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I am trying to install a wifi ac AirPort Extreme card and the card is a little bit longer than the N card. How can I reroute the antennas to make them about half an inch longer to snap into the ac card? Any help would be appreciated.
Like Jordan, I was able to re route the cables to successfully install the newer wifi AC card in my late 2010 13" Macbook Air. Snipping the antenna cable from the hinge part was the scariest thing, but after that I had just barely enough cable to plug into the card. The card is of course too long to screw in. I’m happy. Have yet to test with a wireless AC router to see the performance boost I get.
Sadly, you can’t extend the the connection without replacing the entire cable which would be prohibitive. You will need to replace the antenna unit within the display lid. We have had a lot of dialog on the pro’s n con’s of swapping out the older n board with Apples newer ac board (first generation). We did some tests and the amount of gain in performance was not much. Others also reported the same results. The next generation of ac hardware is just coming out. I would wait to see what these look like. Or, look at an external unit which will give you the needed matched antennas.
So… Handoff function works fine..? I intend to this :) It would be appreciated if you update it:) Thanks! Harry.
Harry - I can confirm that it works, but only after the kexts are hacked, and you switch to developer mode to allow them to load as described in the tutorial linked by Jordan. (It’s wonderful, BTW)
Hi! Thanks everybody! I have another question. As you know, the antenna cable is slightly short. As Dan did, can I just extend it by cutting the tape which is holding the cable underneath logic board..? If so, there are 2 connectors. But the direction is different between 2010 late(BCM943224PCIEBT2) and 2013mid(bcm94360cs2). 2010 late - along the hinge in a row. (https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air…) 2013 mid - in a row next to screw (https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air…)
- Should I cut the cable and reconnect the cable?
- Is there any problem from the size of both airport card? Because the 2013 mid model seems longer than 2010 model. If you help me again, I could do it by myself. Then I will update its result! haha. Thanks all!
Thanks Dan! I simulated(?) this situation. I think I’d better use electrical tape to fix it :) 1 More question :)
How can I pair the cable..? Am I correct..? I will pair 1 -> 1 and 2 -> 2 :) Thanks!
2’’ U.FL IPX Male to Female MINI PCI Card Antenna Extension Cable Terminal on eBay for 3 US$!.
I went ahead and dove into the unknowns of this matter regarding the ability to tear down the antenna cables to manipulate and extend the Air Card antennas and I found out some rather exciting information. Background: I first tried to do what another poster here said what had worked for them, but ran into problems. While trying to pull some antenna wiring cable through the hinge in order to reroute the hinge so I could make a 11” 2010 MacBook Air display work on a 2011 of the same model A1370, I perforated the outer coating of one of the antenna wires rendering it more than likely useless. The 2011 model has antenna cables built into the display that are about 1” longer than the 2010 model. So…. you can use a 2011 display assembly on a 2010 without modifying the antenna cables, but not the other way around At that point due to the wiring damage I was all in to just try to extend the wires using some antenna wiring from a 13” A1369 display which I had that was cracked . Method: I just did a simple cut and spice by Very Carefully removing the wiring coating around the cable which holds 2 wires inside it. The innermost wire is straight and covered, and is surrounded by the outer wire that’s “braided”. Once the “straight/inner” were joined with reciprocal wire from the longer A1369 parts wire, i soldered the wires together and repeated this step with the “braided/outer” wires. The wires were sealed with shrinking tubing
Plugged everything back in and it worked perfectly!
