MP 1,1-5,1 Problems with Bluetooth and Wifi for 5,1 Mac Pro

[Rossthephotographer]

Two questions on this topic:

1. I have a mid 2010 5,1 (not the one in my signature) and I recently updated it to Mojave. I have noticed though that now the Wifi and Bluetooth don't work. Do I need to update the WiFi and Bluetooth because I have updated from El Capitan or is it likely to be something else? (photos attached).

2. The other issue is that my main 5,1 (in my signature) and my Macbook Pro 2011 have crap bluetooth connectivity. My 5,1 has 'Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.4.6f2' but both macs are really flakey. I connected an extension cable to the bluetooth in the 5,1 and have an aerial on the backplate, but the bluetooth is still crap!

Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[Snow Tiger]

Two questions on this topic:

1. I have a mid 2010 5,1 (not the one in my signature) and I recently updated it to Mojave. I have noticed though that now the Wifi and Bluetooth don't work. Do I need to update the WiFi and Bluetooth because I have updated from El Capitan or is it likely to be something else? (photos attached).

2. The other issue is that my main 5,1 (in my signature) and my Macbook Pro 2011 have crap bluetooth connectivity. My 5,1 has 'Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.4.6f2' but both macs are really flakey. I connected an extension cable to the bluetooth in the 5,1 and have an aerial on the backplate, but the bluetooth is still crap!

Any suggestions?
Thanks

replace the factory WiFi card with an Apple made BCM94322MC .

Not certain why your Bluetooth 2.1 card isn't working . It does profile . It should be compatible with Mojave . Maybe it just died or you are trying to connect to something too sophisticated for ten year old BT technology .

There are two different modern USB Bluetooth 4.x dongles compatible with your Mojave Mac Pro . This is more sophisticated technology than the factory card and will support much more modern devices .

StarTech.com Mini USB Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter - 10m ( 33ft ) (model USBBT2EDR4 ) and

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StarTech.com Mini Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter - 50m ( 165ft ) ( model USBBT1EDR4 ) .

It doesn't hurt to have line of sight with BT devices and their dongles ... especially audio streams .

StarTech will have to tell you how to disable the factory BT card so their USB dongle will work . Its a terminal command . If you remove the factory internal BT card then the USB dongle will work automatically .

 

[Rossthephotographer]

replace the factory WiFi card with an Apple made BCM94322MC .
View attachment 889472

Not certain why your Bluetooth 2.1 card isn't working . It does profile . It should be compatible with Mojave . Maybe it just died or you are trying to connect to something too sophisticated for ten year old BT technology .

Excellent, really helpful.

Just had another look. The bluetooth is showing up now. Not sure if when I looked the other day I was getting mixed up with WiFi or it has just suddenly sprang to life. I think I do remember looking at BT in system preferences. Still won't connect with my iPhone though. Connects to a mouse just fine.

Do you think a bluetooth dongle would allow me to better connect with my iPhone/iPad or do they not transmit data?

In my main Mac (in my signature) I have a 'Apple WiFi 802.11ac & Bluetooth 4.2 Upgrade Kit Adapter' https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262864275416

I'm wondering whether to get another of those for the backup Mac (the one without WiFi) or get the wifi card you mention and a BT dongle. I also don't know if the BT dongles would support Handoff.

I've seen this one by StarTech.com: https://shop.bt.com/products/starte...ss-1-edr-wireless-dongle-usbbt1edr4-93HJ.html

 

[Snow Tiger]

Excellent, really helpful.

Just had another look. The bluetooth is showing up now. Not sure if when I looked the other day I was getting mixed up with WiFi or it has just suddenly sprang to life. I think I do remember looking at BT in system preferences. Still won't connect with my iPhone though. Connects to a mouse just fine.

Do you think a bluetooth dongle would allow me to better connect with my iPhone/iPad or do they not transmit data?

In my main Mac (in my signature) I have a 'Apple WiFi 802.11ac & Bluetooth 4.2 Upgrade Kit Adapter' https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262864275416

I'm wondering whether to get another of those for the backup Mac (the one without WiFi) or get the wifi card you mention and a BT dongle. I also don't know if the BT dongles would support Handoff.

I've seen this one by StarTech.com: https://shop.bt.com/products/starte...ss-1-edr-wireless-dongle-usbbt1edr4-93HJ.html

It's my understanding that the family of Continuity features ( like Handoff ) require both an Apple branded WiFi and BT Card , installed in a compatible interface . Continuity uses a combo WiFi and BT wireless signal for stability and connectivity . BT technology by itself has an awful reputation in the computer industry .

Although a StarTech BT USB dongle should help with at least Airdrop , according to their techs . I'm not certain why .

If you really love your Mac and want to give her the best , it is possible to upgrade to an 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.x internal Apple branded card with external antennas which will provide much better Continuity feature support and signal strength than the products listed above . It is not the easiest upgrade in the world to install and involves some surgery . Since you already upgraded a cMP with a similar kit , I'd say you can handle this .

Here's what a Mac I built with this upgrade looks like . Signal strength went through the roof . Or at least the ceiling , literally .

I'll see if I can obtain some pictures of the mod of the logic board . I did some cool things to make it durable .

 

[Rossthephotographer]

I wish I had the same success with the bluetooth. Mine is a single antenna where the wire goes behind the graphics card and the aerial on the backplate. I might check the connections again. They look ok, but maybe I should try and unplug and plug back in. I haven't messed with it since I installed it as the connections are very fiddly and fragile.

All my drive bays are full up by the way.

I based the upgrade off of this video:

I have also noticed that this Anker aluminmium 4 port USB3 hub seems to interfere with the bluetooth signal. There were reports of this in the Amazon reviews of the product and I can confirm that my mouse pointer becomes more stuttery when the hub is plugged in. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00INMS8VK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Snow Tiger]

I wish I had the same success with the bluetooth. Mine is a single antenna where the wire goes behind the graphics card and the aerial on the backplate. I might check the connections again. They look ok, but maybe I should try and unplug and plug back in. I haven't messed with it since I installed it as the connections are very fiddly and fragile.

I based the upgrade off of this video:

I have also noticed that this Anker aluminmium 4 port USB3 hub seems to interfere with the bluetooth signal. There were reports of this in the Amazon reviews of the product and I can confirm that my mouse pointer becomes more stuttery when the hub is plugged in. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00INMS8VK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hehehehe your best friend in the eternal war with wireless signal interference , due to anything involving USB , is called adhesive copper tape . Use it once and liberally . Copper is dense and will stop a lot of EMI . You only need a thin layer . Tape the outside of any item you think is causing interference . Just be careful as copper is electrically conductive , so you might want to use it over a layer of insulation where needed ( like on a PCB ) to avoid shorts . USB PCIe Add On cards are infamous for causing wireless signal interference . I imagine an USB hub causes similar issues , if there is a controller chip in it causing EMI .

Copper tape comes in a wide variety of widths :

 

[Rossthephotographer]

Maybe too late, I have just pulled the trigger on one of these hubs: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07ZGF73MC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The bank account has taken quite a hit this past few days! I've also ordered that wifi card you quoted above. Only £5 plus postage second hand from an eBay seller. Oh and that bluetooth dongle. One way or another I will tick all the boxes!

Love my classic Mac Pros, so flexible; it will be a very long time before I can afford the new one!

 

[Snow Tiger]

[QUOTE="Rossthephotographer, post: 28155137, member: 1095276"
Love my classic Mac Pros, so flexible; it will be a very long time before I can afford the new one!
[/QUOTE]

These rigs are almost infinitely malleable and can be upgraded with truly surprising mods .

Unfortunately , the current MP7,1 has T2 which has already made me miserable . We probably are not going to have as much luck upgrading this Mac as the cMPs .

Your cMP will last a long time if you remember two things : keep dust out of the System , especially out of the PSU . And two , thermal paste all the chips in your Mac ( the CPUs , the Northbridge Controller and all the GPUs you have installed ) with Arctic MX4 .

I just got a cMP back in my shop I originally made with MX4 paste on everything some 6 or 7 years ago . It came back because a NB heatsink push pin broke and the System was packed with tons of dust . That was enough to cause her to go offline . And also , the client wants some nice upgrades , like a bigger memory kit and a NVMe RAID array for data . All the chips are still cool , except the NB - the broken pin permitted the heatsink to separate from the NB chip and its thermal paste evaporated away ...

 

[MIKX]

Rossthephotographer

I too have an external 7 port powered USB 2.0 HUB - I ratonalised my USB 3.0 / 3.0 needs and decided that not all of my low powered USB things need USB 3.1 eg: WebCamera etc.

This external USB HUB is extremely useful.

I have a tp-link TL-WN725N WiFi dongle in the above USB 2.0 HUB which works well in Mojave 10.14.6

I also have a Bluetooth 4 dongle in one of my cMP's front USB 2.0 ports, it has never failed me.

My ASM3142 2 X Type A port USB 3.1 PCIe card does not interfere with Bluetooth at all.

Total cost for the two dongles was about ¥2,000.= US$18

 

[Rossthephotographer]

Rossthephotographer

I too have an external 7 port powered USB 2.0 HUB - I ratonalised my USB 3.0 / 3.0 needs and decided that not all of my low powered USB things need USB 3.1 eg: WebCamera etc.

This external USB HUB is extremely useful.

I have a tp-link TL-WN725N WiFi dongle in the above USB 2.0 HUB which works well in Mojave 10.14.6

I also have a Bluetooth 4 dongle in one of my cMP's front USB 2.0 ports, it has never failed me.

My ASM3142 2 X Type A port USB 3.1 PCIe card does not interfere with Bluetooth at all.

Total cost for the two dongles was about ¥2,000.= US$18

USB3 functionality would be nice, but I can forgo it for now. I do have a USB3 card installed, but I'm not sure it is working properly. That will go anyway as I have some NVMes coming and they will take up the slot the USB3 card is in. No more slots left after that! This hub should hopefully sort out my interference issues.

I look forward to getting this Bluetooth sorted when I get this dongle.

 

[Rossthephotographer]

These rigs are almost infinitely malleable and can be upgraded with truly surprising mods .

Unfortunately , the current MP7,1 has T2 which has already made me miserable . We probably are not going to have as much luck upgrading this Mac as the cMPs .

Your cMP will last a long time if you remember two things : keep dust out of the System , especially out of the PSU . And two , thermal paste all the chips in your Mac ( the CPUs , the Northbridge Controller and all the GPUs you have installed ) with Arctic MX4 .

I just got a cMP back in my shop I originally made with MX4 paste on everything some 6 or 7 years ago . It came back because a NB heatsink push pin broke and the System was packed with tons of dust . That was enough to cause her to go offline . And also , the client wants some nice upgrades , like a bigger memory kit and a NVMe RAID array for data . All the chips are still cool , except the NB - the broken pin permitted the heatsink to separate from the NB chip and its thermal paste evaporated away ...

I just gave my system a bit of a blow out after reading your post. I do do this now and again anyway, but I have never done the PSU. I didn't take it out though as I think I remember it being a right faff. I think I have removed some dust though.

I'd like to put some new paste on the CPUs, but I'm very nervous about that sort of thing. I think I read that with some trays you have to tighten a very specific number of times, whereas on newer trays it stops tightening after it reaches the correct tightness? I'd do it if I felt confident, but it terrifies me the idea to mess with it.

I've never changed the paste on mine and I have had my machine 3.5 years now. I got it from an eBay seller who had I believe done the upgrades on it himself.

As for the antenna, I bought one of these: 2x 6dBi 2.4GHz 5GHz Dual Band WiFi RP-SMA Antenna + 2x 35cm U.fl IPEX Cable R0D1 https://vod.ebay.co.uk/vod/FetchOrd...3973&transid=1947114075018&qu=1&ul_noapp=true

I took off the plastic aerial last night and put it back on again; no change.

 

[Snow Tiger]

I just gave my system a bit of a blow out after reading your post. I do do this now and again anyway, but I have never done the PSU. I didn't take it out though as I think I remember it being a right faff. I think I have removed some dust though.

Its not necessary to remove the PSU in order to clean it , but it would make things easier . Just shoot air through it on both sides at 60 PSI at a distance of 6 inches with compressed air . Alternate sides every time to loosen any stubborn dust inside . This is a really old trick to reanimate flagship Macs .

I'd like to put some new paste on the CPUs, but I'm very nervous about that sort of thing. I think I read that with some trays you have to tighten a very specific number of times, whereas on newer trays it stops tightening after it reaches the correct tightness? I'd do it if I felt confident, but it terrifies me the idea to mess with it.

You should feel terrified . The first person to perform this CPU upgrade was an experienced tech and he screwed up royally . What you need to determine first is the upgrade method the seller used with your CPU Tray . It's too complex to discuss here and there are threads at MR on the topic .

But the thermal paste of the CPUs and NB controller chip will eventually dry out to the point of failure and when that happens your Mac will go offline , so you should learn all about this maintenance unless your local tech will handle it . I recommend Arctic MX4 paste .

As for the antenna, I bought one of these: 2x 6dBi 2.4GHz 5GHz Dual Band WiFi RP-SMA Antenna + 2x 35cm U.fl IPEX Cable R0D1 https://vod.ebay.co.uk/vod/FetchOrd...3973&transid=1947114075018&qu=1&ul_noapp=true

I took off the plastic aerial last night and put it back on again; no change.

A 6 dBi antenna is a pretty good choice for an external wireless antenna for these Systems .

 

[Rossthephotographer]

I think it was on here that someone mentioned something I hadn't seen before. I had no idea that if you go to the Finder Airdrop window there was a box that would appear to ask you to turn on wifi. All the times I would have trouble with bluetooth connecting, I had never even visited this window!

On the rare occasion that Airdrop to my Mac Pro from my iPhone had worked, it possibly was either a fluke or I hadn't realised that I had WiFi on. I use a wired Ethernet connection so I don't need WiFi.

So good to have Airdrop working reliably now!!

 

[Fcis]

[QUOTE="Rossthephotographer, post: 28155137, member: 1095276"
Love my classic Mac Pros, so flexible; it will be a very long time before I can afford the new one!

These rigs are almost infinitely malleable and can be upgraded with truly surprising mods .

Unfortunately , the current MP7,1 has T2 which has already made me miserable . We probably are not going to have as much luck upgrading this Mac as the cMPs .

Your cMP will last a long time if you remember two things : keep dust out of the System , especially out of the PSU . And two , thermal paste all the chips in your Mac ( the CPUs , the Northbridge Controller and all the GPUs you have installed ) with Arctic MX4 .

I just got a cMP back in my shop I originally made with MX4 paste on everything some 6 or 7 years ago . It came back because a NB heatsink push pin broke and the System was packed with tons of dust . That was enough to cause her to go offline . And also , the client wants some nice upgrades , like a bigger memory kit and a NVMe RAID array for data . All the chips are still cool , except the NB - the broken pin permitted the heatsink to separate from the NB chip and its thermal paste evaporated away ...
[/QUOTE]
What is the best way to remove dust from my Mac Pro 5,1? I cleaned it with a towel but I still hear some small noises, will I use a vacuum cleaner or a compressor air pump or ?