terminal if you want, and launch any Finder window to discover the AirDrop icon
You can also reboot the Mac for changes to take effect.

I used the terminal commands on my unsupported macpro 1.1 running Yosemite and airpdrop worked,
 
I think this terminal command only allow the unsupported Mac use Airdrop with another Mac, but not iDevice.
 
Thanks for the info - yes, it seems to be only mac to mac. Still trying to figure out what the vital bit to go from mac to iOS.
 
I got the WiFi 802.11ac & Bluetooth 4.0 Upgrade Kit with adapter for Mac Pro 4,1/5,1 from eBay a few weeks ago. Below is the link to the buyer I purchased my kit from...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251754210499?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I installed this kit last week once I received it and have full AirDrop functionality on my 2009 firmware updated Mac Pro 5,1. I like how easy it is to move documents/pdf files over from my Mac to my iPhone. I have not tried moving files from my iPhone to my Mac yet... I may try this later though. :)

Here's the pic I took of my Finder window showing AirDrop selected and my iPhone being available :)
9a8239bf8ccc1d1a45f86a49e67a794b.jpg


56e7a085e88a42be2df3a3d62b53c6f1.jpg


094b81dd69823ec177e77d42d7d1ac1a.jpg


It can be done :apple: Hope this helps :)
 
Last edited:
Well the kit arrived and I installed it - Airdrop works fine, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how Handoff is supposed to work. It's allegedly supported, according to System Profiler, but using the latest update of Numbers on iOS 9.1 and Yosemite, I never get the Handoff symbol on the iPad's switcher or lock screen, and I never see anything on the Mac's dock.

Anyone got any ideas? Everything I've read says it's supposed to "just work" - and I can't find any major difference between my setup, and that of the tutorials / reviews. Tried logging both devices out of iCloud and back in.

If I've got the same document stored on iCloud Drive open on two devices and I make a change in one, it shows up on the other, but I'm not seeing any of the opening prompts.

Cheers.

bluetooth.jpg
 
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