MP 1,1-5,1 Which bluetooth antenna should I use for my Mac Pro 5.1?

[MacToby]

Well, I have a Mac Pro 5.1. I am very happy with the Mac, it can do everything I need for now.
However, the Bluetooth connection when my Mac is under a wooden desk really sucks!

To solve the problem, I bought a small Bluetooth antenna and harassed on the back outside of my Mac. However, this antenna is not enough, connection problems are still there and I can not connect new Bluetooth devices such as bluetooth headphones which really annoys me, because I use bluetooth headphones on my Mac all day.

So my question to you, do any of you have a Mac Pro 5.1 that is under a wooden desk with a bluetooth antenna that has no connection issues and can be used to connect new bluetooth devices without issue?

Thanks in advance for answers!

 

[Macschrauber]

I pulled the bluetooth modul from the Board and use a bt4 dongle in the keyboard usb port. works flawlessly.

 

[startergo]

I pulled the bluetooth modul from the Board and use a bt4 dongle in the keyboard usb port. works flawlessly.

I used dongle too, but in BS it only works if attached to USB HUB (some Apple Keyboards act like that, others not)

 

[h9826790]

I use external antenna for BT as well. A $1 6dBi antenna from China.

Works very well

My cMP is under the desk as well.

 

[mode11]

I've found BT reception to be problematic as well (MP under desk). I'm using an upgraded Apple BT / Wifi card, with a cable that goes to a socket on a rear slot cover. That connects to an "18dBi 2.4G WiFi antenna RP-SMA", which was a few quid from eBay. This screws into an extension with a magnetic base (bought separately for a tenner), attached to the metal frame on the underside of my glass desk.

Works pretty well, though my full-size Magic Keyboard still freaks out a bit once or twice a week (briefly turning it on/off fixes that), and my Logitech MX Master 3 isn't great over BT (slightly jittery) so I use the Unifying receiver instead, which is smooth as silk. I had previously tried a 6dBi antenna, but it wasn't sufficient. BT headphones have reasonable range with the 18dBi version.

I've heard others report similar issues with the Apple Keyboard and Logitech mouse in different contexts, so probably not an issue with the MP's BT. Note that I've got a USB 3 card and a desk-mounted USB 3 hub (usually empty / just used for backups / thumb drives); USB 3 is known to interfere with BT as it uses the same 2.4GHz frequency.

 

[MacToby]

I pulled the bluetooth modul from the Board and use a bt4 dongle in the keyboard usb port. works flawlessly.

Hey Macschrauber,

I know this is a very late reply, but what kind of bt4 dongle are you using? I had bought an 8dbi or 6dbi (I don't remember exactly) antenna because of the thread here, but unfortunately I'm still very dissatisfied with Bluetooth performance. so often my devices get disconnected at once or my Magic Mouse lags.

That's why I'm planning to buy a bt4 dongle as a last resort, so hopefully all these problems will be gone. I just looked on Amazon for bt4 dongles, but don't know which one is "good" or which one works with macOS.

Do you remember which bt4 dongle you bought?

A response from you would be greatly appreciated!

Kind regards,
Tobias

 

[Macschrauber]

a little late ;-)

this one:

CSR8510 A10:

  Product ID:    0x0001
  Vendor ID:    0x0a12  (Cambridge Silicon Radio Ltd.)
  Version:    88.91

 

[mode11]

a little late ;-)

this one:

CSR8510 A10:

  Product ID:    0x0001
  Vendor ID:    0x0a12  (Cambridge Silicon Radio Ltd.)
  Version:    88.91

Hi Macschrauber,

Do you know what the actual manufacturer / model is (e.g. TP Link UB400 etc)? Just to make it easier to identify on Amazon.

Does it work in Recovery, the OC Boot Picker etc?

Did you simply remove the data connection to the internal BT, or did you need to do something more?

Does it work plugged into one of the front USB ports, or did you need to connect it via a USB hub?

TIA.