'Continuity Activation Tool' for Adding Handoff to Older Macs Now Supports Bluetooth 4.0 Dongles

[benji888]

Working with 10.11 ?

yes, but, "...OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) does not support dongles yet." ... if you install it, be sure to follow the instructions, not as easy as for 10.10 Yo.

 

[BeatCrazy]

yes, but, "...OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) does not support dongles yet." ... if you install it, be sure to follow the instructions, not as easy as for 10.10 Yo.

I have a BT 4.0 dongle working with 10.11, just as I did with 10.10. You have to use the BT activation tool built to switch from the internal BT controller, just as in previous versions of 10.x.

 

[benji888]

I have a BT 4.0 dongle working with 10.11, just as I did with 10.10. You have to use the BT activation tool built to switch from the internal BT controller, just as in previous versions of 10.x.

ok, if you are really using it with a dongle I will try it, I haven't since reading what I just quoted from the site where you download the tool states that it doesn't yet work with dongles. That was written before the last update to the readme, which reads: "2015-10-09 : Version 2.1.3 Merged with the beta version. Should now work on 10.10 - 10.11". So, even though they did not update the paragraph above where it states "This tool makes the necessary changes to enable OS X 10.10 and 10.11 Continuity features on compatible hardware. Continuity features activated by this tool include Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and New Airdrop. OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) does not support dongles yet.", it does work with dongles?

(I previously successfully used this with 10.10 Yo and a dongle, but, decided to upgrade to 10.11 and lose continuity features until the tool was working with 10.11.)

 

[Glassed Silver]

I have a BT 4.0 dongle working with 10.11, just as I did with 10.10. You have to use the BT activation tool built to switch from the internal BT controller, just as in previous versions of 10.x.

It still won't work on a late-11 iMac with Atheros WiFi card, right?

Glassed Silver:ios

 

[benji888]

It still won't work on a late-11 iMac with Atheros WiFi card, right?

Glassed Silver:ios

Correct. Compatibility uses the same chart. According to the site, all you need is to upgrade the airport card (Yes, new wireless card BCM94360CD + adapter), then run the tool.

...

I will try installing w/my BT4 dongle that worked with 10.10, either today or sometime this week, and report the results.

 

[Glassed Silver]

Correct. Compatibility uses the same chart. According to the site, all you need is to upgrade the airport card (Yes, new wireless card BCM94360CD + adapter), then run the tool.

...

I will try installing w/my BT4 dongle that worked with 10.10, either today or sometime this week, and report the results.

Ah crap, ok.

Still don't know if I'm willing to fork out that kind of dough for one set of features that's definitely nice to have, but unsupported territory, so at any point my investment might break.

Still don't understand why Apple didn't include BT LE and USB 3.0 out the gate with my Mac. It sucks monkey balls, really.
Definitely learned to be very wary of future purchases with Apple though, although I didn't have much of a choice back in 2011, because my old Mac had been broken, thanks to Apple's AMD GPU love. *eyeroll*

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[BeatCrazy]

One thing I noticed if you use a dongle, you won't have access to the El Capitan's "wiggle mouse and make it large" feature. Not a huge deal, but just FYI if you see this feature in 10.11 demos and wonder why it doesn't work if you're using a dongle.

 

[Glassed Silver]

One thing I noticed if you use a dongle, you won't have access to the El Capitan's "wiggle mouse and make it large" feature. Not a huge deal, but just FYI if you see this feature in 10.11 demos and wonder why it doesn't work if you're using a dongle.

That'd be an advantage in my books!

Glassed Silver:ios

 

[benji888]

CAT 2.2.2 w/OS X 10.11.1 did not work for me with the same dongle that worked well with 10.10, all the way up to 10.10.5 a month ago.

After installing I get a kernel panic during startup. See my issue here: https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool/issues/257

 

[LEOMODE]

I have 2010 Mac Pro 6-core. I just bought IOGEAR GBU521 Bluetooth 4.0 version USB dongle, and then I launched the Activation Tool program. The OS was 10.11.1. But in conclusion after going to the recovery tool, then activating with the Activation Tool, when I resetted it gave me a white crashing screen, and just went on with unlimited rebooting. I don't know what is wrong, or which steps I missed. I followed the entire process as per below:

http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/get-continuity-handoff-airdrop-on-old-mac-3582632/

Does anyone have luck? Is it the OS version that's causing the problem?

 

[TomTomTuning]

So I have two computers, both are 2010 models.
- MacPro5.1 with the MacVidCard Airport card.
- MacBookPro6,2 with a BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX card. I even installed the 3rd antenna for 5Ghz.

Functionality (CAT Beta + Sierra 10.12.1)
- MacPro5.1 = All Continuity features function flawlessly.
- MacBookPro6,2 = Only AirDrop, Cellular, and SMS/MSM work.
Instant Hotspot, Universal Clipboard, and AW Auto Unlock are not working.
Handoff pops up on my Doc I click on it and the correct app opens but the content never loads.

I uninstalled and re-installed CAT. Logged out/in of iCloud. On the same WiFi and Bluetooth is enabled.
Any suggestions on what to try next?

 

[Teon]

I am looking for a class 1 Bluetooth dongle for my 2010 MacBook 11" air. I have it going to 2 different tvs and the build in Bluetooth looses connection in one of the rooms. Can I just buy a 4.0 adapter and go from there?? I bought a regular one and it did not work. Lmk. Thank you. Jon.

probably yes, it must reach. In any case, buy, deliver and prver. If something goes wrong (this depending on the situation) - just bring back the adapter back and you think about the new solution.