Handoff Breakdown With Activation Tool

[JTToft]

Hi.

First of all, I, too, would like to offer my thanks to the people involved in making this happen!

I have ordered the CAX card for my Early 2011 15" MBP and am expecting it to arrive some time next week.
I have been reading up on everything, and I believe I have a good handle on most of it. There is one thing, though, I'm not sure about.

I read the following warning on the page for doktordok's Continuity Activation Tool:

The tool disables OS security features in order to work. Enabling Continuity on Yosemite will put you at risk to get the “grey stop sign” at boot-time. Not only for your first reboot, but anytime in the future if your PRAM is reset. I recommend you read “Trim Enabler and Yosemite” (Cindori.org), which explains the risks involved and solutions in case of issues.

I am currently using Trim Enabler on my Samsung 830 SSD, and I have read through the suggested page on Cindori.org above.

Will there be any potential for conflicts between the two tools? What I'd like to know is whether I should take any precautions when applying the tool, since I'm using Trim Enabler and have therefore already disabled kext signing? Perhaps disable Trim before applying the Activation Tool?

Thanks so much!

 

[dokterdok]

Will there be any potential for conflicts between the two tools? What I'd like to know is whether I should take any precautions when applying the tool, since I'm using Trim Enabler and have therefore already disabled kext signing? Perhaps disable Trim before applying the Activation Tool?
Thanks so much!

I haven't specifically tested Trim Enabler with CAT, but what I can say is this:

• I'm not aware of any issues related to using both CAT and Trim Enabler at the same time. No issues related to this were reported on the tool's GitHub page.
• Since v.1.0.1, CAT is smart enough to only disable OS security (also known as kext-dev-mode), and won't affect any other boot arguments.
• If the OS security is already disabled, no OS security changes will be applied at all.

The CAT tool should therefore be taking the necessary precautions by itself. I suggest you use the latest version, and if you run into issues, please let me know.

 

[TomH TX]

OK, so I did it! (with LOTS of help from y'all)
Successfully completed the BT card swap, and then ran the script.
I have got to say it was a little un-nerving when the process stopped after several steps, and the first re-boot. It looked like I was supposed to re-run the app, so I figured what the heck, and did so.
It them completed the process.
Whew!
Anyway, thank you to ALL who contributed to this process.
I will say that I was able to get everything working by logging out of and back into iCloud, WITHOUT ever enabling keychain, which I had never used.
Sincere thanks,
Tom

 

[UncleSchnitty]

OK, so I did it! (with LOTS of help from y'all)
Successfully completed the BT card swap, and then ran the script.
I have got to say it was a little un-nerving when the process stopped after several steps, and the first re-boot. It looked like I was supposed to re-run the app, so I figured what the heck, and did so.
It them completed the process.
Whew!
Anyway, thank you to ALL who contributed to this process.
I will say that I was able to get everything working by logging out of and back into iCloud, WITHOUT ever enabling keychain, which I had never used.
Sincere thanks,
Tom

Glad everything went well for you! Yes it does take some time for the program to run but its doing the ~30 steps in the original tutorial, believe me its a lot faster then doing it manually
Ive said before keychain is not necessary if it works for you, its in troubleshooting because it is one of the ways you can try to force verification between devices. It is not a requirement for handoff it was just a helpful trick if you were having issues. I myself never had to log out and log back in to iCloud to get it to work.
Anyway enjoy your new handoff features!

 

[JTToft]

I haven't specifically tested Trim Enabler with CAT, but what I can say is this:

• I'm not aware of any issues related to using both CAT and Trim Enabler at the same time. No issues related to this were reported on the tool's GitHub page.
• Since v.1.0.1, CAT is smart enough to only disable OS security (also known as kext-dev-mode), and won't affect any other boot arguments.
• If the OS security is already disabled, no OS security changes will be applied at all.

The CAT tool should therefore be taking the necessary precautions by itself. I suggest you use the latest version, and if you run into issues, please let me know.

- Sounds excellent. I will, of course, use the latest version.
Thanks!
I'll let everyone know my results when I get my hands on the card.

 

[PhaseOne]

Ah, I see. My bad.

---

I will try to apply the 1.0.2. version to see if my issue gets fixed. Is there any procedure to remove the former version, or do I just need to run the new .app like I did when installing for the first time?

An update for anyone with the same iOS -> OSX AirDrop issue I had: This post solved my problem, I hope it helps anyone still facing it. I'm now enjoying full AirDrop support.

 

[AllergyDoc]

Finally! Handoff was working perfectly between my iPhone 6+ and my Air and between both those devices and my rMBP, but only one way with the laptop: the mobile devices received from the rMBP but couldn't send.

Logging out of iCloud on all three devices, turning the devices off, then logging back in, rMBP first, fixed Handoff. Thankfully my machines are new enough to have the right hardware.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Finally! Handoff was working perfectly between my iPhone 6+ and my Air and between both those devices and my rMBP, but only one way with the laptop: the mobile devices received from the rMBP but couldn't send.

Logging out of iCloud on all three devices, turning the devices off, then logging back in, rMBP first, fixed Handoff. Thankfully my machines are new enough to have the right hardware.

Congrats on getting it to work. And yes the biggest fix is logging out and back in and patients. Sometimes it takes time.

 

[the.lost.one]

Does this command only check if I have the dev mode on or change something?

nvram -p | grep "kext-dev-mode" | awk -F'=' '{print $2}'

Asking because I haven't done any of the kext hacks on Yosemite but I discovered this in my system properties. It would be annoying if simple installation of SyncMate software modified my kexts and turned off signature checks

EltimaAsync:
Version: 0.2.5b15
Last Modified: 19/10/2014 7:29 pm
Bundle ID: com.eltima.SyncMate.kext
[COLOR="Red"]Loaded: Yes[/COLOR]
[COLOR="red"]Obtained from: Not Signed[/COLOR]
Kind: Universal
Architectures: 1386, ppc, x86 64
64-Bit (Intel): Yes
Location: /System/Library/Extensions/EltimaAsync.kext
Kext Version: 0.2.5b15
Load Address: 18448523521840100000 (i have edited these numbers)
[COLOR="red"]Loadable: No[/COLOR]
[COLOR="red"]Signature Validation Errors: Not Signed[/COLOR]
Dependencies: Satisfied
[COLOR="red"]Signed by: Not Sigled[/COLOR]

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Does this command only check if I have the dev mode on or change something?

nvram -p | grep "kext-dev-mode" | awk -F'=' '{print $2}'

If you put that in terminal and the printout is 1 then you are in dev mode allowing unsigned kexts.

 

[aintcallingback]

CAT warns that it disables kext signing, and risk the potential for grey screen at boot. Does the manual procedure also have the same risk?

 

[UncleSchnitty]

CAT warns that it disables kext signing, and risk the potential for grey screen at boot. Does the manual procedure also have the same risk?

The CAT is the exact same procedure just put into an application to make it easier for people who aren't familiar with kext edits. The gray screen is if you run unsigned kexts without being in dev mode. I have heard of it happening with trim enabler(also uses kext dev mode) but not with this kext mod. At worst after a pram reset is performed I have seen loss of wifi Bluetooth untill dev mode is reenabled. Mostly that is on there as a general warning after the issue with trim enabler was linked to dev mode.

 

[dokterdok]

CAT warns that it disables kext signing, and risk the potential for grey screen at boot. Does the manual procedure also have the same risk?

The risk is actually higher with the manual procedure, as the tutorials you see here have instructions that overwrite any existing boot-arguments. CAT avoids doing that (see my previous post).
Furthermore, many people (including me) have corrupted their drivers when doing the binary files editing, as you can get a grey stop sign for the slightest misstep.

Edit: to be clearer with the manual steps:

The command sudo nvram boot-args="kext-dev-mode=1" overwrites potential existing boot-args (rare, but can happen). To verify if you are at risk, type sudo nvram boot-args and verify any extra flags that were set. If there aren't then you're good.

 

[bspachman]

Mid-2010 MBP upgrade success (MacBookPro6,2)

Thanks to the contributors to the Continuity Tool!

Sharing my own personal data point:

MacBook Pro 15in (mid-2010)
aka MacBookPro6,2
Yosemite 10.10
Continuity Tool 1.0.2

As expected, I had to change my built-in wireless card to the model mentioned many times in this thread: BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX. I found a decent listing on eBay for a card that had been pulled from a mid-2012 13.3in model.

I was able to follow the instructions in the iFixit guide for my model: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBoo...2010+AirPort-Bluetooth+Board+Replacement/3040. I was also reminded that sometimes Apple’s assembly plants are generous with their blue screw locking goo, because I stripped one of the screws holding the plastic card housing Be careful!

As noted in other threads, the CAX card is not a drop-in replacement for this model MacBook Pro. Although the card is the same size, there is an extra antenna connection on the CAX. The cable connection socket is also in a different place.

Some things I learned:
- The shortest antenna cable connects to J2
- The middle antenna cable connects to J1
- The longest antenna cable connects to J3
- The additional connection point (J0) can be left empty.

I had to really cut away a lot of plastic from the plastic card housing in order to keep the CAX card in the same orientation as the original card. I had to trim the ‘top’ (near the 3 antenna connectors) in order to plug in the J2 socket. I also had to cut away a good chunk in the middle to expose the new location of the cable connection socket AND to leave enough room to actually re-connect the cable. I finally had to trim a small amount near the J3 connector to properly route the cable and allow the connector to fully seat.

All of my trimming meant that I was unable to actually screw the new CAX card into the plastic card housing. I used a small amount of very thin double-stick poster tape to lightly join the new CAX card to the card housing. Basically, I wanted to tack it in place so I could re-assemble everything. After reinstalling the card & housing assembly, it was pretty easy to connect and route the various antenna cables.

One last ‘gotcha’ was that the cable socket placement on the CAX card means that the existing cable is now too long to fit flat and snug along its path. I didn’t see any way around it, so I creased the cable as cleanly as I could, creating a z-fold that took up the excess. Everything seems stable so far, but I’m sure the stress I’m putting on the cable isn’t a good thing for the long-term.

After an open case boot test to make sure everything was reinstalled properly, and that I was receiving the proper wi-fi signal, I made a trip to System Information to see if the new Bluetooth portion of the card was working. Success!

Running the Continuity tool and following the post-install instructions gave me a hiccup-free install of the modified kexts. Thanks again for the scripting and installation package work—it made that portion of the install a dream!

Continuity seems to be working properly (2-way) between my iDevices and the MBP. Mail, Messages, Safari, Pages all worked right away. I haven’t spent time getting Numbers or Keynote working, but I understand they make take some fiddling with.

Hope this write-up helps other folks with mid-2010 MBP models!

brad

 

[punchbuggy]

Continuity still working without activation tool?

Hi all

has anyone noticed that your macbook asked for SMS forwarding even without the tool being used?

I have only that feature of continuity but nothing else... which i find perplexing.

Also I can't use the tool as it always crashed my macbook upon reboot when it detects that my kext needs admin access..

----------

also FaceTime cellular calling also works on my MBP Air Mid 2011..

 

[JTToft]

Hi all

has anyone noticed that your macbook asked for SMS forwarding even without the tool being used?

I have only that feature of continuity but nothing else... which i find perplexing.

Also I can't use the tool as it always crashed my macbook upon reboot when it detects that my kext needs admin access..

----------

also FaceTime cellular calling also works on my MBP Air Mid 2011..

The SMS feature only requires Bluetooth 2.1. All Macs compatible with Yosemite can use it, if I recall correctly.
The call feature works via Wi-Fi, so that's available to everyone, too.

 

[minicard]

Thanks to UncleSchnitty and dokterdok. Got it working in my 2011 Mac mini and now my 2011 13" MBP. Just sent some donation money which is money well spent!!! FYI the 2011 Mini which did not need the BT card just the CAT is buggy. The MBP with the new card works perfectly.

 

[MacVidCards]

MacMini 2007 supports Handoff with new card

FYI, if you use the boot.fi hack to un Yosemite on a A1186 Mini and then replace the WiFi card with the 94360CD adapter board, the USB lines are plumbed.

On the plus side, Apple never thought to put such an old machine on the "blacklist" so it just works without this enabler tool.

On the minus side, since there is no GPU support for GMA950, the graphics stink.

Will also need a extension to connect BT antenna

Also, since there is only 1 WiFi antenna, you won't get full AC speeds with adding some.

 

[albiram]

Info about procedure on a Macbook late 2009 A1342

Hi everyone, does anybody know if it is possible to do something about Handoff on a late 2009 Macbook? Continuity features are cool but I'd like to know if it is possible to do a hardware replacement as for the macbook pro models to enable Handoff. I checked for the wireless/bluetooth card model of my mac but I'm really a noob, so I don't know what and if there's something to do next. Thanks in advance for your answer.

 

[Vic Otting]

Card connectors

Hi, I am new to the forum!

I just got one question. The new WiFi/Bluetooth card has 4 antenna connectors. In my mid 2011 27 inch iMac, I have 3 antenna connectors on the WiFi card. I presume with the new WiFi/Bluetooth card I have to figure out which ones belong to the WiFi. Am I correct that the fourth and last antenna connector belongs to the Bluetooth??

In that case, do I have to reroute the bluetooth antenna cable from the (old) bluetooth card to the new WiFi/Bluetooth card and connect it to the remaining connector? Or can I just leave it on the bluetooth card.. If not, there is a good chance that the bluetooth cable isn't long enough and needs to be extended...

And apparently, the adapter card needs data from 2 cables. Can someone explain me what this is and how I do it to get my WiFi/Bluetooth card up and running. I presume the 2 data cables are necessary..

Thank you for the response!

Vic

 

[VovS]

What about 2006-2007 Mac Pros (MacPro1,1 and MacPro2,1)? They do not officially support OS X Yosemite, but there are at least two ways to install it. What does it takes to enable Handoff after 10.10 is installed?

 

[Vic Otting]

.

 

[UncleSchnitty]

Maybe this will help you

http://www.keatonburleson.com/continuity-on-pre-2013-mac-pros-and-others/

I just checked out that link and 2 things popped out at me:
1. It says 2008 don't support mpcie, it does(and they don't need the extra steps). idk about earlier ones as I haven't checked into it but I believe they have them too
2. The article seems to be based off MacProSectors work HERE
so that may be a better reference for more facts.

 

[zbegon]

Thank you to those who worked on this, I successfully installed a new Airport card from a 2012 MacBook Pro into my Mid 2010 Mac Mini and ran your tool with no hang-ups. Besides the card not fitting correctly and needing some caressing to fit it was a breeze. Everything works as it should, I couldn't be any happier.

My only question is (and maybe its been answered on one of the other many pages to this thread) will OS X updates effect this work around at all?

 

[JTToft]

- Sounds excellent. I will, of course, use the latest version.
Thanks!
I'll let everyone know my results when I get my hands on the card.

- Alright. So I received the card today, purchased from this seller, and I can confirm that it is indeed the correct CAX card (see my photos below).
I won't have the time to tinker around with installing it the next few days, but I hope to be able to this weekend at the latest.