Bluetooth 4.0 in a 2011 iMac

[catsartcox]

Hello,
New Member here.

So this new Knock app that I am reading looks cool. I am able to get it to work with my air. But since my Mid 2011 iMac does not have Bluetooth 4.0 it won't work.

So my question is; is there any part, chip or the like I can buy to give my iMac Bluetooth 4.0?
Ideally, I would like just to replace something inside my mac. But if it comes to it I can use a external device.


I know the new iMac(2012+) have it. But I don't want to upgrade because I'll lose the cd drive. This one was specced out, so it is still pretty competitive with the latest greatest.

 

[catsartcox]

Edit: I am seeing that with the new thinner iMacs they come with the Airport and bluetooth chips as one thing. So I guess that would not work. It seems to be just a standard chip going by the iFixit teardown. IS there a board out there i can buy. I can't seem to find anything. Or is this simple upgrade impossible?

 

[harryb2448]

G;day and welcome to the forums.

If your iMac is a mid 2011 model, go into About This Mac > More Info > Bluetooth and the version should read 4.2.006 12982. Actually this is Bluetooth 2.1 which makes things very confusing!

Losing the optical drive is no great hassle as a cheap external, say Samsung SE-208, will do the job nicely and USB thumb drives are the go now.

 

[catsartcox]

Thank you, I guess I knew I had bluetooth 2.1. I am trying to see if it is possible to upgrade my 2011 iMac to Bluetooth 4.0. Ether by replacing the chip or adding a USB dongle. From what I understand about the dangles is that they are temperamental. So I would prefer to by another bluetooth chip and just replace what I have.

 

[Checco]

Thank you, I guess I knew I had bluetooth 2.1. I am trying to see if it is possible to upgrade my 2011 iMac to Bluetooth 4.0. Ether by replacing the chip or adding a USB dongle. From what I understand about the dangles is that they are temperamental. So I would prefer to by another bluetooth chip and just replace what I have.

Considering this guide, I'd try a quality USB dongle first!

 

[pigoo3]

But since my Mid 2011 iMac does not have Bluetooth 4.0 it won't work.

If this sort of upgrade is possible (I'm not holding my breath on this)...it would help us to know the exact model iMac you have (EMC #)...or at least the iMac's specs (display size, cpu speed, cpu type, gpu type, etc.).

- Nick

 

[catsartcox]

If this sort of upgrade is possible (I'm not holding my breath on this)...it would help us to know the exact model iMac you have (EMC #)...or at least the iMac's specs (display size, cpu speed, cpu type, gpu type, etc.).

- Nick

EMC 2429

I have a 27inch mid 2011 iMac.
3.4 ghz I7
16gb RAM
6970M GPU With 1gb Vram
120gb OCZ Vertex #
2 TB Barracuda XT

It was one of the macs youtuber TLDtoday had at one point in time. He did a lot of mod videos on it. If any of you watch him.