Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Upgrading the AirPort Card in my Macbook Pro 15" (Early 2013) from 802.11n to 802.11ac

The Macbook Pro 15" (Early 2013), which is similar to the Mid-2012 version, was released with 802.11n Wi-Fi AirPort card. I have the AirPort Extreme (6th Gen) router at home. When I had an iMac, before I sold it, it would connect at 1300Mbps through 802.11ac. But with my Macbook Pro, it would only connect at the 450Mbps limit of 802.11n. The late-2013 Macbook Pro released by Apple included 802.11ac AirPort cards, which a teardown from iFixit revealed, was also the same size and connection type as the early-2013 version. So this meant that you could upgrade the AirPort card in the early-2013, as well as mid-2012 Macbook Pros.


I bought the Broadcom BCM4360 AirPort card from Amazon for $30. It took about two weeks to arrive from China. I unscrewed my Macbooks bottom cover with my TEKTON 2830 set that includes the needed pentalobe drivers. The AirPort card should be easy to spot. I removed the screw holding down the card, and pulled the card away from the connector (Not the motherboard!).


After installing the new AirPort card, I booted up with OSX correctly identifying the card and connecting to my Wi-Fi network seamlessly. It connected to my router via 802.11ac at 878Mbps. It is not as fast as when my iMac would connect, but I am happy to be connecting at almost double the rate of the older 802.11n!

You can option-click the Wi-Fi symbol on your menu bar to get more information about your connection.

I am happy with the upgrade, especially for only $30! If you do a lot of local transfers or backups like TimeMachine and would like a speed boost, I recommend upgrading your AirPort card as well.  Especially since it is so simple and cheap.


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8 comments:

  1. Wraith TimothyMay 3, 2016 at 2:35 AM

    How about bluetooth, it is normal? I heard bluetooth used another antenna.

    ReplyDelete
  2. pee and peeMarch 5, 2017 at 11:40 PM

    Does the recovery work? Read online some say after upgrading wifi card recovery mode don't work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DanMarch 6, 2017 at 1:35 PM

      I don't have the machine anymore, but if I remember correctly that is TRUE. I believe I had to use a physical LAN connection when doing recovery.

      Delete
  3. Jonathan SJune 15, 2017 at 3:05 PM

    I did this too yesterday to my Early 2013 MBP and do not have any problems regarding recovery mode or other. I DID notice though the maximum achievable link speed is 878Mbps like yours. This means only 2 spatial streams are used.
    My girlfriend's late 2013 MBP uses the exact same card (even same Firmware) and can use the full possible 1300Mbps when very close to the access point.
    So I suppose there is some kind of difference in the antenna layout so the third one can't be used properly. It really makes no difference in practice, but it bugs me more than it should :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pee and peeJune 15, 2017 at 8:15 PM

      may I know what router / AP u using? I have MacBook Pro 15" mid 2014 and MacBook Air 13" early 2015 both near my Asus AC66U can't get above 600Mbps, tried both 2.4ghz and 5ghz, reset router setting, etc.

      Delete
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