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2011 MacBook Pros can support Handoff/Continuity

R

rocky29oct

macrumors member
Nov 5, 2014
34
0
dokterdok said:
The problem is either with your card or your OS. Your system also has issues with its PATH : it can't find essential utilities apparently. I'd suggest you try an OS X Recovery by holding Command-R at startup.
Click to expand...

I had exact same issue. I needed up buying another card and used CAT and it worked. So I am guessing I had a faulty card.
 
B

bubbahubba

macrumors newbie
Nov 15, 2014
1
0
Why not just use a $13 USB bluetooth dongle?

I wanted to use the Knock to Unlock app with my late '11 MBP 15", so I bought an IOGEAR USB bluetooth 4.0/BLE dongle for under $15 on Amazon (it's priced at under $13 right now; I don't see any bluetooth 4.1 dongles available and don't think it's a big deal since 4.1 is so new).

To use the dongle, plug it in and follow these directions.

tl;dr (5-minutes of your time or less):

  • Download the "Hardware IO Tools for Xcode" bundle, which requires free registration to access. Get the bundle here by searching for "bluetooth" on the downloads page.
  • Install the "Bluetooth Explorer" app by dragging it to your applications folder and run it.
  • Hit ⌘-k or select Tools>"HCI Controller Selector" from the menubar. Change the option to the listing that isn't Apple (often the name is Broadcom, a major bluetooth chipset designer)
  • Hit the "Activate" button and you're done! Anytime you remove the dongle and reinsert it you will need to activate it again.

I expect this will also work just fine for AirDrop since you're setting the dongle as the the system bluetooth device.

Enjoy living the future again! :)

P.S. Did you know our machine unofficially supports up to 16GB of RAM (double the 8GB in the specs)?!
 
matrix07

matrix07

macrumors G3
Jun 24, 2010
8,226
4,891
dokterdok said:
Good news for 2011 MacBook Air and 2011 Mac mini owners, here's a refreshed tutorial that enables Continuity on those machines as well. No hardware upgrade is required on these Macs. Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and iOS↔OSX Airdrop now fully work. I've tested it with Yosemite GM (14A379a).

Update 23.10.2014: I've released a Continuity Activation Tool. No more painful manual hacking. Link.

Update 20.10.2014: UncleSchnitty has posted a complete, up-to-date guide with a more detailed tutorial and extra troubleshooting steps. Good stuff. I recommend you head over his post instead of mine if you want to give the tutorial a shot. Tip: carefully read the whole thing first, don't rush, and stick *exactly* to what is written.
The tutorial is built on top of previous great tutorials made by forum members mikecwest and Lem3ssie (thanks guys!).
The new steps basically disable a blacklist in the Bluetooth drivers.


TUTORIAL

1. Download and install 0xED in your Applications folder, you can get it from here:
http://www.suavetech.com/0xed/

2. Download and install KextDrop in your Applications folder, you can get it from here:
http://www.cindori.org/software/kextdrop/

3. Open Terminal and type :
Code: 
sudo nvram boot-args="kext-dev-mode=1"

4. Restart your machine.

5. Open Finder, type CMD+Shift+G and go to /System/Library/Extensions/

6. Copy the files below to your desktop and then delete the originals. Make an extra backup copy of the 2 files in a separate folder just in case.
Code: 
IO80211Family.kext
IOBluetoothFamily.kext

7. Go to Terminal, and type: (exactly as below)
Code: 
ioreg -l | grep "board-id" | awk -F\" '{print $4}'

8. Your result should look like : Mac-742912EFDBEE19B3, (yours might be different.). Copy it to your clipboard (Select and CMD+C). Don't close terminal yet.

9. Open Finder and hit CMD+Shift+G, go to ~/Desktop/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/Plugins/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/MacOS
Note: if you have a different OS language, you might need to replace "Desktop" in the path with your local translation.

10. Right Click on AirPortBrcm4360, and choose OPEN WITH: OTHER: 0XED

11. Press CMD+F, search for "Mac-" (without the quotes). Make sure the search type is Text and not HEX.

12. Look at the first result, for example, it might be Mac-C3EC7CD22292981F

13. Go back to the FIND box, in the FIND field enter that first "Mac-" number that you found.

14. In the REPLACE field, enter the number you got in Terminal, (remember you left it open.)

15. Click REPLACE

16. Repeat steps 11 to 15, but this time for the last "Mac-" result that you can find in the file.

17. Click SAVE (the red circle button)

18. Open Finder and hit CMD+Shift+G to open the "Go to" popup, and go to ~/Desktop/IOBluetoothFamily.kext/Contents/MacOS

19. Right Click on IOBluetoothFamily, and choose OPEN WITH: OTHER: 0XED.

20. Press CMD+F.
In the SEARCH field type:
Code: 
MacBookAir
Click FIND NEXT.

21. You will find a block of text containing
Code: 
'MacBookAir4,1''MacBookAir4,2''Macmini5,1''Macmini5,2''Macmini5,3'
Manually replace the numbers with ones only so they all look like:
Code: 
'MacBookAir1,1''MacBookAir1,1''Macmini1,1''Macmini1,1''Macmini1,1'
Important: Be careful not to add any character while doing the replacement.

22. Click SAVE (the red circle button) and quit 0xED.

23. Open KextDrop, and Drag and drop the IO80211Family.kext that you modified into the window.

24. Click INSTALL.

25. Repeat steps 23 and 24 but for your modified IOBluetoothFamily.kext

26. Go Back to Terminal, and type the following commands. Wait for each one to finish.

Code: 
sudo kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel
Code: 
sudo kextcache -system-caches

27. Reboot. Make sure you have an Internet connection for the next steps.

28. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> GENERAL, at the bottom click ENABLE HANDOFF.

29. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> ICLOUD, click on SIGN OUT.

30. On your iOS Device, go to SETTINGS> ICLOUD and SIGN OUT.

31. Restart your Mac and iOS device.

32. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> ICLOUD, and enter your credentials to sign in.

33. On your iOS Device, go to SETTINGS> ICLOUD and SIGN IN.
[url=http://i.imgur.com/zNF1hbr.png]Image[/URL]

Edit: added more manual steps (steps 20 & 21)
Edit 2: clarified step 6 and intro, corrected typos
Click to expand...

Does this tutorial still works with Yosemite public release? Macbook Air 2011 here. I just want Continuity and AirDrop to iOS to works. Thanks.
 
D

dokterdok

macrumors member
May 6, 2010
76
0
matrix07 said:
Does this tutorial still works with Yosemite public release? Macbook Air 2011 here. I just want Continuity and AirDrop to iOS to works. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes it does but it is safer and faster to let the tool do it for you (link in the post you quoted).
 
H

haysdb

macrumors newbie
Jun 3, 2004
5
0
The installer worked for me

Ran it on my 2011 Mac Mini and now I can do handoff. Yay. Thank you.
 
matrix07

matrix07

macrumors G3
Jun 24, 2010
8,226
4,891
dokterdok said:
Yes it does but it is safer and faster to let the tool do it for you (link in the post you quoted).
Click to expand...

Please help! I'm downloading the tool and double-click it but I can't input the password here.
sudoqhPm.jpg


Nothing happened when I typed, but I can hit Ctrl+C to abort.

???
 
matrix07

matrix07

macrumors G3
Jun 24, 2010
8,226
4,891
Oops! Suddenly it now works. Very happy. I just made my first call from my Mac. :eek::eek:

So my Macbook Air can do Continuity but Apple decides their customers shouldn't be allowed to? :mad::mad::mad:
Whoever made this decision should be shot.

You, on the other hands, are an angel. :p:p:p :apple::apple::apple:

EDIT: To report further. Everything's working great. I can make a phone call on Mac. Can AirDrop from Mac to iPhone and vice versa. And Handoff works. Brilliant!
 
Last edited:
M

mohalfares

macrumors newbie
Sep 17, 2009
25
0
I bought this:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...acbook-Pro-Unibody-A1278-2012/2033102338.html

Followed the instructions in this guide to install it:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBoo...2011+AirPort-Bluetooth+Board+Replacement/5886

Then used this tool:
https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool/

Hands off and Airdrop works just fine. I'm using Macbook pro early 2011

But making calls via my iPhone 6 is not working properly. Every time I see a number on Safari and give it a call, my macbook gives a strange noisy ticking sound, then drops the call in less than 5 sec.

I'm using iOS 8.1 & Yosemite 10.10.1
 
N

norrismantooth

macrumors regular
Nov 29, 2010
185
44
Dallas, TX
hectorocks said:
I have Handoff working on my Late 2011 17" MacBook Pro with DP5 and the CAX card. I just can't figure out why calls aren't going through to it. I found out how to send SMS through the messages app (macbook has to be connected through the same WiFi network as the iPhone or tethered through its connection). I'm not sure if thats how its supposed to work but if anyone knows a way or method on how to getting working please let me know.

I bought my Airport card from here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271373774549
Click to expand...

I have the same machine, but I have not modified my Airport card or configuration. The calls started coming to my laptop by default, and I can SMS anyone with or without an iPhone/iMessage account.
 
simonsi

simonsi

Contributor
Jan 3, 2014
4,851
735
Auckland
norrismantooth said:
I have the same machine, but I have not modified my Airport card or configuration. The calls started coming to my laptop by default, and I can SMS anyone with or without an iPhone/iMessage account.
Click to expand...

Calls and SMS require iMessage and FaceTime function via WiFi, not BT which is required by the document Handoff features. Like you I have fully-functioning Calls and SMS but no document Handoff to iOS devices.
 
G

garry0325

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2014
6
0
After I replaced the hardware but didn't do any of the scripts, the bluetooth says "ON" but not able to connect to any devices such as mouse and keyboard. I checked the System Information and everything seemed normal (screenshot attached), the WiFi is running as usual.
I still follow the tutorial then, but to step 7, i got this:

Can't open CFBundle for /System/Library/Extensions/prl_hid_hook.kext.
Can't open CFBundle for /System/Library/Extensions/prl_hypervisor.kext.
Can't open CFBundle for /System/Library/Extensions/prl_netbridge.kext.
..........
IOBluetoothHIDDriver.kext - no dependency found for com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily.
Prelink failed for com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch; omitting from prelinked kernel.

I repeat step 7 before doing the disk permission repair, but still don't work.

what should i do??? thanks!

MacBook Pro 15" early 2011
 

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R

rocky29oct

macrumors member
Nov 5, 2014
34
0
Why dont you use continuity tool that is mentioned in one of the forums. I used it and it is very smooth and easy.
 
F

floyd-pinkerton

macrumors newbie
Mar 11, 2013
21
0
Doing a little testing with 10.10.2 beta, as expected the update reverted the handoff enabler.

When re enabling it with the continuity tool, all goes well until reboot, then Wi-fi states no hardware detected. Bluetooth still working. Uninstallation via the tool works restores Wi-fi.

Haven't really had time to test, but if there's anything you guys can think of that I can try, I'm more than willing to give it a go.

[UPDATE]

Seems to all be working again, I removed the backups folder from the default location and reactivated, everything seems to be good!
 
Last edited:
D

dandy-power

macrumors newbie
Aug 18, 2014
5
0
Litte Question.

I have Windows 7 installed over BootCamp.

how i can get the driver for windows ?
it does not show my wifi.
in DeviceManage i only see a Bluetooth device which search a driver.

So how i get working the new Card working on Windows?
 
F

frankc92

macrumors member
Feb 24, 2011
37
61
Hey guys - weird issue; can't get handoff / instant hotspot to work even though CAT patch appears to have successfully completed, rebooted, and logged in/out of iCloud (followed all the steps).

Airdrop works perfectly fine, and CAT was working fine before I reinstalled Yosemite and transferred settings via the Migration Assistant.

Running CAT on a Macbook Pro Early 2011, changed to CAX card.

Any input is appreciated - thanks.

Instant Hotspot/Airdrop are all "supported" as per System Information
 
D

dragonfly74uk

macrumors newbie
Dec 31, 2014
1
0
Driver for Win7 and rollback

Hi everyone,

I've recently bought a CAX card for my late 2011 MBP 15 inch, as I'm keen to take advantage of the new features in Yosemite.

I mostly use my MBP in OS X, but I do use Bootcamp to boot Windows 7 for games etc.

Before I install the new CAX card, I wondered whether people have managed to get the wifi working on Windows 7 and what steps they took? Having read the thread so far, there appears to be a few unanswered questions about this, so I'm unsure whether people have been fully successful in getting the new card up and running in Windows.

If I can't get it working in Yosemite and Windows 7, this would probably be a deal breaker for me. I assume the rollback to the old card is simply a question of reinstalling the old one and reverting the kext files to the old one? Has anyone had any issues reverting to the old card?

Thanks in advance,

Christian
 
J

jon8214

macrumors regular
Aug 25, 2012
205
9
Belfast, NI
Late 2011 13 MBP

I bought a cax card from eBay and i received it today, installed it following the fixit tut, but when i restarted my mac it took along time to load OS X and when it did start it didn't detect the airport card as wifi and bt weren't working, i tried repair permissions and also the CAT, but because the os didn't see the card the CAT failed. i am running 10.10.2 dp2, I've now reinstalled my original card, has anyone any ideas what could be wrong? thanks
 
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