Wi-Fi 6 Intel AX210 on macOS Sonoma

macOS Sonoma removed drivers for Broadcom Wi-Fi cards found in Mac models prior to 2017. One of the affected cards is the Fenvi T-919, widely used in Hacks. OCLP developers published a fix that allows these Wi-Fi to work in Sonoma, adding this feature to the root patches that OCLP can apply. In order to apply root patches, OCLP requires macOS to run with some relaxed security features: SecureBootModel disabled and SIP partially disabled. This still represents a certain loss of security in macOS, as some users have noted.

Here I propose a model of Intel Wi-Fi card that by default lacks support but can be used in Sonoma thanks to the work of the OpenIntelWireless site. This is the Intel AX210S PCIe WiFi 6E card. This card can work with regular macOS security conditions without needing to relax Apple Secure Boot or SIP. It may be interesting for those who lack Wi-Fi in macOS Sonoma or for those who want to keep the security of their system without resorting to OCLP patches.

Hardware

The card can be purchased in 2 different ways:

• fully assembled by Ziyituod and others: WiFi 6E Intel AX210S PCIe
• in 2 parts, card itself (WiFi 6E Intel AX210 NGW Bluetooth Card for Laptop with M.2/NGFF Connector) and adapter (PCIE X1 to M.2/NGFF A+E Key Adapter for WiFi Bluetooth Module).

Revert OCLP patch and config.plist changes

If you have been using Fenvi or Broadcom Wi-Fi, you must revert all the settings related to config.plist and OCLP root patch.

In config.plist:

• disable kexts (IOSkywalk.kext, IO80211FamilyLegacy.kext and AirPortBrcmNIC.kext)
• disable IOSkywalk.kext blocking
• change csr-active-config to 00000000
• change SecureBootModel to a value other than Disabled.

From OpenCore-Patcher (OCLP) >> Post-Install Root Patch >> Revert Root Patches.

Installing wifi module

The 2 kexts are available on the OpenIntelWireless site. There are 2 ways to install Wi-Fi:

• itlwm.kext: uses IOEthernetController instead of IO80211Family so the connection spoofs as Ethernet even though it works as wifi. It does not use the macOS Wi-Fi menu, instead you have to use the HeliPort application. On Ventura you need itlwm v2.2.0. On Sonoma you need itlwm v2.3.0.
• AirportItlwm.kext: uses IO80211Family so it works like the rest of the system's Wi-Fi connections. It provides minimal Continuity features (Handoff and Universal Clipboard, not always available) but cannot connect to hidden networks. No HeliPort needed. On Ventura you need AirportItlwm v2.2.0. On Sonoma prior to 14.4 you need AirportItlwm v2.3.0 for Sonoma 14.0.

Both kexts should not be used at the same time, only one of them. I have tried both and they seem to have worked well. The card is well detected, as you can see in Hackintool.

Note: macOS 14.4 has changed parts of the Wi-Fi stack. If you update to this macOS version you must get AirportItlwm v2.3.0 for Sonoma 14.4. All kexts are avalilable in the releases page.

I am using HeliPort from diepeterpan, it is a fork of the oficial but has performance and interface improvements. From the HeliPort icon in the menu bar you can connect and disconnect Wi-Fi networks as well as set it to be added to the startup items.

Installing Bluetooth module

On Monterey and newer you have to install 3 extensions:

• IntelBTPatcher.kext, requires Lilu 1.6.2 or newer >> fixes a bug in bluetoothd by correctly initializing the bluetooth module.
• IntelBluetoothFirmware.kext >> load the firmware to the device and set the device name in USB Host Controller to Bluetooth USB Host Controller.
• BlueToolFixup.kext (available in Acidanthera's BrcmPatchRAM package) >> on macOS Monterey IntelBluetoothInjector.kextstopped working due to changes made by Apple to the Bluetooth stack.

IntelBTPatcher.kext and IntelBluetoothFirmware.kext are inside the IntelBluetooth package available in the releases page. Latest version is 2.4.0.

Performance

The Intel card has Wi-Fi performance slightly better than the Fenvi with Broadcom. As for the 2 ways to install it, AirportItlwm.kext gives better score.

Summary

This hardware is a valid option for those who do not have Wi-Fi in Sonoma or do not want to apply OCLP root patches. It is not expensive and is easy to install. As a main drawback, the features of the Apple ecosystem are lost (all with itlwm.kext and most with AirportItlwm.kext). Airdrop does not work in any way and this is the feature that I miss the most with respect to the Fenvi.

Note about Hackintool

Very small issue.

Hackintool by headkaze has an Extensions tab where it reports the installed kexts. In the list of kexts, itlwm is seen when we use itlwm and also when we use AirportItlwm. This is because, in the file /Applications/Hackintool.app/Contents/Resources/Kexts/kexts.plist, both kexts have Name=itlwm.

This is correct since the project is called itlwm. But I prefer Hackintool to show AirportItlwm when this is the active kext. This can be solved by modifying the value of the Name property in the AirportItlwm key inside the file.

By default it is like this:

But, changing to Name=AirportItlwm, Hackintool displays the active kext in a way I like better.