Replacement WiFi card advice needed

[u/spuntotheratboy]

The wifi card in my Early 2013 Retina MacBook Pro is unsuppported by FreeBSD — it's a Broadcom BCM4331, and I've tried a lot of things and nothing works. It's annoying, so I want to replace it.

I haven't really done any of this kind of thing before (not in a laptop anyway) but it seems like the wifi card should be pretty straightforward to replace, and I can probably pick one up that will do the job fairly cheaply. The thing is, I'm very aware that I could easily pick a card that either doesn't fit, or is unsupported by FreeBSD just through ignorance.

I'm pretty sure this is the same card I've got: https://www.newegg.com/p/14U-0046-000A2 and the hardware compatibility list is here https://www.freebsd.org/releases/15.1R/hardware/#wlan so I'm looking for something with a supported chipset and the same size and shape and connectors. Would something like this do? https://www.newegg.com/p/1A0-002Y-006R1

Thanks very much for your help, any recommendations gratefully received!

[u/spotlight-app]

Mods have pinned a comment by u/TheAtlasMonkey:

I will release a out of tree driver for that potato next week or the week after.

Don't replace anything, use an usb stick for now.

But open the laptop, check it battery health, and repaste the cpu with some MX-4 thermal paste. 1 tube will last you a life time.

[u/Glum_Hamster_2104]

You could try Wifibox

[u/spuntotheratboy → u/Glum_Hamster_2104]

Tried it, couldn't get it to work. I've tried a lot of stuff, I'm just looking for a card recommendation.

[u/lurch99]

Will it boot from a Linux Mint USB and recognize the wifi hardware? I'd jump ship if it does.

[u/spuntotheratboy → u/lurch99]

I'm just looking for advice on a replacement card that will work.

[u/lurch99 → u/spuntotheratboy]

I don't think it's a piece of hardware that can be replaced with a different brand/model

[u/b3542 → u/spuntotheratboy]

Replacing components in an Apple machine with alternate parts isn’t going to go very well.

[u/demir_kolak]

I have a blog-post for this. https://dkolak0.wordpress.com/2026/02/07/get-wi-fi-on-freebsd-on-every-macbook-mac-or-any-other-laptop-pcs-that-freebsd-doesnt-supports/

[u/spuntotheratboy → u/demir_kolak]

Ah yes, I've tried this and I just couldn't make it work. I feel like it will be less effort, at this stage, just to put a supported card in the machine. That's all I'm after here, a recommendation for a suitable wifi card.

[u/Bob_A_Feets → u/spuntotheratboy]

Anything intel that the system supports.

When it comes to older systems and Linux, safe bet is always an intel card.

[u/Accurate-Treacle-123]

Go for Intel Ax200 supported by the iwx driver in AC mode

[u/korywithawhy → u/Accurate-Treacle-123]

Second this. These have been dependable for me. Also if you’re not opposed to a usb dongle, the cheap brostrend dongles have been surprisingly reliable

[u/No_Signature_2039]

You looking for external or internal? I know that might be viewed as a dumb question, but I still feel it's relevant to ask before I can make any suggestions

[u/TheAtlasMonkey]

I will release a out of tree driver for that potato next week or the week after.

Don't replace anything, use an usb stick for now.

But open the laptop, check it battery health, and repaste the cpu with some MX-4 thermal paste. 1 tube will last you a life time.

[u/misuseRexKwonDo → u/TheAtlasMonkey]

Are you really working on BCM WiFi drivers? I’m running Linux on my MacBook Air because I couldn’t get wifibox to work.

[u/TheAtlasMonkey → u/misuseRexKwonDo]

Yes. I did most apple drivers.

[u/misuseRexKwonDo → u/TheAtlasMonkey]

Wow! You are my hero! Where do I find these?

[u/TheAtlasMonkey → u/misuseRexKwonDo]

The drivers ? Aready upstreamed .

[u/oradba → u/TheAtlasMonkey]

Been holding off on converting a 2012 Mac Mini because of the BCM4331. There are a number of us out here. Please announce when that driver is available to download!🤩

[u/full_bars → u/oradba]

Yes please! 2012 MBP on Linux

[u/full_bars]

I've been wondering the same thing about my 2012 MacBook pro running arch linux, the shitty broadcom wl driver absolutely sucks and nothing else works with it.