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

[pqft]

Hey, has anyone get continuity working?

I've got an iMac 2011 Bluetooth updated, installed sierra from 0, the system shows handoff/continuity/Apple Watch unlock. But the only thing that works is airdrop.

I've installed CAT but says that everything it's ok. I also turn off the system protection and overwrite cloudpair file.

In all betas all was working fine. But now only airdrop

Any ideas?

i have the same problem

 

[Waughy]

I've upgraded my 2011 iMac as well, and can't get any of the features working, on El Capitan or Sierra (upgraded last night). System settings say it's all good, I even set up my watch for unlocking and that seemed to go alright, but doesn't work. Done the logout/login thing with iCloud.

Not features I think I would use often, if at all, but keen to try to get them working, even if it's just for a play. Watch unlock would be handy.

 

[Cordes]

I have Continuity features working on my upgraded (BT/WIFI card) 2011 iMac on Sierra, including the new copy/paste. I don't have a Watch so can't touch on that. I ended up loading Sierra on two different drives to test and play with Continuity Activation Tool, and I was able to get Continuity to work with Sierra using both Beta and Master versions.

I tried different things within the tools including running (2) System Diagnostic, which would tell me that everything was ok and Continuity was already activated. But if I then ran (1) Activate Continuity, it would tell me that it was already active but that it was making changes to correct something... I forget exactly what it said.

But anyway, Continuity still wouldn't work, so I'd try logging out and in iCloud on my iMac and my iPhone, but still no change.

The thing that seemed to trigger it to start working on this machine, for both Beta and Master, was to make a phone call to my iPhone from a different phone. The call would pop up on my iMac and I'd answer it on my iMac. Then, the other Continuity features all seemed to start working. They continue to work after a re-start, too. So far...

 

[Hobamedia]

Hello,

Continuity with iOS 10 iPhone 10 and Mac OS Siera 10.12.1 Beta works fine. (Exclusing pick up incoming cellular mobile call)

with iPhone 6 , iPhone 7 (both iOS 10 ) and iMac 2011 27 ``









Modellname: iMac

Modell-Identifizierung: iMac12,2

Prozessortyp: Intel Core i5

Prozessorgeschwindigkeit: 3,1 GHz

Anzahl der Prozessoren: 1

Gesamtanzahl der Kerne: 4

L2-Cache (pro Kern): 256 KB

L3-Cache: 6 MB

Speicher: 16 GB

Boot-ROM-Version: IM121.0047.B23

 

[sqvarepants]

Tried to call my iPhone and answer by iMac and nothing. I can't make it works.

Please can anyone explain all the steps from a clean installation of macOS to make all work, I don't know if I am making anything wrong

 

[zackkmac]

Does anyone know if the soldering and what not is required for install in a 2008 iMac?

 

[Hobamedia]

Tried to call my iPhone and answer by iMac and nothing. I can't make it works.

Please can anyone explain all the steps from a clean installation of macOS to make all work, I don't know if I am making anything wrong

Hello,

try this Tool :


Continuity Activation Tool
This tool makes the necessary changes to enable OS X 10.10 and 10.11 Continuity features on compatible hardware. Continuity features activated by this tool include Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and New Airdrop. OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) dongle support is not stable yet!


https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool

 

[sqvarepants]

Hello,

try this Tool :


Continuity Activation Tool
This tool makes the necessary changes to enable OS X 10.10 and 10.11 Continuity features on compatible hardware. Continuity features activated by this tool include Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and New Airdrop. OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) dongle support is not stable yet!


https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool

Yes I know it, but I can't make it works

 

[Hobamedia]

Yes I know it, but I can't make it works

Hello,

if Hardware installed :

Start "Continuity Activation Tool.app"




--- OS X Continuity Activation Tool 2.3 ---

by sysfloat

original by dokterdok




Select an option:


1) Activate Continuity 4) Uninstall with Recovery

2) System Diagnostic 5) Disable Auto Check App

3) Uninstall 6) Quit

#?

Chose 2 "System Diagnostic"




#? 2



--- OS X Continuity Activation Tool 2.3 ---

by sysfloat

original by dokterdok




--- Initiating system compatiblity check ---


--- Hardware/OS checks ---

Verifying Continuity status... OK. OS X reports Continuity as active

Verifying Mac model reference... OK. Known compatible Mac Model detected: iMac12,2

Verifying Mac board-id... OK. Long board id detected: Mac-942B59F58194171B

Verifying OS X version... Warning: This tool wasn't tested with OS X versions higher than 10.10. Detected OS version: 10.12.1

Verifying Wi-Fi hardware... OK. A Broadcom AirPort card is active, and is using the Continuity compatible Brcm4360 kext

Verifying AWDL status... OK. An AWDL interface is up, Wi-Fi is ready for Continuity

Verifying Bluetooth hardware... OK. The internal Bluetooth card is active

Verifying Bluetooth version... OK. Bluetooth 4.0 detected

Verifying Bluetooth features... OK. Bluetooth features are Continuity compliant

Verifying Bluetooth firmware... OK. Bluetooth firmware version: v126 c9198

Verifying Login Item... OK. Login item for Auto Continuity Check is not set.


--- Modifications check ---

Verifying OS kext protection... OK. Kext developer mode is not active. This tool can fix this.

Verifying SIP... Ok. System Integrity Protection is already disabled

Verifying ContinuitySupport... OK. Already patched.

Verifying kexts readability... OK. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth kexts were found and could be read

Verifying Wi-Fi whitelist status... OK. Your board-id is not yet whitelisted. This tool can fix this.

Verifying BT4 dongles compatibility... OK. Compatibility with BT4 USB dongles is not enabled, this tool can fix this if a dongle is plugged in

Verifying old Wi-Fi kext presence... OK. Legacy Brcm4331 Wi-Fi driver is present. This tool can fix this.

Verifying legacy Wi-Fi card patch... OK. The legacy Wi-Fi patch is not present. This tool can fix this.

--- Modifications check ---


Press any key to go back to the main menu..


If all Items ok (Except Verifying OS X version... Warning: This tool wasn't tested with OS X versions higher than 10.10. Detected OS version: 10.12.1 )

Your drivers are correctly installed and you have only activate Handoff in the system settings. (IOS and MacOS)

Else Choose : 1) Activate Continuity and follow the instructions by the tool

 

[sqvarepants]

I finally got it working, thanks. I reinstalled macOS without log in iCloud, disable sip and run CAT beta , then log in iCloud and all working

 

[Waughy]

So SIP needs to be disabled? All my settings say my iMac is good with the new card, and CAT says ok to everything, except the OS version, and SIP for me. With CAT saying everything is ok I thought there was no need to run the tool.

I haven't yet, but before I go mucking around with SIP I'll try calling my mobile from my wife's phone and see if I can answer it on the iMac.

If all that is needed is wireless ac and BT 4, which we get with the card upgrade, you'd expect it to work fine without any mucking around.

 

[Cordes]

SIP must be disabled.

 

[Waughy]

SIP must be disabled.

Ok, thanks. Can it be enabled after everything is set up, or needs to be permanently off? I'll give it a try next time I have a few moments to play with the iMac.

 

[Cordes]

Well, I thought it needed to remain off, but I went back to CAT and ran the system diagnostic (2), and here's what it showed:

--- Initiating system compatiblity check ---


--- Hardware/OS checks ---

Verifying Continuity status... OK. OS X reports Continuity as active

Verifying Mac model reference... OK. Known compatible Mac Model detected: iMac12,2

Verifying Mac board-id... OK. Long board id detected: Mac-942B59F58194171B

Verifying OS X version... Warning: This tool wasn't tested with OS X versions higher than 10.10. Detected OS version: 10.12

Verifying Wi-Fi hardware... OK. A Broadcom AirPort card is active, and is using the Continuity compatible Brcm4360 kext

Verifying AWDL status... OK. An AWDL interface is up, Wi-Fi is ready for Continuity

Verifying Bluetooth hardware... OK. The internal Bluetooth card is active

Verifying Bluetooth version... OK. Bluetooth 4.0 detected

Verifying Bluetooth features... OK. Bluetooth features are Continuity compliant

Verifying Bluetooth firmware... OK. Bluetooth firmware version: v126 c9198

Verifying Login Item... OK. Login item for Auto Continuity Check is not set.


--- Modifications check ---

Verifying OS kext protection... OK. Kext developer mode is not active. This tool can fix this.

Verifying SIP... NOT OK. System Integrity Protection is still enabled

Verifying ContinuitySupport... OK. Already patched.

Verifying kexts readability... OK. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth kexts were found and could be read

Verifying Wi-Fi whitelist status... OK. Your board-id is not yet whitelisted. This tool can fix this.

Verifying BT4 dongles compatibility... OK. Compatibility with BT4 USB dongles is not enabled, this tool can fix this if a dongle is plugged in

Verifying old Wi-Fi kext presence... OK. Legacy Brcm4331 Wi-Fi driver is present. This tool can fix this.

Verifying legacy Wi-Fi card patch... OK. The legacy Wi-Fi patch is not present. This tool can fix this.

--- Modifications check ---


Press any key to go back to the main menu...


Clearly, it says that SIP is enabled and Continuity features are still working for me. However, I did not re-enable SIP. I'm not sure how that happened.

Rather than try to manually enable again, I will leave well enough alone. But if you have it working and re-enable SIP, let us know what happens!

Thanks!

 

[Waughy]

Disabled SIP and ran the tool, still no go, even after a reboot. Uninstalled what the tool had done, enabled SIP again and then had wifi and Bluetooth issues. As I'd updated Sierra over El Capitan, I decided to start with a fresh install.

After that and restoring profiles etc from my backup I tried again. Still no handoff, even as I type this on my phone with the iMac unlocked, there's no icon next to the dock to pick up and continue.

I got my wife to call my mobile and was able to answer on the iMac, and I was able to unlock it with my watch, on the second attempt after it said the wifi signal was too weak. I'm sitting right in front of it. Starting a message on the phone doesn't continue onto the iMac either. Messages app looks set up to use my phone, my mobile number is set as the default for starting messages on the iMac.

I might look at it again over the weekend. As I said earlier, the features aren't something I'll use much, but the fact that they should work in theory, I'm keen to get it all up and running if possible. No big deal if I never get them working. A friend has a 2013 MacBook Pro and can't get it working either, so I'm not really expecting to get everything working. See how I go.

 

[Brientim]

i have the same problem

I have it working on one but not my wife's which are identically configured.

Do not ask how I did it because on mine it worked immediately but I could for the life of me get it working on the other one.

 

[Hobamedia]

My problem (iMac 2011 27 ``can´t pick up incoming cellular calls ) is solved
since I´ve installed macOS 10.12.1 Beta (16B2338c)

 

[torpidlittle]

Yesterday, I did the upgrade on my iMac 27" Late 2009 by following all your great advices, run SAT and log out and in from iCloud on both my Mac and my iPhone !

Everything seems to work fine : Continuity, Air Drop, Cut and Paste, etc.
Except that my iMac doesn't seem to pick up incoming calls anymore...I have to do more tests about this !!!

Let you know if I find something...

Thanks again all for your inputs (procedures and photos) to make this Bluetooth Upgrade possible !

Torp

 

[USMCRet]

I finished the install, but there are some unresolved issues. It works (sort of), but not as well as I would have liked.

First off, all of the parts I received from OSXWIFI are installed and both BT 4.0 and WiFi functions are correctly listed in system report. I also have a 2013 27 inch iMac so I can compare functions I am seeing with a known good and working system. It uses the same WiFi/BT combo card. The new WiFi/BT card seated in the miniPCI-E adapter is a little bit thicker than the old WiFi card and presses up against the back of the LCD screen, but it does not appear to create any problems. The screw holes on the new adapter and the old WiFi card are on opposite sides so I had to secure the new card with a couple of small pieces of duct tape (hey, it works!).

I can confirm that the miniPCI-E does NOT have the USB D+/D- signals. I was hoping that it did as it would make things much easier. I had to use the kit's USB cables and route them through the RAM compartment and around to the back of the iMac to one of the external USB ports. I am not happy with this arrangement, but until I figure something else out I'm stuck with it. It was not clear what type of connection the old BT card had. It had 5 wires, but the colors did not correspond to standard USB pin out configuration. I simply unplugged it and taped the connector to the inside of the case.

One last obstacle was needing a wired keyboard and mouse since the BT ones will obviously not be paired with the new BT card. If you need to enter recovery mode, it will have to be an Apple wired keyboard.

So, the unresolved issues are:
1. 802.11 AC does not really work consistently yet. It is touch and go. I have an Apple Airport Time Capsule and it shows that the iMac is connected at AC speeds and has a valid IP address assigned, but the iMac does not display this and no Internet connectivity is present. It does connect to other 802.11 N routers fine, but I have no other AC routers to test with.
2. When I turn off the WiFi, the BT gets turned off too. But when I turn off BT, WiFi stays on. This is not what happens on my 2013 iMac - each can be controlled independently.
3. The new BT connectivity is a little bit sluggish and jittery with the Majic Mouse at times.
4. I cannot boot into OS X Recovery Mode with the BT USB cable plugged in to the back of the system. The system crashes. When I unplug the BT USB, Recovery Mode starts fine, even with the new WiFi card still installed.

I reinstalled Mavericks to see if that would rectify the above software problems, it did not.

I also installed Yosemite to see if the problems remain, they do.

So...there I am with upgrading a 2011 27 inch iMac to 802.11 AC and Bluetooth 4.0. I still have some problems to work through.

Anyone have any ideas?

Hey brother. Just curious (knowing this is an old thread)... could you elaborate on where you plugged in the USB cable? I've got everything else squared away (had to use electrical tape as well). Thanks!

 

[johnrak]

I have a Mid 2011 21.5 iMad (A1311 EMC 2428).
I installed a BCM94331CD which is a lot cheaper than the BCM94360CD. The whole upgrade costed less than $20.

I carry my iMac between two places and I am experiencing issues with the bluetooth only at one of them.
Maybe there is something that is interfering with the bluetooth. The movement of the mouse cursor is not smooth and lately it became almost unusable.

I was suspicious about the u.fl extension I used and I tried to connect one of the wifi antennas on the card's Bluetooth connector. The RSSI of the magic mouse was about -75dBm and now it is -45dBm. It's working flawlessly. I don't remember what the RSSI and noise values of the wifi were, but now they are: RSSI:-45dBm and noise:-80dBm.

The wifi needs 3 cables and the bluetooth needs one. I can see two antennas above the screen (one for wifi and one for bluetooth) and one antenna on the lower left of the screen. Where does the 3rd antenna cable come from? Will I have any issues after connecting the bluetooth antenna on the wifi connector and vise versa? Should I worry?

This is the card I got:

and this is how I installed it:

 

[lion10]

I have a Mid 2011 21.5 iMad (A1311 EMC 2428).

... Will I have any issues after connecting the Bluetooth antenna on the wifi connector and vise versa? Should I worry? ...

That's a good question. I have a similar issue regarding the antenna config at an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX 802.11ac & BT 4.0 combo card.

Physically theses antennas are quite equal, - the effective reason to make a difference lies in the LENGTH of the corresponding cable. That's the reason why the Bluetooth antenna should be always connected to the "J2" connector, - because the Bluetooth antenna is usually the "shortest" one.

My question is now if that "rule" corresponds to all Apple Broadcom Bluetooth 4.x capable cards? So the BCM94360CD, BCM94360CSAX, BCM943602CS, and so on...

Well, it seems that this is not the sole and only "truth". A 802.11ac & BT 4.0 upgraded 2007 (!!!) iMac seems to work also with a different antenna config.
https://de.ifixit.com/Answers/View/162178/Wireless+Airport+Card+Replacement+with+New+802.11ac#answer359150

Update 22.12.2016
I have now tested the suggested antenna config at a BCM94360CSAX card with Bluetooth on socket "J2". I am surprised, - it seems that this config works really somewhat better.

 

[waimtrp]

i purchased the kit from this seller 2 months ago , work just fine with handoff , Continuity. recently i upgraded to Sierra , Apple watch unlock work just right away , the kit came with BCM94360CD , i think this is the most compatible WiFi ac BT 4.0 combo card in the market , compare to other guys use other models , very happy now , apple watch unlock is amazing and i saw they have re-stock again
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-App...c-2009-2011-/262765440339?hash=item3d2e0a6d53
[doublepost=1482384978][/doublepost]and my iMac is 2011 model 27"

 

[lion10]

Well, for upgrading the original Aluminum iMac models (2007, 2008 & early 2009) I use always the Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. That works also "out of the box". A small drawback is that this card needs three MHF4 to U.FL antenna adapters. A big advantage of the old original Aluminum iMac line is that a very basic M.2 to mini PCIe adapter, I think version 1.0, can be used. Absolutely no soldering is needed!

That simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade costs totally only around $30.

 

[nandor690]

Alright, I received the new card from OSXWIFI and it's working now!

Here are some photos of the process. This is a late 2009 iMac 27". It's been mentioned before that the power might not be required but I had trouble using the keyboard during boot (ie. boot options) without the added power line. It was easy enough to do so I did it anyway.

Also, the newer v3 adapters from ebay seem easier to do the power line with and altogether seem better built so I would recommend that over the OSXWIFI board. probably cheaper also...

Here are my photos:
iMac with LCD removed
Showing locations of original wifi and bluetooth boards.

Close-up of original WIFI

Another angle of original Bluetooth and WIFI

Original WIFI board removed

Original bluetooth disconnected
Showing pinout on the bluetooth cable. Your colors may cary but pinout is the same so go off of cable location rather than color.

New WiFI
Showing new wifi/bluetooth card installed. D+, D- soldered for bluetooth data. Power line also soldered onto last pin on adapter board.

Bluetooth antenna extension

Showing antenna locations

Newly added antenna
SORRY BAD PHOTO

[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]

Well, for upgrading the original Aluminum iMac models (2007, 2008 & early 2009) I use always the Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. That works also "out of the box". A small drawback is that this card needs three MHF4 to U.FL antenna adapters. A big advantage of the old original Aluminum iMac line is that a very basic M.2 to mini PCIe adapter, I think version 1.0, can be used. Absolutely no soldering is needed!

That simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade costs totally only around $30.

[doublepost=1483774439][/doublepost]

Well, for upgrading the original Aluminum iMac models (2007, 2008 & early 2009) I use always the Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. That works also "out of the box". A small drawback is that this card needs three MHF4 to U.FL antenna adapters. A big advantage of the old original Aluminum iMac line is that a very basic M.2 to mini PCIe adapter, I think version 1.0, can be used. Absolutely no soldering is needed!

That simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade costs totally only around $30.

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!

 

[Durex]

iMac Mid 2011 BT4 Card doesn't work
Hi there,

i change my iMac 12,2 to the Broadcom BCM94360CD Card with adapter V3.0...
WLAN works really fine - but BT 4 doesn't. I try to connect the D+/D- cable from the old BT card connector and i also use the 3,3V but the system info says "No Hardware detected". Any ideas what's wrong with my configuration ? Thanks a lot. Mark.

I had exactly this problem too. I thought originally the problem was hardware (a faulty WiFi + BT card) and I ended up swapping it. It wasn't the card at all -- instead it's something software. I recommend you read here and the following posts in that thread for the solution.
[doublepost=1483778224][/doublepost]

Hi, I've a similar problem. Made tonight the mod on my imac 2011 27", used an adapter v3.0, an original apple broadcom and an antenna extender.
I've connected D+, D- and also 3.3v to the correct pin.
Mac started, wifi ok but bluetooth not found.
Listed in the USB devices I can see a Broadcom Bluetooth Download Device, but in the Bluetooth tab say nothing.

Maybe a faulty card also for me?

EDIT: False Alarm, it was a problem with the iobluetoothfamily.kext probably messed up, recovered and now it works like a charm!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR THE VERY PRECIOUS INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE MOD!!!!!

Just wanted to post a reply to this comment regarding a Bluetooth "Hardware Not Found" issue -- which sounds similar to as you describe -- that appeared when I did this modification in a 27" 2011 iMac. I thought the issue was antenna or hardware fault and ended up replacing the module. It seems I had this same software issue which could be fixed by the solution in similar BT4.0 thread for Mac Pro. For anyone experiencing similar problem >> read here << and following related posts in that thread for details of solution.