Well, I have done it, - finally! :) I have upgraded successfully a 24" iMac 7,1 and a 24" iMac 9,1 with an original 802.11ac & BT 4.0 Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card. So far I can say the WiFi and Bluetooth functionality is working perfectly (and independently from each other) under Mac OS X and Windows 7 & 10. The original two 802.11n and the Bluetooth antennas can be reused (with adapters), - although they are of course not 802.11ac optimized. Okay, what's needed? (1) an Apple Broadcom BCM94360CSAX combo card, approx $10.- on ebay OR (1) an Apple Broadcom BCM943602CS (BT 4.1) combo card, approx $17.- on ebay AND (1) a compatible Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter (it is usually named as BCM94360CD to mini PCIe adapter), approx $4.- on ebay (2) 3x U.FL female to MHF4 male plug antenna adapter cable, approx $3.- per piece, so total $9.- on ebay (3) a 10mm to 12mm washer (to hold Apple “pseudo-NGFF” to mini PCIe adapter at its position) (4) a small piece of electrical tape (for isolating one...
Thanks Hanno for this hint! It should be noted here that on the SATA side of the cable the wires 1 and 4 have to be shorted (and NOT wire 2 and 7). This is much easier then Apple's official solution where you have to take the iMac almost completely apart. For better understanding I have added below some (low resolution) photos. (Sorry for the bad quality). CAUTION!!! This modification is ONLY VALID when you switch to a solid-state drive (SSD). DO NOT use this mod to connect a normal harddisk drive! This will most likely result in massive overheat of your iMac.
It seems that the situation has changed during the last months. There exists meanwhile the possibility to install an original Apple BCM94360CD, BCM94360CSAX or BCM943602CS 802.11ac & Bluetooth combo card into an older Aluminum iMac. With that solution you will obtain at yours old iMac 802.11ac WiFi and full Bluetooth 4.x functionality. You have just to look for the right Apple pseudo-NGFF to Mini PCIe adapter. There are several sellers on ebay that offer “BCM94360CD upgrade kits”. Because it’s an original Apple card it will work out of the box in Mac OS X, - at least in more recent versions like Mavericks and Yosemite. Under Yosemite you will also get the new Continuity & Handoff OS features. Keep in mind that with only two antennas (in 2x2 mode) you will only reach approx. 867 Mbps and not full 1.3 Gbps performance. The third antenna will be used for the new Bluetooth 4.0 function of the BCM94360CD card; - the old Bluetooth module has to be removed. Of course you can add a fourth antenna to get the...
I know, I am somewhat late with my post... ;) Well, I absolutely agree, I observed exactly the same problem with several Panasonic UJ265 Blu-Ray replacement drives. I have installed this type drive on a Mac mini (2010) and several different iMac models from 2009. The drive works absolutely great, - the disc has just to be inserted far / deep enough so that the drive mechanism can "grab" it. I don't think the problem is affected by any fundamental incompatibility. It seems that Apple's optical drives are somewhat different adjusted regarding the grab / loading mechanism. Apple drives "reacts" somewhat earlier when a disc will be inserted. Most likely this behavior can be configured! The big question is how can this be made, has someone found a solution? I think this is a hardware related question. Probably someone has to disassembly an original Apple SuperDrive (e.g. from Panasonic Matsushita) and looks for a way how the disc loading behavior can be adjusted. Will see if I find the time for such a "project"...
Interesting topic, - but even if the card will fit physically, the main problem with the Intel 7260ac card is the missing driver support in Mac OS X. So far I know there is currently absolutely no Intel Wi-Fi driver available. Therefore, on an iMac you will only get you Intel 7260ac card working under Linux or Windows operating system, - not Mac OS X. That doesn’t make a lot of sense for me. However, it makes absolutely sense if you are using a “Mac OS free” iMac computer…. ;) Well I can confirm that the Intel 7260ac card (with Bluetooth 4.0) does NOT require an Intel only or Intel Haswell-based system. I installed it at an Acer Aspire One 721, AMD Athlon II Neo CPU based Netbook. It works with latest Intel drivers absolutely perfect!!
Hi there! Thanks for this really great iFixit guide! However, there exist a little error in the product description of the NFC controller. At the picture on step 10 (bottom motherboard) it can be seen that it's effectively an NXP PN65 and not an NXP PN544. The NXP PN65 chip contains additionally to the PN544 NFC controller also a SmartMX secure element. ;-)
Thanks @martinmusic for this information, - really interesting...
Okay, what's the situation regarding an Apple MXM GPU upgrade at the 2009 C2D (Core 2 Duo) based iMac range? Can someone confirm here that this works at least for the 27" C2D iMac models? I am somewhat skeptical because the Core i5 & i7 (late 2009) iMac models have most likely a different Apple EFI revision. Well, I can confirm that an early 2009 24" iMac refuse to boot up (stuck on black screen) with an original Apple Radeon HD 6770M MXM card. Interestingly there is no "Error-Beeping", - so the iMac seems to accept the card. It looks that this is the same issue like @mattfromphlly had. Well, he was able to resolve it. Will buy a miniDP to HDMI cable and try out if the external display connection is working.
Hi there! Thanks for this really great iFixit guide! However, there exist a little error in the product description of the NFC controller. At the picture on step 10 (bottom motherboard) it can be seen that it's effectively an NXP PN65 and not an NXP PN544. The NXP PN65 chip contains additionally to the PN544 NFC controller also a SmartMX secure element. ;-)
Thanks @martinmusic for this information, - really interesting...
Okay, what's the situation regarding an Apple MXM GPU upgrade at the 2009 C2D (Core 2 Duo) based iMac range? Can someone confirm here that this works at least for the 27" C2D iMac models? I am somewhat skeptical because the Core i5 & i7 (late 2009) iMac models have most likely a different Apple EFI revision. Well, I can confirm that an early 2009 24" iMac refuse to boot up (stuck on black screen) with an original Apple Radeon HD 6770M MXM card. Interestingly there is no "Error-Beeping", - so the iMac seems to accept the card. It looks that this is the same issue like @mattfromphlly had. Well, he was able to resolve it. Will buy a miniDP to HDMI cable and try out if the external display connection is working.