Replacing Airport Extreme Card in Late 2008 MBP - What to buy??

Question

Replacing Airport Extreme Card in Late 2008 MBP - What to buy??

I've limped along for about 2 years now with my wifi constantly dropping while everyone else has a strong, constant signal. Doesn't matter where I am, it's always dropping and takes ages to reconnect. I've tried everything advised on the forum etc and am now about to buy something else as my main machine. I don't want to get rid of my MBP though so am planning on installing new memory and hard drive and while I'm doing that, want to replace the airport extreme card. The MBP will then become my secondary machine.

Problem is, I can't figure out what I need to buy to replace the **** card! Seems like a lot I'm finding are either for machines that never had cards or for 2009 or newer. I just need to know which card to buy.

OR . . . hearing that they are a pain to get to (keeping in mind I'll have the guts exposed while I upgrade the memory and HD) and fiddly . . . is there something external to plug into a USB I should get instead?

Here are my specs:

MacBook Pro, 15" Late 2008 (Unibody)

2.4 Ghz Intel Core Duo

2 GB 1067 Mhz DDR3 (which I'm about to upgrade)

Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 (11E53)

Card Type:	AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x8D)
Firmware Version:	Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.198.4.20)
MAC Address:
Locale:
Country Code:
Supported PHY Modes:	802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels:	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Wake On Wireless:	Supported
AirDrop:	Supported

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Jun 1, 2012 9:15 AM

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Answer 1

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jun 1, 2012 9:26 AM in response to songsofexperience

Are you certain that it is the card. It may be a problem with the antenna and the connections?

Ciao.

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Answer 2

Jun 1, 2012 9:31 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

I haven't actually opened it up to look so good point. But let's say the connections are fine, what would I buy?

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Answer 3

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jun 1, 2012 9:57 AM in response to songsofexperience

I would check with iFixit.com or the technical staff at OWC for the exact particulars.

I would also run an Apple Hardware Test to see if that picks up any problems in your MBP.

Ciao.

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Answer 4

Jun 1, 2012 10:24 AM in response to songsofexperience

Well, apparently I can't run AHT. Holding down "D" no longer works, as I knew from reading other discussions on the forum and apaprently, my MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868 no longer works. Since I so rarely ever stick a disc in there it isn't a big deal. It won't take anything though - no CD, no DVD, no install disc.

I'm seriosuly thinking of just scrapping this machine altogether now. I know it's 4 years old but come on! It's been limping for the last 2 of those and I know the new line of Macs is about to drop but I think my days as a Mac Girl may be over.

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Answer 5

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jun 1, 2012 10:57 AM in response to songsofexperience

I was led to believe that to run the AHT, on 2008 and later MBPs, holding down the 'D' key was all that was necessary. One did not need the original gray install disk. I would try again and hold the key down until it got into the test or it booted.

Don't be so negative! In my Apple inventory I have a 2006 MBP and it runs fine. I would not think of abandoning it. The Optical Drive can be replaced and that should not be a difficult job. Your MBP can accept up to 8 GB RAM and a HDD of up to 1 TB capacity.

Think about a trip to the Apple store genius bar and see if they can at least determine the exact cause of the flimsy Airport reception. The diagnosis will be free.

Ciao.

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Answer 6

Jun 1, 2012 11:06 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

I'm already upgrading to 8GB of RAM and I'm planning on adding a Solid State Hard Drive since it will be a secondary machine. I really don't want to replace the optical drive too. At that point it's got new components in an old chassis with an old CPU.

I've been to the Genius Bar (back when I lived in a place where there was one in town) and they couldn't replicate the issue but as soon as I left it started up again. There are times when it holds the signal for a good hour or more or days like today when it's dropping it every few minutes. It's completely random.

No. This girl is going to go build her own PC with a fantastic GPU so as to kick some Diablo butt and the old Macbook Pro will only get used when I don't need it for anything serious. And I am most certainly not dropping another $2k + on a new MBP no matter how shiny they are! It's the end of an era as I've been using Macs exclusively for over 10 years now.

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Answer 7

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jun 1, 2012 12:01 PM in response to songsofexperience

A SSD is gilding the lily. For the price of one SSD (larger capacity) you can get a conventional HDD and an Optical Drive and have beer/champagne money left over.

Good luck on with your PC and MBP!

Ciao.

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