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The WiFi on my MacBook Pro Unibody Mid 2012 15'' stopped working a few weeks ago and shows "Wi-Fi: no hardware installed". After searching online, I found this post here MacBook is displaying the message "no hardware installed" when I click on Wi-Fi and here Bluetooth and wifi stopped working

Now, here is the problem.

When the WiFi stopped working a few weeks ago, the bluetooth also stopped working. So both the WiFi and bluetooth did not work. Then, I ordered a replacement WiFi cable because I thought that the issue could come from there, and then I followed the steps here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg5gNop2Cos&ab_channel=GRIBSOFT to replace the old WiFi cable. Surprisingly, the Bluetooth started working again, but the WiFi still showed "Wi-Fi: no hardware installed". I then ordered a second WiFi cable from a different seller, and again replaced the cable. But the outcome is still the same, the bluetooth works but the WiFi not.

After searching online, and like the post above MacBook is displaying the message "no hardware installed" when I click on Wi-Fi says, the issue could come from the Airport Card. Before ordering one, what I don't understand is: if the issue could be due to the Airport Card, how is it possible that the bluetooth works again after replacing the WiFi cable ? I even put back the old WiFi cable, and when I did, the bluetooth stopped working again. So the bluetooth works with the two new replacement WiFi cables I ordered, but not with the original cable. And the WiFi doesn't work at all with any cable.

This seems really strange to me. Either the issue comes from the Airport card, and then the bluetooth should not be working when the WiFi cable is replaced, or the issue comes from the WiFi cable, but then the WiFi should be working again after replacing the cable.

By the way, I tried any other way I found on the Internet, including resetting NVRAM and SMC, removing NetworkInterfaces.plist, reinstalling OS X, Apple Hardware Test and other possible fixes I found online. Nothing worked. So if the issue really comes from the Airport cable, how do you explain that ? If it doesn't come from there, and the above fixes didn't work, what else could it possibly be ?

I haven been searching for several hours, but did not find any explanation on this, so I thought I might as well ask. Thank you so much for your help

wengen
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1 Answers1

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how is it possible that the bluetooth starts working again after replacing the WiFi cable ? I even put back the old WiFi cable, and when I did, the bluetooth stopped working again.

The cable is probably shorted (damaged) causing the RF signal to fail or the adapter to stop working as there is an electrical short.

Either the issue comes from the Airport card, and then the bluetooth should not be working when the WiFi cable is replaced, or the issue comes from the WiFi cable, but then the WiFi should be working again after replacing the cable.

It’s possible you have more than one issue at play. Cables, especially antenna cables don’t get damaged unless they are interfered with for some reason like a repair of some sort. They typically never move and can last (relatively speaking) forever. The Airport card has (at minimum) two radios on it: a WiFi radio and a Bluetooth radio. One of these could have failed but the other works fine.

In the linked posts you referenced, it made the mention that the “hardware was not detected.” There are two “sides” to the AirPort card - the part that talks to the logic board and the other that transmits and receives data; the transievers. If the part that connects to the logic board (PCIe) fails, the system can’t use it and thus, WiFi is down. If the radio dies, the system might see the device, but the radio just send/receives nothing.

By the way, I tried any other way I found on the Internet, including resetting NVRAM and SMC, removing NetworkInterfaces.plist, reinstalling OS X, Apple Hardware Test and other possible fixes I found online. Nothing worked.

I’m not surprised. Most of this is diagnosis by correlation and most people who prescribe this have no idea what any of it does. They just saw it said somewhere and think it solves things, but in reality it’s the inherent reboot that fixes things.

  • SMC is your power control module. Things like fan speed, battery/power isses are fixed with this
  • NVRAM hold pre-boot environment variables like what volume to boot from and the Bluetooth info to connect your wireless keyboard and mouse before macOS loads. It’s a shallow config file; to see what’s in there issue the connand nvram -pl to dump the NVRAM values
  • Apple diagnostics is helpful (less so now than with older vintage Macs) but will only tell you an error occurs eith a device actually generating an error. If you WiFi radio dies but not the controller chip, there’s no error that’s generated.
Allan
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  • Isn't it highly unlikely that both the WiFi cable and Airport card stop working at the same time ? Or did a problem in one of them cause a problem in the other ? Like there was an issue with the Airport card that then caused the WiFi cable to break ? This seems just so strange, like it's really a coincidence that both components broke at the same time. So you think that replacing the WiFi cable is not enough and that somehow the Airport card was also damaged at exactly the same time ? Could something else that is unrelated to both the card and cable cause the issue ? – wengen Mar 30 '23 at 17:57
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    Both situations are plausible. It could be sheer coincidence that one failed at the same time as the other or the short could have damaged a component. . I’ve personally repaired MacBooks for what I thought was routine only to have another, totally unrelated component fail. It just happens. – Allan Mar 30 '23 at 18:06
  • Hey Allan ! This morning, I received the new WiFi card. An hour ago, I just replaced the card but the problem is still the same: bluetooth works but not WiFi. Do you maybe know what else it could possibly be ?

    https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/458274/wi-fi-no-hardware-installed-replaced-wifi-cable-and-wifi-airport-bluetooth-c

     – wengen Apr 08 '23 at 12:56
  • Not working as in the hardware is not detected or detected and there is no signal? – Allan Apr 08 '23 at 14:55
  • Under System Information -> Wi-Fi, it only shows the software part, not the hardware. So it’s like here (the hardware is not shown) https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254743022 – wengen Apr 08 '23 at 15:27
  • You mght have an issue wth the logic board. Maje sure the bus connector (where the AirPort card plugs into the logic board) is clean and shiny. Get some 91% isopropyl and a nylon bristle brush (Harbour Freight) and clean it. Make sure it’s dry before reconnecting the card and especially before powering on – Allan Apr 08 '23 at 16:04
  • Did this Mac get liquid damaged, by the way? – Allan Apr 08 '23 at 16:04
  • I will try that, thank you. I don’t remember that there was ever any contact between liquid and the computer. In September 2021, I had to replace the keyboard, so I took out most computer parts, but there was never any liquid near the computer, and there was definitely never any liquid damage, I’m quite sure about that. The worst that could have happened maybe is some finger fat or dust that got in contact with it – wengen Apr 08 '23 at 17:29
  • Keep in mind that this adapter is basically a 2-in-1; two different adapters on a single card. To illustrate this, have a look at the pin config for mini PCIe. You’ll see that there are multiple 3.3V and 1.5V power sources. It’s possible to kill one and only affect “half” the adapter – Allan Apr 08 '23 at 17:52
  • By two different adapters, you mean Bluetooth and WiFi ? What do the 3.3 V and 1.5 V mean in this linked picture ? Is one responsible for the WiFi and the other for the Bluetooth ? Yes, obviously if one adapter is “dead”, the other could still work even if they are on the same card. I don’t have any isopropyl alcohol at my home currently, but I have a can of compressed air. Is there any risk to spray with compressed air the connector on the logic board that connects to the WiFi cable ? – wengen Apr 08 '23 at 21:01
  • Yes, two different adapters on one. This is how you use both WiFi and BT simultaneously. 3.3 is normally power and 1.t is usually a reference voltage. – Allan Apr 08 '23 at 21:17