Mid-2009 13" MBP Bluetooth Upgrade?

[abuskeletor]

Hello all,

I recently upgraded the memory and swapped the hard drive for a SSD in my MBP, and it runs incredibly fast compared to it's former self. Now, the only thing I don't love about my MBP is the Bluetooth. I read a DIY on upgrading the Bluetooth myself and it seems like more than I'm ready to bite off on my own.

How can I find a 3rd party shop reputable enough to do this for me? I assumed Apple wouldn't do it as it's not a repair and it's a rather older machine at this point.

Any ideas?

 

[JTToft]

I read a DIY on upgrading the Bluetooth myself and it seems like more than I'm ready to bite off on my own.

- Could you link to that? To my knowledge there isn't a way to upgrade the internal AirPort/Bluetooth card on those machines. BT 4.0 was introduced with the 2012 models, and they use a different form factor for their BT cards.

You can use a USB dongle, though, if you want.

 

[abuskeletor]

- Could you link to that? To my knowledge there isn't a way to upgrade the internal AirPort/Bluetooth card on those machines. BT 4.0 was introduced with the 2012 models, and they use a different form factor for their BT cards.

You can use a USB dongle, though, if you want.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2009+AirPort+Card+Replacement/6019

 

[JTToft]

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2009+AirPort+Card+Replacement/6019

- That's really just a guide for replacing the board with an identical one, not for upgrading it. Is your Bluetooth defective, or would you just like to have BT 4.0?

 

[abuskeletor]

- That's really just a guide for replacing the board with an identical one, not for upgrading it. Is your Bluetooth defective, or would you just like to have BT 4.0?

Right. I was trying to find a compatible card to upgrade to. So far the closest I can find is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NV1IXV8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1431534844&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&keywords=BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX&dpPl=1&dpID=41eaRpuHufL&ref=plSrch

I'm not sure if that will work for my model, though.

My Bluetooth works, I just hate not having the continuity features.

 

[snaky69]

Right. I was trying to find a compatible card to upgrade to. So far the closest I can find is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NV...PCIEBT4CAX&dpPl=1&dpID=41eaRpuHufL&ref=plSrch

I'm not sure if that will work for my model, though.

My Bluetooth works, I just hate not having the continuity features.

Just upgrading the card won't be enough to get them, you have to do some tweaking software wise also.

If you feel like tinkering, try it out and report back, I'd be curious to see how this turns out.

 

[JTToft]

Right. I was trying to find a compatible card to upgrade to. So far the closest I can find is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NV...PCIEBT4CAX&dpPl=1&dpID=41eaRpuHufL&ref=plSrch

I'm not sure if that will work for my model, though.

My Bluetooth works, I just hate not having the continuity features.

- It won't fit. Compare the physical appearance to the one in the Ifixit guide. They're completely different. The one on Amazon will fit the 15" 2010 model and all 2011 models.

There isn't a compatible card available for your machine. As I mentioned, BT 4.0 was introduced with the 2012 cMBPs, so one has to use a card from those to get BT 4.0, and they simply don't fit anything prior to 2010.

If you want BT 4.0 and Handoff etc., either use a USB dongle or get a new machine.

If you feel like tinkering, try it out and report back, I'd be curious to see how this turns out.

- Well, he can't try it out, since the card won't fit his machine.

But I can tell you that it works quite well on my machine. It's nice having the newest features on a four year old piece of hardware.

 

[abuskeletor]

- It won't fit. Compare the physical appearance to the one in the Ifixit guide. They're completely different. The one on Amazon will fit the 15" 2010 model and all 2011 models.

There isn't a compatible card available for your machine. As I mentioned, BT 4.0 was introduced with the 2012 cMBPs, so one has to use a card from those to get BT 4.0, and they simply don't fit anything prior to 2010.

If you want BT 4.0 and Handoff etc., either use a USB dongle or get a new machine.



- Well, he can't try it out, since the card won't fit his machine.

But I can tell you that it works quite well on my machine. It's nice having the newest features on a four year old piece of hardware.

Thanks. I appreciate the info. Have you come across a good thread regarding using a single to get the continuity features to work? I read before that dongles weren't working and I've read since that there are some workarounds, but I'm not savvy to them.

 

[JTToft]

Thanks. I appreciate the info. Have you come across a good thread regarding using a single to get the continuity features to work? I read before that dongles weren't working and I've read since that there are some workarounds, but I'm not savvy to them.

- This is the page for Continuity Activation Tool with instructions and info about dongles. It seems you need a specific type. And here is the main thread on CAT - I would guess any dongle info would be found on the later pages of the thread, since it's a relatively new feature.

 

[abuskeletor]

- This is the page for Continuity Activation Tool with instructions and info about dongles. It seems you need a specific type. And here is the main thread on CAT - I would guess any dongle info would be found on the later pages of the thread, since it's a relatively new feature.

Thank you!