2009 Mac Pro (5.1 Flash) + High Sierra= NO AIRPORT!

[MacDad77]

Happy Friday to everyone!

First, let me thank all of you who contribute to this site for those of us who can't get it done by ourselves. We will always be indebted to you.

I have an issue with my son's older Mac Pro and the Airport hardware since I upgraded him to High Sierra. Since the switch, The task bar at the top has an "X" in the airport's area. I have researched this already, and tried what OSXDaily suggested with the SMC and NVRAM resets to no avail. I plugged in his phone for internet access and downloaded any updates I could see through the App Store, which amounted only to a Safari update.

We both have early 2009 Mac Pros but mine has had no issues since I upgraded to High Sierra. My machine had the firmware flash already done when I bought it, as well as a slightly newer CPU upgrade (dual CPU board- chips only as the dual socket was already there).
His specs for this machine are:

Mac Pro (Early 2009)2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (single CPU)
10 GB 1066 MHz DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB
OSX= 10.13.6 (17G65)

interestingly enough, it says this under the System Report>Network>WIFi

Software Versions:
CoreWLAN: 13.0 (1350.1)
CoreWLANKit: 13.0 (1350.1)
Menu Extra: 13.0 (1361.7)
System Information: 12.0 (1300.1)
IO80211 Family: 12.0 (1200.12.2)
Diagnostics: 1.0 (805)
AirPort Utility: 6.3.8 (638.9)

I know that the OSXDaily page said as a last resort I could "downgrade" the OS, and I could do that through Time Machine right?

For now, he can use the phone to connect so he can do his school work and Minecraft, but I'd like to get this fixed back to the way it was. There weren't any issues like this before I upgraded it.


Thanks to all for the help!

Christian

 

[ferrarr]

Are there any differences, in the specs/data from his machine, that differs from your machine? Specifically the Airport card model?

 

[MacDad77]

Are there any differences, in the specs/data from his machine, that differs from your machine? Specifically the Airport card model?

I don't think so. I checked in the same spot on my computer and found this:

- - - Updated - - -

you can see how it actually seems to recognize that there is hardware installed. :/

 

[lclev]

My Mac Pro is a 2009/2010 model very similar to yours. I have been running High Sierra since it became available. I noticed one day my wifi card was not working. It did not have a red X and when I looked in system report under wifi it showed everything correctly but that it was not connecting. Doing the standard resets did nothing. I can't actually say if High Sierra caused it or not as I also have it hardwired and never really noticed.

Since I wanted to upgrade my bluetooth anyway so I would be able to use airdrop and my airpods, I purchased a new dual module which fixed the problem. I will say putting the new card requires lots of patience. I never knew such teeny tiny connectors existed! But it turned out to be money well spent.

Lisa

Edit: So I just saw your post. I had the same issue and I determined the wifi card had died. I wish I could remember where I got my replacement but I would have to be at work as the info is on that computer.

 

[MacDad77]

thank you for responding Lisa! I have seen some airport cards, thankfully not too expensive!

 

[lclev]

When I get to work tomorrow I will post where I got mine. The additional upgrade to the bluetooth was worth it for me. I use a trackpad, wireless keyboard and airpods with mine. The addition of airdrop has been nice for transferring things from my iPhone to the MP.

Edit: I found my receipt! This is where I got my replacement card:

https://www.osxwifi.com/product/mac...94360cd-802-11-a-b-g-n-ac-with-bluetooth-4-0/

Lisa

 

[harryb2448]

Pretty difficult Lisa with strangler's large size hands, but not asdtricky as the Quad Core G5 that used a Bluetooth/Airport card all in one.

 

[MacDad77]

When I get to work tomorrow I will post where I got mine. The additional upgrade to the bluetooth was worth it for me. I use a trackpad, wireless keyboard and airpods with mine. The addition of airdrop has been nice for transferring things from my iPhone to the MP.

Edit: I found my receipt! This is where I got my replacement card:

https://www.osxwifi.com/product/mac...94360cd-802-11-a-b-g-n-ac-with-bluetooth-4-0/

Lisa

Thank you Lisa, you're awesome!

 

[lclev]

Pretty difficult Lisa with strangler's large size hands, but not asdtricky as the Quad Core G5 that used a Bluetooth/Airport card all in one.

The one I put in was an all-in-one piggy backed card. I have found age has advanced the dexterity in my hands has changed significantly, oh, and let us not forget eye site! So working on small connectors not easy!

Lisa

 

[MacDad77]

OK. I bought a card from Newegg, and installed it. By doing a system check it does recognize the card and it appears to be working. The Wi-Fi however when we tried to connect gives us an error message to make sure that the Wi-Fi is on on the hotspot, and that it is close enough. The phone was sitting right next to the computer so I do not understand. Can anyone provide additional help?

Hey Everyone.

OK. I bought a card from Newegg, and installed it. By doing a system check it does recognize the card and it appears to be working. The Wi-Fi however when we tried to connect gives us an error message to make sure that the Wi-Fi is on on the hotspot, and that it is close enough. The phone was sitting right next to the computer so I do not understand. Can anyone provide additional help?

here is the original thread:

https://www.mac-forums.com/threads/2009-mac-pro-5-1-flash-high-sierra-no-airport.347760/

thank you!

Threads merged. Please do not cross post.