Broadcom BCM94360 Hackintosh Guide: Wireless 5 Cards, Kexts, and Fixes

Why Broadcom BCM94360 Cards Are Referred to as "Wireless 5"

Not all Wi-Fi chipsets are equal in macOS. The Broadcom BCM94360 family, often called "Wireless 5" in enthusiast circles, provides native support for AirDrop, Handoff, and Instant Hotspot without extra kexts. The "5" in the name comes from the 5GHz 802.11ac standard these chips implement, but it also serves as shorthand for the specific generation of Broadcom hardware that Apple used in Macs from 2013 to 2016. On a legacy Hackintosh, picking the right Wireless 5 card can mean the difference between a system that wakes from sleep with stable Wi-Fi and one that kernel panics as soon as the network stack initializes.

Identifying the Correct Chipset: BCM94360 vs. BCM94331

Many sellers list cards as "BCM94360CS2" or "BCM94360CD." These are the native Apple Airport Extreme cards used in MacBook Air (2013–2015) and iMac (Late 2013–2015). The critical distinction is the chipset revision: BCM94360 uses a 3-stream 802.11ac controller (Broadcom BCM4360), while the older BCM94331 is 802.11n (2.4/5GHz, 3-stream) but lacks native Handoff support. For a Hackintosh targeting macOS 10.10 Yosemite through 10.14 Mojave, stick with the BCM94360 series. The card identifier in System Information should read AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x117) or similar — if it shows 0x14E4, 0x111 you may have a BCM94331.

Supported macOS Versions

• macOS 10.9 Mavericks – Works with BCM94360CS2, but limited to 802.11n (5GHz ac not fully supported in OS). You need to inject AirPortBrcm4360.kext from 10.10.
• macOS 10.10 Yosemite to 10.14 Mojave – Full native support, including ac, Handoff, and Instant Hotspot. No extra kexts required if the card is detected as Apple hardware.
• macOS 10.15 Catalina – The BCM94360CS2 still works, but Apple removed the 802.11ac firmware from the installer. You must manually copy AirPortBrcm4360_Injector.kext from a Mojave installation.
• macOS 11 Big Sur and later – Not recommended for legacy Hackintosh; the card will lose 5GHz functionality unless you patch the OS kernel.

Physical Form Factors and Adapters

The BCM94360CS2 is a half-mini PCIe card (M.2 Key E). Most desktop motherboards lack such a slot, so you need an adapter: a mini PCIe to PCIe x1 card or a M.2 Key E to USB (for laptops). For a desktop Hackintosh, the BCM94360CD (full-size PCIe) is easier to install — it fits directly into a PCIe x1 slot and includes four antenna ports. The CD variant uses the same BCM4360 chip but with a different connector layout. Whichever you choose, make sure the antenna cables are securely attached; a loose U.FL connector can cause intermittent disconnects that look like a kernel panic.

Kext Injection and Configuration

If your card is not detected as a genuine Apple Airport card, you may need to inject the following kexts (using Clover or OpenCore):

1. AirPortBrcm4360.kext – The main driver for BCM94360 chips. Place it in EFI/OC/Kexts or /Library/Extensions for legacy Clover.
2. AirPortBrcm4360_Injector.kext – Required for macOS 10.15 and later if the firmware is missing. Only needed for Catalina+.
3. BrcmWLFixup.kext – Not strictly necessary for BCM94360, but can help if you experience random disconnects after sleep. Add it only if you see repeated AirPort: Link Down logs.

For OpenCore, enable Kernel > Add and set MinKernel / MaxKernel appropriately. For example, the Injector should only load on macOS 10.15 and later.

ACPI Tables for Bluetooth and Power Management

Many BCM94360 cards include a combined Bluetooth 4.0 module (BCM20702). macOS handles Bluetooth natively, but you may need to inject a custom SSDT to expose the USB interface. The card typically appears as a USB device at HS04 or HS05. A simple SSDT that renames RHUB to XHUB and adds a device with device-id and vendor-id matching the BCM20702 works. See our Custom SSDTs for Legacy Hackintosh: Fixing EC, Ethernet, and CPU Power Management for the general method — the Bluetooth injection follows the same pattern using _SB.PCI0.XHC.

Diagnosing Wireless Issues

If your Hackintosh does not see the Wi-Fi card at all, check IORegistryExplorer for the presence of AirPort_Brcm4360 under IO80211Interface. If absent, the card is not being initialized. Common causes:

• Missing firmware – On macOS 10.15+, copy AirPortBrcm4360_Injector.kext from a Mojave installation.
• Kernel panic on wake – Add -brcmfx-d3 to boot arguments to force the driver to reinitialize after sleep.
• 5GHz network not visible – Make sure your region code is set correctly in com.apple.airport.preferences.plist. Some cards shipped with a China region that blocks channels 149–165.
• Handoff/Continuity broken – Verify that your Bluetooth module is correctly enumerated. Without a working Bluetooth, Handoff will not appear even if Wi-Fi is fine.

A Note on Antennas and Placement

Broadcom cards are sensitive to antenna impedance. Avoid using the cheap magnetic-base antennas that come with generic USB Wi-Fi adapters — they are tuned for 2.4GHz only and will degrade 5GHz performance. Instead, use the original antenna cables from a MacBook or a compatible dual-band dipole antenna (2.4/5GHz, 2 dBi). Place the antennas away from the motherboard's chipset heatsink and video card backplate to reduce interference. If you see signal strength fluctuating between -70 and -90 dBm, try repositioning the antennas or using a longer extension cable.

Final Tip: Verifying Your Configuration

After installing the card and kexts, open System Information > Network > Wi-Fi. The Interface Name should be en1 (or en0 if you have no Ethernet). The firmware version should read 7.21.95.175 (for 10.14) or similar. If it shows 7.21.97.143, you have a later revision that may require the Injector kext. Always back up your EFI partition before modifying kexts or ACPI tables. If you encounter kernel panics on wake, try adding the -brcmfx-d3 boot argument or disabling AirPortBrcm4360_Injector.kext in favor of the native AirPortBrcmNIC-MFG.kext from a macOS 10.13 Recovery partition.