Have used one from these guys, it's brilliant https://www.intriguingindustries.co.uk/shop/
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802.11ac and BT 4.2 are here for unibody MBPs and A1342 MB!
- Thread starter troop231
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Couldn't find this mentioned in a previous thread, but if you have upgraded to Big Sur or Monterey using OCLP (OpenCore Legacy Patcher) and you install one of these cards, then you may need to rebuild OpenCore Legacy after installing the new card.
I just did this and found I had "No Wi-fi hardware detected" when running OCLP, but the card worked fine booted straight into Mojave. I then rebuilt OpenCore and reinstalled it into the EFI; the card then worked in OCLP also.
I just did this and found I had "No Wi-fi hardware detected" when running OCLP, but the card worked fine booted straight into Mojave. I then rebuilt OpenCore and reinstalled it into the EFI; the card then worked in OCLP also.
I have the BCM943602CS installed in a mid 2012 MacBook pro and OCLP fresh installed Monterey works great.
Sidenote, can I donate to the unibody MacBook revitalization cause? Went with the DIY kit because I like assembling things myself, but would still like to contribute! You guys are doing such cool things.
OK. Was sleep and brightness working for you? I found I had no brightness control in Monterey or sleep (including lid close) with an upgrade from Mojave. Big Sur was faultless apart from sleep (and a plist change fixed that)I have the BCM943602CS installed in a mid 2012 MacBook pro and OCLP fresh installed Monterey works great.
![5c114a69f9cc7bce6175dc3b425cf50d.jpg]()
Everything is working great w a fresh install, even screen + kb autobrightness. Running 16gb 1600mhz ram, decent but not great 128gb sata ssd, and the wifi card upgrade. Wifi worked during install and is still flawless. Bluetooth audio range and reliability is MUCH improved.
Catalina stock actually had horrible sleep behavior for me, lots of battery drain. OCLP Monterey has been amazing for battery life so far
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Hey Tabormeister,I have the BCM943602CS installed in a mid 2012 MacBook pro and OCLP fresh installed Monterey works great.
![5c114a69f9cc7bce6175dc3b425cf50d.jpg]()
It's all a bit confusing, due to the mixed messages, but when I'm not mistaken it is possible to put a BCM943602CS in a 2011 MBP 17" (A1297). One does need OCLP as well to upgrade past High Sierra. It's not entirely clear to me yet if I also need additional adapters to get the BCM943602CS installed physically. Can you please summarize it once again?
Thanks in advance.
Yes an adapter is needed. There is a DIY solution as well as the phenomenal, thoroughly tested premium version offered at the top of this thread by @troop231.
Anyone here with a BCM94360CS2 on a uMBP 15' 2012?
I'm trying to improve my Bluetooth, it's too unstable even with low cpu cycles. I'm willing to do the Airport upgrade but I'd like to hear about experiences with this card, I know it has 4 antennas (same as the original one for this laptop). I know everyone recommends the BCM94360CS or BCM943602CS for best performance but some users complain about the BT connectivity being even worse with this cards. BTW I'm willing to sacrifice WiFi performance in exchange for BT stability.
I've just read the 55 pages, I died a little...
I'm trying to improve my Bluetooth, it's too unstable even with low cpu cycles. I'm willing to do the Airport upgrade but I'd like to hear about experiences with this card, I know it has 4 antennas (same as the original one for this laptop). I know everyone recommends the BCM94360CS or BCM943602CS for best performance but some users complain about the BT connectivity being even worse with this cards. BTW I'm willing to sacrifice WiFi performance in exchange for BT stability.
I've just read the 55 pages, I died a little...
Bluetooth is much better with BCM943602CS which has 3 antennas, different Bluetooth design so only needs the 3 for both wifi and bt. I can stream audio a room over with no dropouts now. The prebuilt card from the OP here: https://subtle.design/products/80211ac/ is stellar and just works out of the box, there is also a diy kit by intriguing industries that takes skill but works well w/the card I mentioned.
That's a waste of time, like tabormeister said just use the BCM943602CS it fits better and the bluetooth is miles better. Can walk to the next room easily, whereas before it would be bluetooth glitching on the other side of the room and often my magic mouse would be glitching a metre or so away from my computer. this improves it a lot
Thanks for the quick reply! I tried my best to gather all of the info in this thread but it's really a mess. So 4 antennas in such a small space is considered a design flaw? It won't hurt if I try disconnecting one, am I right?
Right now my BT is absolutely unresponsive, (zig zag line crossing the greyed out symbol) so I'll test with only 3 just to squeeze at least a couple more days of life from this one.
Right now my BT is absolutely unresponsive, (zig zag line crossing the greyed out symbol) so I'll test with only 3 just to squeeze at least a couple more days of life from this one.
I agree, I’ve installed two of this BCM943602CS with intriguing Diy kit on my kids 2012 MBP working flawlessly Monterey 12.1 OCLP.
You are assuming that the older design might be better because it has 4 antennae. This is not correct. The BCM943602CS is hands down better for WiFi and Bluetooth.
I also have two 2012 MBPs and consider the BCM943602CS money very well spent. One was suffering bad WiFi while the other had failing BT.
I might replace these MBPs someday but will do so on my terms when it makes sense, not because WF & BT stopped working.
Another question: Is it possible to run Monterey on my A1297 (with 16GB and 1 TB SSD) or must I stay at Catalina?
I can't seem to find much info about running which OS on which H/W with OCLP, but I guess I'm not looking in the right place...
I can't seem to find much info about running which OS on which H/W with OCLP, but I guess I'm not looking in the right place...
Yea, probably the right place for that info. Big Sur requires a hack but many have done it inclinding me—and this WiFi/BT card works great—but I went back to Catalina which is supported.
Hopefully, someone will chime in and point you to a good Monterey hack thread. I'm running it on my iMac Pro where it's not quite ready for prime time, IMO but I've no interest on installing it onto my 2012 MBP.
I'll elaborate now that I tried it. I know it makes NO sense but...
I disconnected one of the wi-fi antennas and not only my BT is back, my BT issues are gone!
My music was skipping in 4 out of 5 songs with a speaker within 20cm from the laptop, now it's solid and the range is better than ever was, I can even place it 5m away as it was supossed to work in the first place.
Wi-fi works the same so far, I'm still seeing bursts of 400Mbps with 2 antennas, didn't notice any slower speed.
I will still consider buying the upgraded airport card + adapter in the future if that allows me to get a solid BT connection, better BT wake-up after sleep, better range, and faster airdrop among my devices. So far I've seen better wi-fi speeds on this thread and watch unlocking.
I mentioned BCM94360CS or BCM943602CS were worse on BT, according to people on this thread, "using airpods to the point I can't walk around the room without the audio stopping". If that is still an issue it's a deal breaker for me.
Thanks for the answers, they've been really helpful.
