Bluetooth 4 would require a hardware upgrade. There are two options you could consider, one would be to get a USB adapter the other more interesting option is to replace the existing internal Bluetooth card. I have actually done this myself and such an upgrade certainly does give you full 'Continuity' compatibility. First see these articles. And Second see this website. The adapter above replaces both the original WiFi card and Bluetooth card with a current 802.11ac WiFi card and current Bluetooth card as would be fitted in the current iMac as an example.

Since this is a genuine Apple part it is automatically recognised and supported by OS X. This is the approach I used in my Mac Pro. Bluetooth 4 would require a hardware upgrade. There are two options you could consider, one would be to get a USB adapter the other more interesting option is to replace the existing internal Bluetooth card.

I have actually done this myself and such an upgrade certainly does give you full 'Continuity' compatibility. First see these articles. And Second see this website.

The adapter above replaces both the original WiFi card and Bluetooth card with a current 802.11ac WiFi card and current Bluetooth card as would be fitted in the current iMac as an example. Since this is a genuine Apple part it is automatically recognised and supported by OS X. This is the approach I used in my Mac Pro. Thank you, Jimmy CMPIT and John Lockwood.

You just increased my knowledge of Bluetooth hardware and software by about 200%. I checked my System Profile and found that it's set up with a BT 4.4 (?) driver, but, as I feared, the hardware will need to be upgraded. I'm a bit reluctant to dig into code, but I'm OK with installing hardware, either an Apple board or a dongle. And I can see that Mac Pro's are designed for people who like to do just that.

So thanks for supplying the information to start the process with. OK, I have another question. Thanks for answering my hopelessly uninformed questions, by the way.

Buying a dongle would work, of course, but that's the coward's way out. I've looked through the offerings for internal cards and it has become confusing. Does an Airport Express card incorporate Bluetooth hardware?

Bluetooth Version 2.1 Edr

The card at OSXWIFI is referred to as a 'Broadcomm' device, and does include a BT upgrade, but can I assume that any 'wireless upgrade card' is going to work with BT 4.1? Is BT 4.1 a software upgrade on BT4.0 hardware, or do I need BT 4.1 hardware? According to my System profile, El Capitan includes Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 4.4.4f4 17685.

Does that mean I'm covered for BT software up to version 4.4? There is Bluetooth software and there is Bluetooth hardware. The upgrade from OSXWifi gives you Bluetooth hardware 4.0. As mentioned I have one of these upgrades and it gives me Bluetooth 4.0 hardware which fully supports Apple's Continuity and means it also supports Bluetooth LE (low energy). See this article.

With the OSXWifi upgrade it lists a LMP value of 0x6 therefore Bluetooth 4.0 hardware. I don't have access to the very, very latest Macs but I did check the latest Mac mini which is now an over a year old design and it also has Bluetooth 4.0 i.e. Therefore I am not convinced any Mac has Bluetooth 4.1 as yet. In fact this article which lists the Bluetooth model supposedly in every model of Mac confirms this. See tooth-capabilities.html With regards to the OSXWifi upgrade, the original Bluetooth and Wifi in a classic Mac Pro is two separate cards.

The upgrade replaces it with a single board which does both. Remember this is the genuine Apple card from a newer Mac. The upgrade consists of an adapter card to allow the newer card to fit, the newer combined Wifi and Bluetooth card, and also a couple of cables. Apple Footer.

What Is Bluetooth 2.1 Edr

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Bluetooth 3.0 Edr

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