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Model A1297 Unibody: Early 2009, Mid 2009, Mid 2010, Early 2011 & Late 2011

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WiFi AC/Bluetooth 4.0 Upgrade for MacBook Pro 17" MacBookPro8,3

I'm looking to upgrade the WiFi card on my MacBook Pro 17" MacBookPro8,3 to WiFi AC with Bluetooth 4.0 so I can get Airdrop to work along with faster WiFi connectivity. Can anyone advise which part I need specifically to get this done if it's possible? I saw that it was possible on Luke Miani's YouTube channel but for a different MacBook Pro. Is it possible to upgrade the WiFi card on a MacBook Pro 17" MacBookPro8,3?

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Sorry this series uses a different interface for the AirPort board than the newer unibody and early retina systems as you can see here

MacBook Pro 15"/17" Unibody (2008-2009) Airport Extreme Card and MacBook Pro 17" Unibody (Early-Mid 2009) Bluetooth Board

Whereas the the 2012 15” uses a single combo bd MacBook Pro Unibody (Early 2011-Mid 2012) AirPort/Bluetooth Board to get to handoff services.

And to get to AC WiFI you would need to jump to MacBook Pro Retina (2015) Airport/Bluetooth Board

As you can see between the physical boards being very different in size the interface is also very different it just physically can’t fit. Lastly, the limitations of the OS your system is limited to won’t offer the needed firmware or drivers to support it.

Yes it’s a bummer! I finally had to give up on my 17” systems years ago because of the slow WIFI too.

MacBook Pro Retina (2015) Airport/Bluetooth Board Image

Product

MacBook Pro Retina (2015) Airport/Bluetooth Board

$24.99

MacBook Pro Unibody (Early 2011-Mid 2012) AirPort/Bluetooth Board Image

Product

MacBook Pro Unibody (Early 2011-Mid 2012) AirPort/Bluetooth Board

$42.99

MacBook Pro 15"/17" Unibody (2008-2009) Airport Extreme Card Image

Product

MacBook Pro 15"/17" Unibody (2008-2009) Airport Extreme Card

$59.99

MacBook Pro 17" Unibody (Early-Mid 2009) Bluetooth Board Image

Product

MacBook Pro 17" Unibody (Early-Mid 2009) Bluetooth Board

$29.99

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2 Comments:

D'oh. Thanks for clarifying all that. Thankfully with 2 SSDs working in a Raid 0 on this, this early 2011 MacBook Pro is still going strong. No graphics card failure yet. Bought this used on eBay for exactly $123.63. Was listed as "for parts not working" yet to my surprise, the Mac booted up once I got a charger plugged in. It even had the matte display add-on too, not too bad. I reflowed the graphics card chips though just to be safe and the Mac has been running flawlessly ever since.

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Don’t forget to score the answer and if your set please accept the answer - Thanks!

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