Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Need a wireless card for my Mac Pro

N

ndriver182

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
I bought my Mac Pro as a refurb from Apple, but it didn't come with the wireless card built in. This didn't bother me because at my old apartment my computer was near the router so I just wired it up by ethernet. I just moved into a new place and my computer isn't within router distance and I don't want to run a bunch of cable.

My boss gave me a card to plug into Apple wifi card spot and OSX found the card and showed some airport info, but it didn't find any networks and if I run the Airport Utility it says it can't find an airport card. So I assume it's not compatible.

What are my options?

Oh yeah, I found this on ebay. Sound reliable?

http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=ma...6.m270.l1313&_odkw=mac+pro+wireless&_osacat=0
 
Is it just plug & play or do I need any drivers or anything? I also noticed there were two spots to screw the other end of the card down so it's not loose. Does the card come with 2x screws or do I need to supply them? If I have to get my own, what size screws are they?
 
Box apple sells to retailers to install includes the screws.

As far as size, I don't know. I can pull one from my 2.8x8 to see if you really need it.
 
ndriver182 said:
Is it just plug & play or do I need any drivers or anything? I also noticed there were two spots to screw the other end of the card down so it's not loose. Does the card come with 2x screws or do I need to supply them? If I have to get my own, what size screws are they?
Click to expand...

You dont need any drivers. There are no screws in tha package, you have to get your own. Sorry i dont know the size of the screws. 🙁
 
I have an early '08 MP that I bought refurb from Apple. I bought it a couple months before the newer version came out.
 
I installed mine off another computer I bought. All I did was put it in, screw it down and it was instantly recognized. I was hooked up through an ethernet connection, but no window popped up saying it was downloading a driver or update. So as far as I know its just plug and play.
 
I just bought the wireless kit from Apple that looks almost exactly like this card for my new mac pro. It was a huge hassle to install, the biggest hassle being hooking up the antennas. But an hour later, my mac pro was wireless.

Get the apple store to do it for you if you can. It will be worth it in my opinion.
 
I just got a referb mac pro 2008 2x2.8 last week and it didn't come with a wifi card. I went to my local apple store and they put one in for 50 bucks. I would have done it myself but it voids warranty I guess. Just call you local store before you go to make sure they have one or ask them to order one.
 
kellen said:
I installed mine off another computer I bought. All I did was put it in, screw it down and it was instantly recognized. I was hooked up through an ethernet connection, but no window popped up saying it was downloading a driver or update. So as far as I know its just plug and play.
Click to expand...

It was weird, I plugged it in and OSX when I booted up OSX said it found the card and my airport wifi meter came up in the toolbar, but never found any networks.

After reading an installation tutorial online I realized there are antennas that hook up to the card itself that I didn't hook up. I didn't know they were hidden under the hard drives. That would probably explain why it didn't find any networks. I figured the card itself had an antenna built in or something. So maybe I'll try it again.

The card I have is a broadcom chipset #4324A-BRCM1020
 
ndriver182 said:
It was weird, I plugged it in and OSX when I booted up OSX said it found the card and my airport wifi meter came up in the toolbar, but never found any networks.

After reading an installation tutorial online I realized there are antennas that hook up to the card itself that I didn't hook up. I didn't know they were hidden under the hard drives. That would probably explain why it didn't find any networks. I figured the card itself had an antenna built in or something. So maybe I'll try it again.

The card I have is a broadcom chipset #4324A-BRCM1020
Click to expand...

Yeah, that card will work. You definitely need those antennas hooked up.

Also, pretty much any broadcom based mini-PCI-e card will work in any Mac Pro/Macbook. I've done it on several different machines with several different cards.
 
jons said:
Yeah, that card will work. You definitely need those antennas hooked up.

Also, pretty much any broadcom based mini-PCI-e card will work in any Mac Pro/Macbook. I've done it on several different machines with several different cards.
Click to expand...

Nice, my boss gave me a second one to try just in case. Both same card, but different revisions. Hopefully I'll just have to find some screws...
 
ndriver182 said:
Nice, my boss gave me a second one to try just in case. Both same card, but different revisions. Hopefully I'll just have to find some screws...
Click to expand...

Well, after digging around for the wifi antennas for a few minutes I tried the card again and bingo. Works no problem. So now I've got 2 questions left...

1. Where on earth can I find 2x tiny screws to hold this thing solidly in place (I'm going to leave it unscrewed while I use it for now since the computer never moves)?

2. There were three antenna leads left in the case. I used the two shorter ones (#2 & #3) for the wifi. The "BT" cable was already hooked up to my bluetooth. So there's one #1 antenna cable left. I'm guessing I'll just leave it alone.
 
Trying to purchase a wireless MB363Z/A Airport Extreme Card in NZ

Hi all,
I've purchased about two months ago, a Mac Pro (Early 2008), the one with Dual 2.8Ghz Quad Cores(8 Cores). It was a refurbished unit and did not come with this card. I've been searching the internet all weekend and emailing U.S.A retailers(as these seem to be the only people with them in stock) to try and get one shipped to New Zealand only to be told that they don't ship outside of the U.S.A. Its quite an annoying situation as I would really like to get my hands on one of these. Can anyone help or provide a solution?

Thanks in advance,
Jason
 
Wireless Card

Finding a wireless card on Ebay with part #: MB363Z/A seems to be very difficult, kinda like looking for a needle in a haystack.:apple:
 
It is nothing short of a pain in the backside finding these things. I ended up sending an email to tech support at OWC asking them what they had. They will tell you what you need for the exact computer you've got. I needed it for a 2006 G5, they suggested some usb thing. So I'm getting that to reduce the headaches of looking for a card.
 
ncc1701d said:
It is nothing short of a pain in the backside finding these things. I ended up sending an email to tech support at OWC asking them what they had. They will tell you what you need for the exact computer you've got. I needed it for a 2006 G5, they suggested some usb thing. So I'm getting that to reduce the headaches of looking for a card.
Click to expand...

^+1

although it could be my network (wireless b/g), AirPort in my G5 worked about as well as a NetGear USB adapter. True, with AirPort I do not have to hang the USB device on the wall for a maximum signal, but the performance is relatively the same. I've also tried my old M2N mobo's (RIP) built-in wireless adapter... It left something to be desired. Heck, my brother's Toshiba notebook didn't work as well.

Just my ¥2
 
I had the Apple Store install an airport card in my 2006 Mac Pro when I moved temporarily to an apartment complex with community WIFI. It was about $50 installed, and only took an hour... A little easier than the trial and error method, but nowhere near as rewarding!
 
benborman said:
I had the Apple Store install an airport card in my 2006 Mac Pro when I moved temporarily to an apartment complex with community WIFI. It was about $50 installed, and only took an hour... A little easier than the trial and error method, but nowhere near as rewarding!
Click to expand...
You've done very well. I took it to the apple place where I live and they looked at me like I was retarded "we don't have any more stock" and "we don't recommend 3rd party stuff"... 🙁

for me personally, I got https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/MXP802NU2C/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back