Possibility of Handoff on MacBook Air Late 2010 (AirPort Card: BCM94360CS2)

[joshuapurwadi]

Hi,

I'm wondering if the upgrade to this card (BCM94360CS2) on MBA Late 2010 is still possible. I believe that I saw MBA Late 2010 in the table in the main page which says Handoff is possible with card upgrade a few days ago but it's magically gone from the table when I checked it just now.

The entry is still there in this thread regarding MBA Late 2010: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20124161#post20124161

I'm aware that minor tweaks will be required as the card (BCM94360CS2) sized up a bit longer than the original card and the antenna cable will need to be clipped off from the screws' bracket, but I don't really mind as long as Handoff is working with BCM94360CS2.

I hope someone can elaborate in this matter as me myself have already ordered the card and am waiting for it to arrive. I hope that my purchase won't go to waste.

Regards, Josh..

[dokterdok]

Hi Josh, I had it removed from the table based on a report that the physical differences prevented the card to be installed on 2010 Airs. Maybe I jumped to the conclusion that it was not possible at all. If you or anyone else can confirm (maybe you have a link) that it indeed works on their own machine after a few tweaks, than I'll put it back.

[joshuapurwadi]

Hi,

UncleSchnitty did a replacement with his MBA2011 before (which has the same antenna layout as MBA2010) and documented the steps he took to alleviate the physical differences. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1777726&highlight=bcm94360cs2&page=2 http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=19395638&postcount=36

But I'll try to post my findings as well once I got my BCM94360CS2 and attempted the replacement myself. Hope it works.

[dokterdok]

Josh, thanks for the feedback. I'm looking forward to hear back from your tests.

[dokterdok]

Thanks Skvo for the update, I've updated the compatibility list

[Robolkw]

Hi,

I'm using CAT on my Macbook Air Late 2010 model, and I replaced the Airport card to BCM94360CS2. Yes, the physical difference exists.

And because of the different locations of the two antenna sockets on the Airport card, the antenna cable inside Macbook must be rerouted.

The hinge is soldered, so you need to detach it from the cable.

Not the easiest way to get the continuity features, but this is the way I'm using my Macbook Air. FYI, although my blog post is written in Korean, you can see more pics here: http://me.tistory.com/357

[macjul]

Thanks Robolkw! I also used MBA Late 2010 - works perfect!

[bateau]

Question for folks who installed BCM94360CS2 in Late 2010 MBA. Did you need to do anything special for it to pick up signal? I picked one up from eBay, card is recognized by the OS but doesn't get any hotspots. The original BCM943224PCIEBT2 works just fine, so I'm fairly certain it's not an issue with the antenna.

[Robolkw]

Hi bateau, In my assumption, the shorter cable is for Wi-Fi, and the longer one is for Bluetooth. Did you connect the right antenna cable to the Airport card? (the short antenna cable to J1) By the way, there's nothing to do for picking up signals. (before or after installing the card)

[bateau]

Thanks, that's what I thought. I will re-attempt install tomorrow. I am pretty sure short cable went to J1 as it wouldn't reach J0.

[bateau]

Install photo attached. The card shows up in System Profiler, but finds no access points. Short cable goes to J1

[Robolkw]

Why can't I see your System Information screenshot on this page? Did you edit your post, bateau?

Anyway, I first checked my email, which includes two photos. One is your installation photo (as it is still visible right above), and the other one was your System Information screenshot.

So my question is: Did you turn on your Wi-Fi? (It seems like a bit foolish question, right?)

These are my System Information screenshots, just for comparison. As you can see, the first one was captured during the time when I turned off Wi-Fi, and the second one: turned on and connected to my AP. Based on my screenshots, your screenshot was captured when the Wi-Fi was turned off. (At least your Mac recognized like that.)

So let's see what happens if you turn on Wi-Fi and look into your sys info. Then it'll be more obvious - the problem is either hardware related or software related.

[bateau]

Here is screenshot with wifi enabled. The X3 country code looks suspicious to me. There is a working BCM94360CD adapter connected to the same access point and it has "Locale = FCC" and "Country = US". I checked my Airport Extreme configuration and it's set to US as location.

Update: Here's a screenshot of working card in the same laptop

[joshuapurwadi]

Okay, I finally got the chance to work on my MBA and I don't the really know how this happens but Handoff on MBA Late 2010 starts working immediately after the AirPort Card swap without me even running the tool at all!

System Information shows BT LE, Instant Hotspot, and Handoff supported the instant I swapped the card. So I tried relogging my iCloud account on my Mac and it just works!

Very very weird... But I got that going for me, which is nice. :)

I just reformatted the drive yesterday so it's still vanilla, and the card is BCM94360CS2.

Here's how it looks like afterwards.

[bateau]

Which card did you swap into your 2010 MBA?

Joshua, can you please take screenshot of WiFi section in System Information? I'd like to see what kind of Locale/Country your card shows up with.

On Friday, December 12, 2014, joshuapurwadi [email protected] wrote:

Okay, I finally got the chance to work on my MBA and I don't the really know how this happens but Handoff on MBA Late 2010 starts working immediately after the AirPort Card swap without me even running the tool at all!

System Information shows BT LE, Instant Hotspot, and Handoff supported the instant I swapped the card. So I tried relogging my iCloud account on my Mac and it just works!

Very very weird... But I got that going for me which is nice. :)

I just reformatted the drive yesterday so it's still vanilla.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool/issues/41#issuecomment-66827305 .

[philmorse]

Thanks! This is extremely helpful. I bought the same card on EBAY and wondered because it is larger than the original. Also, I mashed my cable connectors so I bought a used antenna and will splice the new wires on to the existing wires and will not have to re-rout. they were not labeled on the old card so knowing which is which is huge.

[lin7sh]

same as what had happened to @joshuapurwadi, swapping the card you are ready to go. You DON'T NEED CAT to make it work!

Macbook air late 2010 OS X 10.10.1

P.S.be careful about the antenna rerouting, mush keep the long wire routed from the side of the wifi card, not over it, because it may cause the bluetooth discover nothing.

[dokterdok]

Thanks all for the reports and @joshuapurwadi for the pics, I've updated the compatibility table.

[philmorse]

FYI, I was able to splice new ends onto the existing antenna cables and I now have continuity. My cables were stuck to the old wifi board and they left parts of the clips stuck to the board when I removed them, so this could be a common problem. The cables themselves are min shielded coax type with a wrapped core.

[swill00net]

Hi I have a 2010 MBA 11" and was able to get a BCM94360CS2 card working in it with just the hardware swap and did not have to use the software tool. Like others I saw on the web about the Continuity Enabler Tool and started to read up on it. I found a BCM94360CS2 card on eBay and got it, but then discovered it was too big once I got it and didn't really do any more. I had noticed the 2010 MBA was then no longer on that chart and I just put the card away only out $30, no biggie. Then a few weeks went by saw there was a 2.0 version and that noticed that the chart had the BCM94360CS2 back on it for the MBA 2010 models. I found this page and saw where the users here had just put the card in and got the antennas to reach. You'll see in my pics below I have the 11" MBA and the photos others were posting must be the 13" as the card is not parallel with the back edge. Luckily for the 11" the 2 small antennas reach just fine without have to re-route them like the 13" seems to need. I'm running the latest 10.10.1 and after installing the card and putting the cover back on, booted up and Wifi is working fine and the bluetooth is working just fine too. I was able to AirDrop these pictures from my iPad to the MacBook Air. The System Profiler is showing Supported for everything too. I haven't figured out Handoff and Instant Hotspot yet, but the AirDrop is working, that's the main thing I wanted, plus having the 802.11AC will be nice if I get a new router.

[swill00net]

Update Had to logout on both MBA and iPad on iCloud and after several attempts I was able to get Handoff working. AirDrop is working OK and I can see my iPad Air 2 as a Instant Hotspot device in the Wifi menu

[philmorse]

More on splicing cables: While they are functional, I'm finding the bluetooth is impaired. Breaching the cable makes it vulnerable to noise and interference. I have ordered yet another antenna assembly and will replace the whole deal

[dnivi3]

@joshuapurwadi: how did you manage to get the small cable connectors to reach all the way to the end of the BCM94360CS2's connectors? My small cable connectors of my 2010 MBA '13 connecting to the WiFi-card seem very non-stretchable.

[philmorse]

In fact, I didn't. I have seen where others disconnected the cable from the hinge to get more play and were able to re-route. In my case, the connectors broke when I was removing them from the old bluetooth card so I bought an antenna on Ebay and soldered the new connectors. Results have been poor because the wires are now exposed to interference. I tried shielding with foil and then copper tape and things have just gotten worse. I intend to have the antenna replaced altogether (beyond my skills), go back to square one, and stop messing around. It's not worth the trouble.

[dnivi3]

Can confirm that I managed to install and get the BCM94360CS2 working immediately in my 2010 MBA '13 after following instructions and pictures in a previous comment.

[tikomile]

thanks , handoff working for me in my MBA 13' !! after resign icloud account !!!!

[hansol2005]

After reading this thread, i've bought a BCM94360CS2 from eBay. for my 2010MBA but the only thing is that no where in this thread does it say how to secure the card as the screw won't fit. Or do you just leave it not screwed in??

[joshuapurwadi]

Just leave it unscrewed, it won’t detach itself.

On Mar 2, 2015, at 4:43 PM, hansol2005 [email protected] wrote:

After reading this thread, i've bought a BCM94360CS2 from eBay. for my 2010MBA but the only thing is that no where in this thread does it say how to secure the card as the screw won't fit. Or do you just leave it not screwed in??

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Activation-Tool/issues/41#issuecomment-76661476.

[tikomile]

Hansol Make sure the insulation on the motherboard !!!

[hansol2005]

Thanks for quick reply,

[hansol2005]

I got continuity working with installing a BCM94360CS2 in my 2010 MBA but can't get instant hotspot to work.. My Mac sees it but won't connect .. can someone please help..