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Inventory of supported/unsupported wireless cards #1, Snow Leopard -> El Capitan


Hervé

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Last update: 02 Feb 2020

'thought it would be useful to try and provide a recap of what is supported, what isn't, if it works OOB or if it does not, for which OS X version, etc.

I invite everyone to bring his/her own contribution and it'll be added to the list. This post will be updated as contributions come along in order to keep the list under control. Hardware specifications can be verified here: http://wikidevi.com/wiki/Main_Page https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/

 

Note:

  1. OOB = Out of the Box
  2. This inventory is now limited to Mac OS X/OS X versions in the range Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11. A separate inventory for macOS versions is available here.

 

 

Unsupported:
Vendor  Model       Format    Ven-Dev    Chip       Rate     SL Li ML Ma Yo Ca  OOB  Kext (driver)
AzureWave AW-CB161H    ½Min PCIe   10ec-8821   RTL8821AE    A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

 

AzureWave AW-CB209NF   NGFF/M.2    10ec-8821   RTL8821AE    A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

AzureWave AW-CB210NF   NGFF/M.2    14e4-43ec   BCM4356      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

AzureWave AW-NB155NF   NGFF/M.2    14e4-4365   BCM43142       B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

 

Dell     DW1501        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4727   BCM4313      A/B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

Dell     DW1503        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4727   BCM4313      A/B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -
Dell     DW1504        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4727   BCM4313        B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -
Dell     DW1530        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4359   BCM43228     A/B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -
Dell     DW1540        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4359   BCM43228     A/B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -
Dell     DW1701        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4727   BCM4313        B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -
Dell     DW1704        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4365   BCM43142       B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

 

Dell     DW1810        NGFF/M.2    168c:0042   QCA9377      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    (=QCNFA435)
Dell     DW1820        NGFF/M.2    168c:003e   QCA6174A     A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    (=QCNFA344A)

Intel    All           -               -        -              -        N  N  N   N   N  N    -    No exception!

 

Qualcomm QCNFA335      NGFF/M.2    168c-0042   QCA9377      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

Qualcomm QCNFA344A     NGFF/M.2    168c-003e   QCA6174A     A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -

 

Ralink   RT5390        ½Min PCIe   1814-539b    RT5390        B/G/N     N  N  N   N   N  N    -    -



Supported:
Vendor  Model       Format    Ven-Dev    Chip       Rate     SL Li ML Ma Yo Ca  OOB  Kext (driver)
Atheros  AR5B91        Mini PCIe   168c-002a   AR9281         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Atheros  AR5BXB6       Mini PCIe   168c-001c   AR5424       A/B/G       Y  Y  N   N   N  N    Y    up to Lion only
Atheros  AR5BXB72      Mini PCIe   168c-0024   AR5418/5133  A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    patch Atheros40
Atheros  AR5BXB92      Mini PCIe   168c-002a   AR9280       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Atheros  AR5BXB112     Mini PCIe   168c-0030   AR9380       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Atheros  AR5B22        Mini PCIe   168c-0034   AR94624      A/B/G/N     N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    N    FW + Atheros40 patch


Atheros  AR5B93        ½Min PCIe   168c-002a   AR9283         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Atheros  AR5B95        ½Min PCIe   168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Atheros40 patch
Atheros  AR5B97        ½Min PCIe   168c-002e   AR9287         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Atheros40 patch
Atheros  AR5B195       ½Min PCIe   168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B95+BT3.0)
Atheros  AR5B197       ½Min PCIe   168c-002e   AR9287         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B97+BT3.0)
Atheros  AR5BHB92      ½Min PCIe   168c-002a   AR9280       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Atheros  AR5BHB112     ½Min PCIe   168c-0030   AR9380       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y3  Y  Y    Y    -
Atheros  AR5B125       ½Min PCIe   168c-0032   AR94854        B/G/N     N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    N    FW + Atheros40 patch
Atheros  AR5B225       ½Min PCIe   168c-0032   AR94854        B/G/N     N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    N    FW + Atheros40 patch
 
AzureWave AW-NB037H    ½Min PCIe   168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B195)
AzureWave AW-NB048H    ½Min PCIe   168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B195)
AzureWave AW-NB290H    ½Min PCIe   14e4-4357   BCM43225       B/G/N     N  N  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Brcm4360 patch
AzureWave AW-CE123H    ½Min PCIe   14e4-43b1   BCM4352      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Brcm4360 patch

AzureWave AW-CB160H    ½Min PCIe   14e4-43a0   BCM4360      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    Y    -

Dell     DW1470        Mini PCI    14e4-4319   BCM4318      A/B/G       Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -

Dell     DW1390        Mini PCIe   14e4-4311   BCM4311        B/G       Y  Y  Y   Y2  Y  Y    Y    -
Dell     DW1395        Mini PCIe   14e4-4315   BCM4312        B/G       Y  Y  Y1  N   N  N    N    BCM43xxxFamily & v2
Dell     DW1490        Mini PCIe   14e4-4312   BCM4311      A/B/G       Y  Y  Y   Y2  Y  Y    Y    -
Dell     DW1505        Mini PCIe   14e4-4328   BCM4321      A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y2  Y  Y    Y    -

Dell     DW1397        ½Min PCIe   14e4-4315   BCM4312        B/G       Y  Y  Y1   N   N  N    N    (=DW1395)
Dell     DW1502        ½Min PCIe   168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y      Y  Y    N    (=AR5B95)
Dell     DW1506        ½Min PCIe   168c-0032   AR94854        B/G/N      N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B125)
Dell     DW1510        ½Min PCIe   14e4-432b   BCM4322      A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Dell     DW1515        
½Min PCIe   168C-002a   AR9280       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y     Y  Y    Y    (=Atheros xB92)
Dell     DW15205       
½Min PCIe   14e4-4353   BCM43224     A/B/G/N      N  N  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y/N  MBA5,2/Brcm4360 patch
Dell     DW1550        ½Min PCIe   14e4-43b1   BCM4352      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Brcm4360 patch
Dell     DW1601        ½Min PCIe   168c-0034   AR94624      A/B/G/N/AD   N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B22)
Dell     DW1702        ½Min PCIe   168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y    Y  Y    N    (=AR5B195)
Dell     DW1703        ½Min PCIe   168c-0032   AR94854        B/G/N     N  N  N   Y    Y  Y    N    (=AR5B225)
Dell     DW1705        ½Min PCIe   168c-0036   AR95654        B/G/N     N  N  N   Y    Y  Y    N    FW + Atheros40 patch

 

Dell     DW1560        NGFF/M.2    14e4-43b1   BCM4352      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Brcm4360 patch
Dell     DW1707        NGFF/M.2    168c:0036   AR95654        B/G/N     N  N  N    Y   Y  Y    N    FW + Atheros40 patch 
Dell     DW1802        NGFF/M.2    168c-0034   AR94624      A/B/G/N     N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    N    (=AR5B22)
Dell     DW1820A6      NGFF/M.2    14e4-43a3   BCM4350      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   N   Y  Y    ?    Expected OOB

Dell     DW1830        NGFF/M.2    14e4-43ba   BCM43602     A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    Y    OOB from Yosemite

Asus     USB-N10       USB 2.0     0b05-1786   RTL8188SU      B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   ?  ?    N    RealTek's v2.0.1
Asus     USB-AC51      USB 2.0     0b05-17d1   MT7610U      A/B/G/N/AC  Y  Y  Y   Y   ?  ?    N    Asus's driver
CSL      Nano V.2      USB 2.0     0bda-8176   RTL8188CUS     B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   ?  ?    N    RealTek's v2.0.1
D-Link   DWA-121 A1    USB 2.0     2001-3308   RTL8188CUS     B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   ?  ?    N    RealTek's v2.0.1
Lafalink LF-D10 Nano   USB 2.0     148f-7601   MT7601         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    Ralink's v4.2.9.10
Lafalink LF-D12 Nano   USB 2.0     148f-5370   RT5370         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    Ralink's v4.2.9.2
NetGear  WNA3100M      USB 2.0     0846-F001   RTL8192CU      B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    Realtek's v2.0.1
On-Nwrks N300          USB 2.0     0846-F001   RTL8192CU      B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    Realtek's v2.0.1
Tenda    W522U         USB 2.0     148f-3572   RT3572       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    Ralink's v4.2.9.2
TP-Link  TL-WN723N v3  USB 2.0     0bda-8179   RTL8188EUS     B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    TP-Link's driver
TP-Link  TL-WN725N v2  USB 2.0     0bda-8179   RTL8188EUS     B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    TP-Link's driver

TP-Link  TL-WN823N v1  USB 2.0     0bda-8178   RTL8192CU      B/G/N     ?  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    TP-Link's driver

TP-Link  TL-WN823N v2  USB 2.0     2357-0109   RTL8192EU      B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    TP-Link's driver
 
Asus     USB-AC56      USB 3.0     0b05-17d2   RTL8812AU    A/B/G/N/AC  Y  Y  Y   Y   ?  ?    N    Asus's driver

Asus     PCE-AC66      PCIe x1     14e4-43a0   BCM4360      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
Asus     PCE-AC68      PCIe x1     14e4-43a0   BCM4360      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    Y    -
TP-Link  TL-WN781ND v1 PCIe x1     168c-002b   AR9285         B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    N    DSDT/Atheros40 patch

TP-Link  TL-WDN4800    PCIe x1     168c-0030   AR9380       A/B/G/N     Y  Y  Y   Y   Y  Y    Y    -

TP-Link  Archer T9E    PCIe x1     14e4-43a0   BCM4360      A/B/G/N/AC  N  N  N   Y   Y  Y    Y    -



NB: Patching means adding the PCI ids of the listed card to the Info.plist file found inside the listed kext. In rare cases, binary patching may also be necessary.
 
For some cards, DSDT Patching can be a suitable and permanent alternative to kext patching (no need to repatch a kext after OS X updates and upgrades or new installations). For instance, in the case of the Atheros AR5B95 card (chip AR9285 168c,2b), adding compatibility with a chip known to be supported OOB such as AR9380 168c,30 or AR9280 168,2a (as found in the vanilla Atheros40 kext) in a _DSM method for the identified DSDT device does the trick once and for all since it'll make the OS load the associated kext:

 

                Device (<YourDevice>)   // Identified wireless device through IORegistryExplorer (usually: ARPT)
                {
                    ...
                    ...
                    ...
                    Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)    // Device Specific Method for the wireless card
                    {
                        Store (Package ()
                        {
                            "model", 
                            Buffer (0x1E)
                            {
                                "Atheros AR5B95 b/g/n Wireless"
                            }, 
                            "device_type", 
                            Buffer (0x08)
                            {
                                "AirPort"
                            }, 
                            "built-in", 
                            Buffer (One)
                            {
                                0x00
                            }, 
                            "name", 
                            Buffer (0x10)
                            {
                                "AirPort Extreme"
                            }, 
                            "AAPL,slot-name", 
                            Buffer (0x09)
                            {
                                "Internal"
                            }, 
                            "compatible",      // Declares compatibility with a device
                            Buffer (0x0B)
                            {
                                "pci168c,30"   // PCI id of device supported OOB
                            }
                        }, Local0)
                        DTGP (Arg0, Arg1, Arg2, Arg3, RefOf (Local0))
                        Return (Local0)
                    }
                }

`
In the same respect, in the case of the Broadcom BCM4322x cards (e.g.: chip BCM43225 14e4,4357) or BCM4352 cards (14e4,43b1), adding compatibility with a chip known to be supported OOB such as BCM94360 14e4,43ba or 14e4,43a0 (as found in the vanilla AirPortBrcm4360 kext) in a _DSM method for the identified DSDT device does the trick once and for all since it'll make the OS load the associated kext:

                Device (<YourDevice>)   // Identified wireless device through IORegistryExplorer (usually: ARPT)
                {
                    ...
                    ...
                    ...
                    Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)    // Device Specific Method for the wireless card
                    {
                        Store (Package ()
                        {
                            "model", 
                            Buffer (0x23)
                            {
                                "AzureWare AW-NB290H b/g/n Wireless"
                            }, 
                            "device_type", 
                            Buffer (0x08)
                            {
                                "AirPort"
                            }, 
                            "built-in", 
                            Buffer (One)
                            {
                                0x00
                            }, 
                            "name", 
                            Buffer (0x10)
                            {
                                "AirPort Extreme"
                            }, 
                            "AAPL,slot-name", 
                            Buffer (0x09)
                            {
                                "Internal"
                            }, 
                            "compatible",      // Declares compatibility with a device
                            Buffer (0x0B)
                            {
                                "pci14e4,43a0" // PCI id of device supported OOB
                            }
                        }, Local0)
                        DTGP (Arg0, Arg1, Arg2, Arg3, RefOf (Local0))
                        Return (Local0)
                    }
                }

`
Broadcom BCM43224-based cards with id 14e4:4353 (e.g. DW1520) are subject to whitelisting in AirPortBrcm4360 kext. Wireless will only work if using the SMBIOS of a supported Mac Model or after binary patching the kext to inject the Mac board-id of the desired SMBIOS. See our patching guide on the matter.


________________
1 issues with 10.8.4/10.8.5: med/high-secured networks (eg: AES) unsupported, only clear/low-secured (eg: WEP) networks supported. For ML, revert to pre-10.8.4 airportd file to fix issue and apply following Terminal commands:
          sudo chmod 755 /usr/libexec/airportd
          sudo chown 0:0 /usr/libexec/airportd
          xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /usr/libexec/airportd
          Pre-ML10.8.4 airportd.zip
 
2 issues with 10.9: secured networks (eg: AES (& WEP?)) unsupported, only clear (& WEP?) networks. ML fix not successful, so no fix available yet. According to forum member javamocha2000, DW1390 and DW1505 both operate OOB under Mavericks with WPA2-PSK encryption.
 
Some BCM4311-based cards with PCI id 14e4-4311 and some Atheros AR9380-based cards are reported non-functional -> the affected devices are half-size mini PCIe models, full-size mini PCIe models being Ok.
 
AR946x (168c,34), AR9485 (168c,32) and AR9565 (168c,36) work to some degree (i.e. not 100%) with alternative (re-written) Atheros40 driver as posted at InsanelyMac by Chunnann. Further patching facility posted here. These cards are NOT recommended.

 
5 DW1520 (14e4,4353) is known to suffer from frequent and repeated wireless disconnections when plugged into mini PCIe-only slot and built-in Bluetooth is enabled. This may even lead to wireless turning off. This has been noticed on Dell Latitude E6x20 and E6x30. Wireless works Ok once built-in Bluetooth is disabled in BIOS or, as stated by wl_michael, if the card is fitted into combo PCIe/USB slot such as WWAN.

 

DW1820A and other BCM4350-based cards should all be supported. See our BCM4350 guide for these cards.

 

 

 

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2 issues with 10.9: secured networks (eg: AES (& WEP?)) unsupported, only clear (& WEP?) networks. ML fix not successful, so no fix available yet. Some BCM4311-based cards with PCI id 14e4-4311 have also been reported non-functional despite id match in IO80211Family Broadcom4331 PlugIn.

i have yet to find a fix but heres a temp work around for users with old pci wifi adapter on Mavericks 10.9 :)

(you need to apply the Pre-ML10.8.4 airportd fix and dont touch the wifi icon)

System Preferences -> Network -> Assist me... -> Assistant... -> (Continue) -> I use AirPort to connect to the Internet wirelessly & add your network manually.

 

my card: D-Link   DWL-AG530 Rev.A   PCI   168c-0013   Atheros AR5212   A/B/G

 

it would appear all pci cards are unsupported in mavericks, pci-e only. trying to get my pci adapter working too ...my hackintosh build has 1 pci-e slot and its covered by my video card :(

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Added D-Link DWA-121 rev A1.

DWA121_rev-A1.jpg

 

Added Tenda W522U 802.11a/b/g/n USB dongle. Operates at 300Mbps.

Tenda_W522U.jpg

 

Added NetGear WNA3100M 802.11b/g/n USB dongle. Operates at 300Mbps. On-Networks N300 is the exact same device.

NetGear_WNA3100M.jpg ON-Networks_N300.jpg

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Added Lafalink LF-D10 & LF-D12 150Mbps Nano wireless USB adapters.

LF-D12.jpg

 

NB: some confusion on the Internet for these 2 models. Lafalink web site makes no reference to LF-D12 model, only to LF-D10 with MT7601 chip. However, commercial sites do list LF-D10 with RT5370 chip and LF-D12 with MT7601 chip. I have both models but they cannot be physically distinguished as there are no indications on the adapters...

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A warning to anyone thinking of picking up the Atheros AR5BXB112 (which seems to be the only 802.11n option for laptops with a full-height slot and 3 antennas): some of the cards being sold on eBay have defective firmware and will not work properly in OS X (they will, however, work in Windows, making the case for a getting a replacement card to the seller difficult). They show up as "{none}" under Wi-Fi device in BIOS (D630n, A17) and gives the device ID "168c:abcd" in DPCIManager (should be 168c:0030), and are not recognized even when the device ID is edited into the relevant kext.

 

A quick Google search of the defective Device ID shows several threads with people encountering the same problem on both hackintosh and linux forums with this card. It seems to be an issue with the BIOS not properly initializing it. Also, from what I've read, I don't think it's possible to flash them with the correct EEPROM either, as the tools to do this don't appear to support the AR93xx chipset.

 

Just a heads-up!

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Dell     DW1520          Half Mini PCIe    14e4-4353    BCM43224      A/B/G/N 

It's now supported from ML 10.8.5 or newer.

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/292542-airport-pcie-half-mini/

 

Personally tested on 10.8.5 & 10.9.5 with kext injection  (WifiInjector.kext) 

For Yosemite, just needed to set SMBios.plist to MacBookAir 5.1 or 5.2.

If you prefer to use a different SMBios, then you need to patch AirportBrcm4360 replacing MBA 5.2 with model you prefer.

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