Hackintosh usb bluetooth dongle
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And so a few posts ago, I wrote in the comments that I was able to launch bluetooth without any problems on an unsupported dongle from the TP link.
Many had questions, so I decided to collect everything in one post.
- No kext needed
- Apple devices connect seamlessly (tested magic: Trackpad & keyboard)
- Range of work without lags in my conditions no more than 4 meters
- Audio devices work without problems: checked with FiiO BTR3. AAC codec is working
- Xbox One Wireless controller connects without problems on macOS, but sometimes disconnects on windows
- Bluetooth low energy supported
- No handoff
- No instant hot spot
- For some reason, it only works for me in USB 2.0 ports on the motherboard
- Tested on macOS 10.15.2 and 10.15.4 beta
- Yes, this is proof of the existence of magic! Even the manufacturer is not aware that their dongle works on macOS.
A simple solution for those who need bluetooth only to connect wireless devices over a short distance.
Hackintosh usb bluetooth dongle
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Just wanted to share my two cents on how I got bluetooth working on the cheap. I was looking for a cheap USB Bluetooth dongle that will be able to connect my Skullcandy headphones to my hackintosh.I bought an Orico (BTA-409-BK) dongle ~5$. It’s a Bluetooth 4.0 USB dongle using the CSR 8510 chipset. Chipset manufacturer is qualcomm. Dongle manufacturer isn’t important, the chipset inside is. I recon most of the listed «CSR 4.0» use the 8510 chipset (do check for yourself) and will work.
I am using bluetoolfixup.kext injected into Opencore.
Writing this on 23.12.2022 from Ventura 13.1. My headphones connect and work.
NVRAM>7C436110-AB2A-4BBB-A880-FE41995C9F82 section in your config.plist file and add the two child items:
| Key | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
| bluetoothInternalControllerInfo | Data | 00000000 00000000 00000000 0000 |
| bluetoothExternalDongleFailed | Data | 00 |
or if editing with a text editor
Step-by-Step: Installing macOS Compatible Bluetooth USB Dongle
Looking for an easy to install Bluetooth USB dongle for your Mac or Hackintosh PC — I recommend the Broadcom BCM20702 Chipset. It’s readily available used by many dongles, inexpensive and works easily without drivers. But you need to install some software just to enable it.
Here are my step-by-step instructions!
In my case the integrated AirPort Extreme card was broken on the Macbook Pro. This is a combo card with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combined — (1) Wi-Fi would work for a while and then turn itself off until restart, (2) Bluetooth would keep randomly turning off and back on, making it impossible to use any Bluetooth device. So I decided to get a cheap external adapter instead of paying for expensive replacement work.
Note that I have El Capitan (10.11.6 at the time of writing) but this will most probably work with earlier versions of the macOS.
I purchased a Broadcom BCM20702 equipped USB Bluetooth Adapter which went under the brand name “GMYLE” (although received dongle says “Succul”).
I noticed that with a lot of compatible dongles you don’t see Mac compatibility listed. But it’s safe to ignore that, as long as you have a supported chipset in your hands. Mine actually says on the back of the box that it’s Mac OS compatible.
Required Software
First you need to install: Xcode (the OS X developer tools). Then an additional tools package that contains the “Bluetooth Explorer” app, which is needed to activate the “Host Controller”.
(1) First — grab Xcode over here if it’s not already installed. Apple ID is required for both downloads (1) (2).
(2) Second — go to the “Downloads for Apple Developers” section and search for Xcode. Or use this direct link to get there. Look for the version of the tools package that corresponds to your version of Xcode. Previously the package has been called “Hardware IO Tools” but since Xcode 8 it’s just “Additional Tools”.
Note: “Additional Tools for Xcode 8” supports only macOS Sierra. So if you are on El Capitan or other older version, you might consider sticking with Xcode 7.
Open up Bluetooth Explorer and go to Tools –> HCI Controller Selector.
You should see the Broadcom Corp chip within the list of host controllers. Pick the right one and “Activate”. And you are done!
Bluetooth mouse gets immediately connected.
How is this working for macOS 10.13 High Sierra in 2023? Let me know!
Please, also let us know the setup that’s working for you.
Or is the Bluetooth USB dongle not working? Leave your problems below.
Also I’d likely kindly note my readers, that some of these guides and posts on Elftronix are affiliated with other companies and the services they provide. This could potentially result in financial benefit.
Sincere thank you for reading and supporting me! David.
Hackintosh usb bluetooth dongle
Hey, did the info in the system info change after you updated? or does the dongle just work now. I guess what im getting at is other than bluetooth working is there any visual indication it works? are there any infos in system info about bluetooth 4.0 support, etc?
The thing with my problem is that the dongle does not work at all by default. I can see if detected as a USB device but that’s it. OS X does not by default recognize it as a Bluetooth device without the kext hack. Once the hack is done, the Bluetooth info in the System Information shows the Bluetooth device information and obviously it’s working now. Here’s the extract from my System Information on the Bluetooth device:- Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.0.5f11
Hardware Settings:
Address: ##-##-##-##-##-##
Manufacturer: Broadcom
Name: Ken’s MacBook Pro
Firmware Version: v14 c4096
Bluetooth Power: On
Discoverable: No
Vendor ID: 0xa5c
Product ID: 0x21e8
HCI Version: 6 (0x6)
HCI Revision: 4096 (0x1000)
LMP Version: 6 (0x6)
LMP Subversion: 8718 (0x220e)
Device Type (Major): Computer
Device Type (Complete): Mac Portable
Composite Class Of Device: 3801356 (0x3a010c)
Device Class (Major): 1 (0x1)
Device Class (Minor): 3 (0x3)
Service Class: 464 (0x1d0)
Services:
Bluetooth File Transfer:
Folder other devices can browse: ~/Public
Requires Authentication: Yes
State: Enabled
Bluetooth File Exchange:
Folder for accepted items: ~/Downloads
Requires Authentication: No
When other items are accepted: Ask
When PIM items are accepted: Ask
When receiving items: Prompt for each file
State: Enabled
Devices (Paired, Favorites, etc):
Ken’s iPhone:
Address: ##-##-##-##-##-##
Type: Smartphone
Firmware Version: 0x510
Services: Wireless iAP, PAN Network Access Profile, AVRCP Device, Handsfree Gateway, Audio Source, AVRCP Device, Phonebook
Paired: Yes
Favorite: Yes
Connected: No
Manufacturer: Broadcom (0x6, 0x4103)
Vendor ID: 0x5ac
Product ID: 0x12a0
EDR Supported: Yes
eSCO Supported: Yes
Razer Orochi:
Address: ##-##-##-##-##-##
Type: Mouse
Firmware Version: 0x501
Services: Razer Orochi
Paired: Yes
Favorite: No
Connected: No
Manufacturer: Broadcom (0x3, 0x229)
Vendor ID: 0x1532
Product ID: 0x14
EDR Supported: No
eSCO Supported: No
Incoming Serial Ports:
Bluetooth-PDA-Sync:
RFCOMM Channel: 3
Requires Authentication: No
Outgoing Serial Ports:
Bluetooth-Modem:
Address:
RFCOMM Channel: 0
Requires Authentication: No
KensiPhone-WirelessiAP:
Address: ##-##-##-##-##-##
RFCOMM Channel: 1
Requires Authentication: No
Ken, great post. Other than verifying your System Information as shown above, have you tried actually connecting to a Bluetooth 4 peripheral with this dongle after the configuration?
Getting the Asus USB-BT211 Bluetooth dongle to work on a Hackintosh
I just received my Asus USB-BT211 Bluetooth dongle in the mail today and was excited to finally get to use my trusty Apple Wireless keyboard again. I ordered it from Amazon after I read this tonymacx86 blogpost about recommended hardware for SandyBridge Hackintosh builds. Supposedly it should have worked right out of the box, just plug-and-play. However the dongle (BT21) that the link pointed to wasn’t for sale anymore so carelessly I found a dongle with a similar name (BT211). Long story short, the previous version (BT21) works out of the box but the newest one that I got (BT211) does not. The remainder of this post are instructions that I found after some digging on how to make it work (with some limits).
Credit goes to drcrack at the tonymacx86 forum. You should probably check out his post first, he seems to be updating it quite regularly and it contains some additional information.
- Download this file (it’s extracted Windows 7 drivers courtesy of the user ajg0r at the tonymacx86 forum)
- Run Terminal and change dir to your Downloads directory:
$ tar zxf ath3k-firmware-uploader-V2.tar.gz $ cd ath3k-firmware-uploader-V2 Now the limits? People are reporting that the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad do not work, only «. wireless keyboard[s], audio and phones.» As I just wanted to use my Wireless Apple keyboard, I got what I wanted -_-. Thanks drcrack and ajg0r for the help!