Q: Can I update my macbook pro early 2011 to use bluetooth 4.0

apple11235813 wrote:

 

One interesting observation, after updating to official Yosemite and 8.02 on my 5S,  the phone call handoff is working!  Seems like Bluetooth 4 is required for Mail handoff and airdrop but not for phone calls!

That is because that is Continuity, which works via WIFI, not Bluetooth.

I also read somewhere that Hand-Off might improve with iOS 8.1 (coming next Monday)

Hi Guys,

I have a 17" MBP late 2011, I changed the Bluetooth board for a CAX from a MacBook Air 2012, everything works (WiFi, Knock) but not Handoff... I guess I need to update the .kext file... Is there a version for Yosemite 10.10 somewhere?

Could someone help?

THX,

Tom

So I updated my personal MBP Late 2011 to OS X 10.10, which has the hacked kext. Knock To Unlock still works, phone calls still work too. However Handoff does not.

I know Handoff is working from my iPhone 6 Plus because I have a work MBP Retina and it works great with that.

Can someone (one of you smart kext guys) help? The option for Handoff is not in my General setting on my personal MBP, but it is on my work MBP.

Please help if you can. Thanks.

Have a look here http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1747240&page=31

post #754

Works like a charm thanks for the link!

BTW, the tutorial that works is here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1747240&page=34

Post #848

Best,

Tom

Took reading it 4 times, and doing it twice... But post 848!worked great. Thank You!

Is Knock to Unlock a third party thing?

Greetings, all. The correct chipset that you want is #BCM94331PCIEBT4CAX. Note that the chipset without the C (BCM94331PCIEBT4AX) will NOT improve your situation. It's the one already in the 2011 MBPs.

When searching on eBay, watch out for sellers who are offering "...2011, 2012..." compatible chipsets. These are invariably the older Bluetooth version.

I found only one seller who apparently has the correct chipset. Here's the link:

New MacBook Pro A1278 A1286 A1297 Unibody AirPort Extreme Card for 2011-2012

Hope this works!

Just did what was described in post 848 and it works seamlessly. Airdrop works both ways as well. Here is the tutorial, all credits go to UncleSchnitty from macrumors forum:

TUTORIAL

1. Download and install 0xED in your Applications folder, you can get it from here:

http://www.suavetech.com/0xed/

2. Download and install KextDrop in your Applications folder, you can get it from here:

http://www.cindori.org/software/kextdrop/

3. Open Terminal and type :

Code:

sudo nvram boot-args="kext-dev-mode=1"

4. Restart your machine.

5. Open Finder, type CMD+Shift+G and go to /System/Library/Extensions/

6. Copy the files below to your desktop and then delete the originals. Make an extra backup copy of the 2 files in a separate folder just in case.

Code:

IO80211Family.kext

IOBluetoothFamily.kext

7. Go to Terminal, and type: (exactly as below)

Code:

ioreg -l | grep "board-id" | awk -F\" '{print $4}'

8. Your result should look like : Mac-742912EFDBEE19B3, (yours might be different.). Copy it to your clipboard (Select and CMD+C). Don't close terminal yet.

9. Open Finder and hit CMD+Shift+G, go to ~/Desktop/IO80211Family.kext/Contents/Plugins/AirPortBrcm4360.kext/Contents/Mac OS

Note: if you have a different OS language, you might need to replace "Desktop" in the path with your local translation.

10. Right Click on AirPortBrcm4360, and choose OPEN WITH: OTHER: 0XED

11. In the upper right hand corner under “search text" search for "Mac-" (without the quotes).

12. Look at the first result, for example, it might be Mac-00BE6ED71E35EB86

13. Delete the numbers after Mac- and Manually type your Mac- numbers (from step 8 be very careful not to delete anything else just the numbers.

14. Press down arrow till you get to the last Mac- (should look like Mac-2E6FAB96566FE58C)

15.Delete the numbers after Mac- and Manually type your Mac- numbers (from step 8 be very careful not to delete anything else just the numbers.

16. Click Save (the red circle)

17. Open Finder and hit CMD+Shift+G to open the "Go to" popup, and go to ~/Desktop/IOBluetoothFamily.kext/Contents/MacOS

18. Right Click on IOBluetoothFamily, and choose OPEN WITH: OTHER: 0XED.

19. In the SEARCH field (upper right corner) type:MacBookAir then enter.

20. You will find a block of text containing

Code:

'MacBookAir4,1''MacBookAir4,2''Macmini5,1''Macmini5,2''Macmini5,3'

Manually replace the numbers with ones only so they all look like:

Code:

'MacBookAir1,1''MacBookAir1,1''Macmini1,1''Macmini1,1''Macmini1,1'

Important: Be careful not to add any character while doing the replacement.

21. Click SAVE (the red circle button) and quit 0xED.

22. Open KextDrop, and Drag and drop the IO80211Family.kext that you modified into the window.

23. Click INSTALL.

24. Repeat steps 23 and 24 but for your modified IOBluetoothFamily.kext

25. Go Back to Terminal, and type the following commands. Wait for each one to finish.

Code:

sudo kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel

Code:

sudo kextcache -system-caches

26. Reboot. Make sure you have an Internet connection for the next steps.

27. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> GENERAL, at the bottom click ENABLE HANDOFF.

28. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> ICLOUD, click on SIGN OUT.

29. On your iOS Device, go to SETTINGS> ICLOUD and SIGN OUT.

30. Restart your Mac and iOS device.

31. Go to > SYSTEM PREFERENCES> ICLOUD, and enter your credentials to sign in.

32. On your iOS Device, go to SETTINGS> ICLOUD and SIGN IN.

and the original link http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=20123318&postcount=848

Just follow the instructions and you will succeed

is this workaround  requires  replacing the BT hardware chip? or without modifying the BT hardware chip i can use the handoff feature, i am confused.

It most certainly requires an Airport card replacement unless it supports Bluetooth 4.0 already.

Ah i got it, thanks.

Greetings All!

Is there any chance that the chip described here and update of the .kext file would work for a 15" Mid 2010 MBP?

Cheers!

IQ

Izzy_q,

Open your MBP and see what chip is inside, this will give you an answer. This is what I did to find out what chip I needed for my 2011, if you look on the net you will get lost.

Hope this helps,

Tom

No. The BT/wifi radio described is interchangeable in the 2011 and 2012 MBPs, but the 2010 would require a different radio. Check it out on iFixit.com or PowerBookMedic.com for more details.