MP 1,1-5,1 OC preventing use of USB Bluetooth dongle?!

[serviaas]

Hi there - so I have Martin Lo's OC build running happily on my cMP. Got a BT USB dongle b/c the integrated BT is terrible and can't even reliably send music to my stereo system <10 feet away.

I plug it in, and the cMP refuses to hand over to the USB.

I do some research, and decide to boot without OC (after removing my Windows SATA drive!), and it works instantly on reboot.

What's going on here? I wouldn't think OC would reject a USB BT dongle, but...here we are. Is this Secureboot being overzealous? :/

 

[dataid]

Look at the config.plist of Martin Lo's OC build to check if in the Kernel section has the kext IO80211Mojave.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4331.kext activated or deactivated as appropriate to your system.
There also is a second kext which pertains to Mojave installations that he includes. Make sure if do or do not have to have it activated.

 

[serviaas]

Look at the config.plist of Martin Lo's OC build to check if in the Kernel section has the kext IO80211Mojave.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4331.kext activated or deactivated as appropriate to your system.
There also is a second kext which pertains to Mojave installations that he includes. Make sure if do or do not have to have it activated.

I can see the .kext but only this:

<dict>
<key>Comment</key>
<string></string>
<key>PlistPath</key>
<string>Contents/Info.plist</string>
<key>Enabled</key>
<false/>
<key>MaxKernel</key>
<string>20.99.99</string>
<key>MinKernel</key>
<string>19.0.0</string>
<key>ExecutablePath</key>
<string>Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcm4331</string>
<key>Arch</key>
<string>Any</string>
<key>BundlePath</key>
<string>IO80211Mojave.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4331.kext</string>
</dict>

Nothing about true/false active/inactive in that though...

 

[Literate]

<key>Enabled</key>
<false/>

 

[serviaas]

...doh. Didn't notice it since it was multiple lines above the mention of AirPort...

If I set that to false, will that then disable its monopoly on my BT?!

EDIT: watched his video on enabling legacy Airport in Big Sur...it's setting this to true. But this is for the MOBO-connected BT, right? Not USB? :/

I tried setting it to true, and no dice.

 

[h9826790]

Go to Apple developer website, login with your Apple ID (normal free account is good enough), download BT Explorer. Use that to select your BT module inside macOS.

Or, simply disconnect your BT module's USB cable on the logic board. This will also force the OS to use your USB BT module.

 

[serviaas]

Go to Apple developer website, login with your Apple ID (normal free account is good enough), download BT Explorer. Use that to select your BT module inside macOS.

Or, simply disconnect your BT module's USB cable on the logic board. This will also force the OS to use your USB BT module.

Thanks Martin - I actually did the latter (disconnected the BT cable on the logic board) and all it did was say "BT unavailable" - couldn't even enable/disable it.

I've downloaded BT Explorer and when setting the device to the USB dongle, it simply "completes" and the integrated BT is still listed as active

When I unplug the cable on the MOBO and restart, BT Explorer lists 0 available host controllers (just says "None").

 

[h9826790]

So, your USB BT module works in Mojave natively.

But if you boot via OC, then macOS won't assign driver to it properly (but you can still see that BT module in system info -> USB section.

Is that correct?

 

[serviaas]

So, your USB BT module works in Mojave natively.

But if you boot via OC, then macOS won't assign driver to it properly (but you can still see that BT module in system info -> USB section.

Is that correct?

Correct, the device shows under USB in the system report, runs fine in native Mojave, but in OC refuses to activate as the main BT device.

 

[serviaas]

Sorry, any insight you can provide @h9826790? See above...thanks!!

 

[h9826790]

May I know if the same thing also happen if you connect the USB dongle via a USB hub?

 

[serviaas]

May I know if the same thing also happen if you connect the USB dongle via a USB hub?

Do you mean an external hub?

I just tried that now - when I connect the USB BT device to the hub, I do see my BT icon go offline, then it comes back...and same as before. If I try to force it through BT explorer, same thing, it tries, fails, and reverts to the internal cMP BT

 

[Macschrauber]

maybe a Mac Firmware problem, exactly the nvram stream. The activeBluetoothControllers often get out of control.

force a garbage collection by triple nvram reset in a row. Need to rebless open core after of course.

 

[mode11]

I've got an upgraded wifi / BT module, but the BT signal is still not great, even with an external antenna. I'd like to use a BT dongle, but was wondering if this would still support Airdrop?

If so, can anyone recommend a dongle? The TP-Link UB400 seems recommended, and is CSR-based.

 

[Stex]

I've got an upgraded wifi / BT module, but the BT signal is still not great, even with an external antenna. I'd like to use a BT dongle, but was wondering if this would still support Airdrop?

If so, can anyone recommend a dongle? The TP-Link UB400 seems recommended, and is CSR-based.

Before upgrading my internal Wifi/BT card, I used the Hideez BT dongle, which is CSR-based. At the time I had not unplugged the internal BT connection (USB), and used a terminal command to block the internal BT. But that did not work properly, at times on warm/cold boots it would still revert back to the internal BT card. Unplugging the internal solved that problem and the dongle worked fine, although I did not get Continuity features nor AirDrop to work with it. Eventually I ended up upgrading the internal Wifi/BT card, and now Continuity and AirDrop work as expected with the latest macOS.

As far as a weak BT signal even with an external antenna, I can say that that applies to my system too - I tested 2 different external antennas with my upgraded internal Wifi/BT card, yet based on the external BT device being used, some BT connections are weaker than others. While having those issues, I found mentions in this sub-forum on external USB 3.0 hubs being the plausible cause of interference with BT signals. I did confirm at the time that it was happening in my case with a Magic Trackpad 2, so I ended up using the trackpad with the lighting to USB cable connected directly into the cMP. I now performs as expected.

I also routed the internal Wifi/BT card to one of the external USB 2.0 input on the back of the cMP. There were resports during the early beta versions of Monterey that the internal USB for BT was not functional etc -- so at the time I decided to cut my losses and just routed the card to the USB 2.0 on the back. I believe the internal USB can still be used at this time, as workaround have been found such as having a USB hub in between the internal BT card and internal USB input, plus some kext injections etc.

 

[mode11]

@Stex Thanks for the comprehensive reply. Your experiences with a USB dongle with regards to AirDrop and so on are the type of reason I've stuck with an internal upgrade so far. It's also important that my keyboard works in Recovery etc., which was another question mark over a USB one.

I had my antenna set up under my glass desk, which I assumed would be fairly transparent to radio waves. Perhaps not - I have now moved it to the top of my desk, behind a picture frame, and seem to be getting good reception. So I'll see how it goes. I'm using an 18dBi one for maximum signal strength.