Chosen Solution
The space left inside a MBP is scarce but I believe that a tiny GPS module could fit inside. Does anyone know how it could be powered from the motherboard? The purpose would be to track back a stolen device… Update (10/04/2017) Unless you modify the EFI, I believe that the Find My Mac is useless if the thief has some informatics skills. And most of the ‘Tiles’ I am aware of are Bluetooth trackers with limited range of detection. That’s why I believe that a hidden GPS module embedded in the computer and powered by its battery would be an efficient solution, provided that, of course, the case is not an obstacle to the signal transmission…
If you can’t set it up with iCloud and “Find My Mac”, you can insert what is called a Tile to track it: https://www.thetileapp.com/store/tiles/m…
I highly doubt there is a way to add a GPS module to a MacBook. If you are worrying about tracking a stolen device, Find My Mac through iCloud works fine.
I think this is a better option: Anti-Theft Solution
You may have to find solder points on the logic board that gives the correct voltage to your tracker. It may be 3.3v or 5v. I don’t think you’ll find much info so I recommend looking at schematics (if you know how to read them) or use a multimeter to look for points that will give the correct voltage. Try to use points that are closely related to ac and battery power since I believe those are the best to draw additional current out of. Drawing current from points that lead to other components like the backlight, cpu, etc. may make the board malfunction. I don’t know anything about this on MBPs, I’m speaking from adding 12v led’s and 3.3v/5v glitch boards on Xbox 360s. Which is not the same as you’re trying to do.
I’d love to do this. How about the camera? I never use mine as it is a POS. Double check first, but the camera wire runs from the motherboard and is a modified USB connection with GND, 2 USB data lines, and a 5V power line. Snip it, reroute the tiny cable to somewhere it will fit and hope that it registers as a USB device :-) See here for more details: http://mikesmods.com/mm-wp/?p=340 Apple cameras (“iSight”, or more recently “FaceTime”, embedded cameras) have been USB based for a number of generations of MacBook, since at least 2006. Similar to normal USB, the camera connector traditionally contains 5V, GND, and two USB data lines
