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'Continuity Activation Tool' Enables Handoff on Older Macs
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Id also like to know if this will work when El Capitan beta comes round. I had a graphics card failure in my late 2011 MBP. Took out the ram/SSD, ect, but forgot to remove the wifi card. Luckily, they replaced it with the one for my model... GRrrrrrrr
Now im trying to decide if $60 is worth it for a second card... if ElC will break it, Im not going to bother.
Now im trying to decide if $60 is worth it for a second card... if ElC will break it, Im not going to bother.
I got my iMac late 2010 works like a charm and does every single thing it says on top. Kinda weird cause my iMac is old from 2010 and behaves like a 2014 lol its freaking fast xP
With iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, Apple introduced "Continuity," a set of features designed to allow for deeper integration between Macs and iOS devices. Unfortunately, some Continuity features are limited to Macs with Bluetooth 4.0, which leaves many older Macs unable to access the new features.
Additionally, even though the 2011 MacBook Air and 2011 Mac mini include Bluetooth 4.0, Apple has opted not to allow them to access Continuity features. Luckily, many resourceful members of the MacRumors forums have come up with solutions to allow them to enable Continuity on their older Macs, and discussion on our forums has led to the creation of a set of instructions and a Continuity Activation Tool that should get Continuity working on Macs unable to explicitly support the feature.
Created by Dokterdok (based on instructions compiled by UncleSchnitty) and available on Github, the Continuity Activation Tool is designed to activate Continuity by doing a compatibility check, creating backups of original System drivers, and disabling a Mac-model blacklist in the Bluetooth code that prevents Continuity from working on ineligible Macs. From there, it also whitelists Mac board-ids within the Wi-Fi code to get the feature working.
The tool can be downloaded as a zip file from Github and is installed by double clicking the app and following the instructions provided on the screen.
The Continuity Activation Tool will enable Continuity on the mid-2011 MacBook Air and the mid-2011 Mac mini with no additional hardware required, as both of those devices include Bluetooth 4.0. That means installing the tool should get Continuity up and running on those machines in just a few minutes.
On older Macs that do not come equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, new wireless cards will need to be installed, which makes it more difficult for casual users to get access to Continuity. USB dongles that provide Bluetooth 4.0 will not work with the Continuity Activation Tool, and a list of wireless cards that will provide Bluetooth 4.0 for each older Mac can be found on the MacRumors forums.
Both MacRumors forum members and Redditors have confirmed that this method is able to successfully enable Continuity on a variety of Macs, including the mid-2011 MacBook Air, the early 2011 MacBook Pro, and the mid-2011 Mac mini.
The Continuity Activation Tool appears to enable all Continuity features when used successfully, allowing older Macs to access Handoff, Instant Hotspot, SMS forwarding, and Mac phone calls without an issue. Some of these Continuity features may work already on older Macs as they use a variety of different connection methods ranging from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi, but the tool is confirmed to get Handoff and AirDrop, both of which require Bluetooth, to work.
Users should exercise caution when using the Continuity Activation Tool, as it moves around low level files and there's a possibility it could cause problems. A backup is recommended before attempting to install the tool.
Article Link: 'Continuity Activation Tool' Enables Handoff on Older Macs
So PB 6 isnt working so well. It installs fine if you uninstall first, and disable the SIP with the CSRUtil disable command, but the handoff / instant hotspot dont seem to do anything.
However, I was able to Airdrop just now easily from my ipad mini 2
However, I was able to Airdrop just now easily from my ipad mini 2
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Ok I know i'm coming in late, but i figured this would help someone.
I upgraded my 2011 macbook pro early 2011 to enable handoff and this is how it went
I used part # BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX
then i used the tool here to run the scripts for me https://goo.gl/OxexgN
I did have one issue that i had to work through and that was being able to disable System Integrity Protection (SIP). this is a new feature in OS 10.11 El Capitan. There are instructions in the forum that I put just above, that will tell you how to do it, but when i followed the instructions and typed in the text in the terminal, it said that the command was not found. After doing some more research i found out it was probably and issue with my recovery partition. What i did was go into the app store and re-download the osX then go through the installation process.Note: this did not wipe the system and do a fresh install, it just essentially brought everything back to where it was supposed to be. (this may have been messed up when i was running the public beta version of El Capitan at least from my limited research into the issue thats what i think). Once the installation process was over I did the steps again to disable the System Integrity Protection (SIP). This time it worked and I was then able to run the automation to enable the hand off features. IT WORKED!
One last thing, i was curious about turning back on the System Integrity Protection, and if it would negate the newly achieved hand off features.I turned it back on and everything works great still. This System Integrity Protection, only stops the program to run that modified the kext, it does not stop the features from working once the modification has taken place.
I upgraded my 2011 macbook pro early 2011 to enable handoff and this is how it went
I used part # BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX
then i used the tool here to run the scripts for me https://goo.gl/OxexgN
I did have one issue that i had to work through and that was being able to disable System Integrity Protection (SIP). this is a new feature in OS 10.11 El Capitan. There are instructions in the forum that I put just above, that will tell you how to do it, but when i followed the instructions and typed in the text in the terminal, it said that the command was not found. After doing some more research i found out it was probably and issue with my recovery partition. What i did was go into the app store and re-download the osX then go through the installation process.Note: this did not wipe the system and do a fresh install, it just essentially brought everything back to where it was supposed to be. (this may have been messed up when i was running the public beta version of El Capitan at least from my limited research into the issue thats what i think). Once the installation process was over I did the steps again to disable the System Integrity Protection (SIP). This time it worked and I was then able to run the automation to enable the hand off features. IT WORKED!
One last thing, i was curious about turning back on the System Integrity Protection, and if it would negate the newly achieved hand off features.I turned it back on and everything works great still. This System Integrity Protection, only stops the program to run that modified the kext, it does not stop the features from working once the modification has taken place.
Early 2011 MBP 13" running El Capitan beta [10.11.4 Beta (15E33e)] with a Gmyle Bluetooth dongle and Continuity is working beautifully.
I'd bought the dongle mid-January (Gmyle, item B010NISKFK on Amazon), while already running El Capitan, not noticing that El Cap was not supported without replacing the internal card. I ran the CAT tool anyway and indeed did not get Continuity features. I think AirDrop worked but not Handoff. But it seems the second-to-last El Cap beta gave me full Continuity functionality and this continues with the current beta.
I'd bought the dongle mid-January (Gmyle, item B010NISKFK on Amazon), while already running El Capitan, not noticing that El Cap was not supported without replacing the internal card. I ran the CAT tool anyway and indeed did not get Continuity features. I think AirDrop worked but not Handoff. But it seems the second-to-last El Cap beta gave me full Continuity functionality and this continues with the current beta.