eMac compatibility with original AirPort card

Is the eMac 1.25 still working? The majority of that sub-model failed from several fatal logic board issues. If still working, it may not run for long.

Apple published a list of affected serial number ranges for that model:

• G8412xxxxxx- G8520xxxxxx
• YM412xxxxxx - YM520xxxxxx
• VM440xxxxxx - VM516xxxxxx

However, I've evaluated failed 1.25ghz eMacs that were outside those ranges whose symptoms matched those of the "bad" ones.

The eMac serial number is on a sticker on the inside of the optical drive door, visible through the slot in the drive tray:

Ironically that picture, saved from a long-expired Apple support article, shows the serial number to be in one of the affected device ranges.

I would be reluctant to spend money on that model, even if its ser number is not in the published "known-bad" range. It was a very troubled sub-model of the eMac with a long history of pained owners here.

The surprising thing was the next (and last) eMac model , the eMac (2005) with a 1.42,gHz processor, was nearly bullet-proof. We have one we bought in early 2006 that still works flawlessly.

Hi,

According to the following specifications, this model would use an AirPort Extreme (802.11b/g) card.

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/emac/specs/emac_1.25.html

So, you will have to look for another solution. A better way may be to connect a wireless Ethernet bridge, or a Wi-Fi range extender with Ethernet bridge capabilities (operating in a client/adapter mode), to the Ethernet port of the eMac. This is merely one example:

https://www.edimax.com/edimax/merchandise/merchandise_detail/data/edimax/global/wi-fi_range_extenders_n300/ew-7438rpn_mini/

A USB Wi-Fi adapter is not a good idea, since devices/drivers for Mac OS X 10.3 to 10.5 are difficult to find.

I saw several eMAc Airport Extreme cards lists on eBay for cheap, but my response failed to post earlier.

...I not only replaced the capacitors (there was around 20 of them on a multilayer pcb, kinda painful)

Well-played indeed! That was the most common of the LB failures in affected eMacs.

No eMac can ever be super-fast on ethernet. As was common on the eMac era, Apple fitted consumer and educational models ( iMac; eMac; iBook) with 10/100BASE-T ports. "Pro" models (PowerMac G4/5 towers; MacBook Pros; PowerBook G4s; etc)) had 10/1000BASE-T ports. The eMac was among those with the slower ports.

As previously indicated, if you want to use the internal card, you'll need the AirPort Extreme, Model No. A1026 (M8881LL/A).