MP 1,1-5,1 Can't go on line with OC in Monterey

[tracer1]

2009 5,1 & 2010 cMP with OC & Monterey. Can get on line with the 2009 but can't get mail to go online. Everything else works fine.
2010 will not go on line at all. Both using BCM94322MC ( old cards). I remember reading about a different card for Monterey but can't locate it after searching the forum. Any one know of the card for this or if there has been a fix for it. 2009 using Sapphire 7950, 2010 using GTX 680.

 

[tsialex]

Since you are using unsupported AirPortExtremes and a NVIDIA GPU, I assume that you are using OCLP, no? You will get better help with the Discord OCLP server.

Search for BCM94360CD, for the Monterey supported AirPort Extreme that you need. Below is the reference thread:

802.11ac, BT 4.0, Continuity, and Handoff Working on Mac Pro 2010

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News&Updates: (I will...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[tracer1]

That's correct, OCLP. Thanks for the help and the card.

 

[tracer1]

Do I need this also: Mini PCI-E Adapter for BCM94360CD or just the card itself? The card ("CD) appears to be plug and play but read somewhere for the mini pic-e a connection has to be soldered.

 

[tsialex]

Do I need this also: Mini PCI-E Adapter for BCM94360CD or just the card itself?

Card, adapter, cables, see the thread.

The card ("CD) appears to be plug and play but read somewhere for the mini pic-e a connection has to be soldered.

The suffix CD and CDP are for the cards with the same U.FL IPX antenna connectors as the MacPro5,1 have, but don't buy the BCM943602CDP, since this iMac AirPort Extreme model BT controller have issues with previous macOS releases, Windows 10 and Mac Pro NVRAM.

Depending on the adapter you'll buy, you'll need to do some solder, but the best adapters have connectors and you can buy a MOLEX PicoBlade cable that fits right into the original data+power BT connector and you don't need to cut or solder anything.

The thread I've linked previously have all the details in various posts, you just have to sieve the information.

Also read this one below for a more hands-on approach:

Classic Mac Pro 802.11 AC and BT 4.0 Wireless Upgrade With External Antenna

Part 1 . Here's the method and bill of materials necessary to nicely upgrade a Mac Pro 5,1 ( 2009-12 ) with a high performance wireless upgrade system . The use of external antennas greatly enhances signal strength and has the advantage of providing semi-directional control for fine tuning a...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[tracer1]

So I can't just use the card itself to go on line. I have to have the mini adapter also, correct? Also, the CD card has 4 connections ( My current one has 2), where are the other two wires? I didn't realize this was so expensive to just go online. I really don't care about air drop, etc. Is the external antenna a better choice?
Thanks

 

[tsialex]

So I can't just use the card itself to go on line. I have to have the mini adapter also, correct?

Yes.

Also, the CD card has 4 connections ( My current one has 2), where are the other two wires?

MacPro5,1 also have four antennas/cables with U.FL IPX connectors, there are one for BT and three for the Wi-Fi signals.

I didn't realize this was so expensive to just go online. I really don't care about air drop, etc.

This can be done on the cheap and it's not only for Wi-Fi, but for BT.

The AirPort Extreme Card BCM94360CD and adapter are fairly inexpensive from eBay/AliExpress, MOLEX cable is ~US$ 3 on DigiKey and is also possible to buy a similar JST cable that works from AliExpress (the main thread have the details).

You can also buy a Fenvi T919 PCIe card, it's the same BCM94360CD AirPort Extreme already installed on a PCIe card and with four external antennas, it's the alternate way to get 802.11AC for Mac Pros and hackintoshes.

Exactly like a normal BCM94360CD + adapter, the Fenvi T919 PCIe card also needs you to connect the card to the USB D+ and D- for the BT controller to work.

Is the external antenna a better choice?
Thanks

Depends, for people that the Mac Pro is located distant from the router or have several USB3.0 cables connected and suffer with 2.4GHz interference generated by the cables, like frequent MagicMouse/AirPods disconnections, the external antenna helps with the range and stability of the BT connections, but not so much if you don't have these issues.

 

[tracer1]

I sure do thank you for your help. Looking at all these links and will this be all I need. I'm not good at soldering and sure don't want to mess up my 12 core or quad core. Will these be compatible with my 2009 5,1. If I have to do any soldering, I would probably go with the external antenna. Would rather have it inside my Mac but gotta do what I have to do.

 

[tsialex]

Will these be compatible with my 2009 5,1.

It's exactly the same antennas, mini-PCIe slot, BT socket and firmware (once the BootROM is reconstructed to mid-2012 standard) from early-2009 to mid-2012.

 

[tracer1]

Model: BCM94360CD MINI PCIE WIFI CARD
Chipset:BCM94360CD
Bluetooth-compatible: 4.0
Speed:up to 1300Mbps
size: 30x50 mm
Compatible with: For 2013 21.5"/27" iMac, and other brand laptops with mini PCI-E slot unless Lenovo/ HP laptop.
Compatible with: 2012,2011,2010,2009. Mac Pro 4.1,5.1, but the Bluetooth can't work on your PC
Support System:Win7/8,8.1/Windows 10,Mac OS 10.7/Mac OS 10.8,10.9,10.10,10.12,10.14

Says the BT won't work, what else do I need.

 

[tsialex]

Model: BCM94360CD MINI PCIE WIFI CARD
Chipset:BCM94360CD
Bluetooth-compatible: 4.0
Speed:up to 1300Mbps
size: 30x50 mm
Compatible with: For 2013 21.5"/27" iMac, and other brand laptops with mini PCI-E slot unless Lenovo/ HP laptop.
Compatible with: 2012,2011,2010,2009. Mac Pro 4.1,5.1, but the Bluetooth can't work on your PC
Support System:Win7/8,8.1/Windows 10,Mac OS 10.7/Mac OS 10.8,10.9,10.10,10.12,10.14

Says the BT won't work, what else do I need.

Please read the threads I've linked, people that use these cards with MacPro5,1 in real life wrote the posts. Seller talk is frequently completely incorrect or missing crucial info.

BT won't work if you won't connect the USB data lines, since the MacPro5,1 miniPCIe-slot pin-out is missing the USB data lines required by the BT controller, Apple didn't routed USB signals to the miniPCIe-slot when they designed the backplane in 2008-ish, back then the WiFi cards didn't yet have the BT controller incorporated.

Since the AirPort Extreme card that you gonna buy was released much later and already have the BT controller on the same PCB, you have to connect the USB data lines from the backplane BT connector via the MOLEX cable, to the mini-PCIe format adapter. That's how you get the BT controller of the AirPort Extreme BCM94360CD to work with a MacPro5,1. If BT didn't worked with our Mac Pros, no one here would use this iMac card, no?

Nothing that you can ask me is news, everything about this topic was already written years ago on the threads linked.

 

[spacedcadet]

Hi, not sure if this is the correct thread, but wasn't sure my issue warrants a new one.
Running Big Sur 11.7 via OC 8.0. Have upgraded the internal wifi with the suggested BCM94360CD card via adapter.
Initially had the BT data red/black wires the wrong way round, no bluetooth. Schoolboy error! Hoping I hadn't fried the module, I swapped the wires and everything reports in System Information as expected. Bluetooth/Wifi options available in Preferences.

Airdrop and Handoff refuse to work. Have done all the usual tricks, turning off WiFi/BT on both iPhone and Mac. Setting Airdrop to Everyone etc. Turning off Handoff in SysPrefs>General and restarting.

Once in a blue moon my iPhone will show up in an Airdrop window in the Mac Pro's finder. I can send from the Mac to the iPhone. The iPhone usually disappears from the Mac shortly after. On the rare occasion the Mac shows up on the iPhone it gets stuck at "waiting".

Have tried turning the Firewall completely off and same deal, the phone appears randomly and rarely.

Screengrab of SysInfo attached in case that's useful. All I can think is that I somehow half-fried the BT part of the card when I plugged the data in the wrong way and now it thinks it works but doesn't Weird!

Wifi works fine. iPhone can't see Mac Pro in Bluetooth Devices and the Mac Pro can't see the iPhone when it's set to discoverable in the other direction...

Thinking I should just buy another wifi/BT card to test. Possibly a loose cable/antennae (will check)?