Cable Airport and Bluetooth Mac Pro 1,1

[vincenzo79]

Hello to all,
I wanted to ask information on Bluetooth modules and the Airport form of a Mac Pro 1.1 .
I have read several guides and I found that all always refer to insert the wires that actually would be three, one for the bluetooth module and the other module for the Airport.
I wanted to ask but these leads are key to the bluetooth card and airport or they can also be used without cables ?
If you are critical you can tell me where can I buy them ?
Thank you,
Vincenzo

 

[JedNZ]

I have installed an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CD 802.11ac mini PCI-E WiFi WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 card into my Mac Pro 1,1>2,1.The Apple Broadcom BCM94360CD includes WiFi 802.11ac plus Bluetooth 4.0 (Low power) which is required for Continuity, AirDrop and Handoff functionality.

I bought my one off eBay for US$43 delivered - check out this link. But you can also get them from a variety of other places, like here although they seem to cost a lot more than eBay.

Here's some links for installing and then activating Continuity, Airdrop and Handoff.
http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2015/11/15/installing-80211-nac-bluetooth-40-airport-mac-pro.html
http://avayarob.blogspot.co.nz/2014/12/how-i-enabled-handoff-on-mac-pro-2008.html
http://www.macvidcards.com/wifi-and-bluetooth-card-installation-in-a-31.html

Note: I had to connect my WiFi and Bluetooth antennas as follows in order to get a strong signal for Bluetooth.
1 wire to J0; 2 wire to J1;3 wire to J3; BT wire to J2
Originally I connected the BT wire to J3 and the 3 wire to J2 and I had a very weak signal for Bluetooth (only up to 2 feet). I swapped these to BT wire to J2 and the 3 wire to J3 and I immediately had a strong Bluetooth signal up to about 10 metres.

 

[vincenzo79]

Hello,
Thanks very much for the information you provided me and for the different tutorials to read.
I bought this item and it should arrive in Italy within 15 days, at least I hope, since the Italian post office

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MacPro-2006...458513?hash=item3aaed77351:g:y74AAMXQuTNTK9zr

Yesterday I checked if the inside of the Mac Pro there was the antenna but I don't seem to have seen no cable, this evening I will check the most accurate but I don't think that there are.
Do you know where I can buy the antenna for the Mac Pro ?
Thanks,
Vincenzo

 

[JedNZ]

All the antennae will be taped back up behind the second hard drive sled bay. I removed the fan assembly so I could install the combo WiFi/BT module I bought - made it easier to flick out the antenna wires and attach them.

 

[•MacMike•]

Terribly sorry for bumping this thread.

JedNZ did you purchase the wifi card and adapter from the link you posted above? "LINK"

I have the same computer as you a 1,1 --> 2,1. I purchased the parts in the link and my mac won't boot with it plugged in. I took the wifi/bluetooth card off and left the adaptor plugged in and it still won't boot. I can hear the fans spin up for a second then nothing. I have to unplug the computer and plug it back in to get it to power up. (with the adaptor removed)

You didn't do anything special to get it to work, correct?
I just wanted to make sure before I contact the seller.

Thanks

 

[Blackey Cole]

Will this replace the on board card in a cmp 5,1? Or must it be used in a pci solution?

 

[JedNZ]

Terribly sorry for bumping this thread.

JedNZ did you purchase the wifi card and adapter from the link you posted above? "LINK"

I have the same computer as you a 1,1 --> 2,1. I purchased the parts in the link and my mac won't boot with it plugged in. I took the wifi/bluetooth card off and left the adaptor plugged in and it still won't boot. I can hear the fans spin up for a second then nothing. I have to unplug the computer and plug it back in to get it to power up. (with the adaptor removed)

You didn't do anything special to get it to work, correct?
I just wanted to make sure before I contact the seller.

Thanks

I bought my BCM94360CD separately frozen m the Mini PCIe adapter, but both were purchased on eBay. I didn't
have to do anything special, other than maybe zapping the PRAM and resetting the PMU. What else have you got installed? Maybe remove all your other PCIe cards and reinstall them one at a time to isolate the problem. What OS are you running? Maybe reapply the last Combo updated to see if that fixes your OS if that's the problem.

 

[•MacMike•]

I bought my BCM94360CD separately frozen m the Mini PCIe adapter, but both were purchased on eBay. I didn't
have to do anything special, other than maybe zapping the PRAM and resetting the PMU. What else have you got installed? Maybe remove all your other PCIe cards and reinstall them one at a time to isolate the problem. What OS are you running? Maybe reapply the last Combo updated to see if that fixes your OS if that's the problem.

Thank you so much for your reply. First off. I have a 1,1 that I flashed to a 2,1 my OS is 10.11.6 El Capitan. I have upgraded the processors to dual quad-core 3.0GHz Intel Xeon X5365s. Everything runs great. All stable and fast.

Upon your suggestion, I removed all my extra hard drives, installed my original video card, and original ram. I even unplugged the DVD drive. I tried several drives with different OS's including fresh install of the last supported OS for this computer 10.7 Lion.

I am not going to remove and reinstall my original processors. I don't think that will do any good.

I reset the SMC (PMU) by both unplugging the computer and holding the power button as well as unplugging and pushing the SMC button located on the mother board. Neither changed anything. The computer never powers on enough to reset the PRAM.

I am really leaning on some kind of short in the adapter. As I said above, I just put the PCIe to mini PCI adapter card in the airport slot and did not insert the wifi/bluetooth card and the computer fails to turn on. I also tried with the wifi/bluetooth card inserted. And it failed likewise. About 1/2 a second after hitting the power button the computer clicks then goes dead. It is like the power supply is protecting its self by blocking power to the computer. The only way try to power the computer on again is by removing and reinserting the power cord. Doing so I can hit the power button again. If the card is installed, it will fail again. I have to remove the adapter in order for the computer to post.

I could use a volt meter and check for continuity on the pins and their respective destination pins.

Barring any other suggestions, I guess I will have to contact the seller. Getting a replacement is going take a while as they are Chinese suppliers.
[doublepost=1503545010][/doublepost]

Will this replace the on board card in a cmp 5,1? Or must it be used in a pci solution?

Yes and no. Yes you can use this method to replace the wifi board in a 5,1 but you have to buy the adapter cards that have the USB power wires included. The 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1 do not need the USB wires. As far as PCI solution I don't know the answer to that.

 

[jacquesd]

Hello macmike i have exactly the same problem you have, did you resolved it?

 

[bctaylor84]

Thank you so much for your reply. First off. I have a 1,1 that I flashed to a 2,1 my OS is 10.11.6 El Capitan. I have upgraded the processors to dual quad-core 3.0GHz Intel Xeon X5365s. Everything runs great. All stable and fast.

Upon your suggestion, I removed all my extra hard drives, installed my original video card, and original ram. I even unplugged the DVD drive. I tried several drives with different OS's including fresh install of the last supported OS for this computer 10.7 Lion.

I am not going to remove and reinstall my original processors. I don't think that will do any good.

I reset the SMC (PMU) by both unplugging the computer and holding the power button as well as unplugging and pushing the SMC button located on the mother board. Neither changed anything. The computer never powers on enough to reset the PRAM.

I am really leaning on some kind of short in the adapter. As I said above, I just put the PCIe to mini PCI adapter card in the airport slot and did not insert the wifi/bluetooth card and the computer fails to turn on. I also tried with the wifi/bluetooth card inserted. And it failed likewise. About 1/2 a second after hitting the power button the computer clicks then goes dead. It is like the power supply is protecting its self by blocking power to the computer. The only way try to power the computer on again is by removing and reinserting the power cord. Doing so I can hit the power button again. If the card is installed, it will fail again. I have to remove the adapter in order for the computer to post.

I could use a volt meter and check for continuity on the pins and their respective destination pins.

Barring any other suggestions, I guess I will have to contact the seller. Getting a replacement is going take a while as they are Chinese suppliers.
[doublepost=1503545010][/doublepost]

Yes and no. Yes you can use this method to replace the wifi board in a 5,1 but you have to buy the adapter cards that have the USB power wires included. The 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1 do not need the USB wires. As far as PCI solution I don't know the answer to that.

[doublepost=1553716654][/doublepost]What was the resolution to your issue? My mac pro 1,1 flashed to 2,1 won't poweron either with the card installed. As soon as I remove the card it powers up as usual. I even got a replacement card and it does the same thing.

 

[Erwin-Br]

Sorry for reviving this old topic back from the dead, but big thanks to the OP. Up until now I thought only 2 scenarios were possible, but after 2 unsuccessful attempts, this configuration of the antenna cables was the right one for me. Also tricky: I had to remove my mouse completely and let it rediscover. I nearly gave up. Thanks again!

 

[FlyMyRug]

Thank you so much for your reply. First off. I have a 1,1 that I flashed to a 2,1 my OS is 10.11.6 El Capitan. I have upgraded the processors to dual quad-core 3.0GHz Intel Xeon X5365s. Everything runs great. All stable and fast.

Upon your suggestion, I removed all my extra hard drives, installed my original video card, and original ram. I even unplugged the DVD drive. I tried several drives with different OS's including fresh install of the last supported OS for this computer 10.7 Lion.

I am not going to remove and reinstall my original processors. I don't think that will do any good.

I reset the SMC (PMU) by both unplugging the computer and holding the power button as well as unplugging and pushing the SMC button located on the mother board. Neither changed anything. The computer never powers on enough to reset the PRAM.

I am really leaning on some kind of short in the adapter. As I said above, I just put the PCIe to mini PCI adapter card in the airport slot and did not insert the wifi/bluetooth card and the computer fails to turn on. I also tried with the wifi/bluetooth card inserted. And it failed likewise. About 1/2 a second after hitting the power button the computer clicks then goes dead. It is like the power supply is protecting its self by blocking power to the computer. The only way try to power the computer on again is by removing and reinserting the power cord. Doing so I can hit the power button again. If the card is installed, it will fail again. I have to remove the adapter in order for the computer to post.

I could use a volt meter and check for continuity on the pins and their respective destination pins.

Barring any other suggestions, I guess I will have to contact the seller. Getting a replacement is going take a while as they are Chinese suppliers.
[doublepost=1503545010][/doublepost]

Yes and no. Yes you can use this method to replace the wifi board in a 5,1 but you have to buy the adapter cards that have the USB power wires included. The 1,1, 2,1, and 3,1 do not need the USB wires. As far as PCI solution I don't know the answer to that.

Did this get resolved? What adapter were you using to rectify the issue or was it something in the Mac startup/bios? I’m squeezing the last live’s out of old Mac Pro 1,1-5,1’s plus some iMacs with the various bcm94360cd/adapter card mods to each. All a success but the 1,1>2,1 on El Capitan just doesn’t boot after power up.