Mac Daniel's Advice
WiFi PC Cards Compatible with PowerBooks Running OS X
- 2009.03.11
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This page covers PCMCIA/PC Card WiFi hardware that is compatible with Mac OS X. Some of these devices are also compatible with the Classic Mac OS; all of them are reported to work with OS X. We have a separate page covering the more efficient WiFi CardBus Adapters Compatible with PowerBooks.
USB, ethernet, PCI, and other WiFi hardware more suitable for desktop use is covered in WiFi Hardware Compatible with Desktop Macs Running OS X.
This information is adapted from Mac OS Wireless Adapter Compatibility List by permission of the author, who gives a "nod to the linux-wlan.org Adapter List for doing the heavy lifting."
| Vendor | Type | Product ID | Interface | Chipset | OS Support | Driver(s) | Comments | |||||
A |
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| Above Cable | 802.11b | ACPC2010-11 | PCMCIA | Prism (?) | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Accton | 802.11b | ACEW3101 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Addtron | 802.11b | AWP100 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Agere | 802.11b | OrinocoGold | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | AirPort also? | |||||
| Alvarion | 802.11b | PC-DS.11b | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | AirPort also? | |||||
| Ambicom | 802.11b | WL1100BPC | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Asante | 802.11b | AL1001 RevA | PCMCIA | Prism (?) | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Asante | 802.11b | AL1001 RevB | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | Asante | ||||||
| Asante | 802.11b | AL1011DP | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | Asante, Macsense | ||||||
| Asante | 802.11b | AL1011FR | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Asante | 802.11b | AL1211DP | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Avaya | 802.11b | 700016785 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 8.6-9.x | Avaya | ||||||
| Avaya | 802.11b | 700016777 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 8.6-9.x | Avaya | ||||||
B |
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| Belkin | 802.11b | F5D6020 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Belkin | 802.11g | F5D7011 | PCMCIA | Broadcom | 10.2-10.4 | AirPort 3.4.1 | ||||||
| Ben-Q | 802.11b | AWL-100 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Buffalo | 802.11b | WLIPCML11 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | Ioxperts (10.2 and up), Macsense | ||||||
| Buffalo | 802.11b | ""PCML11GP | PCMCIA | Agere (?) | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
C |
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| Cisco | 802.11b | AIRPCM340 | PCMCIA | Aironet (?) | 8.6-up | Cisco | ||||||
| Cisco | 802.11b | AIRPCM350 | PCMCIA | Aironet | 8.6-up | Cisco | ||||||
| Cisco | 802.11b | AIRLMC350 | PCMCIA | Aironet | 8.6-up | Cisco | ||||||
| Compaq | 802.11b | IPAQHNW100 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Compaq | 802.11b | WL100 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Compaq | 802.11b | WL110 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | AirPort also? | |||||
| Compex | 802.11b | WL11A | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | AirPort also? | |||||
D |
||||||||||||
| D-link | 802.11b | DCF650W | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| D-link | 802.11b | DCF660W | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| D-link | 802.11b | DWL-650 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | Ioxperts (10.2 and up), Macsense | ||||||
| Dell | 802.11b | TruMobil1150 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Digicom | 802.11b | 8E4084 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
E |
||||||||||||
| Edimax | 802.11b | EW-7103PC | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Elecom | 802.11b | LD-WL11/PCC | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| ELSA | 802.11b | MC-11 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| ELSA | 802.11b | Vianect MC11 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| EnGenius | 802.11b | EL-2011 | PCMCIA | Prism (?) | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | see Senao | |||||
| EnGenius | 802.11b | EL-2511 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | see Senao | |||||
| Enterasys | 802.11b | CSSIBD-AA | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Enterasys | 802.11b | CSICDAW128 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
F |
||||||||||||
| Farallon (see Proxim) | ||||||||||||
| Fujitsu | 802.11b | E-1100 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | Siemens | |||||
G |
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| Gemtek | 802.11b | WL612F | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
H |
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| Hamlet | 802.11b | HNWP100 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Hewlett-Packard | 802.11b | HN220W? | PCMCIA | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | |||||||
| Hewlett-Packard | 802.11b | WL110 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | AirPort also? | |||||
I |
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| IBM | 802.11b | 09N9904 | Orinoco? | |||||||||
| IO Data | 802.11b | WN-B11/PCM | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| IO Data | 802.11b | WNB11/PCMH | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Intel | 802.11b | WPC1011 | PCMCIA | Symbol | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | Orinoco based | |||||
K |
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| Krone-AirLAN | 802.11b | 6462211900 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
L |
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| Linksys | 802.11b | WPC11 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Lucent | 802.11b | WaveLANGold | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | AirPort also? | |||||
| Lucent | 802.11b | WaveLANSilv. | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | AirPort also? | |||||
| Lucent | 802.11b | WaveLANBronze | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | AirPort also? | |||||
M |
||||||||||||
| Macsense | 802.11b | WPE-600 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 8.6-up | Macsense | ||||||
| Macsense | 802.11b | WPE-700 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 8.6-up | Macsense | ||||||
| Melco (see Buffalo) | ||||||||||||
| Microsoft | 802.11b | MN-520 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Milan | 802.11b | MIL1897 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| MMC | 802.11b | MW1000PCM | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
N |
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| NEC | 802.11b | PCWL/11C | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Netgear | 802.11b | MA401 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Netgear | 802.11b | MA401RA | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Nokia | 802.11b | C110 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Nokia | 802.11b | C111 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
P |
||||||||||||
| Panasonic | 802.11b | CFVWLS071U | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Persol | 802.11b | PBW001 | PCMCIA | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | |||||||
| Planex | 802.11b | GWCF11 | PCMCIA | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | |||||||
| Proxim | 802.11b | 8420-WD | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Proxim | 802.11b | 8430 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
S |
||||||||||||
| Samsumg | 802.11b | SWL2000N | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Samsumg | 802.11b | SWL2100N | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Samsumg | 802.11g | SWL5200N | ? | Atheros | 10.2-10.4 | OrangeWare | ||||||
| Senao | 802.11b | SL-2511 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | see Engenius | |||||
| Siemens | 802.11b | SS1021 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Sitecom | 802.11b | WL-002 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| SMC | 802.11b | SMC2532WB | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| SMC | 802.11b | SMC2632W | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ver 1 only | |||||
| Sony | 802.11b | ERA201D1 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Sony | 802.11b | PCWAC100 | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Sony | 802.11b | PCWAC150S | PCMCIA | Orinoco | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Sony | 802.11a/b/g | PCWAC800S | PCMCIA | Atheros | 10.2-10.4 | OrangeWare | ||||||
T |
||||||||||||
| Telekom | 802.11b | T-Sinus 130? | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Toshiba | 802.11b | ? | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
U |
||||||||||||
| Uniden | 802.11b | PCW300 | PCMCIA | ? | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts? | ||||||
| US Robotics | 802.11b | USR2410 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| US Robotics | 802.11b | USR2445 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
X |
||||||||||||
| Xircom | 802.11b | CWE1120 | PCMCIA | Aironet | 8.6-up | Cisco? | ||||||
| Xircom | 802.11b | CWE1130 | PCMCIA | Aironet | 8.6-up | Cisco? | ||||||
Y |
||||||||||||
| Yamaha | 802.11b | YBL11B5 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
Z |
||||||||||||
| Z-Com | 802.11b | XI300 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Z-Com | 802.11b | XI300B | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Z-Com | 802.11b | XI325 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | (Zcomax?) | |||||
| Z-Com | 802.11b | XI325HP | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
| Zoom | 802.11b | 4100 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts, Macsense | ||||||
| Zyxel | 802.11b | 100 | PCMCIA | Prism2/2.5/3 | 9, 10.2-10.4 | IOxperts | ||||||
Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.
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