blog/classic-mac-pro-wifi-bluetooth-upgrade

[utterances-bot]

Classic Mac Pro (5,1): Upgrade Wi-Fi to 802.11ac and Bluetooth to 4.0 - CrystalIDEA Blog

https://crystalidea.com/blog/classic-mac-pro-wifi-bluetooth-upgrade

[kleuter]

Commented by $qm on 2019-12-10

Hi nice parts sourcing :)

I've founded a different wiring for the original BT card on cMP5,1 (BCM92046MD). The Data wires are the two on the center of the connector... See image bellow 👇

[kleuter]

Commented by Glen Hoag on 2020-07-01

That is the correct wiring for the Bluetooth module. The motherboard connector wiring is different and shown correctly in the article. The Apple cable to connect the module to the motherboard is not connected one for one.

[kleuter]

Commented by Elvis Sršen Noa on 2020-12-13

Hi everybody.

I have mac pro 5.1 and i wanna upgrade bluetooth to 4.2.

Module in your tutorial is BCM94360CD and it is for 4.0 right?

Is module BCM943602CDP for 4.2?

And if i understant correctly there are two types of adapter. The one that needs soldering and the one that dont need soldering. Is there any difference? What should i get for 4.2? Thanx.

[kleuter]

Commented by Elvis Sršen Noa on 2020-12-13

Hi everybody. I have mac pro 5.1 and i wanna upgrade bluetooth to 4.2. Module in your tutorial is BCM94360CD and it is for 4.0 right? Is module BCM943602CDP for 4.2? And if i understant correctly there are two types of adapter. The one that needs soldering and the one that dont need soldering. Is there any difference? What should i get for 4.2? Thanx.

Replied by Glen Hoag:

BCM943602CDP may be Bluetooth 4.1 or 4.2, depending on the firmware on it. I'm unaware of any way to flash the 4.1 module to 4.2. (It may be possible with the right tools from Broadcom, but I haven't found anything publicly available.)

There are several adapters. The most common type requires soldering to the adapter board. The one linked in the "2019 update" has a socket on the adapter, but the other end of either of the supplied cables doesn't have the right connector for the Mac Pro system board, so you wind up soldering anyway.

There is this adapter available on eBay that has a cable pre-soldered to the adapter and the correct connector for the Mac Pro: https://www.ebay.com/itm/22... (valid as of the date of this post)

[kleuter]

Commented by Jamie Stenson on 2021-03-27

Worked well for me. I found an adapter card with a JST connection which meant that I just needed to solder 2 JST cables together, crossing the wires over so the red one connected to the black one and vice versa. It was fiddly though as the antennas kept popping off the WiFi card as the connections are on the other size of the card. I had to log out of iCloud and then log back in to get handoff working.

[kleuter]

Commented by Gerald Lucas on 2019-10-05

This is very helpful; thanks a million.

One question: if I go with the non-solder adapter card, I do not need the JST GH 1.25MM 4Pin connectors, correct? It seems as if it comes with them. Thanks.

[kleuter]

Commented by Gerald Lucas on 2019-10-05

This is very helpful; thanks a million. One question: if I go with the non-solder adapter card, I do not need the JST GH 1.25MM 4Pin connectors, correct? It seems as if it comes with them. Thanks.

Replied by Joe Popp on 2019-10-09

You will still need to solder the cable included to the JST connectors. But that is easier than soldering to the card. please note that if you solder to the JST cables the red and black need to be reversed to properly connect. I just spent 3 hours figuring this out! Check out this auction to see what I am talking about. The JST connection has the black wire on the top and not the red as they come preconfigured. I just solder red to black and black to red on the socketed cable. Hope this helps!

[mateuszdrab]

For some reason my Mac Pro has 2 WiFi antennas, will it be a good idea to leave one antenna unplugged on the BCM94360CD?

[mateuszdrab]

Nevermind, there are 3 antennas, the 3rd one was hidden nicely.

[gerard82b]

Hi, this upgrade is the same for de mac pro 4,1 (2009)?

[kleuter]

Absolutely. In fact every 4,1 can be upgraded to 5,1

[jimborae]

So I've just installed a Broadcom BCM94360CD + mPCIe adapter cards and Bluetooth is working fine. WiFi however cannot see or connect to any WiFi networks. In the About This Mac System Repot - WiFi section the card is visible/identified but the status is "Not Associated". The Mac is running Monterey 12.1.

The only thing I can think off is that I've connected the Wi-Fi antena's up in the wrong order but I've triple checked this with the guide above and seems correct and they are pluggesd in securely.

[jimborae]

So intrestingly I just put back in my Big Sur SSD and everything is working fine in cluding Wi-Fi. So is the Broadcom BCM94360CD not suppported under Monterey?

[bemoretechnical]

So intrestingly I just put back in my Big Sur SSD and everything is working fine in cluding Wi-Fi. So is the Broadcom BCM94360CD not suppported under Monterey?

On Monterey you need to uninstall the open core patcher post install patch and reinstall it, you replaced the drivers with the order hardware's driver's. .

I hope this helps

[mingmingtoo]

Hey! Thank you for the guide. Unfortuantly for me it's not working.

I have a 2009 5,1 high sierra and the wifi is not working. Wont even turn on, yet there is no "x". The bluetooth works with the mouse and the keyboard but it still does not work with airdrop.

I booted in bootcamp and the wifi is recognized, as it can see all the aviavilbe wifi networks but when I try to connect to my network it has an error and cannot connect. Do you have any idea what could be going wrong?

[mingmingtoo]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274182654116

this is the card I purchased

[bemoretechnical]

Idk about that particular card as I used a bcm94360 card and bought the adapter and everything Separately and pieced it together FYI with “are you can update to the latest macOS , I’m not sure. I am assuming you disconnected the previous Bluetooth module and this is the only one plugged in. Only thing I can suggest or think of is checking the network settings manually, also if your previous Wi-Fi card worked it may have the older kext loaded, one thing I have learned is that it won’t use both drivers at there same time, might I suggest installing Mac OS on a different disk and see if it works there. If it does then you know it’sa kext conflict and again you can reinstall or install open core post update patch to fix.

if you’re already using open core then I would suggest just running the post update patch, which may or may not require Ethernet plugged in depending on which version you have downloaded, you can download the latest version with all files is about a half of gb.

[bemoretechnical]

Also your card maybe defective.

[mingmingtoo]

Thank you <3 I contacted the seller and they said it may be defective as well. I'm returning it and waiting for the new one. (just happend) ty ty <3

[bibbli]

Worked great in my 5,1 running Mojave, thanks! On first boot, bluetooth hardware wasn't recognized, but a reboot and PRAM reset seemed to have resolved that. Was a significant challenge getting the antennas snapped on, then having to twist and turn the whole thing over to install, but do-able. Also I didn't buy the proper connector, mine was too big. So I repurposed the existing bluetooth data cable, clipping two wires and soldering extensions to connect D- and D+ wires, carefully documenting things in case I needed to reverse course. So if you're open to a little extra diligence and labor, the JST GH connectors really aren't needed, just two thin gauge wires! Excellent hack, thanks for posting!

[bibbli]

Also physically pulling out the orig bluetooth card once unplugged is, I think, optional.

[prezjo01]

Reviving this old thread...I also repurposed the old Bluetooth antenna built into the Mac Pro 4,1/5,1. It's located under the bracket where the serial number and spec configuration sticker is (on the inside). It's retained by one screw which is really tight. Since BT 4.0 is much more reliable than the BT 2.1 that came with the system, I decided it to reuse the antenna. You have to remove the housing that holds the CPU tray and take the screws out of the logic board to lift just enough to remove the antenna. It's secured with electrical tape under the chassis. Once removed, I attached it to the WiFi/BT card connector 3, and then used velcro to tape it to the inside front of the chassis. The BT has been working without a problem!

[rahpe]

I performed this upgrade on my 5,1 and wifi/bluetooth perform admirably, BUT...every couple days I have to reboot Catalina because I have lost the internet even though wifi is continuously connected. I try switching browsers but they all fail to get on the internet. Any thoughts? I'm considering a Monterey upgrade but haven't convinced myself there is any point to doing so. Thoughts on this?