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Apple (Broadcom) BCM4360CD & related 802.11 ac wifi and bluetooth combo card


Leon

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Hi,

In my constant hunt for better wifi my my Lenovo x201 I decided to give the BCM4360 a go - logically - the only to be found around is real apple cards (rumor has it that you can get some funky noname cards in china - but i have yet to test them)

The card in question looks like this:

bcm4360cd.png

 

Screenshot 2022-01-09 at 19.53.08.png

Now, logically.. this card wont fit just any machine - its made for a mac, so we are gonna need an adapter to fix that.

For that we are gonna use an adapter called "Mini PCI-E Adapter for BCM94360CD/BCM94331CD" (search on ebay)

$_57 (2).JPG

... and mounted...

pic1.jpeg

pic2.jpeg

Since its native supported by Apple (doh!) its just to plug it in and start having fun - Same goes for Ubuntu/Debian - it does become a bit more tricky under Windows - however - it seems Asus have made a card with the same chipset - so i managed to track down the Windows driver for that - bluetooth under windows still remains to be fixed.

Windows wifi driver: DR_PCE_AC66_6309519_Win8.zip

Have fun!

//Leon

 

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I can also confirm that adapter v3.0 works perfectly and does not require any optional connection to the side connector for BCM94360CD wireless/BT 4.0 card to operate properly.

 

NB: card + adapter need to be fitted to a combo PCIe/USB slot (like a WWAN slot) to support Bluetooth since that part of the card is USB based.

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Since the question was asked, let's clarify the matter... Various PCIe desktop adapters/cards carrying the above BCM94360CD (or its other derivatives) + a USB connector (for Bluetooth) work exactly the same way. They are found at the usual on-line commercial and auction sites. Some carry 2 antennas, some carry 3, some carry 4. There are raw adapters on which one fits an Apple card or ready-to-use cards with everything on them (wireless card often hidden under a little plate).

 

Eg:

PCIe_adaptor_01.pngPCIe_adaptor_02.png

 

NB: Windows drivers are usually available for extraction from Apple's Bootcamp drivers/tools. Using Pacifist on the OS X/macOS installation package should do the trick.

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Further to a discussion held on another forum, it's worth confirming that there are fake Apple BCM94360CD cards offered by sellers from the Far East...

 

A real & genuine Apple BCM94360CD card carries the following subsystem ids:

  • wifi = 106b:0111
  • BT = 05ac:828d

 

Only genuine cards are guaranteed to work OOB and to the full. Other genuine Apple BCM94360 cards include:

  • BCM94360CS (2013 MBP like MacBookPro11,x) -> Wifi = 106b:0134 | BT = 05ac:8289. This is a 3 x antennas model.

BCM94360CS.jpg

  • BCM943602CS (2015 MBP like MacBookPro12,1) -> Wifi = 106b:0133 | BT = 05ac:8290. This a 3 x antenna model.

BCM943602CS.jpg

  • BCM94360CS2 (2013 MBA like MacBookAir6,2) -> Wifi = 106b:0117 | BT = 05ac:828f. This is a 2 x antenna model and the smallest card of the lot. 

BCM94360CS2.jpg

 

 

Also worth noting that these cards do not have the same antenna connectors:

  • BCM94360CD, like BCM94331CD, is fitted with larger U.FL/IPEX (IPX1) 2mm connectors, the same that are commonly fitted to most mini-PCIe wireless cards
  • BCM94360CS/2CS/CS2 are fitted with smaller MHF4 (IPX4) 1.5mm connectors, the same that are commonly fitted to most M.2 wireless cards
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