Broadcom WiFi/Bluetooth [Guide]

[Edhawk]

how unromantic

But apt and to the point.

 

[Noona]

• PCIe/x1: BCM94360CD - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (3 antennas)
• PCIe/x1: BCM94331CD - native WiFi and BT4LE
• M.2: BCM943602BAED/DW1830 - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (3 antennas)
  • Laptop issues/solutions, see jaymonkey/Post #138
• M.2: BCM94360CSAX - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (3 antennas)
• M.2: BCM943602CS - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (3 antennas)
• M.2: BCM94360CS2 - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (2 antennas)
• M.2: BCM94352Z/AzureWave AW-CE162NF/DW1560 - supports WiFi/ac and BT4LE
• M.2: BCM94350ZAE/DW1820A - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE
• Half mini: BCM94360HMB/AzureWave AW-CB160H - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE (3 antennas)
• Half mini: BCM94352 HMB/AzureWave AW-CE123H - supports WiFi/ac and BT4LE

Can you add in the supported Operating Systems for these cards? For example, that first one, Mountain Lion - Current
Above it, or below it, or something like that

 

[trs96]

Can you add in the supported Operating Systems for these cards?

toleda is no longer active here.

 

[Noona]

toleda is no longer active here.

Are you able to modify their post?

 

[dclive]

Hi All -

I have a Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 6 with an Intel 8265 still in it.

I haven't opened it yet (it's new to me ... we're in the under-72-hours new phase) but I currently have 13.1, Ubuntu 22.10, and Win 11 Pro on there, all working great.

I have an Intel 8265 in there. When I google for pics of that card, it's a 3-prong (the interface to the motherboard) card with 2 antenna hookups on it.

In my spare stuff box, I have a Dell 1830 (3 antenna hookups) on it. Is there any sense in hooking it up to see how well it will work? Will it be a usable experience, or is it a complete waste of time? Is there any difference in the 3 antennas (given I only have 2 antenna wires) in which 2 I should plug in and use?

Currently I'm using 2.2 of airportitwlm and the 8265 works perhaps every other reboot. It's usable, but certainly not great. Even if the 1830 had poor range, it would be a better experience (if it booted consistently...) compared to this Intel card.

Any thoughts?

 

[Edhawk]

Until there is a new 'Stable' version of Airportitlwm.kext released for Ventura you will not be using the Intel card with any regularity.

In order to use the Dell 1830 card, you would need to add another antenna to your laptop to make full use of the DW1830 card. Running the card with only two antenna would not be ideal, as it would cripple the throughput.

Laptop antenna can be obtained from Amazon and eBay, for little expense. Something like this would probably work.

2X IPEX-4 Gen4 IPEX MHF4 Antenna For DW1830 DW1560 BCM4352Z BCM4360 WLAN Card | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2X IPEX-4 Gen4 IPEX MHF4 Antenna For DW1830 DW1560 BCM4352Z BCM4360 WLAN Card at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

1. Assuming the two cards use the same connector key it should be a straight swap.
2. Plus, connecting and threading the new antenna cable to a reasonable location on the edge of your laptop, i.e. away from any hot surfaces/vents.

The current WiFi/BT antenna will be routed and stuck to the rear of the display/Lid. Copying that process would be a lot of hassle, and likely to cause more issues taking everything apart and then reassembling the laptop, after the new antenna has been positioned.

Also I am not sure the new antenna cable will pass through the existing cable paths, as they don't usually leave any spare room for additional cables, i.e. where the hinges join the display/Lid to the base. So placing/sticking the new aerial along the side of the laptop is the easiest and most logical method.

This is something I have done with a number of laptops, i.e. removing an old WiFI/BT card and replacing it with a Broadcom based card that has one or more antenna, compared to the original Intel/Killer/Realtek Wifi/BT card. Even done the same on a few old iMacs when updating the WiFi/BT card to a newer model for Handoff, Continuity etc.

The important aspects when undertaking something like this are as follows:

• Make sure the new card fits in the connector,
• That the new card can be secured to the laptop using the original screw fixing. Sometimes the new card requires an extension piece so the card can be fixed and supported correctly. This shouldn't be the case with your old and new cards. But it is something to be aware of when using half-mini WiFi/BT cards.
• That the existing and new antenna cable connectors work with the connectors on the new card.

You will need to remove the Intel kexts and then add the Broadcom WiFi/Bluetooth kexts from Acidanthera, those recommended for macOS Ventura.

GitHub - acidanthera/BrcmPatchRAM

Contribute to acidanthera/BrcmPatchRAM development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

GitHub - acidanthera/AirportBrcmFixup: An open source kernel extension providing a set of patches required for non-native Airport Broadcom Wi-Fi cards.

An open source kernel extension providing a set of patches required for non-native Airport Broadcom Wi-Fi cards. - GitHub - acidanthera/AirportBrcmFixup: An open source kernel extension providing a...

github.com

Hope this is helpful.

 

[dclive]

OK, so I opened the notebook, replaced the 8265 with a DW1830, and am trying it out now.

With NO kexts, wireless works, but BT doesn't, saying third party dongle. Honestly, this is all I need, but in always striving for a more complete solution (for BT), here's what I did:

1. Removed airportitwlm, rebooted - all worked great
2. Added brcmpatchram3, bluetoolfixup, and brcmfirmwaredata, in that order, at the bottom of OC87's kext/add in OCAT, 2.64, with my OC87.
3. Consistently I got "couldn't alloc class applekeystoretest" at bootup
4. Removing the three kexts 'fixes' the issue.

Am I doing something wrong? Based on what I read in brcmfixup that's what one is supposed to do for MacOS 12+...? Do I need airportbrcmfixup in there too, first?

 

[Edhawk]

No, those are the 3 x kexts required for your Bluetooth module in Monterey or Ventura.

You don't have BrcmBluetoothInjector.kext installed do you? As this kext doesn't work in Monterey or with BlueToolFixup.kext.

Do you have the Bluetooth modules USB port enabled and set correctly in your USBPorts.kext/USBMap.kext? Should be the same port that the Intel card used, but best to check that it is working all the same.

 

[dclive]

BrcmBluetoothInjector not installed.

Hackintool: HS07, green, is the BCM2045A0. So I think we're OK on the USB count. Internal.

Booting with just Airportbrcmfixup 2.16 and Bluetoolfixup 2.64 works fine, but BT says "Third party dongle" and firmware shows v8453 c4096, which I understand means rom wasn't patched (which makes sense, because when I boot with those other two (brcmpatchram3, brcmfirmwaredata) the machine won't boot.

So - status now: wifi continues to work fine, airportbrcmfixup and bluetoolfixup are installed, but neither of the other 2 are installed. What's the best next step to get BT working? I can try one or the other to see which causes the crash...but I just wanted to confirm I am doing it right, and it's odd one or both of those two kexts causes a no-boot situation.

 

[pastrychef]

BrcmBluetoothInjector not installed.

Hackintool: HS07, green, is the BCM2045A0. So I think we're OK on the USB count. Internal.

Booting with just Airportbrcmfixup 2.16 and Bluetoolfixup 2.64 works fine, but BT says "Third party dongle" and firmware shows v8453 c4096, which I understand means rom wasn't patched (which makes sense, because when I boot with those other two (brcmpatchram3, brcmfirmwaredata) the machine won't boot.

So - status now: wifi continues to work fine, airportbrcmfixup and bluetoolfixup are installed, but neither of the other 2 are installed. What's the best next step to get BT working? I can try one or the other to see which causes the crash...but I just wanted to confirm I am doing it right, and it's odd one or both of those two kexts causes a no-boot situation.

These are the kexts you need to get Bluetooth working.

Also, check what your max Wi-Fi Tx Rate is on the DW1830. I recently tried one out and it topped out at approx 434Mbps. My DW1560s and BCM94360CS2s top out at around 867Mbps and my BCM943602CS tops out above 1100Mbps.