iM 4,1-14,4 iMac (late 2007 to mid 2011) 802.11ac + BT 4.0 internal upgrade

[0098386]

This is incredible! I didn't know this was possible.

I swear by my 2011 iMac. Bought it maxed out and its performance hasn't let me down as a software developer and artist. I installed 16gb ram, an SSD but soon after the optical drive died so it has never really been as perfect as it could be. Over the past couple of years I had that display backlight problem that seems fairly common as far as problems go, and I damaged the thunderbolt port which in turn has made USB a bit problematic. So I've been tidying up the system. So far I've ordered a new logicboard, optical drive, and a newer HDD just to prolong its life as much as possible.

I had NO IDEA I could upgrade the wireless module! I really just want it for the Apple Watch unlock feature because it makes using my newer MBP so much easier. I'm ordering the upgrade kit now!

 

[yifuhood]

I bought the one from China taobao works great for almost 2 years now in my 2011 iMac 27in (fantastic soldering and design), plus this guy who made my wifi bluetooth kit, now he is selling a wifi AC bluetooth 4.1 upgrade (redesigned using the 15in MacBook pro 2015)version. chat with him last month on taobao !!! I have no any relation with him !!! I just feel so grateful for this product he sold to me.

by the way , he told me that he is working on a better solution for the 2010-2011 iMac graphic card upgrades. i am still waiting for it to come out.

 

[crizzly]

[doublepost=1483774152][/doublepost]just to be clear so I know what I'm buying, the new (added) antenna is for wifi and not bluetooth? correct? or would it matter what kind of antenna I need

thanks and great job on your retrofit
[doublepost=1483774209][/doublepost]
[doublepost=1483774439][/doublepost]


Thats what Im looking at doing now to my 2007 iMac. Im also upgrading the cpu to a E8135 to support macOS.
I was thinking I needed the BCM94360CD card and adapter. But do you know what I need for the extra connection on the new card? I only have 3 cables and it needs 4. Should I buy an internal wifi antenna or an internal bluetooth antenna?

Thanks!

In my case the BCM94360CD card used includes wifi as well as bluetooth 4 required for handoff/continuity features.

Sorry just re-read your post. Yes the iMac 2009 only comes with 2 wifi antennas whereas the new AC wireless card works better with 3 wifi antennas. I saw others leaving it just with the existing two but in my case I purchased the same part as existing ones to add the third.

 

[nandor690]

In my case the BCM94360CD card used includes wifi as well as bluetooth 4 required for handoff/continuity features.

Sorry just re-read your post. Yes the iMac 2009 only comes with 2 wifi antennas whereas the new AC wireless card works better with 3 wifi antennas. I saw others leaving it just with the existing two but in my case I purchased the same part as existing ones to add the third.

Hahahaha it's cool. That's the card I ended up getting BCM94360CD. And got the antenna adapter for the 3 antennas.
Thanks!

 

[Daisuke79]

Hello everyone . I'm new here. I have an iMac Mid 2011 that I want to update, I have everything I need to do it, but when I install the new BCM94360CD card my iMac says there is no hardwhare installed. I tried with the D + / D- cable and without it and there is no way, the CAT program also does not recognize the BCM94360CD. I think I just have to reinstall the OS of 0. I would like some of you to give me the steps and the order to follow in order to make it work.
Thanks and best regards.
This is card + adapter.

 

[PK003]

Where is the best placement for adding the 3rd (extra) antenna to a late 2009 27" iMac? I am about to install OSXWifi's kit but their instructions are quite vague as to where it should go for best reception/performance.

"The extra antenna is recommended to be located where the Apple Logo on the front-cover will be."​

 

[sqvarepants]

Hi! Just a question, I've got an iMac 2011 with osxwifi kit, everything it's ok for a long time, but yesterday I noticed that airplay didn't work, just sound and black screen on tv, tried in two different Apple TV 3 and 4. Airdrop, continuity handoff etc are working great.
I used to make duplicate screen and no problem, I've been updating OS X without run CAT again, just the first time in Sierra.

Any idea? Thanks

 

[Olivaw]

Hi! Just a question, I've got an iMac 2011 with osxwifi kit, everything it's ok for a long time.

Hi sqvarepants,
I'm also interested in that osxwifi kit. Do you have some pictures of the pci-e adapter? This adapter looks different to the other adapters sold on eBay.

Thanks.

 

[scroberts72]

Hi! Just a question, I've got an iMac 2011 with osxwifi kit, everything it's ok for a long time, but yesterday I noticed that airplay didn't work, just sound and black screen on tv, tried in two different Apple TV 3 and 4. Airdrop, continuity handoff etc are working great.
I used to make duplicate screen and no problem, I've been updating OS X without run CAT again, just the first time in Sierra.

Any idea? Thanks

I found that I had this same problem over the weekend. If by chance you have Duet Display installed on your iMac this causes your issue. You will need to uninstall Duet Display -- not disable it. Reboot and then you should see the option to Mirror / and have both video and audio via airplay.

 

[ribbonthecat]

This is incredible! I didn't know this was possible.

I swear by my 2011 iMac. Bought it maxed out and its performance hasn't let me down as a software developer and artist. I installed 16gb ram, an SSD but soon after the optical drive died so it has never really been as perfect as it could be. Over the past couple of years I had that display backlight problem that seems fairly common as far as problems go, and I damaged the thunderbolt port which in turn has made USB a bit problematic. So I've been tidying up the system. So far I've ordered a new logicboard, optical drive, and a newer HDD just to prolong its life as much as possible.

My 3.4 i7 mid-2011 iMac is running great from a SSD attached via Thunderbolt. The only thing that's gone wrong is the graphics card, but that was replaced under warranty. I've thought about replacing some of the internals and keeping it going forever, but I'm moving to Europe in a few months and don't want to schlep it across the ocean.

 

[Cordes]

I found that I had this same problem over the weekend. If by chance you have Duet Display installed on your iMac this causes your issue. You will need to uninstall Duet Display -- not disable it. Reboot and then you should see the option to Mirror / and have both video and audio via airplay.

Mirroring works fine on my mid 2011 27" to older Apple TV. I don't have Duet Display or similar. I have latest public OSX updates installed and have not rerun CAT.

 

[0098386]

My 3.4 i7 mid-2011 iMac is running great from a SSD attached via Thunderbolt. The only thing that's gone wrong is the graphics card, but that was replaced under warranty. I've thought about replacing some of the internals and keeping it going forever, but I'm moving to Europe in a few months and don't want to schlep it across the ocean.

Ha! I'm moving to North America in the coming months. Let's just swap computers.

 

[mlbraga]

Hi! Just a question, I've got an iMac 2011 with osxwifi kit, everything it's ok for a long time, but yesterday I noticed that airplay didn't work, just sound and black screen on tv, tried in two different Apple TV 3 and 4. Airdrop, continuity handoff etc are working great.
I used to make duplicate screen and no problem, I've been updating OS X without run CAT again, just the first time in Sierra.

Any idea? Thanks

Hi. The unlock with Apple Watch works fine with osxwifi kit?
Thanks.

 

[ethanstiles]

i have a mid-2011 21.5" iMac:
wifi card; Firmware Version: Atheros 9380: 4.0.74.0-P2P
bluetooth is on a separate board; Manufacturer is Broadcom

i'm thinking of getting a BCM943602CS or BCM94360CD Airport card to replace the current wifi and bluetooth cards i mentioned.

I'm just not sure about where to attach the the antennas on the new card; there are four antenna cables in my imac three that go to the wifi card (one with no stripes, another one stripe and two striped) and one that goes to the bluetooth board. I'm thinking J0 goes with no stripe, J1 with 1 stripe and J2 with 2 stripes and leaving the bluetooth antenna disconnected. If i got the BCM94360CD card i think i would have to route the bluetooth antenna to that card (J3) with a pigtail cable like this one: https://goo.gl/1C3yJu. Would it better to use the BCM94360CD card and extend the bluetooth antenna or get the BCM943602CS and just use the three cables that are already connected to the Atheros wifi card by converting them (https://goo.gl/5D82bX)

The last thing i don't know is do I have to do anything about the USB D+/D- in my model and if i do how and where would i connect it?

Thanks!

Airport Card- https://goo.gl/HanJUh

 

[adenbeckitt]

I have recently decided to sell my 2011 iMac and have reverted the bluetooth upgrade back to stock.

That means I have a fully working 2011 iMac bluetooth/wifi upgrade card available (UK). It requires absolutely no soldering, due to the special adapter I made (based on the work of 'kkclstuff'). Also included is an antenna extension.

Let me know if anyone is interested in purchasing this before I stick it on eBay and the likes.

 

[sliteovmind]

I have recently decided to sell my 2011 iMac and have reverted the bluetooth upgrade back to stock.

That means I have a fully working 2011 iMac bluetooth/wifi upgrade card available (UK). It requires absolutely no soldering, due to the special adapter I made (based on the work of 'kkclstuff'). Also included is an antenna extension.

Let me know if anyone is interested in purchasing this before I stick it on eBay and the likes.

[doublepost=1532480509][/doublepost]If you still have the kit I would be interested but I'm in the US.

 

[adenbeckitt]

[doublepost=1532480509][/doublepost]If you still have the kit I would be interested but I'm in the US.

Hi, sorry, only just seen this.

The person I have sold the iMac to wanted it, so I’ve put it back in.

 

[passatgt]

Looks like the taobao shop is closed. Any ideas where can i get the same kit?

 

[sliteovmind]

Looks like the taobao shop is closed. Any ideas where can i get the same kit?

I dont think anyone outside of OSXWifi is making anything for these old models as a kit anymore, you can still buy individual parts and build your own for about $65 USD

 

[Mr-Mur]

I am making my own decision, stay tuned, I'll publish it here for sure

 

[passatgt]

Yes, i decided to do it myself too. I just need to fix the GPU first. I'll post a guide too

 

[Mr-Mur]

Report is ready, plese wellcome: http://schidakov.ru/all/imac-upgrade-bcm94360cd/

It is in Russian, but you are free to use Google Translator

 

[passatgt]

Report is ready, plese wellcome: http://schidakov.ru/all/imac-upgrade-bcm94360cd/

It is in Russian, but you are free to use Google Translator

Great work!

I'm looking at this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-PCI-E...562433&hash=item2380df5583:g:T0wAAOSwirFbCPpr

It has a D+/- connector built in, so its a bit less work and i believe i just need to solder VCC to R1?

Also, can you explain where GND is soldered to? I'm not sure if its just not visible on the image or its not connected at all?

 

[Mr-Mur]

Great work!

I'm looking at this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-PCI-E...562433&hash=item2380df5583:g:T0wAAOSwirFbCPpr

It has a D+/- connector built in, so its a bit less work and i believe i just need to solder VCC to R1?

Also, can you explain where GND is soldered to? I'm not sure if its just not visible on the image or its not connected at all?

Thank you

If you really like to separate P1 and P18 power lines (3.3 V), you should solder P18 to Bluetooth's VCC

I did not soldered GND because it goes thru P3, P6, P9:

This is adapter exactly like mine: https://www.ebay.com/itm/302585370690
And SM06B-SHLS-TF connectors: https://www.ebay.com/itm/332230552395

 

[The_Croupier]

Hi all, firstly I like to thank all the contributors to this great thread. Mr-Mur, thank you for a very detailed tutorial, very nice.

I Have read through every post in this entire thread and searched google a bit but just want a specific answer to doing this modification with a BCM94331CD WiFi instead of the BCM94360CD WiFi card?

If I have done my research properly then the BCM94331CD WiFi card IEEE 802.11a / b / g / N from a 2012 iMac/MacBook/Air, should deliver all the functionality of Continuity, Handoff, Airdrop just with out AC speed?

So it should support up to 450M wireless ABGN with Bluetooth 4.0, Im after functionality more than high speed and the cost difference is massive $10 AUD v's about $75 AUD inc shipping.

Also could one of the experts here confirm it should install exactly the same as a BCM94360CD WiFi card?

Parts Im looking to buy.
Card: LINK
Adapter: LINK

Thanks again,
Croupier.