Is BCM94360NG viable?

[hepto]

Apologies, don't want to treat this issue board like a forum, but before I purchase / be the guinea pig, wondered if anyone had used a BCM94360NG with HaC-Mini and had any success?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Broadcom-BCM94360NG-WiFi-Card-better-than-DW1560-BT4-0-Adapter-802-11ac-1200Mbps/283783627652

Did a search but could only find links to it, no reports of anyone actually using one.

[hepto]

By success, I mean having it natively supported without any changes being made to specifically support it.

[chrisallen]

I myself have not tried it but would be very interested to hear how it goes.

[crhendo]

My eBay purchase has arrived in Australia so I probably have a good chance that I will have it by the end of the week. I will report my findings as soon as I can. Hopefully somebody will beat me to it.

[crhendo]

My parcel has been halted by a Customs exception (invalid paperwork from China). I won't see it now until 19th March!

[lmshsqlc]

Basically I don't think this is an Apple Airport Card. And searching on Taobao (native AliExpress in China) there's no result about this BCM94360NG, which is very weird. The picture is not photographed but basically a drawing. With all of these, and shipping from China, I would think there's something not quite right XD.

But hope you'll have a good result. Anyway I do suggest using an Apple Card, whether if you're using a flex cable adapter or giving up a M.2 slot.

[crhendo]

I already had an Apple Airport Card, adapter and associated cables on order. My colleagues at Broadcom insist there is no such part BUT also conceded it would be easy to build using existing components. Only time will tell.

[lmshsqlc]

Interesting. I’m also looking forward to it. Very curious.

[hepto]

Curiosity has got the better of me, so just ordered one! Ordered from Aliexpress from the Fenvi official store - even if a franken-card at least made by someone reputable. Shame it will take a few weeks to get to me.

[spasma]

Ive ordered it as well a week ago. Hopefully it will be sent soon with the extended shipping times due to the cov19. I'll keep you updated it I'm the first one who will get their hands on it 👍

[hepto]

The race is on!

[we11adam]

TL;DR: Yes! I can confirm that BCM94360NG works really well! NO PATCH NEEDED!

After reading this comment https://github.com/osy86/HaC-Mini/issues/191#issuecomment-588492084 and carefully inspecting what the listing says, I decided to give it a shot. Because the listing says the seller is based in the USA, I was hoping the card to arrive in at least two weeks. Oddly enough, the seller is actually based in Shenzhen and the card was shipped out by SF-Express the very next business day. Within 24h I have received this card.

Upon the first boot after installation, Wi-Fi was already up on the login screen. After logging in, the system just couldn't discover my Magic Trackpad and Magic Keyboard, although my NVIDIA SHIELD TV in the next room was instantly discovered.

Of course, I wouldn't want to give up that easily. I rebooted macOS, and now everything seems to work! I even tried several reboots and everything still works like a charm, including AirDrop & Continuity!

PS: I'm on macOS Catalina 10.15.3. I haven't tested it on Windows yet (I have a dual-disk dual-boot setup) but I have no reason to think this won't on Windows.

PS2: My magic keyboard & magic trackpad works during system boot (so you can make changes to the BIOS or select a different boot device) and in the OpenCore picker UI. It's a BIG PLUS!

长话短说：BCM94360NG 在我的机器上工作得很好，不需要安装任何补丁或者驱动。

看完这条评论 https://github.com/osy86/HaC-Mini/issues/191#issuecomment-588492084 并研究了商品页面的描述之后我立即下了个单。本来以为卖家是美国的，东西到手要半个月了，没想到卖家在深圳，第二天就顺丰包邮发出来了，次日晚上收到。

安装后的第一次启动，在登录界面上 Wi-Fi 已经自动边上了。登录之后，系统没有认出来我的 Magic Trackpad 和 Magic Keyboard，但是隔壁房间的 NVIDIA SHIELD TV 直接就认出来了。

我尝试重启了一下系统，重启完了之后键盘和触摸板都能认出来了，而且工作得很正常。我又尝试了几次重启，都没有问题，irDrop 和 Continuity 也是完美了！

另外系统版本是 10.5.3，还没有测试 Windows（双硬盘双启动），但是相信不会有问题。可以直接 用蓝牙键盘按 F2 进入 BIOS 或者在 OpenCore 的菜单里移动选择。

[hepto]

That's great news - thanks for the report @welladamm!

One thing I was excited for was the ability to use a bluetooth keyboard during boot to get to BIOS ("HID Proxy" mode) - this card should support that, like Macs do. Do you think you could test that please?

[we11adam]

That's great news - thanks for the report @welladamm!

One thing I was excited for was the ability to use a bluetooth keyboard during boot to get to BIOS ("HID Proxy" mode) - this card should support that, like Macs do. Do you think you could test that please?

I forgot to mention this: yes, my magic keyboard & magic trackpad works during system POST phase and in OpenCore Picker. I can press F2 to enter BIOS and make changes to it without any problem.

I will amend my comment with this information.

[chrisallen]

@welladamm Do you happen to know if Apple Watch unlocking works?

[crhendo]

@welladamm Many thanks for the update! @chrisallen Yes, Apple Watch unlocking is the current "ultimate" test. I look forward to a successful test.

[aescolastico]

Im surprised the community wasnt aware of these cards. Its the perfect solution for the nuc. I started eyeing them in november! Wish I said something sooner.

[goodbest]

That's great news - thanks for the report @welladamm! One thing I was excited for was the ability to use a bluetooth keyboard during boot to get to BIOS ("HID Proxy" mode) - this card should support that, like Macs do. Do you think you could test that please?

I forgot to mention this: yes, my magic keyboard & magic trackpad works during system POST phase and in OpenCore Picker. I can press F2 to enter BIOS and make changes to it without any problem.

I will amend my comment with this information.

Thank you for the updates, @welladamm

Can you share the vendor_id & device_id & sub device id or your 94360NG? This can be found in the hackintosh tools, or in the "About this mac".

If you can take the following screenshots (like the ones below) for you card, that will be very helpful: http://7.daliansky.net/DW1820A/Misc.png http://7.daliansky.net/DW1820A/Bluetooth.png http://7.daliansky.net/DW1820A/WI-FI.png http://7.daliansky.net/DW1820A/AirPortBrcm4360.png

你能帮忙分享一下系统里显示的这个网卡的设备号、子设备号嘛？ 可以通过hackintosh tool或者关于本机。 一些示例截图如以上链接

[we11adam]

@goodbest as you requested:

[glendonyeo]

@welladamm i couldn't find any related link with taobao, guess this one is some custom made model?

[goodbest]

You can see a physical photo of this card, shown in this post

I think the FV at the bottom stands for FenVi, so I guess it's a home-made model. I'm quite curious why they don't sell this card in taobao, China.

[glendonyeo]

@goodbest i am trying to contact the seller at taobao, according to them is out of stock ATM

will update again if any news

[JeffreyVIP]

@welladamm Based on the PCI ID you provided, both WiFi and bluetooth use same chipset as Apple. WiFi : 0x14E4 : 0x43A0, BCM 4360, same as BCM94360CS2 Bluetooth: 0x05AC : 0x828D, same as BCM94360CD

[diskdude]

Looks like a great card, am looking to purchase one as well. Thanks for posting about it.

Are you able to report whether it remembers device pairings (e.g. Magic Keyboard + Mouse) after a power cycle, like Apple's WiFi/BT combo cards, so that we can use such HIDs for FileVault Preboot?

[JeffreyVIP]

Tested.

In BIOS GUI, both below bluetooth keyboard and mouse works perfectly.

Press fn+F2 enter into BIOS though the chance is low due to fast post procedure(limited time window to activate bluetooth and press F2).

Logitech M557 bluetooth Logitech K760 keyboard

Issue: seems antenna connector is a little bit smaller than original intel WiFi card so the antenna connection is not tight. This is result tested on two BCM94360NG cards.

Trying to replace them with the seller.

[crhendo]

I can confirm that unlocking with Apple Watch works as it should.

@JeffreyVIP I can also confirm that the WiFI Antenna Connector is problematic and won't click firmly into place. Strangely, the AUX connector is OK?!

[BCMOSX86]

a regular product. Perfect solution

I think other some diy solution

[crhendo]

@BCMOSX86 Strange, this is very similar to the fix my eBay seller offered. Here is my reply:-

I am an engineer by trade so I have already tried your suggested approach using a micro clamp. The problem is that even with the clamp in place, the interior pin does not make a solid connection with the internal receptacle and WIFI reception is reduced to approx 8 metres. If I apply any more pressure to the clamp, I fear that I might permanently damage the NUC IPEX4 plug.

[hepto]

Hmm, I haven't received mine yet and now I am worried about how to secure the antenna if it is loose. Where does one get a plastic guard like that?

Bit of a shame, thought this was the perfect card as I didn't really want to have to do any 'hacks' - in software or physical!

[glendonyeo]

This should be known issues according to seller.

Their official shop at taobao offering me the same solution on this

Maybe consider to re-solder a standard IPEX 4 connector on the wireless card ?

[we11adam]

@glendonyeo mind contacting me on Telegram, please? https://t.me/welladam

[we11adam]

@hepto replacing the stock card is a hack itself :)

[hepto]

Maybe consider to re-solder a standard IPEX 4 connector on the wireless card ?

Unfortunately I don't have those sort of skills ...

@hepto replacing the stock card is a hack itself :)

Ha, true though I suppose it is a user replaceable part like RAM / SSD.

[glendonyeo]

@hepto just find any electronic shop, or laptop repair shop that offer soldering service should do

i don't think it will cost too much

anyway atm this should be the easiest solution, just handle with care and clamp it

looking forward for your review

[BCMOSX86]

please don't replacing the stock card .(Easily damaged the card adapter. Replace the new antenna） seller said: if it is a new connector,it is normal to button it up. Since It connected to the intel WiFi card , it will be loose

Contact the seller, the seller said in April will be free with antenna protection buttons

If you have already bought something and need it, contact the seller and say it will be given away for free

[aescolastico]

I just used the tape that originally came on the stock card. It’s held up for a few months now.

[crhendo]

Unfortunately, the plastic mod will have little or no impact on the problem. Even the smallest bump to the NUC causes the IPEX4 cable to simply fall off.

After a long email battle with the eBay supplier they finally admitted that there is a fault with the card AND the earliest a replacement card would be available in May AND this could be further delayed by the spread of the Coronavirus. Response was as follows:-

_integrity-e:
Hi! Chris, I understand your concern regarding this Order. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Due to our China is facing the epidemic and we could not send you the best one, because the item is the same batch of that time. I deeply apologized again for this has caused you! And our new batch of this item needs to wait until May normally. So could you please return it back to us and we will refund you directly? I will give you the shipping address and we will pay for the shipping fee for you after you told us the fee. If you have any problems please feel free to contact us. I will keep following up until we have helped you solve this problem! Looking forward to your reply! Your sincerely! Angel:)

[chirimar]

Hey Folks I got the BCM94360NG off Amazon and got it installed - those cables were definitely a bit tricky to get to snap and stick but got that going.

• [x] 10.15.3 + Hac-Mini 2.6 - Wifi & BT icons showed up magically!
• [x] Wifi works - Its about 40-60% of the LAN speeds but its passable.
• [ ] Bluetooth - It switches on but it doesn't find anything (headphones, iphone or anything else).
• [ ] Apple Watch - 'Use your Apple Watch to unlock...' shows up in Security & Privacy but it doesn't ever get checked successfully.

Not sure what I am doing wrong, but would love to get Bluetooth working with this card. Any help would be awesome!

[we11adam]

Hey Folks I got the BCM94360NG off Amazon and got it installed - those cables were definitely a bit tricky to get to snap and stick but got that going.

• [x] 10.15.3 + Hac-Mini 2.6 - Wifi & BT icons showed up magically!
• [x] Wifi works - Its about 40-60% of the LAN speeds but its passable.
• [ ] Bluetooth - It switches on but it doesn't find anything (headphones, iphone or anything else).
• [ ] Apple Watch - 'Use your Apple Watch to unlock...' shows up in Security & Privacy but it doesn't ever get checked successfully.

Not sure what I am doing wrong, but would love to get Bluetooth working with this card. Any help would be awesome!

It didn't work upon the first boot for me but a reboot did the trick. Have you tried a reboot?

[chirimar]

It didn't work upon the first boot for me but a reboot did the trick. Have you tried a reboot?

Thanks for the reply. Yup, rebooted and shut down etc also.

[diskdude]

My card arrived today, and I've got the same problems:

1. Loose antenna cables. I used Duck Tape to secure them, and hope it withstands the high internal temps.

2. Bluetooth doesn't work. (WiFi works perfectly.) I can see the BT device in the USB Device Tree; see dump below. It only showed after I had enabled BT in the BIOS.

EDIT: BT is now working! I rebooted and in the BIOS, de-selected the legacy USB support, and on boot, Bluetooth was working. :)

[chirimar]

Tried the Legacy USB support deselection also.

@diskdude - Did you enable 'Bluetooth' in the BIOS as well? I tried enabling that earlier but didn't fix.

[diskdude]

Tried the Legacy USB support deselection also.

I just changed it back to legacy USB, and rebooted back into macOS Catalina... it still works!

So the strange "reboot remedy" really works somehow? Is there a firmware update going on during a reboot as alluded here?

@diskdude - Did you enable 'Bluetooth' in the BIOS as well? I tried enabling that earlier but didn't fix.

Yes, I had BT enabled in the BIOS when it did not work, and still enabled now that it is working; toggling it didn't appear to change anything.

[goodbest]

@diskdude @chirimar Before installing the new card, what kexts do you have? And have you removed them after you install your new card?

I think switching the settings in BIOS somehow triggers the kernelcache to re-build.

Maybe you can try running sudo kextcache -i / to manually rebuild such kernelcache. (remove unnecessary kexts first)

[diskdude]

Before installing the new card, what kexts do you have? And have you removed them after you install your new card?

Do you mean modifying the OC kext config, or modifying any of the macOS system kexts? I did neither for it to magically start working.

I also do not (did not) have any of the BRCM kexts that are normally used for getting non-Apple Broadcom USB dongles working with macOS.

I think switching the settings in BIOS somehow triggers the kernelcache to re-build.

That's interesting. In my case, I do not know if my kernel cache was rebuilt on a reboot: despite having the -v kernel argument added to my OC, I've not been able to get verbose boot working on my machine. Aside from that, I thought that all of the Apple macOS kexts are included in the kernel cache by default anyhow?

[chirimar]

Thanks for trying to help out @goodbest @diskdude

I don't remember putting in any extra kexts but I did the rebuild manually and no change so far. Did a couple of reboots and hard power recycles too.

Wifi is fine still - no change in wifi despite flagging off/on in the BIOS.

[we11adam]

@chirimar I would recommend a clean re-installation just to be sure the card has no hardware problem.

[chirimar]

@welladamm - You mean hardware re-installation? I did that 3 times already. Once with the plastic cover that came with it, once with the black tape that was with the original card and now with a different lighter tape.

[goodbest]

One quick question: @chirimar 's system can detect the BT, but cannot find any BT device。 Doesn't that means the BT signal is bad for his card, given the fact that 94360NG has pool connection with the antennas?

You can try open the nuc box (removing the metal that covers the card), and put BT device very close to the wifi card to check if BT device can be found.

PS. you can also try switching the two antenna to test.

[chirimar]

I am not sure if this is the right folder, but this was under /Library/EFI-Backups/OC...

If there's a different folder I should be looking at, pls let me know.

@goodbest - ok I will try that now.

[diskdude]

When my BT wasn't working, System Report didn't show any of the above: the Bluetooth section was blank, and it said "no information" or something similar. In System Preferences, there was no Bluetooth icon either.

If you see the System Preferences BT icon, then it might be your BT chipset is working, but you're just unable to connect with any devices -- others' advice to check your antenna connections seems like a good path forward Hope you get it working!