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Want a Wifi + Bluetooth card for macOS Sierra on Dell Inspiron 5559 (2016)

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Thanks Jay,
I am currently doing research on which form factor my laptop has and will then make the decision. Thank You
So I dig into system information and found this:
wifi.PNG
Googling reveals that it is a mini PCIe card, am I right? So should I go for BCM94352 as pointed by @jaymonkey?
 
So I dig into system information and found this:
View attachment 300307
Googling reveals that it is a mini PCIe card, am I right? So should I go for BCM94352 as pointed by @jaymonkey?

No such thing as a BCM943352 "card"...
BCM94352 is a WiFi chipset (sometimes called just BCM4352).
BCM4352 can be packaged as BCM94352Z or BCM94352HMB (maybe others).

Best to physically inspect your current card so you know for sure on the form factor.
Also, read the OEM provided service/maintenance manual.
 
After reading the service manual I came to know that my laptop accepts NGFF WiFi. I have searched for BCM843602 but didn’t find one. Does anyone know, is there any model with this name?
@jaymonkey
@RehabMan
 
After reading the service manual I came to know that my laptop accepts NGFF WiFi. I have searched for BCM843602 but didn’t find one. Does anyone know, is there any model with this name?

Be careful with the Broadcom chipset numbers your quoting .... you've posted a few that are not correct ...

If your laptop has NGFF M.2 WiFi then you only really have three options ...

BCM94352Z (DELL DW1560)

Which is basically a M.2 version of the old BCM94352 mPCIe Card .. its about 5 years old .. however if your only going to use OSX (MAC OS) then this is probably the best choice although some users have reported issues with the bluetooth.

The Windows drivers for this card are very buggy for the reasons i already explained to you in my previous posts.

Example :-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-DW1...995309?hash=item2a87160b6d:g:7-QAAOSwcB5ZI-iO

BCM943602BAED (DELL 1830)

This is a much newer card supporting newer spec Bluetooth based on the BCM943602 chipset which is used by Apple, the letters after the chipset number identify the key slots for the M.2 connector ... there are several three different versions ( A, B, E, A+B, B+E .. etc) but this one should fit most laptops :-

Example :-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-DW1...982278?hash=item2a88470586:g:ZJcAAOSw5cRZNMmZ

Easiest method to check the key slots is to remove your old card and compare it to a picture, if the slots are in the same place then it will fit ... if you want to fully understand the key types and which pins are notched see this Wiki :-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2

Please note that eBay listings from china suppliers that quote DELL part numbers are in almost all cases fake and not genuine DELL parts, The Broadcom chipset is the same but the WiFi Firmware is generic and not the DELL Firmware.

You can only get genuine DELL WiFi cards from DELL ... so don't be fooled ...

That said i've used both clone DW 1830 and DW 1560 with success .. just understand that the clone cards may result in some oddities as i outlined in my two posts using both of these cards.

Since I've never used genuine DELL parts i can not be 100% sure but from what I've read on the forums the genuine DELL 1830 may give you the best compatibility and not suffer from the sleep/wake issue i detailed in my guide :-

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...ith-bcm943602baed-dw1830.236009/#post-1617689

Its worth reading up on the Pin taping that some laptops need :-

https://lybomudr.ru/en/132-zapuskae...pod-windows-10-v-acer-v3-371-i-drugikh-2.html

Oh yes i said there where three options ....

Recently a number of Chinese suppliers have started shipping a NGFF/M.2 adapter so that you can fit a genuine Apple WiFi card ..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-6-Pin...534948&hash=item43f6ae97ac:g:BukAAOSwLnBX7NiA

The Apple WiFi/BT card uses the BCM943602 chipset but has a proprietary interface connector which is not compatible with M.2/NGFF the adapter converts the Apple interface to standard M.2 ...

On paper this would seem like a good choice but some laptops may not have enough room (hight) to allow the stacked adapter and wifi card to fit, but if it will fit it maybe worth looking at .... I've bought one but have not tried it yet as I was able to work around the DW 1830 sleep/wake issue .... however there are no guarantees it will work in all cases. Also be aware your locked into using Apple drivers under Windows which may or may not be a good thing and may be an issue if you run Linux .. not sure on that.

At the end of the day there are no guarantees .... as with all things Hackingtosh what works for one may not work for another, I've got a draw of around 20 WiFi cards ... some work .. some don't ... I've spent a lot of time and effort investigating WiFi cards on OSX the three options outlined above are currently your only options.

Of course you can always use a USB dongle which is easy and should be guaranteed to work but that approach does not work for everyone .... some times you just have to take the plunge and give it a go, if it does not work and you cant find a fix try something else.

Good Luck
Jay
 
Last edited:
Be careful with the Broadcom chipset numbers your quoting .... you've posted a few that are not correct ...

If your laptop has NGFF M.2 WiFi then you only really have three options ...

BCM94352Z (DELL DW1560)

Which is basically a M.2 version of the old BCM94352 mPCIe Card .. its about 5 years old .. however if your only going to use OSX (MAC OS) then this is probably the best choice although some users have reported issues with the bluetooth.

The Windows drivers for this card are very buggy for the reasons i already explained to you in my previous posts.

Example :-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-DW1...995309?hash=item2a87160b6d:g:7-QAAOSwcB5ZI-iO

BCM943602BAED (DELL 1830)

This is a much newer card supporting newer spec Bluetooth based on the BCM943602 chipset which is used by Apple, the letters after the chipset number identify the key slots for the M.2 connector ... there are several three different versions ( A, B, E, A+B, B+E .. etc) but this one should fit most laptops :-

Example :-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-DW1...982278?hash=item2a88470586:g:ZJcAAOSw5cRZNMmZ

Easiest method to check the key slots is to remove your old card and compare it to a picture, if the slots are in the same place then it will fit ... if you want to fully understand the key types and which pins are notched see this Wiki :-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2

Please note that eBay listings from china suppliers that quote DELL part numbers are in almost all cases fake and not genuine DELL parts, The Broadcom chipset is the same but the WiFi Firmware is generic and not the DELL Firmware.

You can only get genuine DELL WiFi cards from DELL ... so don't be fooled ...

That said i've used both clone DW 1830 and DW 1560 with success .. just understand that the clone cards may result in some oddities as i outlined in my two posts using both of these cards.

Since I've never used genuine DELL parts i can not be 100% sure but from what I've read on the forums the genuine DELL 1830 may give you the best compatibility and not suffer from the sleep/wake issue i detailed in my guide :-

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...ith-bcm943602baed-dw1830.236009/#post-1617689

Its worth reading up on the Pin taping that some laptops need.

Oh Yes i said there where three options ....

Recently a number of Chinese suppliers have started shipping a NGFF/M.2 adapter so that you can fit a genuine Apple WiFi card ..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-6-Pin...534948&hash=item43f6ae97ac:g:BukAAOSwLnBX7NiA

On Paper this would seem like a good choice but some laptops may not have enough room (hight) to allow the adapter and wifi card to fit, but if it will fit it maybe worth looking at .... I've bought one but have not tried it yet as was able to solve the DW1830 sleep/wake issue .... however there are no guarantees it will work in all cases. Also be aware your locked into using Apple drivers under Windows which may or may not be a good thing .... also might be an issue if you run Linux .. not sure on that.

At the end of the day there are no guarantees .... as with all things Hackingtosh what works for one may not work for another, I've got a draw full of around 20 WiFi cards ... some work .. some don't ... you just have to take the plunge and give it a go, if it does not work and you cant find a fix try something else.

Good Luck
Jay
I see. Perhaps getting fully working WiFi in a Hackintosh with dual booting is one heck of work, especially with no experience. Anyways thank you for detailed explanation, it tremendously helped. I will focus on WiFi after fixing my graphics issue.

Thank You again. Have a nice day :)
 
I see. Perhaps getting fully working WiFi in a Hackintosh with dual booting is one heck of work, especially with no experience.

Thank You again. Have a nice day :)

Indeed .... but most of the hard work and investigations are done now so you should be ok.

If your dual booting Windows then i would not recommend the BCM94352Z the drivers are just way too buggy ... lots of reports from DELL users with this card and Windows 10 .... even with the genuine DW1560.

As such I can only recommend a BCM943602 based card such as the one i linked to .. if you can get a genuine DW1830 then that would be your best bet but DELL always seems to have very low stock ... if any.

A clone DW 1830 should do the Job but you may have to tape the WiFi and/or the BT enable pins as i discussed in my guides.
If you have the Sleep/Wake issue specific to the Clone DW1830 the use the method in my other guide (linked in my sig)

Or you might be lucky and have no issues at all .... :crazy::crazy::crazy:

Cheers
Jay
 
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