How-To Bluetooth 5.0 USB Dongle [guide]

[tokyocpu]

This dongle works well for me without the patch. I was mainly looking for a forward looking device with a better signal than my old crappy one. For some reason it's performance has been degrading. If anyone gets around to creating a Clover patch for this device I hope they post something here. Until I want some of the extra features I won't bother to patch as instructed above.

It wont work well plugged into the computer, the data sheet shows that near metal (computer case) signal is poor. This is why I have it on an extender. I also tried a powered versus non-powered USB hub and there was no difference, no improvement in Airdrop on a powered hub. Regular Bluetooth range is good, however airdrop needs to be close to work. It doesn't work at all for airdrop plugged into a case. I looked at getting their development board and possible hooking up to an external antenna but their development kit is pricey.

 

[mntbighker]

It wont work well plugged into the computer, the data sheet shows that near metal (computer case) signal is poor. This is why I have it on an extender. I also tried a powered versus non-powered USB hub and there was no difference, no improvement in Airdrop on a powered hub. Regular Bluetooth range is good, however airdrop needs to be close to work. It doesn't work at all for airdrop plugged into a case. I looked at getting their development board and possible hooking up to an external antenna but their development kit is pricey.

I have mine plugged into a powered hub a foot from the keyboard/trackpad. Regardless I still have ocassional issues with signal if my Apple Watch or iPhone are near.

 

[theSov]

Thanks for the writeup! You've inspired me to give this dongle a shot. =)

 

[tokyocpu]

Here's something interesting...
blueutil bluetooth utility command line

brew install blueutil

$ blueutil --paired
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, connected (master, -44 dBm), not favourite, paired, name: "BT5.0 Mouse", recent access date: 2020-03-31 01:02:38 +0000
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, not paired, name: "Apple TV", recent access date: 2020-03-10 01:48:04 +0000
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, paired, name: "Soundcore Spirit X ", recent access date: 2020-03-30 01:44:54 +0000
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, not paired, name: "iPhone11ProMax", recent access date: 2020-03-30 07:38:47 +0000
address: xx-xx4-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, not paired, name: "iPad", recent access date: 2020-03-30 06:55:55 +0000

I'll be playing around with this more, just discovered it. This is everything my USB Bluetooth dongle can see.

 

[jhenu]

@

Here's something interesting...
blueutil bluetooth utility command line

brew install blueutil

$ blueutil --paired
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, connected (master, -44 dBm), not favourite, paired, name: "BT5.0 Mouse", recent access date: 2020-03-31 01:02:38 +0000
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, not paired, name: "Apple TV", recent access date: 2020-03-10 01:48:04 +0000
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, paired, name: "Soundcore Spirit X ", recent access date: 2020-03-30 01:44:54 +0000
address: xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, not paired, name: "iPhone11ProMax", recent access date: 2020-03-30 07:38:47 +0000
address: xx-xx4-xx-xx-xx-xx, not connected, not favourite, not paired, name: "iPad", recent access date: 2020-03-30 06:55:55 +0000

I'll be playing around with this more, just discovered it. This is everything my USB Bluetooth dongle can see.

tokyocpu I’m unable to find Laird V851 in China. Any other native USB Bluetooth V5.0 Dongle.
Also is there any native WiFi usb dongle that works without drivers using Apple WiFi software.

 

[tokyocpu]

Proximity Issue Solved

The issue with the phone needing to be close in proximity to the USB device, is solved now.
I was using Finder with AirDrop turned on in Favorites, where AirDrop is shown in the Favorites side-bar.
I went into Finder / Preferences / Sidebar and un-checked AirDrop.

This was my downfall. I always used it like this -- with the AirDrop sidebar in Finder.
When I click on AirDrop I could see Bonjour stopping and starting in the console as shown below.

Disabling AirDrop in Favorites.

So now I get the Notifications instead and it works from 15 feet away, no problem.

My issue wasn't hardware, but switching to Notifications, instead of the Finder AirDrop in Favorites sidebar. This fixed my crazy issues with AirDrop sometimes working and sometimes not working.

Finally I figured it out. !

 

[tokyocpu]

@

tokyocpu I’m unable to find Laird V851 in China. Any other native USB Bluetooth V5.0 Dongle.
Also is there any native WiFi usb dongle that works without drivers using Apple WiFi software.

I use the Fenvi PCI card for Wifi, so I don't know anything about WiFi on USB.
I dont know of any other USB 5.0 dongle especially for China. Sorry.
search amazon for "wifi usb hackintosh" and you'll find some Mac compatible wifi there.

 

[mjban]

@tokyocpu Is Apple Watch unlock working for you?

 

[theSov]

I just received this adapter, but don't seem to be able to get it working... fwiw, the blue LED on the dongle is lit.

I was unable to edit the Info.plist file (rather, I was unable to save it, got "E212: Can't open file for writing" in spite of running vim as root), but Bluetooth preferences shows 'Now discoverable as' when the dongle is inserted.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot/verify that the dongle is being recognized properly?

 

[mjban]

@theSov Mine is arriving today and will update with the results, but if you are running Catalina your file system is read only and that is probably why you cannot edit the file. My plan is to use BrcmPatchRAM and add the IDs to that kext file and make sure it is injecting the device properly at boot.