Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
-
'''OR'''
+
***OR***
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
-
'''AND'''
+
***AND***
* a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as ''BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter''), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
-
* 5Ghz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J0'''
-
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J1'''
-
* 2.4GHz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, '''J2'''
+
* 5Ghz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, ***J0***
+
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, ***J1***
+
* 2.4GHz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, ***J2***
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". Well, as of 2019, this config seems not the better one. ;-)
-
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
-
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J1'''~~
-
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, the above mentioned second config is not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computes is my first selected configuration, this is confirmed [https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|here]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth, and not J2. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
+
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) ***J0***~~
+
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) ***J1***~~
+
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) ***J2***~~
+
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, the above mentioned second config is not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computers is my first selected configuration, this is confirmed [link|https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|here]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth, and not J2. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2006, 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
''Update: 30.07.2019:'' I have clarified the naming of the Apple “pseudo-NGFF to mini PCIe Adapter”. It may looks somewhat like a standard M.2 NGFF connector but it is NOT the same. Therefore a normal M.2 NGFF to mini PCIe adapter will (most likely) NOT work.
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as ''BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter''), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* 5Ghz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J0'''
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J1'''
* 2.4GHz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, '''J2'''
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". Well, as of 2019, this config seems not the better one. ;-)
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, the above mentioned second config is not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computes is my first selected configuration, this is confirmed [https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|here]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth, and not J2. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
-
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
+
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2006, 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
''Update: 30.07.2019:'' I have clarified the naming of the Apple “pseudo-NGFF to mini PCIe Adapter”. It may looks somewhat like a standard M.2 NGFF connector but it is NOT the same. Therefore a normal M.2 NGFF to mini PCIe adapter will (most likely) NOT work.
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as ''BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter''), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* 5Ghz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J0'''
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J1'''
* 2.4GHz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, '''J2'''
-
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". Well, as of 2019, this config seems also not the best one. ;-)
+
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". Well, as of 2019, this config seems not the better one. ;-)
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, the above mentioned second config is not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computes is my first selected configuration, this is confirmed [https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|here]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth, and not J2. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
''Update: 30.07.2019:'' I have clarified the naming of the Apple “pseudo-NGFF to mini PCIe Adapter”. It may looks somewhat like a standard M.2 NGFF connector but it is NOT the same. Therefore a normal M.2 NGFF to mini PCIe adapter will (most likely) NOT work.
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as ''BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter''), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
-
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
-
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
-
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
+
* 5Ghz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J0'''
+
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J1'''
+
* 2.4GHz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, '''J2'''
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". Well, as of 2019, this config seems also not the best one. ;-)
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, also the above mentioned second config was not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computes seems to be [https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|following]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
+
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, the above mentioned second config is not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computes is my first selected configuration, this is confirmed [https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|here]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth, and not J2. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
-
* 5Ghz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, '''J0'''
-
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J1'''
-
* 2.4GHz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J2'''
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
''Update: 30.07.2019:'' I have clarified the naming of the Apple “pseudo-NGFF to mini PCIe Adapter”. It may looks somewhat like a standard M.2 NGFF connector but it is NOT the same. Therefore a normal M.2 NGFF to mini PCIe adapter will (most likely) NOT work.
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as ''BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter''), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
+
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". Well, as of 2019, this config seems also not the best one. ;-)
-
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
-
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
-
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
-
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so,- please report here. ;)
+
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
+
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J1'''~~
+
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J2'''~~
+
''Update: 10.08.2019:'' Although it worked for me quite good, also the above mentioned second config was not the optimal one. The really best Antenna configuration for our Apple iMac line computes seems to be [https://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/bpa6w6/j0_j1_j2_which_one_is_bluetooth_is_this_immage/|following]. The middle J1 connector is always for Bluetooth. Keep in mind that the cable colors can vary between the iMac models.
+
* 5Ghz antenna, black cable on ALU, grey on PLASTIC models, '''J0'''
+
* Bluetooth antenna, blue cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J1'''
+
* 2.4GHz antenna, white or gray cable on ALU, black on PLASTIC models, '''J2'''
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
''Update: 30.07.2019:'' I have clarified the naming of the Apple “pseudo-NGFF to mini PCIe Adapter”. It may looks somewhat like a standard M.2 NGFF connector but it is NOT the same. Therefore a normal M.2 NGFF to mini PCIe adapter will (most likely) NOT work.
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
-
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
-
+
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
-
'''AND'''
-
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
+
* a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as ''BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter''), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
-
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
+
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
-
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
+
+
''Update: 30.07.2019:'' I have clarified the naming of the Apple “pseudo-NGFF to mini PCIe Adapter”. It may looks somewhat like a standard M.2 NGFF connector but it is NOT the same. Therefore a normal M.2 NGFF to mini PCIe adapter will (most likely) NOT work.
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
-
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
+
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at its position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
-
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have some some stability issues (as of December 2016).
+
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have currently some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
+
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
-
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
+
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. There exist also no official Windows 7 support from Apple for that combo card. The available Windows 10 drivers seems to have some some stability issues (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
+
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
-
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
+
* white or gray cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
-
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
+
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
+
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this config may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
-
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
+
IMPORTANT note, - there (may) exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
-
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
+
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer.
-
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
+
All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMacs (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special ("version 3" labeled) mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design at these newer iMac models is a totally stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
+
+
So much for that... Nice to know, - the minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
-
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
+
Some last words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
+
Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
-
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
-
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
+
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this meanwhile and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
[image|986719]
[image|986720]
[image|986721]
[image|986722]
[image|986723]
[image|986724]
[image|986725]
[image|986726]
[image|986727]
[image|986731]
[image|986732]
[image|986733]
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
[image|986719]
[image|986720]
[image|986721]
[image|986722]
[image|986723]
[image|986724]
[image|986725]
[image|986726]
[image|986727]
[image|986731]
[image|986732]
[image|986733]
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
-
~~* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
+
* ~~white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
-
~~* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
+
* ~~blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
-
~~* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
+
* ~~black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
~~* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
+
~~* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
+
~~* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 20.12.2016':' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
+
''Update: 20.12.2016:'' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
-
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
-
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
-
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
+
~~* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''~~
+
~~* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''~~
+
~~* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''~~
-
''Update: 20.12.2016''
-
-
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
+
''Update: 20.12.2016':' My first antenna config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration. (I have tested this and I can confirm that this configuration may work somewhat better.)
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
+
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
+
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
''Update: 20.12.2016''
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
-
This simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true,- to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
+
This relatively simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. All more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs unfortunately, like some Apple Mac Pro models, a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. This makes the whole upgrade process MUCH more complicated. To "strip down" the mini PCIe slot design is a really stupid & myopic decision. Really weak Apple! :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
+
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side.
+
However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
''Update: 20.12.2016''
-
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
+
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be always used for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
''Update: 20.12.2016''
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
-
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
+
This simple 802.11ac & BT 4.x upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
+
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. However, - regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
''Update: 20.12.2016''
+
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
-
Update: 20.12.2016
-
+
''Update: 20.12.2016''
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
+
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My adapter had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Update: 20.12.2016
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter card with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
+
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Update: 20.12.2016
+
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
-
* a M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
+
* a compatible M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
-
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
+
Note, - the washer is not needed if you buy a (compatible) adapter card with two "mounting jut" (left and right). My had only one "mounting jut", - at the wrong side. Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac & BT4.x upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Update: 20.12.2016
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
* a M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
-
* white cable (topmost connector)
-
* blue cable (middle connector)
-
* black cable (lowermost connector)
+
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
+
* blue cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
+
* black cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
-
Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
+
Update: 20.12.2016
+
That config seems according the several Apple 802.11ac upgrade threads not "right". The J2 connector should be used always for Bluetooth. This will result in the following alternative configuration:
-
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
+
* white cable (topmost connector) '''J0'''
+
* black cable (middle connector) '''J1'''
+
* blue cable (lowermost connector) '''J2'''
-
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
+
Maybe someone finds a further (better) antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
+
+
This simple 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007, 2008 & (early) 2009 Aluminum iMac computer. Unfortunately it seems that all more recent Unibody Aluminum iMac (late 2009 and above) needs like some Apple Mac Pro models a special mini PCIe adapter with external USB cable. If that's true, - to "strip down" the mini PCIe slot would be a really stupid & myopic decision of Apple... :(
+
+
The minimum Mac OS X version will be also different. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the lowest supported OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
+
+
IMPORTANT note, - there exist furthermore also a software issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
-
* an M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
+
* a M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector)
* blue cable (middle connector)
* black cable (lowermost connector)
Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
'''AND'''
-
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
+
* an M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector)
* blue cable (middle connector)
* black cable (lowermost connector)
Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
+
+
'''AND'''
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
* white cable (topmost connector)
* blue cable (middle connector)
* black cable (lowermost connector)
Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
+
* white cable (topmost connector)
* blue cable (middle connector)
* black cable (lowermost connector)
+
Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
-
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
+
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, - it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
'''OR'''
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
-
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. I decided me for white cable (topmost connector) blue cable (middle connector) and black cable (lowermost connector). Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
+
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. On the installed card I decided me for:
+
* white cable (topmost connector)
+
* blue cable (middle connector)
+
* black cable (lowermost connector)
+
Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
-
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will furthermore NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, it will need OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
+
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, it needs OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
+
'''OR'''
+
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
+
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. I decided me for white cable (topmost connector) blue cable (middle connector) and black cable (lowermost connector). Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will furthermore NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, it will need OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
-
* the Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
+
* an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay
+
'''OR'''
+
* an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. I decided me for white cable (topmost connector) blue cable (middle connector) and black cable (lowermost connector). Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
+
+
Some additional words to the (2015) BCM943602CS combo card. Main difference to the BCM94360CSAX combo card is the support for Bluetooth 4.1. The BCM943602CS card will furthermore NOT work under OS X Mavericks 10.9, it will need OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later. Furthermore there seems to exist also some driver problems under Windows 10 (as of December 2016).
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
Well, I have done it finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 with an original combo 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly under Mac OS X and Windows 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized.
Okay, what's needed?
* the Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $17.- on ebay
* M.2 (NGFF) to mini PCIe adapter (also named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay
* 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay
* a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold the M.2 to mini PCIe adapter at it's position)
* a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one side of the washer)
Regarding the hardware cost this will give a total of around $30 per 802.11ac upgrade.
Why I have chosen the BCM94360CSAX card? Simply answer, because it has only 3 antenna connectors! The BCM94360CD would also work but it has 4 antenna connectors. So on an iMac, there would be one antenna too little. (Installing a fourth antenna can be a very hard task.) Regarding the antennas it was unclear for me in which order these should be connected to the new BCM94360CSAX card. I decided me for white cable (topmost connector) blue cable (middle connector) and black cable (lowermost connector). Maybe someone finds a better antenna configuration. If so, - please report here. ;)
This 802.11ac upgrade will work for any 2007 iMac and later. Because of the needed 802.11ac drivers the minimum Mac OS will be 10.8 Mountain Lion, recommended is Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 and later.
IMPORTANT note, - there exist an issue on the 2010 and 2011 iMac model range. The 802.11ac upgrade will also work, but you will run into problems with the OS X Internet Recovery feature. As a result you will have at every startup a strange error message. It seems that the OS X Internet Recovery which is incorporated into the EFI firmware is not able to recognize a 802.11ac card. As a workaround you can make a firmware downgrade below iMac EFI Update 1.8 which will remove the whole OS X Internet Recovery feature. The following models are most likely affected by that annoying problem: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313
For more information regarding the installation check my pictures, - sorry for the bad photo quality. ;)
[image|986719]
[image|986720]
[image|986721]
[image|986722]
[image|986723]
[image|986724]
[image|986725]
[image|986726]
[image|986727]
[image|986731]
[image|986732]
[image|986733]