# How to convert early 2013 Macbook Pro 15 Retina to support 802.11 ac



## Matthew Dresden (Jun 14, 2015)

I know this is a FreeBSD Forum, but this is the Off Topic Area and while I use a mac nearly exclusively for my personal workstation, FreeBSD is my server choice.

So, this topic was very poorly documented on the internet in general and someone needs to make credible information  searchable on the internet.

I have often asked myself what is apple doing to these new retina macs that come out as they didn't seem any different than mine. I don't know all the differences but I was not happy to discover my mac didn't support the super fast wifi speeds now available over 802.11 ac.

In early 2013 mac and prior they only supported n speed.

At the store I was told everything in the retina was soldered in. Happily it turns out this in not entirely the case.

The internal wifi adapter along with what looks like an m2 ssd card are in fact removable.

How awesome, so when my hard disk performance deteriorates, I don't have to throw out my mac and buy a new one  Party !!!

On to Business...

You need to look up your exact mac model.

Click on about this mac
Click on system report
Click on Hardware
Look up Model Identifier

You will need this to ensure the wifi card you buy will fit your chassis.
Mine was a MacBookPro10,1
Amazon stock the wifi card and there is a big range in price.
I bought mine for 30 dollars while other charged as much as 80 dollars for the same one.
You basically need something along the lines of Bcm94360csax
Make sure you research which card you need for 802.11 ac
The card on amazon should list compatible chassis
Once you get the right card you are ready for some surgery
The things you need to work with are small, very very small.
I needed a magnifying glass a bright led work light and needle
You will need some special torx bits to remove the cover and the card.
The screws also are super small and probably easily damaged
So be careful !
The bottom cover comes of with a T 1.5 torx bit
The card comes out with a T 5 torx bit
You need a very small plastic pry bar to pop off the 3 antenna wires attached to the card
If you damage these you not be able to get them back on and will be in some trouble
So after you pop off the 3 wired, remove the one screw holding the card in and carefully lift it up slightly and remove it.
There is some non conductive gum on the bottom of the card.
The new card should have some new gum already on it.
If it doesn't remove the gum and apply it to the bottom of your new card
Install the new card
Put the screw back in and again be careful not to over tighten it, its small and doesn't need much torque.
Unless your vision is excellent along with great lighting you will benefit from some electronic magnifying glasses with a led light on them to install the antenna wires
The attaching ends are basically a doughnut with s very small pin in the center.
Inspect the plugs on the end of each cable and clean up with a needle if necessary so you can get the plugs back on the new card.
Make sure the wire plugs are perpendicular to the card ports, line them up and gently snap them down on to the plug
You should hear a metallic snap noise when it seats down.
Dont force this or you will damage the plug and not get it attached again.
Patience and gentleness is very key here.
Once you have this done, not might be a good time to blow the dust out of the 2 cooling fans, the intake and output air ports.
If you use compressed air, be carefully as there are many small plugs on the main board, along with other important item you could blow away.
Get the cover seated back in and snapped into place and careful start but not tighten all the screws, to make sure everything lines up.
Then carefully tighten each screw while taking care not to strip them.
You should be done.
Power up your mac
Go back to about my mac
Click on system report
Click on wifi
You should now see 802.11 ac as an available connection speed
Congratulations, your macbook should now be out of surgery and running around faster than ever.

Notes here is the card I purchased from Broadcom:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PDN4H9E?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00


----------



## sossego (Jun 15, 2015)

Have you posted this or a link to this in any "Apple-centric" forum or have you thought about posting this on ibstructables.com ? That site is a good place for which to share information and you can link to the tutorials here. Anyway, thanks because someone will soon find this to be helpful.


----------



## carry0987 (May 21, 2020)

Pretty great work, thanks a lot !!!


----------

