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Mac Pro 5,1: Apple Broadcom Bcm94360cd Card Question

LucMac

LucMac

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 17, 2014
43
6
GERMANY
Hi,
I want to buy a new WiFi and Bluetoothcard for my Mac Pro from OSXWiFi.

http://www.osxwifi.com/apple-broadcom-bcm94360cd-802-11-a-b-g-n-ac-bluetooth-4-0-with-adapter-for-macpro-2009-and-macpro-2010

But I’m a bit confused right now…
I don’t get why I have to use the custom USB cable.
MacVidCards offers the same WiFI card without the need of an USB cable.
But their cards are almost always out of stock...

Can someone explain the difference between the MacVidCards and OSXWiFi kit ? Maybe someone who got the OSXWifi Kit ? Do I really need the extra USB cable to get Wifi AC and Bluetooth 4.0 work ? I don't want a solution like seen in the picture lol :D

Kind regards,
LucMac
 

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OSXWiFi needs the USB to power the BT card I believe.. the macvidcard solution uses the BT power plug.

I actually scored a macvidcard kit last week and installed it on saturday..easy as pie
 
ZombiePhysicist said:
I hear 4.2 is coming after that! ;) Just kidding. I don't think that you can expect someone to make a 4.1 solution any time soon as these use real apple parts, I think?
Click to expand...

I was thinking a year away if anyone wants to wait. I personally don't need Continuity or Hands Off.
 
In case you hadn't figured it out, the Bluetooth part of the card is a USB device. The mini PCI-e adapter board doesn't carry the USB signal, so you need to connect via USB to get the Bluetooth part.

Is MacVidCards really the only source for this adapter? I have the BCM94360CD already, and it's on a PCI-express board in one of the slots, but like you I have to run the USB cable out of the computer and around to the USB ports. I bought a USB 3.0 card with an internal port thinking I could plug it in there, but if I do then Coherence doesn't work. Like, at all. No phone calls, no text messages, no handoff, no nothin'. Run the cable out of the case and it's fine. The mini PCI-e version from OSXWifi seems like it still has to run the USB out of the case. I sent them an email a few days ago to verify and got no response - I take that to be confirmation enough.

Since MacVidCards doesn't seem to have just the adapter listed at all, and even the version bundled with the card is out of stock, I'm just waiting and scouring eBay.
 
I think that having wires poking out of the case is an ugly kludge.

I hand make each one of ours with Apple parts. Then I test in a 4,1.

Time consuming and tedious, but end result is perfect. (Once installed, but this isn't easy either !)

I wish I could make them faster but I will continue making them and listing them as I find time. I have parts here for dozens, I just can't turn them out fast enough.
 
Well if you do, I'll buy one, even if I have to buy a second adapter with it. It's definitely a kludge and that's why I dislike mine so much. But since they're readily available it's what I did. For now.
 
OSXwifi and MavVid works the same way except how they power USB. Of course MacVid is better as it uses actual BT power on the board (for MacPro 4,1 and 5,1).

You can just make the cable yourself using actual BT power cable. Just follow the posts of https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1748061/ , read and read and read. You will figure it out. It's actually pretty simple.
 
OK last night I decided to give the internal ports on my USB card another go, to see if I could make Handoff work. I signed out of iCloud, Messages, and FaceTime, and then I did a bunch of stuff all at once - I ran the USB cable to a port coming off the header on the USB card; I installed (and flashed) a Radeon 7950 I got off of eBay; re-tried the MP5,1 firmware update. I did all that because I knew I wasn't going to be happy with this machine unless I could do all that and down the road buy a 6-core CPU and still wanted to have Handoff/Messages/FaceTime working.

So after all of that, I signed into Messages, FaceTime, and iCloud again...and everything worked. Safari and Mail icons pop up on the dock, I can pick up where I left off, my texts come to the Mac, and my Mac rings when the phone does. And somewhere in there I fixed, by accident, my issue of my second SSD disappearing on reboot. I've rebooted several times and it's still showing up in Finder. Totally psyched about that.
 
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Solution has been upgraded to make it a fully internal solution.
New USB cable connects to the original Bluetooth data cable Internally.

Best Regards,
OSXWiFi
 
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Oh, that's good news !!

I'll definitely buy one. How difficult is the hardware installation ? How long does it take ?
I hope the installation guide is updated for the new fully internal solution ;)

Kind regards
 
LucMac said:
Oh, that's good news !!

I'll definitely buy one. How difficult is the hardware installation ? How long does it take ?
I hope the installation guide is updated for the new fully internal solution ;)

Kind regards
Click to expand...

Installation is pretty easy, you just replace Wi-Fi card and connect custom USB cable to original Bluetooth data cable.
Yes the installation guide is updated.

Please contact us with any questions!

Best Regards,
OSXWiFi
 
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