Chosen Solution
I have a macbook pro early 2011 with OS 10.11.5 and I would like to know if is worth it to upgrade airport/bluetooth (from 2.1 to a 4.0) board in order to have bluetooth 4.0? If it is upgraded, will the OS system recognize the new airport/bluetooth board automatically? Or Is it necessary to install or configure something? Will the macbook pro be able to connect with newer devices like trackpads and keyboard via bluetooth 4.0 LE? And will Airdrop work with newer iphones?
Sorry to say there is no upgrade AirPort for your system. You don’t need an upgraded bluetooth for most peripherals for your MacBook Pro. The iPhone will also work without issue.
I just did the upgrade. Airdrop shows in finder, under system report/wifi it also says AirDrop supported but I miss the option to make my MacBook visible for others to AirDrop, has someone found a fix for that? Late 2011 MacBook Pro A1278 running Sierra
Replaced the card on a macbook pro late 2011 running High Sierra 10.13.6. Did a SMC reset right after installing. System Information > Bluetooth says “HCI Version: 4.0 (0x6)” now. Wifi works normally and bluetooth can connect to other devices like headsets. However, my iPhone and the macbook pro don’t see each other via airdrop. EDIT: Solved by this thread, using the Continuity Activation Tool.
