Another question, how did you figure it out, which one of the wires plugged to the old bluetooth card is D+-. I can't rely on the color layout because though i also have a late 2009 iMac there is no purple wire leading to the bluetooth module.
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iM 4,1-14,4 iMac (late 2007 to mid 2011) 802.11ac + BT 4.0 internal upgrade
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Another question, how did you figure it out, which one of the wires plugged to the old bluetooth card is D+-. I can't rely on the color layout because though i also have a late 2009 iMac there is no purple wire leading to the bluetooth module.
If the adapter is the same the wires are probably the same. Maybe looking at ifixit you can compare the wiring.
https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/krl6Gvi3PCdSWayS.huge
But to answer the question, I assumed based on what i've read that red was hot (3.3v) and black ground. That only left the purple and grey - as once you cut the wire there are only 4 inside - red black purple grey...
https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/krl6Gvi3PCdSWayS.huge
But to answer the question, I assumed based on what i've read that red was hot (3.3v) and black ground. That only left the purple and grey - as once you cut the wire there are only 4 inside - red black purple grey...
I am in similar position as Cordes. While I am interested in the upgrade, the instruction seem a bit missing in-between. Which antenna wire do I need to buy beside the OSXwifi kit? Is the red wire soldered to the card extra? Is there ways to install without soldering? Will it work for 2011 iMac with 21.5" screen? Thank you.
Czo,
I have achieved (mostly) success...
I followed your photo position guide and was able to determine my wire color combination. It is odd that all of the same model iMacs don't use the same wiring colors. I double checked with a voltmeter and all is good. I connected the 3.3V Bluetooth power to the adapter card similar to how you did. The black ground wire turns out to be connected to the shielding of the cable itself and mine was properly connected/grounded to the system. The rest of the wires were just as you reported (although different colors). I can now independently turn on and off WiFi and Bluetooth and enter recovery mode with Control-R with a wireless keyboard.
For WiFi:
I can only connect to 802.11 N, G, etc networks, but not AC networks (at least not my Airport Time Capsule - which is the only AC option I have). I can connect to my iPhone 5 WiFi hotspot .
For Bluetooth:
I cannot pair my iPhone 5 (iOS 8.1) to my 2011 iMac via Bluetooth but I can pair my iPad 4 to it. I also have a 2013 iMac and have no problems pairing the iPhone with that. The iPhone and 2011 iMac do not show up in their respective Bluetooth apps in discovery mode. BUT...Handoff, AirDrop, and iPhone Bluetooth hotspot functions all work fine on the 2011 iMac despite not being able to pair the iPhone, which is a little strange.
So I still have some jittery magic mouse movement from time to time (the 2013 iMac doesn't have that) and I cannot use 802.11 AC, but everything else is a success. I have to assume that the AC issue is a driver or firmware issue which I will probably not find a solution for.
Does anyone else have an intermittently sluggish or jittery magic mouse after doing this upgrade? I swapped out the mouse with my 2013 iMac and the condition continues with that mouse too so it's not the mouse.
I have achieved (mostly) success...
I followed your photo position guide and was able to determine my wire color combination. It is odd that all of the same model iMacs don't use the same wiring colors. I double checked with a voltmeter and all is good. I connected the 3.3V Bluetooth power to the adapter card similar to how you did. The black ground wire turns out to be connected to the shielding of the cable itself and mine was properly connected/grounded to the system. The rest of the wires were just as you reported (although different colors). I can now independently turn on and off WiFi and Bluetooth and enter recovery mode with Control-R with a wireless keyboard.
For WiFi:
I can only connect to 802.11 N, G, etc networks, but not AC networks (at least not my Airport Time Capsule - which is the only AC option I have). I can connect to my iPhone 5 WiFi hotspot .
For Bluetooth:
I cannot pair my iPhone 5 (iOS 8.1) to my 2011 iMac via Bluetooth but I can pair my iPad 4 to it. I also have a 2013 iMac and have no problems pairing the iPhone with that. The iPhone and 2011 iMac do not show up in their respective Bluetooth apps in discovery mode. BUT...Handoff, AirDrop, and iPhone Bluetooth hotspot functions all work fine on the 2011 iMac despite not being able to pair the iPhone, which is a little strange.
So I still have some jittery magic mouse movement from time to time (the 2013 iMac doesn't have that) and I cannot use 802.11 AC, but everything else is a success. I have to assume that the AC issue is a driver or firmware issue which I will probably not find a solution for.
Does anyone else have an intermittently sluggish or jittery magic mouse after doing this upgrade? I swapped out the mouse with my 2013 iMac and the condition continues with that mouse too so it's not the mouse.
Thanks for sharing the update. I have ordered everything and hope to mimic what you and Czo did. Do you have any words of wisdom about connecting the 3.3v to the adapter card? I get the idea with Czo's photo, but wonder if you have any additional details to share. Did you use 24g stranded wire? Also, did you re-use the BT antenna in place? I ordered the 12" pigtail extender to hopefully re-use it in place and just extend from the new card. How do you know which antenna connects to which port on the card? Any advice on these questions would be appreciated. And I will report back mouse performance after I complete the upgrade. Thanks!
Cordes, I bought a 3 foot usb extension cable from Radio Shack and cut it in half. I soldered one end to the old internal Bluetooth cable after removing the connector. I took the other half of the usb cable and soldered the green, white and red wires as shown in the photos. The opposite ends of the usb cable half can then be plugged into each other and used as the new connector. There is a small hole in the adapter card at each pin location just big enough for the usb cable's red wire. The hole also places the end of the wire in the perfect position to be able to solder it to the last pin on the card.
Next to the hole where the red wire passes through to the front, I scraped away an small section of the printed circuit leading up to the hole and red wire. This effectively disconnected the last pin position from its original 3.3v source and prevented me from having to do any desoldering.
I left the black wire of the usb cable disconnected and taped out of place. It is not needed in this configuration.
You will also notice that I used superglue to attach the nut and spacer to the adapter card. This helps when installing everything back in.
Good luck! Let me know how your mouse works.
Next to the hole where the red wire passes through to the front, I scraped away an small section of the printed circuit leading up to the hole and red wire. This effectively disconnected the last pin position from its original 3.3v source and prevented me from having to do any desoldering.
I left the black wire of the usb cable disconnected and taped out of place. It is not needed in this configuration.
You will also notice that I used superglue to attach the nut and spacer to the adapter card. This helps when installing everything back in.
Good luck! Let me know how your mouse works.
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Photo of front of adapter card.
BTW, the WiFi antennas are labeled with marks corresponding to their number. I bought another antenna from OSXWiFi to use as the Bluetooth antenna and mounted it at the top of the iMac. I left the old Bluetooth antenna disconnected in place. I wonder if the new antenna reception is intermittent and that is causing my occasional mouse issues.
BTW, the WiFi antennas are labeled with marks corresponding to their number. I bought another antenna from OSXWiFi to use as the Bluetooth antenna and mounted it at the top of the iMac. I left the old Bluetooth antenna disconnected in place. I wonder if the new antenna reception is intermittent and that is causing my occasional mouse issues.
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Thanks, rcf362b! Your info and photos are very helpful. I expect to get my parts early next week. Hopefully by the end of next weekend, I will be able to report status, including mouse functionality. Hopefully your mouse issue is only a matter of antenna placement. The article in "The Apple Lounge" on this topic suggests that for good reception, the antenna should be located where the Apple logo on the front cover will be.
I have not previously opened my iMac, so I've been depending on photos and explanations here and the photos and instructions on ifixit.com in order to plan the upgrade. Removing the glass and display to get to everything looks to be fairly straightforward from ifixit. I'd appreciate any advice anyone has regarding the use of a paperclip or similar to lift the display. Hopefully the process as noted in ifixit becomes self evident after removing the glass and screws. Thanks again.
I have not previously opened my iMac, so I've been depending on photos and explanations here and the photos and instructions on ifixit.com in order to plan the upgrade. Removing the glass and display to get to everything looks to be fairly straightforward from ifixit. I'd appreciate any advice anyone has regarding the use of a paperclip or similar to lift the display. Hopefully the process as noted in ifixit becomes self evident after removing the glass and screws. Thanks again.
No 
But, i'm using CH1 (Channel 1) antenna for bluetooth. It's seems to two antenna enough for WiFi. Yesterday successfully tested Handoff and Instant Hotspot with iPhone 5S, and the iMac connected to the network via 2.4GHz WiFi. So I think, two antenna enough for wifi, and the third antenna can be connected to the bluetooth connector (3)
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Which antenna using for bluetooth? I can pair BT with my Magic Mouse, Apple Keyboard, HP Touchpad tablet, PocketLOOX PDA, Palm PDA and my 4S and 5S. Bluetooth connections seems to stable for me. I'm using wireless keyboard and magic mouse everyday.
I don't have any AC compatible WiFi device. My router only supports 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n. Only one of my devices support 5GHz, so i tested 5GHz functionality with internet sharing to my HP Touchpad. It's seems to be fine with two antenna connected to the WiFi.
But, i'm using CH1 (Channel 1) antenna for bluetooth. It's seems to two antenna enough for WiFi. Yesterday successfully tested Handoff and Instant Hotspot with iPhone 5S, and the iMac connected to the network via 2.4GHz WiFi. So I think, two antenna enough for wifi, and the third antenna can be connected to the bluetooth connector (3)
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Which antenna using for bluetooth? I can pair BT with my Magic Mouse, Apple Keyboard, HP Touchpad tablet, PocketLOOX PDA, Palm PDA and my 4S and 5S. Bluetooth connections seems to stable for me. I'm using wireless keyboard and magic mouse everyday.
I don't have any AC compatible WiFi device. My router only supports 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n. Only one of my devices support 5GHz, so i tested 5GHz functionality with internet sharing to my HP Touchpad. It's seems to be fine with two antenna connected to the WiFi.
I am using iMac mid-2011 21' model, wonder if any brave soul had done the upgrade and willing to share the experience?
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I'm still waiting on shipment/delivery from OSXWiFi. In the meantime, I decided if I was going to open up my iMac, I might as well add an SSD, so I have successfully completed that project. But at least that didn't involve cutting any wires and doing any soldering! I must say the wires and components are smaller and more delicate than I expected, but I'm brave/foolish enough to give it a try.
I can tell that the 12" antenna pigtail I purchased in hope of reusing the existing bluetooth antenna is just a bit short, so I did go ahead and order a new antenna from OSXWiFi, too. Hopefully I can place it where it will be effective for mouse, etc.
Others have reported different wire colors going to the current bluetooth card. I can confirm that the top wire goes to the shielding. I will assume that regardless of colors, they are positioned as in the diagram that Czo has shared. I have attached a photo of mine.
Once I get my order from OSXWiFi, I'll give it a go and report back.
Attachments
I've got a Late 2009 27" iMac and just got my kit from OSXWiFi. It looks like ekroy has figured out that we have to run USB D+ and D- data signals from somewhere to the new card. I don't want to cut and solder wires in my computer. I'd much rather have a nice adapter that I can always revert back to stock if desired or needed. With that in mind I just ordered two Bluetooth modules for $5 each. Maybe I can break it down and use the on board connector to make an adapter cable.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-27-iM...luetooth_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item20ea57bc3e
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-27-iM...luetooth_Adapters_Dongles&hash=item20ea57bc3e
Hi Czo,
I am planning to do the same WiFi-Bluetooth upgrade as you on my 27" 2011 iMac!
But I don't get one thing. You said you put a red wire from the adapter card to the Bluetooth connector. To where do you connect that at the BL connector? Do I have to cut the connector off?
Is the USB D+ and D- not enough when you connect it to the adapter card?
Or is adding the red wire solving the issue Bl is not working when booting up..?
Thank you!
Hi
I just did this mod to my iMac 27inch 2011 Model.
I used the following parts
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390961471442?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191110158624?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I connect the D+ and D- to the circuit board as it was already confirmed they are not there. I had to scrape the green coating off the tracks and solder directly to the board.
The system worked fine for a cost of $50. This is way cheaper than purchasing at OSX WiFi.
Handoff worked immediately with no issues, I could handoff between my iPad and iMac instantly. There were no software changes required at all, it was basically plug and play!
Wireless AC connected without an issue and nice and fast.
What I found to be an issue which I am now working on.
1. This adapter card connects the Bluetooth and Wireless power together, so when disabling the wireless from the system settings the bluetooth is also disabled - Not nice since you have to plug a USB mouse into the back and turn it back on.
2. There are no simple locations for the D+ and D- (and now the Bluetooth Power) to solder onto the adapter. Scraping the green coating and soldering to the tracks is the only method.
My next steps to fix the power issue is connect the power from the old Bluetooth to the new bluetooth and cut the track so the WiFi power and Bluetooth Power are not joined together. Simple enough.
So in summary, everything works perfectly for about $50. This was significantly easier to do than I had thought. I wouldn't want to have paid $100 from OSX WiFi and had to do similar work.
If anyone wants I can summarise with pictures the whole process. I used this thread and a few others so that I could verify the adapter board that I received was OK.
I just did this mod to my iMac 27inch 2011 Model.
I used the following parts
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390961471442?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191110158624?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I connect the D+ and D- to the circuit board as it was already confirmed they are not there. I had to scrape the green coating off the tracks and solder directly to the board.
The system worked fine for a cost of $50. This is way cheaper than purchasing at OSX WiFi.
Handoff worked immediately with no issues, I could handoff between my iPad and iMac instantly. There were no software changes required at all, it was basically plug and play!
Wireless AC connected without an issue and nice and fast.
What I found to be an issue which I am now working on.
1. This adapter card connects the Bluetooth and Wireless power together, so when disabling the wireless from the system settings the bluetooth is also disabled - Not nice since you have to plug a USB mouse into the back and turn it back on.
2. There are no simple locations for the D+ and D- (and now the Bluetooth Power) to solder onto the adapter. Scraping the green coating and soldering to the tracks is the only method.
My next steps to fix the power issue is connect the power from the old Bluetooth to the new bluetooth and cut the track so the WiFi power and Bluetooth Power are not joined together. Simple enough.
So in summary, everything works perfectly for about $50. This was significantly easier to do than I had thought. I wouldn't want to have paid $100 from OSX WiFi and had to do similar work.
If anyone wants I can summarise with pictures the whole process. I used this thread and a few others so that I could verify the adapter board that I received was OK.
I have ordered the same adapter as yours a week ago and still waiting the shipments. It would be great if you can share some pictures of the whole process. Thnx
thank you a lot
hey thank you so much, i have been seeing this adapter too. but i am not so brave to do it.
could u please upload some photo of how did u do it, and i am do not know if the airport card with bluetooth (BCM94360CD) dose it need more power, because the imac bluetooth 2.1 is with a power input.
sorry for my english
hey thank you so much, i have been seeing this adapter too. but i am not so brave to do it.
could u please upload some photo of how did u do it, and i am do not know if the airport card with bluetooth (BCM94360CD) dose it need more power, because the imac bluetooth 2.1 is with a power input.
sorry for my english
hey thank you so much, i have been seeing this adapter too. but i am not so brave to do it.
could u please upload some photo of how did u do it, and i am do not know if the airport card with bluetooth (BCM94360CD) dose it need more power, because the imac bluetooth 2.1 is with a power input.
sorry for my english
No it was plug and play. The bluetooth was all that I need to modify. I will upload the photos,
I just ordered a connecter so will be a few days as I hate cutting old connecters inside my iMac. This connector I will cut off the circuit board and connect to my wires si it will be truly all plug in. Solder three wires to this connector to the adapter board and if I ever need to take my iMac in for anything I can easily just unplug and reconnect the old stuff as nothing would be modified.
After soldering I used Hot Glue gun to keep the wires from moving.
I will create a PDF - once I get the other connector and get some better pics, this android phone takes bad pics!
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Upgrade imac mid 2011
I have a model like you. I bought it and I'm currently unknown solder it in any position. And where it ends sources. You can shoot better. the D + D- and weld end where it is connected to the source?. I would like to thank you very much if you do that.
I have a model like you. I bought it and I'm currently unknown solder it in any position. And where it ends sources. You can shoot better. the D + D- and weld end where it is connected to the source?. I would like to thank you very much if you do that.
Thanks to everyone for your help!
Hello.
I just wanted to thank everyone that has posted their ideas in upgrading the bluetooth card / wireless adapter. I have completed my upgrade without cutting the connector off the original bluetooth adapter. It has taken me a bit of research but I wanted to share with everyone the components I used and some pictures of the completed product.
I purchased a couple of original iMac bluetooth cards from ebay for around $5.00 each to see if I could get the connector off the bluetooth card to wire up to the OSXWifi adapter. The best way I found to get the connector off was to use this ChipQuick SMD kit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019UZP7I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Using this makes removal of the connector much easier. There are several Youtube views you can watch on how to use the product. It works great -- I destroyed two different connectors before getting this.
Next I found this PCB to mount the connector to.
http://www.schmartboard.com/index.asp?page=products_partnum&id=450
The pins on the connector will align up perfectly. Cut the board that has 8 pins in half and epoxy the bottom of the connector the circuit board to make sure it doesn't move. Then solder the pins to the traces.
I used a three conductor cable and soldered directly to the OSXWifi board for the USB +/ -Data and Vcc power connections. I cut the trace on the card going to pin 1 and connected a small wire directly to pin 1 as others have stated in-order to control the power to the WIFI card and bluetooth. I then wrapped the new connector assembly with heat shink tubing.
The OSXWifi board does not have a mounting hole to correctly mount to the right side of the iMac, so I made a small bracket with flexible metal to attach to the left side mounting hole on the OSXWifi card and this provide a secure connection without using zip ties.
Next the antenna connector - I wanted to use the original iMac antenna but on the 27" iMac the 12" antenna extension will not work. I found this 24" extension that works perfectly and is also only $6.00.
http://www.data-alliance.net/servlet/-strse-757/U.FL-I-dsh-PEX-HiRose-extension/Detail
I have been using my new card for about two days and has been working great. Thanks everyone for your posts and I hope this information will help others in the forum.
Hello.
I just wanted to thank everyone that has posted their ideas in upgrading the bluetooth card / wireless adapter. I have completed my upgrade without cutting the connector off the original bluetooth adapter. It has taken me a bit of research but I wanted to share with everyone the components I used and some pictures of the completed product.
I purchased a couple of original iMac bluetooth cards from ebay for around $5.00 each to see if I could get the connector off the bluetooth card to wire up to the OSXWifi adapter. The best way I found to get the connector off was to use this ChipQuick SMD kit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019UZP7I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Using this makes removal of the connector much easier. There are several Youtube views you can watch on how to use the product. It works great -- I destroyed two different connectors before getting this.
Next I found this PCB to mount the connector to.
http://www.schmartboard.com/index.asp?page=products_partnum&id=450
The pins on the connector will align up perfectly. Cut the board that has 8 pins in half and epoxy the bottom of the connector the circuit board to make sure it doesn't move. Then solder the pins to the traces.
I used a three conductor cable and soldered directly to the OSXWifi board for the USB +/ -Data and Vcc power connections. I cut the trace on the card going to pin 1 and connected a small wire directly to pin 1 as others have stated in-order to control the power to the WIFI card and bluetooth. I then wrapped the new connector assembly with heat shink tubing.
The OSXWifi board does not have a mounting hole to correctly mount to the right side of the iMac, so I made a small bracket with flexible metal to attach to the left side mounting hole on the OSXWifi card and this provide a secure connection without using zip ties.
Next the antenna connector - I wanted to use the original iMac antenna but on the 27" iMac the 12" antenna extension will not work. I found this 24" extension that works perfectly and is also only $6.00.
http://www.data-alliance.net/servlet/-strse-757/U.FL-I-dsh-PEX-HiRose-extension/Detail
I have been using my new card for about two days and has been working great. Thanks everyone for your posts and I hope this information will help others in the forum.
Attachments
Thanks for the detail and photos. Which iMac do you have? I have the Late 2009 27" version, and this doesn't look like that model from your pics.
Wow man! You're awesome. Which model iMac do you have?
You're a couple of steps ahead of me. I've got a Late 2009 27" iMac. Got the OSXWiFi kit and a couple of extra antennas. At the time I ordered no one knew if the USB D+ and D- would be present (they're not). I didn't want to cut any stock connectors either so I ordered two Bluetooth modules thinking I could use the connectors off of them to fashion a cable. They arrived today and when I saw how terribly tiny they were I felt defeated.
You've solved all the problems with the mod. That's awesome.
I wish I could just buy this adapter already made.
You're a couple of steps ahead of me. I've got a Late 2009 27" iMac. Got the OSXWiFi kit and a couple of extra antennas. At the time I ordered no one knew if the USB D+ and D- would be present (they're not). I didn't want to cut any stock connectors either so I ordered two Bluetooth modules thinking I could use the connectors off of them to fashion a cable. They arrived today and when I saw how terribly tiny they were I felt defeated.
You've solved all the problems with the mod. That's awesome.
I wish I could just buy this adapter already made.