Adding a new Bluetooth 4.2 and AC Wifi card to a cMP (Mac Pro 4,1/5,1)

My cMP 5,1 (2012) now has AC WiFi, BT 4.2, Handoff, Continuity, AirDrop and Apple Watch unlock all working after terminal command activation. Thanks to support and hints found in the MacProUpgrade community on facebook.

I followed this very detailed tutorial:

https://www.crystalidea.com/blog/classic-mac-pro-wifi-bluetooth-upgrade

It is recommended that you read this thread on macrumors for more details and hints about the mod:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/802-11ac-bt-4-0-and-continuity-handoff-are-working-on-mac-pro-2010-keep-updating.1748061/page-48

Links to the parts I used:

• AC Wifi and Bluetooth 4.2 card BCM943602CDPAX_1
• Mini PCI-E to Wireless Card Adapter 
• IPX Antenna Extension 1.13 connector RF - 35cm long
• JST Connector 4 pins
• Generic heat shrink tubes
• Soldering iron

The original Wifi (on the left) and BT (on the right) cards

Closeup of the original Wifi card

Closeup of the original Bluetooth card

Old Bluetooth card disconnected and antenna extension installed

Preparing the PCI-E adapter, soldering the 4 pin JST connector USB Data D+ and D- wires

New Wifi card installed in the adapter

Connecting the Antennas to the new Wifi card
(this was the hardest part as there is not much space to maneuver)

PCI-E Adapter + New Wifi card installed, JST connector to the BT module and all antennas connected (on the bottom of the Wifi card)

IMPORTANT: Note the polarity of the USB signal D- on top and D+ on the bottom 
(the red wire was used as negative because it came like this and I didn't want to dismantle and risk damaging it)

New versus Original Bluetooth capabilities

New versus Original Wifi capabilities

 

    Once the cards are installed, you need to run the following commands in Terminal to activate the Handoff and Continuity.

      Terminal commands to activate:

------

If you run macOS 10.14+​:

To start, make sure SIP is disabled. You can check by typing "csrutil status" in Terminal. To disable it (in case it is enabled):

Restart Mac Pro

Hold down Command-R to reboot into Recovery Mode.

Click Utilities.

Select Terminal

Type

Code:

csrutil disable

Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.

Restart Mac Pro

Open Terminal and run this:

Code:

sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set:Mac-F221BEC8:ContinuitySupport true" "/System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist"

Code:

sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-F221BEC8\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0/" /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcm4360

Now you only need to delete the kext cache:

Enter this in Terminal:

Code:

cd /System/Library/Extensions/

Code:

sudo touch .

Restart Mac Pro

Hold down Command-R to reboot into Recovery Mode.

Click Utilities.

Select Terminal.

Code:

Type csrutil enable

Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.

Restart Mac Pro

------

If you run macOS 10.15+​:

To start, make sure SIP is disabled. You can check by typing "csrutil status" in Terminal. To disable it (in case it is enabled):

Restart Mac Pro

Hold down Command-R to reboot into Recovery Mode.

Click Utilities.

Select Terminal.

Type

Code:

csrutil disable

Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.

Restart Mac Pro

Open Terminal and run this:

Code:

sudo mount -uw /

Code:

sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Set:Mac-F221BEC8:ContinuitySupport true" "/System/Library/Frameworks/IOBluetooth.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SystemParameters.plist"

Code:

sudo -E perl -pi -e "s/\Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86/\Mac-F221BEC8\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0/" /System/Library/Extensions/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/MacOS/AirPortBrcm4360

Now you only need to delete the kext cache:

Enter this in Terminal:

Code:

cd /System/Library/Extensions/

Code:

sudo touch .

Restart Mac Pro

Hold down Command-R to reboot into Recovery Mode.

Click Utilities.

Select Terminal.

Type

Code:

csrutil enable

Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.

Restart Mac Pro

if it still does not work please log out of your iCloud accounts on all devices, reboot all devices and sign in to iCloud again.

 

Let me know if you also made this mod and if it worked!