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

[Martonita]

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!

I have read it! ?

That's why I'm asking @passatgt if the taobao version was so simple and comes with some instructions to implement. (No answer from the seller)

I ordered from taobao, the guy has multiple versions, works plug&play, for example in my case i could just plug in the bluetooth cable directly into the adapter, no need for cutting wires: https://world.taobao.com/item/40307425283.htm

I've also read your guide post. I understood that solder was needed in case you use the original cables from inside. Your reference to Corona "I had to solder the three D+/D-/3.3V cables on my own because China cannot deliver right now everything at any time" made me think i could order the cable ready online. That's why I asked about the adapter, thought could be similar to the taobao one.

This is a short guide, only.

Tools: Everything to open an iMac, a simple 10W solder iron to connect three cables. Since my guide uses the old BT cable you will deactivate the old module. If you chose to get D+/D-/3.3V from the SD card reader cable you will end up with two working BT modules in the iMac. You have to disable the old, take a look at step 9 of this guide.

You will get AirDrop, Handoff and Continuity, you are going to loose the Internet recovery via WIFI. Use a LAN cable directly connected to a router in that case. (Is there a way to change the EFI to support the new WIFI module in such a case?)

Today I managed to install and activate both a BCM94360CD, and a BCM94331CD in two different iMac mid 2011. I had to solder the three D+/D-/3.3V cables on my own because China cannot deliver right now everything at any time - Corona infects the computer industry, too. I ripped the old connector in parts, not reason to go back and when, I will buy a new cable.

You need the 3.3V line *only* to make sure that BT is still working when disabling WIFI in the system pref pane.

I used the guides from the following posts

#120 and #269 (where do I exactly get the D+/D-/3.3V signal from and which parts in general do I need)

and for patching in one single step (first do the disable SIP and mount command)

#273 (use of the Continuity-Activation-Tool works even with Catalina, but does not the complete job)

#275 (cheating Apple's blacklist to lock out old models)

Start your Terminal and enter the following commands to do the steps mentioned in the former posts:

1. check for SIP enabled, if enabled, please search the web how to disable SIP on a Mac, probably check this in advance. On Catalina systems installed with Dosdude's Patcher SIP is disabled. You can go on to command #2.

csrutil status

2. make root filesystem writeable to change config

sudo mount -uw / ; killall Finder

3. run the Continuity-Activation-Tool script in terminal after download to your Downloads folder:

sudo ~/Downloads/Continuity-Activation-Tool-beta/Continuity\ Activation\ Tool.app/Contents/Resources/contitool.sh

4. get your iMacs board-id (the input if command #5 has to be changed according to the output of your result)

ioreg -l | grep board-id | awk -F\" '{ print $4 }'
Mac-942B59F58194171B

5. cheat Apple by changing it's black list, enter YOUR board-id, not my Mac-942B59F58194171B

sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set:Mac-942B59F58194171B:ContinuitySupport true" "/System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist"

6. restart your Mac using the Menu->Restart

7. If for some reason on your older Mac the AirDrop does not show up in the Finder->Go menu try this:

defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces -bool TRUE; killall Finder

8. sign out and in iCloud, again

The BCM94630CD (30 USD/EUR) is said to allow "Apple watch unlock" in addition to the features of the BCM94331CD (10 USD/EUR) which are Airdrop/Handoff/Continuity. I do not own an Apple watch.

9. (OPTIONAL) If you have the old BT module still active, how to manage this?
(found this in the web, unfortunately forget to save the original link)

You have to get the Apple Bluetooth Explorer Utility from Apple using your Apple ID to log into the Apple Developer Connection following this guide:

• Navigate to https://developer.apple.com/download/more and login with your Apple ID
• Sort/Scroll/Search until you find “Additional Tools for Xcode”
• Download it to somewhere that’s easy to find on your computer (e.g. to your desktop or your downloads folder)
• Within the disk image, open the “Hardware” folder and locate the "Bluetooth Explorer” application. Install it on your hard-drive like any other application (Utilities Folder)
• Run the utility and search the new BT controller and enable it (the name shown in the dialogs depends on the module you have plugged in)

View attachment 908501

View attachment 908502
View attachment 908503

• Finally open terminal and paste this command

sudo nvram bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior=always

hit enter, enter password end hit enter again, REBOOT your Mac, check that external bluetooth dongle/new bluetooth adapter is now used even after reboot.


It doesn't disable internal Bluetooth, it only tells iMac to use the second bluetooth device first. If you unplug the new bluetooth from your iMac it will use the internal one again. To undo this changes use this command in terminal:

undo sudo nvram -d bluetoothHostControllerSwitchBehavior

hit enter, enter password end hit enter again, REBOOT your iMac.

Of course every modification to the NVRAM will be lost if you have to zap or delete it using the cmd-alt-P-R on boot for some different reason.


Thank you, again!

So let's check taobao again. This or sold the two cables. Or three if I chose the SD card, I didn't get that at first. My mistake. This thread is a bit more complex for a newbie, pics help but are difficult to recognize sometimes.

Thanks again for your quick response!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I got all my parts from AliExpress. Tabao is a mess unless you are able to read Chinese.

My comment about Corona meant this:

In best case you get an adapter having already a plug or cables for the D+/D-. But there is no such adapter giving you a third cable to be connected to the 3.3V line - you need this if you disable WIFI by software, then BT will be disabled too unless you have another power source - the 3.3V line.

So I had in these days without a prepared adapter to solder both ends of the three cables, to the adapter and to the cables I got from the old BT plug.

@highvoltage12v posted pictures...

 

[herrdude]

I have read it! ?

That's why I'm asking @passatgt if the taobao version was so simple and comes with some instructions to implement. (No answer from the seller)



I've also read your guide post. I understood that solder was needed in case you use the original cables from inside. Your reference to Corona "I had to solder the three D+/D-/3.3V cables on my own because China cannot deliver right now everything at any time" made me think i could order the cable ready online. That's why I asked about the adapter, thought could be similar to the taobao one.




So let's check taobao again. This or sold the two cables. Or three if I chose the SD card, I didn't get that at first. My mistake. This thread is a bit more complex for a newbie, pics help but are difficult to recognize sometimes.

Thanks again for your quick response!

If you want to be sure, you should go ahead with OSXWifi. It costs more but it is true plug and play. The kit I bought required me to solder the 3.3v connection. I managed to take push the pins on the iMac for D+ and D-, which are smaller - in the pins for the same wires on the wifi adapter.

PS Just figuring out the wires is a nightmare because the colours are never the same from one computer to the next. You really have to pay attention to their position in the plug (from memory 2, 3, and 4th position). Plus, I took a multimeter to measure the the 3.3v was in fact giving voltage.
PPS The pictures for the Taboo are sooo small. It's hard to see if you need to solder or not.

 

[Martonita]

I got all my parts from AliExpress. Tabao is a mess unless you are able to read Chinese.

My comment about Corona meant this:

In best case you get an adapter having already a plug or cables for the D+/D-. But there is no such adapter giving you a third cable to be connected to the 3.3V line - you need this if you disable WIFI by software, then BT will be disabled too unless you have another power source - the 3.3V line.

So I had in these days without a prepared adapter to solder both ends of the three cables, to the adapter and to the cables I got from the old BT plug.

@highvoltage12v posted pictures...

Ok... Yes, Taobao is a real mess. I found this solution, can work if you are sure about your order: yoybuy.com
I'll check out the pics, thanks!

If you want to be sure, you should go ahead with OSXWifi. It costs more but it is true plug and play. The kit I bought required me to solder the 3.3v connection. I managed to take push the pins on the iMac for D+ and D-, which are smaller - in the pins for the same wires on the wifi adapter.

PS Just figuring out the wires is a nightmare because the colours are never the same from one computer to the next. You really have to pay attention to their position in the plug (from memory 2, 3, and 4th position). Plus, I took a multimeter to measure the the 3.3v was in fact giving voltage.
PPS The pictures for the Taboo are sooo small. It's hard to see if you need to solder or not.

Yes, position is the key, needs to be careful. I saw OSXWifi also, another option. A bit expensive, first I should fix the GPU to go for it. Which was your kit?

Thanks!

 

[herrdude]

Ok... Yes, Taobao is a real mess. I found this solution, can work if you are sure about your order: yoybuy.com
I'll check out the pics, thanks!



Yes, position is the key, needs to be careful. I saw OSXWifi also, another option. A bit expensive, first I should fix the GPU to go for it. Which was your kit?

Thanks!

On one computer, the 3.3v was a black wire. It took me a while to get past that.

I bought this kit. I removed the USB connector and fortunately the pins from the iMac fit inside the pins from that wire.

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[passatgt]

The one i got from taobao was plug&play. You just need to disconnect the bluetotoh antenna wire and route it back to the cart istelf(this needs a bit of work, because the wire is glued behind the powersupply. But not difficult to remove.) However, it is not stable at all, especially bluetooth keeps dropping and sometimes lags when you use the trackpad for example. I think its a bandwidth issue, the card itself cannot handled more than 2 bluetooth device + wifi at the same time.

 

[herrdude]

The one i got from taobao was plug&play. You just need to disconnect the bluetotoh antenna wire and route it back to the cart istelf(this needs a bit of work, because the wire is glued behind the powersupply. But not difficult to remove.) However, it is not stable at all, especially bluetooth keeps dropping and sometimes lags when you use the trackpad for example. I think its a bandwidth issue, the card itself cannot handled more than 2 bluetooth device + wifi at the same time.

For the 2011 model, that's not possible as it is barely an inch from the adapter to the frame.

 

[passatgt]

For the 2011 model, that's not possible as it is barely an inch from the adapter to the frame.

Sorry, my mistake. I was talking about the cable that goes to the bluetooth module. You need to route that back to the new airport card from taobao, it will use that for power.

 

[Martonita]

Thanks @passatgt and @herrdude for the update. I finally have chatted with the seller, sent me two more pics to check.

 

[passatgt]

Thanks @passatgt and @herrdude for the update. I finally have chatted with the seller, sent me two more pics to check.

View attachment 919501
View attachment 919502

Yes, i think this would work better, because it has a separate antenna for the bluetooth(he will send you a sticker type antenna). The cable that connects to the side is the one that goes to the original bluetooth module on the left side of the iMac. You need to disconnect that and route the cable back to the new airport card. This cable is glued behind the power supply unit, but easy to remove.

 

[Martonita]

Yes, i think this would work better, because it has a separate antenna for the bluetooth(he will send you a sticker type antenna). The cable that connects to the side is the one that goes to the original bluetooth module on the left side of the iMac. You need to disconnect that and route the cable back to the new airport card. This cable is glued behind the power supply unit, but easy to remove.

Yes, there are different versions, this is a improved one I think... Thanks for your comments!

 

[dac610]

For about a month now, I'm constantly having bluetooth problems almost on a daily basis ("Bluetooth: Not Available" with that grayed icon and a squiggly line on it). I suspect somehow MacOS messed with my BT card firmware. Please tell me what firmware versions your cards have. Mine is v150 c9317 (card is BCM94360CD).

 

[herrdude]

For about a month now, I'm constantly having bluetooth problems almost on a daily basis ("Bluetooth: Not Available" with that grayed icon and a squiggly line on it). I suspect somehow MacOS messed with my BT card firmware. Please tell me what firmware versions your cards have. Mine is v150 c9317 (card is BCM94360CD).

Mine is exactly the same.

 

[dac610]

Thank you for your confirmation; have you had any bluetooth issues so far? Mine worked flawlessly for two years and all of a sudden those problems arrived... Might be linked to a security upgrade I did sometime ago. I searched the net and it seems to be a wide spread issue, spanning years for now and lots of different macs...

 

[herrdude]

Thank you for your confirmation; have you had any bluetooth issues so far? Mine worked flawlessly for two years and all of a sudden those problems arrived... Might be linked to a security upgrade I did sometime ago. I searched the net and it seems to be a wide spread issue, spanning years for now and lots of different macs...

None whatsoever. The first time I put the whole computer together, it was super jumpy. Then I took everything apart and saw the the bluetooth cable popped off. After that, it was fine.

 

[Inspiring]

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!!

I have just purchased https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a21wu.12321156-tw.0.0.285a446ekIyZo5&id=40307425283 from the seller last week however I do speak Chinese so maybe that is why he is not replying yet. I also had to use a shipment company to get it shipped to the UK in 10 days.

The package 3 from the sale is the correct card to work with iMac 2011. It was a well designed card however maybe due to luck, my board arrived with "Cold solder" so the bluetooth didn't work at all. The seller is very helpful and in the end I fixed it with multimeter and soldering iron to make sure the connectors resumes connectivity together. The seller kindly offered a partial refund to cover my cost of devices.

If you ask the seller to test the wifi and bluetooth before shipment, in theory you wouldn't need any soldering at all. There is just some work moving the Bluetooth cable closer to the extension card.

 

[herrdude]

Let me know if one of you are able to get Apple Watch to unlock it. For me everything, unlocks (passwords etc.) with the watch EXCEPT the login screen. I see the message: Apple Watch is unlocking which disappears very quickly leaving me to put my password.

 

[dac610]

I believe it is meant that way: first login after boot requires password to be typed in, subsequent unlocking (e.g. from screen saver) can be done with Apple Watch.

 

[herrdude]

I believe it is meant that way: first login after boot requires password to be typed in, subsequent unlocking (e.g. from screen saver) can be done with Apple Watch.

Yes, for sure. I am able to unlock my Macbook no problem. However, on my iMac after it has fallen asleep, the Apple Watch won't unlock it despite the message saying, quickly, that it is. Another thing, if you go into Safari Preferences and then passwords, I can either type my password or unlock with my Apple Watch, this works. Also, when I got to Security and Privacy in System Preferences and make changes, my Apple Watch can unlock it.

The only time it doesn't work is after the computer has slept and wakes up. It does not work here.

 

[ZenSurfeur]

upgrade BT2.1 Wifi n > BT4.0/Wifi ac, airdrop, handoff works like a charm

 

[xanderon]

Yes, for sure. I am able to unlock my Macbook no problem. However, on my iMac after it has fallen asleep, the Apple Watch won't unlock it despite the message saying, quickly, that it is. Another thing, if you go into Safari Preferences and then passwords, I can either type my password or unlock with my Apple Watch, this works. Also, when I got to Security and Privacy in System Preferences and make changes, my Apple Watch can unlock it.

The only time it doesn't work is after the computer has slept and wakes up. It does not work here.

That’s the last thing I have to fix. Everything else is working but only the unlock with watch (everywhere) doesn’t want to work. On my original MacBook Pro near my iMac it’s working flawlessly. I also see it for a glimpse second and then I have to type in my password

Any ideas?

 

[herrdude]

That’s the last thing I have to fix. Everything else is working but only the unlock with watch (everywhere) doesn’t want to work. On my original MacBook Pro near my iMac it’s working flawlessly. I also see it for a glimpse second and then I have to type in my password

Any ideas?

Did you try with Safari, Preference, Passwords? Or: System Preferences, Security and Privacy, click on the lock at the bottom left. In these situations, I can unlock with my Apple Watch 3. Login screen, nada!

 

[xanderon]

I did everywhere and I have a watch 4, brand new 10.15.5 with time machine restore

 

[herrdude]

I also have 10.15.5. I have tried everything it won't unlock my iMac. So, it's interesting that we both have the same problem which points to a software issue.

 

[xanderon]

and I had that in 10.15.4, but with the clean installation I can't figure it out. everything else is smooth. maybe its enological for macOS to support this on an 11year old iMac and we have to patch an ID or something.