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Workaround for Magic Trackpad and Non 4.0

btrach144

btrach144

macrumors demi-god
Original poster
Aug 28, 2015
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Indiana
Hey peeps,

Would it be possible to use a Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter with my Mac? I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro that only has Bluetooth 2.1 EDR. The requirement for the new Magic Trackpad is Bluetooth 4.0. Is this a possible workaround? USB 2.0 has more bandwidth than BT 4.0 can use so no data bottlenecks. I'm also running 10.11.
 
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I have the same exact question. I have the 2011 MBP and ordered the Magic Trackpad 2. I just ordered a BT4.0 dongle from Amazon so I'll let you know how it works.
 
I've read on ifixit that even a Bluetooth 4.0 dongle will not be a fix for this.

I want force touch. I might just go with the wired setup if needed
 
eyeseeyou said:
I've read on ifixit that even a Bluetooth 4.0 dongle will not be a fix for this.

I want force touch. I might just go with the wired setup if needed
Click to expand...
Is it possible to just have a constant wired lightening cable run to the magic trackpad? Does force touch work in this setup for older Macs?
 
ANyone able to actually confirm if the Trackpad will work if you get a USB dongle for BT 4.0?
 
eyeseeyou said:
From what I've read this set up is similar to jailbreaking in that with every OS update this workaround breaks?
Click to expand...
So this tool was created for 10.10. When 10.11 came out a few weeks ago, there were some issues. The creator of the tool had a fully functioning update released just a day or two later so that it worked on 10.11 as well.

My MBP is over 4 years old and it'll be 5 years old when 10.12 is released. At this point I'm just trying to buy time. If the creator of the project ditches supporting it then I'll just have to look for a new Mac.
 
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I got my BT 4.0 USB dongle for my early 2011 MBP yesterday. It is supposed to be Mac compatible without any drivers but I can't get it to work. I plugged it in and rebooted but it doesn't work. Do I have to disable the on board BT adapter first? If I do that, does the BT preferences pane just switch to the dongle? I downloaded and ran that continuity app and it got to the part where I was supposed to unplug and re plug the dongle and the app would recognize it but it never did.

Anyone able to help me getting this BT adapter to work? My trackpad is out for delivery today and I'd love to be able to use it.
 
patseguin said:
I got my BT 4.0 USB dongle for my early 2011 MBP yesterday. It is supposed to be Mac compatible without any drivers but I can't get it to work. I plugged it in and rebooted but it doesn't work. Do I have to disable the on board BT adapter first? If I do that, does the BT preferences pane just switch to the dongle? I downloaded and ran that continuity app and it got to the part where I was supposed to unplug and re plug the dongle and the app would recognize it but it never did.

Anyone able to help me getting this BT adapter to work? My trackpad is out for delivery today and I'd love to be able to use it.
Click to expand...
You probably need to install a driver for that dongle. If you know the chipset you can google the name of it and look for OS X drivers.
 
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patseguin said:
I went to the website of the dongle and they don't have Mac drivers and stated that one is not needed. Apparently something is needed though. Here is the one I got:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GIX8CUS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
Click to expand...
According to the Comments section on Amazon, a buyer (Titled: Great Upgrade to my existing iMac Bluetooth!, Dated January 25, 2014) had to contact the seller (GHS2) via the Contact Seller button on Amazon in order to get information on how to get it working on his iMac that already had Bluetooth 2.0.

The Amazon Buyer said;
In the product discription page where it says Sold by GHS2 and Fulfilled by Amazon, click on the GHS2, it takes you to the seller rating page, at the bottom, under further information there is a place to click on "contact seller".
Click to expand...
 
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btrach144 said:
Hey peeps,

Would it be possible to use a Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter with my Mac? I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro that only has Bluetooth 2.1 EDR. The requirement for the new Magic Trackpad is Bluetooth 4.0. Is this a possible workaround? USB 2.0 has more bandwidth than BT 4.0 can use so no data bottlenecks. I'm also running 10.11.
Click to expand...

you don't need to buy anything. just leave it wired. then no need of bluetooth, it's been tested
 
OK I have my Trackpad hooked up. It DOES work plugged in. I also DOES connect to BT 2.0 on my 2011 MBP. It does NOT allow force touch over BT 2.0. I am still working on getting my USB dongle to work.

EDIT: Force Touch DOES seem to work on BT 2.0. Not sure why they are saying you need BT 4.0.

EDIT#2: Been using the Magic Trackpad for about 1/2 an hour and it works perfectly with my MBP 2011 BT 2.0. Force Touch and haptic feedback are all working flawlessly. No need for BT 4.0!
 
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patseguin said:
OK I have my Trackpad hooked up. It DOES work plugged in. I also DOES connect to BT 2.0 on my 2011 MBP. It does NOT allow force touch over BT 2.0. I am still working on getting my USB dongle to work.

EDIT: Force Touch DOES seem to work on BT 2.0. Not sure why they are saying you need BT 4.0.

EDIT#2: Been using the Magic Trackpad for about 1/2 an hour and it works perfectly with my MBP 2011 BT 2.0. Force Touch and haptic feedback are all working flawlessly. No need for BT 4.0!
Click to expand...

Which OS are you running?
 
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