Using BCM943602- for HaC Mini

[KrisCris]

Hi, have you tried installing the BCM943602CS wifi card, which I heard has a batter Bluetooth performance?

[hepto]

That card has three aerial points - can it be run with just the two on the NUC?

[xiaocrab]

I have installed the BCM94360CSAX wireless card and it has been in normal use for a month. WiFi and Bluetooth signals are normal. The specifications of the BCM94360CSAX and BCM943602CS are similar. The main difference is that BCM94360CSAX is Bluetooth 4.0 and BCM943602CS is Bluetooth 4.1.

Installing this wireless card requires some special operations.

1. The adapter card needs to be longer than the one mentioned in the tutorial, otherwise, it cannot be fixed with screws.
   
2. The adapter card needs to cut off two corners, otherwise, it will not be easy to fit in.
   
3. An additional antenna needs to be installed. If the antenna is not installed, it will affect the signal quality. I installed the antenna on the top cover, next to the light strip.
   

[K-telj]

the bluetooth part of this stopped working for me with the 10.5.1 update, the wifi is still the same. doesnt appear in windows either.

[xiaocrab]

@K-telj Bluetooth is connected via the USB bus, maybe it’s a problem with your adapter card.

[K-telj]

i;m thinking its old drivers, the card shows up in windows as some usb device but it wont associate with bluetooth when I try the old drivers, i also tried downloading the latest bootcamp to see if there are any updated content available there, and they were newer but from 2018. still looking and reading. Im surprised Im the only one with this issue it seems like the OS update broke it, i'm wondering if the card is being obsoleted for support.

[xiaocrab]

@K-telj This card requires a specific version of the driver for Windows to use Bluetooth properly. I tried several versions before it worked fine. I have a MacBook that uses this card has been updated to the latest macOS and works fine.
Can you see the Bluetooth adapter in macOS's System Report - Hardware - USB?
If you can see it, it may be a driver problem. If you can't see it, it may be a problem with the Apple WiFi card or the adapter card.

[K-telj]

thanks for the feedback and info, it was working completely for months since I hopped onto this project both in windows and OS X, the catalina upgrade/opencore conversion is where it got broke, today im making a mojave BU boot so I can troubleshoot. will have more info after that

[KrisCris]

I've ordered a BCM943602CDP which is much longer and bigger than the original card, and seems also larger than BCM943602cs, so a extension cable is required for this card, and both of them are purchased from Taobao, the chinese version of AliExpress and cost me around 40 bucks.

I will try to install this one into my NUC in the middle of this month, hopefully there will be some room suitable for me to put it in.

[xiaocrab]

@KrisCris I have also considered the solution, but I feel that there is no place to install the network card.

[KrisCris]

@KrisCris I have also considered the solution, but I feel that there is no place to install the network card.

I haven't tried yet, but I think there may be some spaces right side the m.2 slot. And maybe I can find some ways to put it there, like using some foams...

[hepto]

Apologies if this is threadjacking, but wouldn't it be easier to grab hold of a BCM943602BAED (Dell DW1830) which looks to me would fit in with no modification, and I also think is fully supported natively in macOS?

It also has 3 antennas, but I suppose it is trivial to just tape a new one to the underside of the top case?

I want to try it out but currently they are sold at $90-100, and frankly if I spend any more money on this I might as well have bought a mac Mini!

[xiaocrab]

@hepto
Mac teardown cards are cheaper, although they are a bit cumbersome to install, no additional configuration is required in the macOS.

The built-in two antennas are very small, and the installation of the third antenna is necessary.

[xiaocrab]

@KrisCris Have you considered this adapter card? It needs to occupy a slot of M.2 SSD. It can be bought at Taobao. This adapter card is M Key M.2, which requires an external USB to the motherboard to use Bluetooth.

[KrisCris]

@KrisCris Have you considered this adapter card? It needs to occupy a slot of M.2 SSD. It can be bought at Taobao. This adapter card is M Key M.2, which requires an external USB to the motherboard to use Bluetooth.

Yes, this is a much common solution than the one I considered, but I cannot find where the internal usb connector is, even the product specs page says it has 2 internal usb-2 ports...

[osy]

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/mini-pcs/nuc-kits/NUC8i7HVK_TechProdSpec.pdf

Look at 2.2.3.3

[lmshsqlc]

• 1x Extra antenna kit

I think the connector of antenna you purchased is IPEX1, so you are going to use the IPEX1-IPEX4 extension cable for your card?
Note: Please gently disconnecting antennas from your current card, or sockets on that may come off. As the antenna side is so tight that I damaged my DW1560 inadvertently. 😂

I estimate that it will take 3-4 weeks for the parts to ship from China 🤞

I think so. And we are still on the lunar new year holiday, which is longer this than before due to the infection. And because of that, I had to cancel my trip to Auckland, since it's risky to stay on crowded transportations these days :(

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

用苹果拆机卡才可以完美驱动

[DaisukiOshino]

• 1x Extra antenna kit

I think the connector of antenna you purchased is IPEX1, so you are going to use the IPEX1-IPEX4 extension cable for your card?
Note: Please gently disconnecting antennas from your current card, or sockets on that may come off. As the antenna side is so tight that I damaged my DW1560 inadvertently. 😂

I estimate that it will take 3-4 weeks for the parts to ship from China 🤞

I think so. And we are still on the lunar new year holiday, which is longer this than before due to the infection. And because of that, I had to cancel my trip to Auckland, since it's risky to stay on crowded transportations these days :(

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

用苹果拆机卡才可以完美驱动

😂拆机卡好麻烦 我记得之前用DW1560挺好的来着 不过没怎么测试 就蓝牙 WIFI都知道完美 Hand Off没事

[KrisCris]

@KrisCris oh I didn't know the antenna was IPEX1. Could you recommend an IPEX4 antenna kit? Or would this suit? https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=563429349329&ft=t&toSite=main

I just checked, and it's not to late to modify my order

Yeah, I think this one is suitable.

[KrisCris]

• 1x Extra antenna kit

I think the connector of antenna you purchased is IPEX1, so you are going to use the IPEX1-IPEX4 extension cable for your card?
Note: Please gently disconnecting antennas from your current card, or sockets on that may come off. As the antenna side is so tight that I damaged my DW1560 inadvertently. 😂

I estimate that it will take 3-4 weeks for the parts to ship from China 🤞

I think so. And we are still on the lunar new year holiday, which is longer this than before due to the infection. And because of that, I had to cancel my trip to Auckland, since it's risky to stay on crowded transportations these days :(

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

1830不太确定；1560至少Wi-Fi部分是正常的，但handoff大部分时候都不灵，能看见，但是用不了。你想用都话直接安装installer里那个1820a还是啥的选项就行了

[KrisCris]

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

而且问题是这个1560现在某宝巨贵，印象中比拆机的卡还贵，所以不如买一个拆机卡。

[DaisukiOshino]

• 1x Extra antenna kit

I think the connector of antenna you purchased is IPEX1, so you are going to use the IPEX1-IPEX4 extension cable for your card?
Note: Please gently disconnecting antennas from your current card, or sockets on that may come off. As the antenna side is so tight that I damaged my DW1560 inadvertently. 😂

I estimate that it will take 3-4 weeks for the parts to ship from China 🤞

I think so. And we are still on the lunar new year holiday, which is longer this than before due to the infection. And because of that, I had to cancel my trip to Auckland, since it's risky to stay on crowded transportations these days :(

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

1830不太确定；1560至少Wi-Fi部分是正常的，但handoff大部分时候都不灵，能看见，但是用不了。

1830我没用过 1560我就用过蓝牙 WIFI AirDrop那些都正常 至于Hand Off 我手机上都是一直关闭的 所以不知道 我BeatsX AirPods手机跟电脑可以随意切换

[DaisukiOshino]

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

而且问题是这个1560现在某宝巨贵，印象中比拆机的卡还贵，所以不如买一个拆机卡。

是啊 我那时候买才七十多块

[DaisukiOshino]

HaC Mini可以完美驱动DW1830或者DW1560吗？

而且问题是这个1560现在某宝巨贵，印象中比拆机的卡还贵，所以不如买一个拆机卡。

但是浪费一个M2有点那。。。本来是打算既然都浪费了不如干脆用M2转接 但是没有USB的通道的蓝牙

[KrisCris]

是啊 我那时候买才七十多块

我买来花了300多，当时用的笔记本放不下拆机卡，哎。

我BeatsX AirPods手机跟电脑可以随意切换

不过他1560的蓝牙是真的不太行，我感觉蛮卡的。

但是浪费一个M2有点那。。。本来是打算既然都浪费了不如干脆用M2转接 但是没有USB的通道的蓝牙

这个的话你用我上面说的那个反向的转接卡应该可以避免浪费一个M.2，只要你那个m.2背面没颗粒就可以。

[DaisukiOshino]

是啊 我那时候买才七十多块

我买来花了300多，当时用的笔记本放不下拆机卡，哎。

我BeatsX AirPods手机跟电脑可以随意切换

不过他1560的蓝牙是真的不太行，我感觉蛮卡的。

但是浪费一个M2有点那。。。本来是打算既然都浪费了不如干脆用M2转接 但是没有USB的通道的蓝牙

这个的话你用我上面说的那个反向的转接卡应该可以避免浪费一个M.2，只要你那个m.2背面没颗粒就可以。

嗯 我那时候大学放笔记本用的只能买1560了

我就用来连接过耳机 没遇到什么问题 AAC正常用

嗯 我现在就是在做准备 冥王峡谷比Mac Mini好多了 带我在考虑要不要买MBA或者两个雷电的MBP

[StanKatsyuk]

I just installed a BCM943602CS2 with Catalina and the wifi card keeps turning itself off. I turn it on but it doesn't see any networks and turns itself off. Ethernet works so I know the OS can handle networking.

Bluetooth works fine it seems.

Any ideas what i can do?

[KrisCris]

I just installed a BCM943602CS2 with Catalina and the wifi card keeps turning itself off. I turn it on but it doesn't see any networks and turns itself off. Ethernet works so I know the OS can handle networking.

Bluetooth works fine it seems.

Any ideas what i can do?

Ah, I've experienced this once. Perhaps something wrong with the card.

Try to disconnect it and reconnect.

Or, In the worst case, claim a refund.

[edwardwang0302]

I made a video for replacing BCM94260CS wifi card by using a reverse adapter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QdBUOA08bA

[KrisCris]

I made a video for replacing BCM94260CS wifi card by using a reverse adapter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QdBUOA08bA

Hi, could you provide a purchase link for the antenna? I found mine signal is not good...

[edwardwang0302]

I made a video for replacing BCM94260CS wifi card by using a reverse adapter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QdBUOA08bA

Hi, could you provide a purchase link for the antenna? I found mine signal is not good...

I bought them from taobao.

https://m.tb.cn/h.VMXS4Wk?sm=10f0e4

And 5g wifi will be better