Mac Pro 6,1 Late 2013 Airport Card Replacement Problem

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Level 1

4 points

Mac Pro 6,1 Late 2013 Airport Card Replacement Problem

I tried to replace original AirPort Extreme card with another one that I bought from eBay. Both cards look very same and is BCM94360CD model. The new card’s Wifi works except when there is USB 3.0 drive connected. When I plug a usb 3.0 drive, wifi started dropping and reconnecting. I am using 5g channel so it shouldn’t because of usb and 2.4g signal interference. I tried another BCM94360CD card and see same issue. Wifi and Bluetooth works except when plugging usb 3.0 drive and then wifi starts to reconnecting. I tried BCM943602CDP card and Bluetooth becomes 4.2 but wifi still has this problem. I tried Catalina install USB and the install program cannot connect to wifi with same problem. Mojave install program has same issue. I tried reset smc and nvram and doesn’t help. Bootrom firmware is 137.0.0.0 the newest. I tried Ubuntu live usb and seems doesn’t have this kind of problem. Seems like Mac OS can only work with original card but Linux can work with other cards. Really strange. Please help if you have some hints.

Mac Pro

Posted on Aug 10, 2020 12:10 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 10, 2020 7:36 AM in response to fancy9

Why do I have difficulty with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices when USB 3 devices are attached to my computer?

Some USB 3 devices can generate radio frequency interference that can cause Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices operating in the 2.4GHz band to have issues communicating with your computer. Here are some tips to avoid this issue:

• If your USB device has a cable long enough that you can move the device, place it away from your MacBook—and make sure not to place it behind your MacBook, or near the hinge of its display. The antennas for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are located there, and USB 3 devices placed there might interfere with your wireless connections.

• If you're using adapters or dongles on a Mac computer with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, plug them into the front port on the left side of your Mac, or into the ports on the right side (if your computer has them). These ports are the farthest away from the antennas, making interference less likely.

• To avoid interference on the 2.4GHz band using Wi-Fi, try using the 5GHz band instead. You can change this on your wireless base station. Bluetooth always uses 2.4GHz, so this alternative isn't available for Bluetooth.

from:

About USB on Mac computers - Apple Support

Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201542

The movie version: your drive or adapter is poorly shielded

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Answer 2

Aug 10, 2020 10:48 AM in response to fancy9

Hold down the Option key while you click on the Wi-Fi Icon in the MenuBar. You get a snapshot like this older one.

Screenshot or transcribe the values and also,

¿How many Networks do you see?

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Answer 3

fancy9 Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 10, 2020 10:53 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I replace original card back so I cannot take screeshots for now. I did check this when having other cards installed. When problem happened, BSSID changed to 00:00:00:00 and noise become bigger and bigger. Not sure if noise in this case is valid since BSSID is zero and invalid.

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