Broadcom WiFi/Bluetooth [Guide]

[Gareth23]

Hello,

Was just wondering would this guide work with AW-NB111H ( BCM943228HMB ) see pic...
Regards Gareth

I have this old card from my Mac bookPro... but it seems to have 3 antennas ports on it I only have 2 antennas to use so not sure if those will be ok on which ports 2,1,0 are there numbers , also its not a half mini so it would be sitting out to much, tho I could fit it in!

regards Gareth

 

[jaymonkey]

I have this old card from my Mac bookPro... but it seems to have 3 antennas ports on it I only have 2 antennas to use so not sure if those will be ok on which ports 2,1,0 are there numbers , also its not a half mini so it would be sitting out to much, tho I could fit it in!

@Gareth23,

If you do decide to use the card buy anther antenna / pig tail for it ... they only cost a few $ on eBay .... do not use it without 3 pig tails plugged into it. Running any WiFi/BT card with out the correct number of antenna's plugged it can result in a damage to the on-board radio amplifiers as there is no load on the un-connected radio output(s).

Cheers
Jay

 

[Gareth23]

@Gareth23,

If you do decide to use the card buy anther antenna / pig tail for it ... they only cost a few $ on eBay .... do not use it without 3 pig tails plugged into it. Running any WiFi/BT card with out the correct number of antenna's plugged it can result in a damage to the on-board radio amplifiers as there is no load on the un-connected radio output(s).

Cheers
Jay

Thanks for that info Jay ... was looking at

• Half mini: BCM94360HMB/AzureWave AW-CB160H - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE. ......
• https://www.ebay.com/itm/Broadcom-B...0Mbps-802-11ac-WIFI-Card-BT-4-0-/251969999335

 

[jaymonkey]

Thanks for that info Jay ... was looking at

• Half mini: BCM94360HMB/AzureWave AW-CB160H - native WiFi/ac and BT4LE. ......
• https://www.ebay.com/itm/Broadcom-B...0Mbps-802-11ac-WIFI-Card-BT-4-0-/251969999335

@Gareth23,

Yes thats a good combo card for hackingtosh with mini PCIe, natively supported so you should not have too much trouble getting it to work. See Toleda's guide for more info :-

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/broadcom-wifi-bluetooth-guide.242423/#post-1664577

But make sure you buy an additional Antenna / pigtail for the reasons i posted above.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Gareth23]

@Gareth23,

Yes thats a good combo card for hackingtosh with mini PCIe, natively supported so you should not have too much trouble getting it to work. See Toleda's guide for more info :-

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/broadcom-wifi-bluetooth-guide.242423/#post-1664577

But make sure you buy an additional Antenna / pigtail for the reasons i posted above.

Cheers
Jay

Thanks Jay ... am looking at Antennas for thatAzureWave AW-CB160H just trying to find out if my old antennas are MHF4 or MHF3 !

 

[dasboot5]

Question: can this adapter be used to install a AppleBroadcom card directly on the motherboard in a Drive M.2 slot rather than using a X1 pcie Carrier? Antenna wires would need to be extended to bulkhead fittings in backplane. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHRJVXW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[pastrychef]

Question: can this adapter be used to install a AppleBroadcom card directly on the motherboard in a Drive M.2 slot rather than using a X1 pcie Carrier? Antenna wires would need to be extended to bulkhead fittings in backplane. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHRJVXW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

No. The keying is different.

If you really want to use that M.2 slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, you would have to resort to a pretty convoluted solution...
Use an M.2 to PCI-e adaptor.

Then, use an Apple Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card with a PCI-e adaptor in that adaptor...

 

[dasboot5]

No. The keying is different.

If you really want to use that M.2 slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, you would have to resort to a pretty convoluted solution...
Use an M.2 to PCI-e adaptor.
View attachment 349249
Then, use an Apple Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card with a PCI-e adaptor in that adaptor...
View attachment 349250

So these carriers spilt off and allow Bluetooth data to go through USB and provide the proper 3v power and there is no specific adapter, by itself, that can do both jobs from this type of slot. Currently, I have tried four different style carriers with both old and new school Apple Broadcom cards 4 and 3 antennas, two of the carriers cannot be recognized at all, on the wifi level, in my GA Z370 gaming 7 board. They are, however recognized, in a 200 series Asus board with Z270 chipset. An OSXwifi soulution is immediately recognized, and I just got a Fenvi solution, which was immediately recognized and it working both wifi and bluetooth. There is another carrier that is suppsed to work in any slot X1 to X16 and is made by Companies under the Wdxxfu Studio design, or rebranded versions of the same, such as this Justop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MBP25UK/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluetooth-PCI-Express-BCM943602CS-Hackintosh-Computers/dp/B00MBP25UK
Unfortunately, these carriers are not sold in the US unless you want to go the China direct route, and this does not include Ebay.

 

[pastrychef]

So these carriers spilt off and allow Bluetooth data to go through USB and provide the proper 3v power and there is no specific adapter, by itself, that can do both jobs from this type of slot. Currently, I have tried four different style carriers with both old and new school Apple Broadcom cards 4 and 3 antennas, two of the carriers cannot be recognized at all, on the wifi level, in my GA Z370 gaming 7 board. They are, however recognized, in a 200 series Asus board with Z270 chipset. An OSXwifi soulution is immediately recognized, and I just got a Fenvi solution, which was immediately recognized and it working both wifi and bluetooth. There is another carrier that is suppsed to work in any slot X1 to X16 and is made by Companies under the Wdxxfu Studio design, or rebranded versions of the same, such as this Justop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MBP25UK/?tag=tonymacx86-21
Unfortunately, these carriers are not sold in the US unless you want to go the China direct route, and this does not include Ebay.

No, the Apple Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adaptors have leads that carry Bluetooth USB Data+ and Data-. Power comes from the PCI-e slot.

Any of the cards you mentioned should work in a PCI-e x1, x4, x6, or x16 slot since PCI-e is backwards and forward compatible in that regard. People have jury-rigged cards made for x16 to work in x1 slots by butchering the card or connector.

In regards to your situation where you tried four different adaptors and them not working, I really don't know why they didn't work. I can only speculate that the adaptors were defective or installation was incorrect. In my Z370 build thread, there were some users who used the wrong screw to attach an adaptor and it caused Bluetooth to fail.

Yes, for many of these components, I have only found China-based sellers.

 

[jaymonkey]

Thanks Jay ... am looking at Antennas for thatAzureWave AW-CB160H just trying to find out if my old antennas are MHF4 or MHF3 !

MHF3 = 2mm
MHF4 = 1.5mm

Cheers
Jay