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Laptop WiFi Cards: BCM94352 (AW-CE123H) & BCM94360 (AW-CB160H) Info & Questions

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Sep 27, 2016
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Motherboard
Clevo P150SM-A
CPU
i7-4810MQ
Graphics
Intel HD4600 & GTX 870M
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
In my endeavor to find the best possible replacement for my half mini PCIe Intel AC 7260HMW, I have read everything I could find. I will state my findings and then ask for personal experience and answers to questions I have. I will also post a link to an awesome compatibility chart for these cards. In the chart, and based on what I've read, the best possibly cards to use are:

First off: Here is the link to the compatibility chart

- Broadcom BCM94352 (and its variants: BCM94352Z, AzureWave AW-CE123H)
- Broadcom BCM94360 (and its variants: BCM94360HMB (half height mini PCIe), BCM94360CD , or Azurewave AW-CB160H)

* The difference between the HMB and CD suffixes: HMB = half height mini PCIe, CD = full height mini PCIe, and Z = NGFF M.2 form factor. As you may or may not know, the newer NGFF M.2 will not fit in a mini PCIe slot. There are, however, adapters, but the use of such adapter requires extra space that many laptops will not permit.

* Aside from form factor, there are other considerations when choosing one of these cards, and that is the antennas and/or the connectors that attach them to the WiFi card. The older standard seems to be U.FL connector, which is larger than the newer, smaller MHF4 connectors. Therefore, you would have to either replace the antennas, or fit an adapter (once again, space permitting) that will likely have a negative effect on performance.

Now for the differences between the two most viable options when it comes to replacing your half mini PCIe WiFi card:
- Broadcom BCM94352HMB (Azurewave AW-CE123H): This card has the U.FL connectors, which seems to be the direct fit, plug and play replacement for my Intel AC 7260HMW, which means I will not have to remove the motherboard to swap out the antennas. This card is also a little less expensive than the BCM94360HMB. However, this card doesn't seem to work out of the box with OS X in a hackintosh.
- Broadcom BCM94360HMB (Azurewave AW-CB160H): This is your other option, which is said to have native, out of the box working ability with OS X and MacOS Sierra. However, it has the smaller antenna connectors, which could mean some difficulties in the installation.

Now, my questions: In the compatibility chart, it actually shows the AW-CE123H as not requiring a "DeviceID fix" and I'm not sure what that means exactly. Does this mean that there are variants within the half mini PCIe of the same card? I thought that the AW-CE123H and BCM94352HMB were one in the same. However, the chart shows a third, similar, yet different Asus BCM94352.

What is the difference between these cards in how they work with a Hackintosh OS X?
 
In my endeavor to find the best possible replacement for my half mini PCIe Intel AC 7260HMW, I have read everything I could find. I will state my findings and then ask for personal experience and answers to questions I have. I will also post a link to an awesome compatibility chart for these cards. In the chart, and based on what I've read, the best possibly cards to use are:

First off: Here is the link to the compatibility chart

I was excited to see a listing of all the Wifi cards and their capabilities all in one place...until I took a closer look. Now I have serious doubts about the accuracy/reliability of that compatibility chart. For starters, it says that the BCM94360CD doesn't have Bluetooth, when I know for a fact it does (I have one). If there's one inaccuracy, it's likely there are more. Just a caveat.
 
That's frustrating to hear. What's weird is that I saw it stated in ebay auction for a BCM94360HMB that the bluetooth does not work in a Hackintosh, which simply doesn't make sense to me and now I wonder if that seller got his information from this chart.

I am still undecided on which card to go for. Especially now that I found these pigtail adapters that will help ease the installation of the BCM94360HMB.

Does anyone know if there will be performance loss with the use of these short pigtail adapters?

Adapters.jpg
 
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I have had a BCM94360CD in my old MacPro5,1 and, now, a BCM94360CS in my hackintosh. In both situations, the adaptor card had leads which contained the USB D+ and D- lines. These needed to be connected to USB either through an internal USB header or through an external USB port.
IMG_40501.jpg

The card you have pictured lacks this which is probably why Bluetooth is not functional.

Where did you manage to find the short MHF4 to U.FL adaptor cables? Thanks.
 
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I believe the same holds true for how all of the WiFi+bt cards work and that the half height mini PCIe cards are connected to the USB via internal circuits. I'd have to evaluate the schematics to be sure, but I think that's how they work.

Here's a link to the MHF4 to U.FL pigtail adapter for those interested.

I'm leaning toward getting the BCM94352HMB rather than the newer, faster BCM94360HMB, at this time, but more input would be great. Most posts I find are from people having bad experiences with their card. I'd like to hear about some good experiences too. Has anyone had their BCM94360HMB work OOB (out-of-box), without having to mess around with patches and such?
 
Ya, I've considered this method as well, but I don't have the room. In order to make this fit, I'd have to do some rather serious fabricating. I don't want to have to cutaway parts of my computer just to get an adapter to fit. I appreciate the thought though.

I have narrowed down my decision to either the BCM94352HMB or BCM94360HMB. The deciding factor is whether or not it will work well using the adapters. Replacing the antennas is another option, but that requires quite an effort and I don't know that the 94360 is that much better than the 94352, aside from being natively recognized. At this point I'm considering buying both and testing it out for myself. I thought I would get a better response than this.
 
I am very pleased to announced that the BCM94360HMB (with adapters) finally arrived today! I popped it in, turned on my Clevo Mackintosh and it worked right away, both 2.4 and 5G. Haven't messed with Bluetooth yet, but I have no immediate need for it. Just wanted to let everyone know that this is a worthwhile purchase! I picked it up from eBay with the U.FL to MHF4 adapters included. Install took about 5 minutes.
 
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Which card did you end up getting? BCM94352HMB or BCM94360HMB?

Also, which motherboard are you using it in?

Thanks.
 
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