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

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I'm sorry I have no idea what your talking about?
Can you post some pics if your actual install.
Thx.

Ok, Just give me some time. I'm struggling with installing Windows 10 and Office 365 on the machine at the moment.
Installing on the same SSD with Big Sur and High Sierra didn't work out.
Had to sort out with Windows Home on an USB enclosure before moving it to internal.
I will post the photo of 2 positions of the plug.
1) General view. For the antenna, IPEX1 to IPEX4 cables, I used 2x 5cm cables, and 1x 15cm cable. Took me 2 hours just to firmly attach the IPEX4 jacks. Had to throw away the same amount of IPEX cable because of my clumsiness.

2) The premade jack (white) in its position. All its way to the right of the female jack. Red is D+, Black is D-. I guess in my case the 3.3V line is the 3rd one from the right. The white jack can be plugged in all the way to the left. But then the blue tooth is not recognize (wifi still good).

3) A little blurred, the premade jack next to the stock USB cable connecting to original BT unit. Matching with the red-white cable, then cable color should be Green = D-; White = D+; Grey (purple) = 3.3V. I don't plan to turn-off wifi anyway, so I didn't modify 3.3V line. I'm just happy it worked plug-n-play. The wire are too small to my eyes for any modification.

 

[mitesh33]

Hello All,

Great thread, just buying all the parts. I have one question which I cannot find the answer for. Currently I have 2009 iMac 27 i7 with upgraded AMD graphics card running Big Sur via OpenCore. Will I be able to then use Apple Pay after upgrading the AirPort/Bluetooth card? as it's feature that is currently missing from Safari preferences along with Hand-Off etc (see attached image). I did read through it all but cannot see anyone mention it.

Many thanks

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hello All,

Great thread, just buying all the parts. I have one question which I cannot find the answer for. Currently I have 2009 iMac 27 i7 with upgraded AMD graphics card running Big Sur via OpenCore. Will I be able to then use Apple Pay after upgrading the AirPort/Bluetooth card? as it's feature that is currently missing from Safari preferences along with Hand-Off etc (see attached image). I did read through it all but cannot see anyone mention it.

Many thanks View attachment 1795572

Let's hope that the upgraded card will help solve many unsupported issued adhered to the obsolete Bluetooth 2,1 module.
In another aspect, with just about 30~35$ expense for upgrading parts, I wouldn't be really bothered with the question. Just buy the parts and give it a go.

 

[mitesh33]

Let's hope that the upgraded card will help solve many unsupported issued adhered to the obsolete Bluetooth 2,1 module.
In another aspect, with just about 30~35$ expense for upgrading parts, I wouldn't be really bothered with the question. Just buy the parts and give it a go.

Thanks for getting back, yes I may just do that but that’s the one feature I do miss, I use Ethernet so the wifi part is not important to me, would like to use sidecar too

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks for getting back, yes I may just do that but that’s the one feature I do miss, I use Ethernet so the wifi part is not important to me, would like to use sidecar too

Me, too. I use LAN for internet connection, NAS for file transferring through LAN. Wire USB keyboard & mouse.
I upgraded the Wifi/Bluetooth module just because of curiosity.

 

[KennyW]

Me, too. I use LAN for internet connection, NAS for file transferring through LAN. Wire USB keyboard & mouse.
I upgraded the Wifi/Bluetooth module just because of curiosity.

Me too But the Wifi/BT upgrade does speed up Airdrop, and enable my new Bose NC700 headphone. Most importance of all, it makes the Big Sur upgrade much more easier with the native default Apple drivers without patching.

 

[mitesh33]

Me, too. I use LAN for internet connection, NAS for file transferring through LAN. Wire USB keyboard & mouse.
I upgraded the Wifi/Bluetooth module just because of curiosity.

Cheers, can you confirm if you've tried using Apple Pay on the iMac after upgrading?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Cheers, can you confirm if you've tried using Apple Pay on the iMac after upgrading?

Sorry I can't, because I don't use Apple Pay.
My iCloud subscription fee is charged to my credit card monthly.
Apple Pay is useless in Vietnam.

 

[mitesh33]

Sorry I can't, because I don't use Apple Pay.
My iCloud subscription fee is charged to my credit card monthly.
Apple Pay is useless in Vietnam.

No worries, thanks for looking.

 

[mitesh33]

Me too But the Wifi/BT upgrade does speed up Airdrop, and enable my new Bose NC700 headphone. Most importance of all, it makes the Big Sur upgrade much more easier with the native default Apple drivers without patching.

Hi,

Can you confirm if Apple Pay worked after upgrading the WIFI/BT on Safari or is that option still missing?

Thanks

 

[dfranetic]

Hello All,

Great thread, just buying all the parts. I have one question which I cannot find the answer for. Currently I have 2009 iMac 27 i7 with upgraded AMD graphics card running Big Sur via OpenCore. Will I be able to then use Apple Pay after upgrading the AirPort/Bluetooth card? as it's feature that is currently missing from Safari preferences along with Hand-Off etc (see attached image). I did read through it all but cannot see anyone mention it.

Many thanks View attachment 1795572

Here's how that preference pane looks like for the 1st iMac in my signature, 'upgraded' with BCM94360CS. (I do not use Apple Pay, so I cannot confirm it works. Handoff however works beautifully. Do not count on Sidecar - it does not work.)

If you don't intend to use WiFi, I suggest you 'upgrade' your machine with BCM94360CS2. It is probably the cheapest BT4.0 card available and it has only two antenna connectors - which means you'll only need 2 adapter cables (as it uses a different connector) and no BT antenna extension cable (just leave it unconnected). (Besides, there are iMac11,1 EFI drivers for BT for this card...)

 

[Ausdauersportler]

SideCar will not work on these iMacs - it needs Intel iGPU HEVC support which we cannot get (SkyLake and later).
Even the 4K HEVC provided by the new AMD GPUs will not help.

 

[mitesh33]

Here's how that preference pane looks like for the 1st iMac in my signature, 'upgraded' with BCM94360CS. (I do not use Apple Pay, so I cannot confirm it works. Handoff however works beautifully. Do not count on Sidecar - it does not work.)
View attachment 1795921
If you don't intend to use WiFi, I suggest you 'upgrade' your machine with BCM94360CS2. It is probably the cheapest BT4.0 card available and it has only two antenna connectors - which means you'll only need 2 adapter cables as it uses a different connector and no BT antenna extension cable (just leave it unconnected). (Besides, there are iMac11,1 EFI drivers for BT for this card...)

Perfect, it looks like it will work once the Airport module is upgraded, I've managed to find the BCM943602CDP , just now need to buy the Mini PCI-E adapter.

 

[mitesh33]

SideCar will not work on these iMacs - it needs Intel iGPU HEVC support which we cannot get (SkyLake and later).
Even the 4K HEVC provided by the new AMD GPUs will not help.

Thanks for letting us know, it's not a feature I've ever used and it may have been good to have this, however all the other functions from my understanding will work once I upgrade the card, Cheers

 

[dfranetic]

Perfect, it looks like it will work once the Airport module is upgraded, I've managed to find the BCM943602CDP , just now need to buy the Mini PCI-E adapter.

Great! Just keep in mind, that BT keyboard or mouse will not work before macOS loads with that card, since there are no EFI drivers in iMac11,1 for it.

 

[mitesh33]

Great! Just keep in mind, that BT keyboard or mouse will not work before macOS loads with that card, since there are no EFI drivers in iMac11,1 for it.

Hi,

Oh I didn't realise that. I use the USB wired Apple full size Keyboard, however also use the Apple Magic Bluetooth Mouse. I mean it's not a big issue as I do have spare USB mouse incase I ever need use. Will the drivers load in Recovery mode?

Thanks

 

[The_Croupier]

Me, too. I use LAN for internet connection, NAS for file transferring through LAN. Wire USB keyboard & mouse.
I upgraded the Wifi/Bluetooth module just because of curiosity.

I used to use LAN for fast file transfer until my house was hit by lightning and fried everything that was connected via ethernet ?

 

[dfranetic]

Hi,

Oh I didn't realise that. I use the USB wired Apple full size Keyboard, however also use the Apple Magic Bluetooth Mouse. I mean it's not a big issue as I do have spare USB mouse incase I ever need use. Will the drivers load in Recovery mode?

Thanks

I think it will - macOS Installer does load the necessary BT drivers so macOS Recovery should too. (Also, don't forget you'll have to mount an additional antenna.)

 

[mitesh33]

I think it will - macOS Installer does load the necessary BT drivers so macOS Recovery should too. (Also, don't forget you'll have to mount an additional antenna.)

That's all I'll need it for, thanks. I'm only using for bluetooth, airdrop etc (I use LAN for internet etc), so can I not just use one of the 2x Wifi antennas cables which are already in place for bluetooth?

Thanks

 

[KennyW]

Hi,

Can you confirm if Apple Pay worked after upgrading the WIFI/BT on Safari or is that option still missing?

Thanks

I can't recall I used that function in Safari in my iMac as I mostly use Apple Pay via my iPhone or credit card in payment.

 

[dfranetic]

That's all I'll need it for, thanks. I'm only using for bluetooth, airdrop etc (I use LAN for internet etc), so can I not just use one of the 2x Wifi antennas cables which are already in place for bluetooth?

Thanks

You can connect the BT connector (usually J1) to one of the 2.4G antenna cables. (Not the 5G one behind the Apple logo, connect that one to J0.)

 

[mitesh33]

You can connect the BT connector (usually J1) to one of the 2.4G antenna cables. (Not the 5G one behind the Apple logo, connect that one to J0.)

Thanks, will give that a go, I can extend the old Bluetooth antenna If I need to.

 

[The_Croupier]

I have been following this thread for about a year now. I did follow almost all of the recommendations - except one: I used Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT4.2) for BT/WiFi upgrade. I have successfully upgraded some iMac11,x and iMac12,x machines. (This card was already mentioned as a sensible upgrade for iMac11,x machines as it only has 3 antenna connectors, I also used it in iMac12,x machines - and I didn't need any antenna extension cables, just left the BT antenna disconnected.) Besides the adapters/cables already mentioned in this thread, I additionally used three short U.FL to MHF4 antenna connector cables. I was able to obtain original female board connectors for the internal BT USB/power cable connector and rerouted the original BT board cable for a neat (and reversible) solution.

I learned two things. First: the MINI PCI adapter (F-C25AP) that I used created a (non-harmful) short between two 3.3V power supplies (one from the MINI PCI port, the other from the BT cable), so I cut one track at the bottom of the PCB (documented below). Second: apparently there is no EFI driver for the BCM943602CS in iMac11,1 machines (27', late 2009) - I upgraded two of them and none will connect to a Magic Keyboard before/during boot. (On the other hand, I was able to use a BT keyboard before macOS loads with BCM943602CS on iMac11,2, iMac12,1, and iMac12,2.) A quick test with BCM94360CS2 (BT4.0, from a hackintosh) revealed that iMac11,1 has EFI drivers for this card. As BCM94360CS2 only has two antenna connectors, I am now waiting to receive BCM94360CS (BT4.0) to use in iMac11,1's. (I hope a BT keyboard will connect to it before boot. And yes - it really annoys me to have no BT keyboard connected before macOS loads...)

I must say that I am really satisfied with this (and this) added functionality to my machine(s).

Here are some photos of my upgrade:
F-C25AP adapter PCB

View attachment 1782830
MHF4 to U.FL antenna cables

View attachment 1782835
Cut track at the bottom of the adapter PCB.

View attachment 1782832
Glued the female BT board connector to the adapter PCB (upside down, I used 2-component adhesive).

View attachment 1782831
Removed the unused pins from the BT board connector, soldered the necessary wires. (I used silicone insulated solid wires. Silicone does not melt and retract while soldering. Due to the pin spacing of the connector this is a relatively tedious soldering job.)

View attachment 1782833 View attachment 1782838
Used some heat-shrink tubing to insulate those U.FL connectors and connected everything up.

View attachment 1782834

Can you share a link of where you got the connector socket so we will have 2 sources of such a connector, thanks.

 

[mitesh33]

Just an update, I managed to fit the BCM943602CDP into my iMac 11,1 2009 27 and can confirm Apple Pay does now work the option is now there in Safari under Privacy. Everything works as suggested, Hand-Off, AirPlay etc, however as suggested by dfranetic
Bluetooth Drivers will not load until the OSX is loaded, which is not a big deal as I use the USB Apple Keyboard which lets me login the Magic Mouse will work.

I have not tried Apple Watch unlock as I do not own one yet, will update when I do try.

I can confirm SideCar will not work. as mentioned earlier in the thread SideCar needs Intel iGPU HEVC support which we cannot get (SkyLake and later).

Again I like to say thanks to all that put the guides together.

 

[The_Croupier]

For a test I thought I would see how cheap I could put together a Bluetooth 4.0 module upgrade. This will only bring your iMac BT and Wifi specs in line with a 2012 model so most would choose a more modern card, this was purely a exercise on how low I could go.

Anyway total cost of parts used (except solder, wire and tape came to $23.12 AUD, 17.50 USD or 14.68 EUR at today's exchange rate.

I don't recommend this particular PCI-e adaptor converter and connector socket to first time modders as it ain't easy to solder, the connection solder points are smaller than fly poop but I managed ok with my elcheapo equipment and 3 X magnification reading glasses from the rack at my local chemist ? ?

Here's the parts I used:

The install:

The verification everything is working: