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

[Ausdauersportler]

@Ausdauersportler

If you are from Germany, where did you buy the bt antenna extension cable? I need one for 2011 iMac but China is not willing to send it to me since months because of corona.

Thanks for a hint

Hi!

In fact I am living in Germany...

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Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

de.aliexpress.com

I took the 50cm ones and ordered 4 in a package..

 

[xanderon]

that's my problem, its coming outside Germany and the waiting time during corona is too long. want me to sell one? paying with PayPal for cable and packaging

 

[dac610]

Or, better yet, buy this set from ebay and use the wifi antenna with the longest lead instead of the BT antenna (the shortest lead).

Apple iMac A1311 2011 21.5" Full Set of WiFi Airport Antenna in Good Condition | eBay

Genuine Apple iMac A1311 2011 21.5" Full Set of WiFi Airport Antenna in Good Condition as you can see in the pictures. <br>Good for someone who knows about such things or needs such parts <br>Thank you for watching

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[xanderon]

i have some spare antennas from a 2009/2010 iMac lying around. how would you implement that into an iMac 2011? remove the current BT antenna and take a WIFI antenna with longer cable to the card? ?

 

[dac610]

Yes, that is what I did; as wifi and BT share the same RF frequencies, their antennas are identical. Check if your 2009 iMac antenna has the same mount and the lead is long enough.

 

[xanderon]

I like nice ideas. Thanks a lot will try that

 

[xanderon]

Checked my antenna set from a 2010 Modell and all are too short. But luckily my delivery came today! Wohoo. Finally I can finish and close this 2011 monster upgrade

 

[xanderon]

so guys, done. man that was easy. thanks for all informations

 

[xanderon]

ok guys, I'm back unfortunately. airdrop is working, continuity also. the only part that is not working is "unlock with watch". any spontaneous ideas?

 

[xanderon]

No ideas? It’s like only one half of the features are running

 

[Marsupio]

I will receive my kit soon. Once installed I will tell you about. I wanted the 3 functionalities also (means Apple Watch unlock included).

 

[herrdude]

ok guys, I'm back unfortunately. airdrop is working, continuity also. the only part that is not working is "unlock with watch". any spontaneous ideas?

I am in the same boat as you. Everything is working. I have selected unlock with Apple Watch in System Prefs. However, it is not unlocking with my Apple Watch. When I reboot, it does say that I need to put the password the first time so that Apple Watch can unlock it later. But I still have to put my password.

 

[dac610]

@xanderon
1. are you using a 802.11 ac wifi/bt card? (Broadcom BCM94360CD)
2. have you modified those kext files? (see post #259)

iMac Mid 2011 Bluetooth 4.0 internal upgrade

Unlock with Watch will not work with the 802.11n version, because the required capability (time of flight) introduced with 802.11ac devices. Thats why unlock with Watch requires a Mac from 2013. I don't know which any other handoff/continuity things that are requires the newer standard.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[herrdude]

@xanderon
1. are you using a 802.11 ac wifi/bt card? (Broadcom BCM94360CD)
2. have you modified those kext files? (see post #259)

iMac Mid 2011 Bluetooth 4.0 internal upgrade

Unlock with Watch will not work with the 802.11n version, because the required capability (time of flight) introduced with 802.11ac devices. Thats why unlock with Watch requires a Mac from 2013. I don't know which any other handoff/continuity things that are requires the newer standard.

forums.macrumors.com

In my case, yes and yes.

 

[dac610]

Well then, try logoff iCloud then logon.

System Preferences/General/Allow Handoff... [tick]?
System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Require password... [tick]?
System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Allow your Apple Watch... [tick]?
On my iMac I left "Disable automatic login" off.

System Information/Network/Wi-Fi/Auto Unlock: Supported?
Is your Apple Watch listed in System Information/Bluetooth?

Do you... wear it? unlocked?

 

[herrdude]

Well then, try logoff iCloud then logon.

System Preferences/General/Allow Handoff... [tick]?
System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Require password... [tick]?
System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Allow your Apple Watch... [tick]?
On my iMac I left "Disable automatic login" off.

System Information/Network/Wi-Fi/Auto Unlock: Supported?
Is your Apple Watch listed in System Information/Bluetooth?

Do you... wear it? unlocked?

Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.

I tested unlocking on my MacBook with my Apple Watch 3 and it works fine. When I go to the messages app on my Apple Watch, it hands off to my iMac.

To test, I lock my screen, wait for it turn off (usually a few seconds). Then I move the mouse and I met with a login screen. On my MacBook the Apple Watch vibrates and unlocks the screen.

Everything else is working, except for this...

 

[Marsupio]

It's linked to Catalina ? Or would it work under High Sierra or Mojave ?

 

[herrdude]

Well then, try logoff iCloud then logon.

System Preferences/General/Allow Handoff... [tick]?
System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Require password... [tick]?
System Preferences/Security & Privacy/Allow your Apple Watch... [tick]?
On my iMac I left "Disable automatic login" off.

System Information/Network/Wi-Fi/Auto Unlock: Supported?
Is your Apple Watch listed in System Information/Bluetooth?

Do you... wear it? unlocked?

Log out of iCloud on all my machines or just this one?

 

[dac610]

Try to logoff only on the one troubling you.

 

[herrdude]

I think I might have found the problem.
So I ran the Continuity Activation Tool, and I chose 2 Diagnostics. I see the following error:

Verifying Wi-Fi hardware...             WARNING. An unknown/untested AirPort card using the 'BrcmNIC' kext is active. This tool can't fix this

When I go into System Report, the wifi is showing the card: BCM43xx. However, I have installed BCM94360CD.
I did install wifi card after I installed Catalina. Is it possible that the Dosdude1 patcher is causing this? If so, how can I fix this? Thanks!

 

[dac610]

Problem solved - All continuity features including handoff and apple watch (I have a series 3) unlock work! See this thread for the solution. The specific application of this solution for my 2011 iMac 27 with a BCM94369CD from OSX WIFI installed and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 installed using the dosdude1 patcher is below:

In terminal get your board number using the following command: ioreg -l | grep "board-id" | awk -F\" '{print $4}'
For example my board number is: Mac-942B59F58194171B

Using TextEdit search for your board number (i.e. Mac-942B59F58194171B) and set flag to "true" in: /System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist

Note: First copy SystemParameters.plist to your desktop, edit it, and then copy it back into the /System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/ folder. Keep a backup copy of the original SystemParameters.plist file in case you need to revert back to the original

Then perform these two commands in Terminal:
sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-942B59F58194171B/" /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcm4360
sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-942B59F58194171B/" /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcmNIC.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcmNIC

In system preferences/general: Uncheck "Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices"

Reboot

In system preferences/general: Check "Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices"

Reboot

It seems that beginning in High Sierra the AirPortBrcm4360 kext was replaced by the AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext

AirPortBrcm4360.kext is being replaced

Beginning in macOS 10.12.6 (public betas) Apple removed the AirPortBrcm4360.kext from the S/L/E folder, but kept it as a plugin in the IO80211Family.kext. Beginning in High Sierra (public beta) the 4360 kext was replaced by the AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext (at least on my setup). This of course...

www.tonymacx86.com

Maybe the above should be updated like this:

sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-942B59F58194171B/" /System/Library/Extensions/AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG

I have absolutely no idea what that does; maybe someone can shed some light on it...

 

[herrdude]

It seems that beginning in High Sierra the AirPortBrcm4360 kext was replaced by the AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext

AirPortBrcm4360.kext is being replaced

Beginning in macOS 10.12.6 (public betas) Apple removed the AirPortBrcm4360.kext from the S/L/E folder, but kept it as a plugin in the IO80211Family.kext. Beginning in High Sierra (public beta) the 4360 kext was replaced by the AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext (at least on my setup). This of course...

www.tonymacx86.com

Maybe the above should be updated like this:

sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-942B59F58194171B/" /System/Library/Extensions/AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG

I have absolutely no idea what that does; maybe someone can shed some light on it...

I just went into my /S/L/E folder and that kext isn't there... To answer your question, I believe that that tricks the OS into accepting your wifi card by switching the board numbers.

Has anyone got Apple Watch Unlock working with Catalina 10.15.4 and a Series 3 Apple Watch?

 

[dac610]

On my iMac I have all three kexts (AirPortBrcm4360, AirPortBrcmNIC and AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG) so I modified all of them, just in case...

 

[Martonita]

Hello again! I just ordered the items to upgrade GPU (K2100M) and add extra SSD (Samsung 860 evo 500GB) to my iMac 2011. Found this thread and feel I could go for the bluetooth upgrade as well.

1. Since my solder skills are close to zero I've checked the link you shared from Taobao: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a21wu.12321156-tw.0.0.285a446ekIyZo5&id=40307425283
No response from the seller by now.
@passatgt It's a plug and play solution with installation guide?

2. I also found this adapter with cable: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...TOIZsc&id=616172030975&ns=1&abbucket=3#detail
Is this and the card all I need for the upgrade? I'm a bit confused about the 3.3V cable, is the missing thing in this adapter? What's the difference between 1.0 and 1.25 cable?

3. Just to confirm: is BCM94360CD the most recommended card?

Thank you so much!!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hello again! I just ordered the items to upgrade GPU (K2100M) and add extra SSD (Samsung 860 evo 500GB) to my iMac 2011. Found this thread and feel I could go for the bluetooth upgrade as well.

1. Since my solder skills are close to zero I've checked the link you shared from Taobao: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a21wu.12321156-tw.0.0.285a446ekIyZo5&id=40307425283
No response from the seller by now.
@passatgt It's a plug and play solution with installation guide?

2. I also found this adapter with cable: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?sp...TOIZsc&id=616172030975&ns=1&abbucket=3#detail
Is this and the card all I need for the upgrade? I'm a bit confused about the 3.3V cable, is the missing thing in this adapter? What's the difference between 1.0 and 1.25 cable?

3. Just to confirm: is BCM94360CD the most recommended card?

Thank you so much!!

The BCM94360CD is the best choice. Please understand that I do not cross check other offers. But in this not so long thread there have been published links and pictures to the correct cards and adapters. Since you plan to upgrade an iMac you should probably search for the offers fitting to this kind of machine.
It is no drop in or plug and play. You have to solder some cables, two at least. Read this thread!