Is it possible to replace the Bluetooth card to 4.0 to use Handoff

Question

Is it possible to replace the Bluetooth card to 4.0 to use Handoff

I have a IMAc purchased in June 2012 but has the old Bluetooth card. So I am unable to use handoff or the other features unless I have Bluetooth 4.0. I just read that it is possible to replace this card on a MACBook Pro and I was wondering if it is also possible with the IMAC? I am not ready to spend another 3grand as I still have almost a year of APPLE care on this one. Below is my IMAC info and the Bluetooth type card installed.

Thomass-iMac:~ Munchkin$ ioreg -l | grep "board-id" | awk -F\" '{print $4}'

Mac-942B59F58194171B

Posted on Oct 19, 2014 1:39 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 19, 2014 1:42 PM in response to Thomas Smith3

The Bluetooth chip is soldered to the logic board in the iMac so finding someone with the skills is going to be very expensive.

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Answer 2

Oct 20, 2014 9:11 AM in response to Thomas Smith3

i m not able to use airdrop and contacted apple genius bar according to the genius he has the same imac and he is able to use airdrop however he examined mine and it would not work so i ask if he could take the imac in for further investigation and if need be upgrade the bluetooth card which would cost something around 100 dollars

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Answer 3

Oct 22, 2014 8:49 AM in response to miltonspalburg

Let me know if they are able to replace the Bluetooth card for $100. According to Ralph the original is sobered into the logic board and would be very expensive to replace. I really do not want to upgrade my IMAC yet, since I still have 7 months left on my Apple Care. To use handoff and Airdrop you need a card that is using Bluetooth 4.0. Thanks

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Answer 4

Crljenak

Level 1

13 points

Oct 24, 2014 8:28 AM in response to Thomas Smith3

I'm not sure it is soldered. The iFixit guide shows how to replace the bluetooth board for this iMac: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Bluetooth+Board+Replace ment/7553

The question would be if a newer bluetooth board will fit and be recognized by the OS to allow handoff, and I would also be interested in this.

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Answer 5

Oct 24, 2014 4:07 PM in response to Crljenak

Any apple support people that can answer this issue?

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Answer 6

babowa

Level 9

78,568 points

Oct 24, 2014 4:42 PM in response to Thomas Smith3

There are no Apple support people here - these are user to user forums for the most part.

@ Thomas Smith3:

I can't find anything about having to have BT 4 - can you post a link to that info?

Here's what I found: requirements for Handoff:

OS X Yosemite: null

from here:

OS X Yosemite: Pick up where you left off with Handoff

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Answer 7

Oct 24, 2014 5:02 PM in response to babowa

This may answer all our questions. I just found it while trying to find the source of the BT 4.0 requirement. Read this

http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/23/enable-continuity-handoff-instant-hotspot-airdrop/

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Answer 8

Bruno-

Level 1

19 points

Dec 17, 2014 2:00 PM in response to Ralph Landry1

this is where the bluetooth card is located on the iMac 27 mid2011 - this should be a very easy replacement, provided someone can identify the proper Bluetooth 4.0 compatible component to use as a replace part.

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Answer 9

babowa

Level 9

78,568 points

Dec 17, 2014 2:53 PM in response to Bruno-

The OP has a 2012, not 2011. - Oops, never mind, his is a 2011 model purchased in 2012.

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