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Inventory of supported/unsupported wireless cards #2, Sierra -> Ventura & beyond

Last update: 13 Nov 2023 This 2nd inventory comes to complement our original one created back in 2013 which is now restricted to cover wireless cards under Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11. This new list will provide the equivalent for macOS versions (Sierra 10.12 and later) given that it's getting complicated to keep everything under a single text table and Apple has been increasingly dropping support for wireless cards since the introduction of macOS Sierra in 2016. 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: https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru. A few OS X/macOS-related wireless cards buying guides also exist where summarised chipset support is available. Please use your preferred search engine to look these up, we won't provide links since this would infringe our own posted rules. Note: OOB = Out of the Box /!\ Sierra 10.12 dropped support for old Broadcom BCM431x and BCM4321 cards. There is no workaround, they have to be replaced. /!\ /!\ Mojave 10.14 dropped support for Atheros cards. The workaround is to install the Atheros40 kext from an earlier release like High Sierra 10.13.6, i.e. copy to /L/E + repair permissions + rebuild cache. /!\ 10.13.6_AirPortAtheros40.kext.zip /!\ Catalina 10.15 no longer supports injection or caching of High Sierra's AirPortAtheros40 kext. Instead, install High Sierra's IO80211Family kext, i.e. copy to /L/E + repair permissions + rebuild cache (leaving /S/L/E untouched) or, if that does not work, replace Catalina's IO80211Family kext in /S/L/E by High Sierra's. /!\ 10.13.6_IO80211Family.kext.zip /!\ Catalina 10.15 dropped support for BCM4322 (14e4:432b). AirPortBrcm4331 plugin kext of IO80211Family kext was abandoned. This affects cards such as DW1510. Workaround is to simply install Mojave's (or High Sierra's) IO80211Family kext, i.e. copy to /L/E + repair permissions + rebuild cache (leaving /S/L/E untouched) or, if that does not work, replace Catalina's IO80211Family kext in /S/L/E by Mojave's (or High Sierra's) but this will need to be done again after each update because vanilla kexts will be re-installed. /!\ 10.14.6_IO80211Family.kext.zip /!\ Intel wireless: some recent models may now enjoy support thanks to development detailed on OpenIntelWireless Github repo. /!\ Big Sur dropped support for BCM4331 (14e4:4331) and BCM43224 (14e4:4353). A patched version of Catalina's IO80211Family kext may be used as workaround (only AirPort4360 PlugIn is retained). Kext can then be called from OC config by setting minimum kernel to version 20. See here for details. /!\ /!\ Atheros cards previously supported in High Sierra and earlier (eg: AR928x, AR9380) can be supported under Big Sur with a patched version of High Sierra's IO80211Family kext . Kext can then be called from OC config by setting minimum kernel to version 18. See here for details. /!\ /!\ Monterey 12.x does not support patches/workarounds for dropped cards such as Atheros or Broadcom BCM4322. Same for Broadcom BCM4331 or BCM43324. Such cards have to be replaced by models supported in Monterey. /!\ Sonoma drops all official support for Broadcom "legacy" cards that were natively supported up to Ventura (chipsets BCM4350, BCM4360, BCM43602). OCLP patcher is now required for all non-Intel wireless cards that were previously supported. Unsupported: Vendor Model Format Ven-Dev Chip Rate Si HS Mj Ca BS Mt Vt OOB Kext/comment Intel - - - - - - - - - - - - N See here Atheros AR5BXB6 Mini PCIe 168c-001c AR5424 A/B/G N N N N N N N - - AzureWave AW-CB161H ½Min PCIe 10ec-8821 RTL8821AE A/B/G/N/AC N 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 N - - AzureWave AW-CB210NF NGFF/M.2 14e4-43ec BCM4356 A/B/G/N/AC N N N N N N N - - AzureWave AW-NB155NF NGFF/M.2 14e4-4365 BCM43142 B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1390 Mini PCIe 14e4-4311 BCM4311 B/G N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1395 Mini PCIe 14e4-4315 BCM4312 B/G N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1490 Mini PCIe 14e4-4312 BCM4311 A/B/G N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1505 Mini PCIe 14e4-4328 BCM4321 A/B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1397 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4315 BCM4312 B/G N N N N N N N - (=DW1395) Dell DW1501 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4727 BCM4313 A/B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1503 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4727 BCM4313 A/B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1504 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4727 BCM4313 B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1530 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4359 BCM43228 A/B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1540 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4359 BCM43228 A/B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1701 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4727 BCM4313 B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Dell DW1704 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4365 BCM43142 B/G/N 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 N - (=QCNFA435) Dell DW1820 NGFF/M.2 168c:003e QCA6174A A/B/G/N/AC N N N N N N N - (=QCNFA344A) Qualcomm QCNFA435 NGFF/M.2 168c-0042 QCA9377 A/B/G/N/AC N 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 N - - Ralink RT5390 ½Min PCIe 1814-539b RT5390 B/G/N N N N N N N N - - Supported: Vendor Model Format Ven-Dev Chip Rate Si HS Mj Ca BS Mt Vt OOB Kext/comment Intel - - - - - - - - - - - - N See here Atheros AR5B91 Mini PCIe 168c-002a AR9281 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y * See above for Mojave Atheros AR5BXB72 Mini PCIe 168c-0024 AR5418/5133 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N patch Atheros40 Atheros AR5BXB92 Mini PCIe 168c-002a AR9280 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y - Atheros AR5BXB112 Mini PCIe 168c-0030 AR9380 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y - Atheros AR5B22 Mini PCIe 168c-0034 AR94621 A/B/G/N Y ? * * ? N N N FW + Atheros40 patch Atheros AR5B93 ½Min PCIe 168c-002a AR9283 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y - Atheros AR5B95 ½Min PCIe 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N DSDT/Atheros40 patch Atheros AR5B97 ½Min PCIe 168c-002e AR9287 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N DSDT/Atheros40 patch Atheros AR5B195 ½Min PCIe 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N (=AR5B95+BT3.0) Atheros AR5B197 ½Min PCIe 168c-002e AR9287 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N (=AR5B97+BT3.0) Atheros AR5BHB92 ½Min PCIe 168c-002a AR9280 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y - Atheros AR5BHB112 ½Min PCIe 168c-0030 AR9380 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y - Atheros AR5B125 ½Min PCIe 168c-0032 AR94851 B/G/N Y ? * * ? N N N FW + Atheros40 patch Atheros AR5B225 ½Min PCIe 168c-0032 AR94851 B/G/N Y ? * * ? N N N FW + Atheros40 patch AzureWave AW-NB037H ½Min PCIe 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N (=AR5B195) AzureWave AW-NB048H ½Min PCIe 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N (=AR5B195) AzureWave AW-NB290H ½Min PCIe 14e4-4357 BCM43225 B/G/N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N DSDT/kext patch AzureWave AW-CE123H ½Min PCIe 14e4-43b1 BCM4352 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N DSDT/kext patch AzureWave AW-CB160H ½Min PCIe 14e4-43a0 BCM4360 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y - Dell DW1502 ½Min PCIe 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N (=AR5B95) Dell DW1506 ½Min PCIe 168c-0032 AR94851 B/G/N Y ? * * ? N N N (=AR5B125) Dell DW1510 ½Min PCIe 14e4-432b BCM4322 A/B/G/N Y Y Y * * N N Y - Dell DW1515 ½Min PCIe 168C-002a AR9280 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * N N Y (=Atheros xB92) Dell DW15202 ½Min PCIe 14e4-4353 BCM43224 A/B/G/N Y Y Y Y * * * Y/N MBA5,2/Brcm4360 patch Dell DW1550 ½Min PCIe 14e4-43b1 BCM4352 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y ? N DSDT/kext patch Dell DW1601 ½Min PCIe 168c-0034 AR94621 A/B/G/N/AD Y Y * * ? N N N (=AR5B22) Dell DW1702 ½Min PCIe 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * N N N (=AR5B195) Dell DW1703 ½Min PCIe 168c-0032 AR94851 B/G/N Y Y * * ? N N N (=AR5B225) Dell DW1705 ½Min PCIe 168c-0036 AR95651 B/G/N Y Y * * ? N N N FW + Atheros40 patch Dell DW1560 NGFF/M.2 14e4-43b1 BCM4352 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y ? N DSDT/kext patch Dell DW1707 NGFF/M.2 168c:0036 AR95651 B/G/N Y Y * * ? N N N FW + Atheros40 patch Dell DW1802 NGFF/M.2 168c-0034 AR94621 A/B/G/N Y Y * * ? N N N (=AR5B22) Dell DW1820A3 NGFF/M.2 14e4-43a3 BCM43503 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y * * * N DSDT patch/injection Dell DW1830 NGFF/M.2 14e4-43ba BCM43602 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y - Fenvi BCM94360NG NGFF/M.2 14e4-43a0 BCM4360 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y - Asus USB-N10 USB 2.0 0b05-1786 RTL8188SU B/G/N ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N RealTek's v2.0.1 Asus USB-AC51 USB 2.0 0b05-17d1 MT7610U A/B/G/N/AC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N Asus's driver CSL Nano V.2 USB 2.0 0bda-8176 RTL8188CUS B/G/N Y Y Y Y Y Y ? N ? D-Link DWA-121 A1 USB 2.0 2001-3308 RTL8188CUS B/G/N Y Y Y Y Y Y ? N ? Lafalink LF-D10 Nano USB 2.0 148f-7601 MT7601 B/G/N Y Y Y Y ? ? ? N Ralink's v4.2.9.10/RT2870 Driver Lafalink LF-D12 Nano USB 2.0 148f-5370 RT5370 B/G/N ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N Ralink's v4.2.9.2 NetGear WNA3100M USB 2.0 0846-F001 RTL8192CU B/G/N ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N Realtek's v2.0.1 On-Nwrks N300 USB 2.0 0846-F001 RTL8192CU B/G/N ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N Realtek's v2.0.1 Tenda W522U USB 2.0 148f-3572 RT3572 A/B/G/N Y Y ? ? ? ? ? N TP-Link/Ralink TP-Link TL-WN725N v2 USB 2.0 0bda-8179 RTL8188EUS B/G/N Y Y Y ? ? ? ? N TP-Link's driver TP-Link TL-WN723N v3 USB 2.0 0bda-8179 RTL8188EUS B/G/N 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 ? ? ? ? N TP-Link's driver TP-Link TL-WN823N v2 USB 2.0 2357-0109 RTL8192EU B/G/N Y Y Y ? ? ? ? N TP-Link's driver TP-Link TL-WN823N v3 USB 2.0 ????-???? ???? B/G/N Y Y Y Y ? ? ? N TP-Link's driver Asus USB-AC56 USB 3.0 0b05-17d2 RTL8812AU A/B/G/N/AC ? ? ? ? ? ? ? N Asus's driver Asus PCE-AC66 PCIe x1 14e4-43a0 BCM4360 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y - Asus PCE-AC68 PCIe x1 14e4-43a0 BCM4360 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y - TP-Link TL-WN781ND v1 PCIe x1 168c-002b AR9285 B/G/N Y Y * * * * * N DSDT/Atheros40 patch TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCIe x1 168c-0030 AR9380 A/B/G/N Y Y * * * * * Y - TP-Link Archer T9E PCIe x1 14e4-43a0 BCM4360 A/B/G/N/AC Y Y Y Y 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 or AirPortBrcmNIC) 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 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 appear very poorly supported to plain unsupported from High Sierra. They are NOT recommended. 2 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. 3 DW1820A and other BCM4350-based cards are supported. See our BCM4350 guide for these cards. * See top of post for Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura.

November 13, 2023

1 point

Inventory of supported/unsupported wireless cards #2, Sierra -> Ventura & beyond

REMINDER: As stated here, Sonoma drops all official support for Broadcom "legacy" wireless cards previously natively supported up to Ventura, the only hardware remaining natively supported being based on Apple proprietary Broadcom SOCs that aren't available to PCs/Hackintosh platforms. The only way to obtain wireless services on older Broadcom or Atheros cards is to patch Sonoma with OCLP patcher and apply all necessary/relevant properties & kext injections. Details available here. Intel cards are not impacted by this and require same 3rd party arrangement as before (ITLWM). As a result, this inventory will no longer be updated past Ventura which effectively froze the situation.