Converting Internal MacBook Trackpad to External USB Trackpad

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MacBook Unibody A1278

13" aluminum unibody, 2.0 or 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor.

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mitchchaiet @mitchchaiet

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Опубликовано: 29 апр 2015 г.

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Converting Internal MacBook Trackpad to External USB Trackpad

Hi there,

I have a "Apple MacBook Genuine A1278 MB466LL/A MB466 Silver Touchpad & Cable 821-1254-A."

It's the internal trackpad from a modern MacBook Pro. It has some kind of 22-pin connector on the end of the cable. Does anyone know if it would be possible to convert this trackpad into a standalone USB mouse that could be used on another computer?

Here's a similar hack for older model Macbook Pros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVQKl-HV...

Thanks!

Ответ на этот вопрос У меня та же проблема

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Yeah I would Love to have a Tutorial or Guide for that, too.

So hoping for this to be possible.

Please, somebody help US....

21 янв 2017 г. из Jack TecChecK

MacBook Unibody (A1278) Trackpad

21 янв 2017 г. из mayer

@mayer, not to be too ignorant, but I fail to see how the link to that trackpad helps anything. Is it to verify the model?

21 янв 2017 г. из George A.

I changed the icon to the correct machine. Then added the link so people would know exactly what was being talked about.

21 янв 2017 г. из mayer

Hey,

I am also looking to achieve this mod. In my research I have found others used the test points on the older macbook pro touchpads as solder points for the data and power cables in USB. I cant see these at all on the newer A1278 models so will be sacrificing a known bad part to attempt to find them. Unfortunately this could be the only feasible option as the cables I the flex connector and cable are so %#*@ small. If I am successful will put it up for others to see.

23 авг 2018 г. из Callum Cooper

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Yeah I would Love to have a Tutorial or Guide for that, too.

So hoping for this to be possible.

Please, somebody help US.... — Jack TecChecK
@mayer, not to be too ignorant, but I fail to see how the link to that trackpad helps anything. Is it to verify the model? — George A.
I changed the icon to the correct machine. Then added the link so people would know exactly what was being talked about. — mayer
Hey,

I am also looking to achieve this mod. In my research I have found others used the test points on the older macbook pro touchpads as solder points for the data and power cables in USB. I cant see these at all on the newer A1278 models so will be sacrificing a known bad part to attempt to find them. Unfortunately this could be the only feasible option as the cables I the flex connector and cable are so %#*@ small. If I am successful will put it up for others to see. — Callum Cooper

Bart Van Dessel @bartvandessel Репутация: 1 3 · Answer 1 · 2020-08-16T19:21:18-07:00

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Bart Van Dessel @bartvandessel

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Опубликовано: 16 авг 2020 г.

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Yes you can! Mac trackpads and keyboards are just USB (1?) devices!

If you have a dead MacBook (Pro/ Air) you’ll still be able to convert its KYBD and trackpad to a genuine and original (although a bit steampunk) Mac KYBD & trackpad array. Apple itself, nor other brands IMHO have no KYBDs combined with trackpads on the market, So, get original!

Excellent addition for an iMac, for example.

You’ll need a soldering iron & some tools, as well as a simple USB A cable to spare.

USB 2 connections are very simple: Common, +5V, Data+ and Data -. Just 4 soldering connections to do.

The easiest Apple model to recuperate from I find is the 2007 MBP Core2 Duo with the defective NVIDIA 8600 M GT in it.

To be had for free, mostly.

Unrepairable, but the KYBD & trackpad may be salvaged. Internal flatcable may be defective (another generic defect with this model), but this in no way defeats our purposes.

If you want a more capable trackpad, a more recent Mac wreck will do. I hope some other iFixit members will chip in with the USB board pinout.

As for the present: see these:

https://youtu.be/dVQKl-HVnoI

https://i.imgur.com/IOur8lI.png

Happy DIY!

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Of what Mac Mobo I don't know, but here goes:

https://bounav.files.wordpress.com/2008/...

16 авг 2020 г. из Bart Van Dessel

I just did this with my 2008 MBP - different board layout:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xi8sumh4anKHZc...

27 авг 2022 г. из Matt Gorbet

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Matt Gorbet @mattgorbet Репутация: 26 4 · Answer 2 · 2022-08-27T16:27:23-07:00

Matt Gorbet @mattgorbet

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I was able to turn my old MBP keyboard/trackpad into a functioning USB device after seeing the YouTube linked above. I had a 2008 MBP with a different board layout. I looked carefully at the tiny traces and found DP, DN, 5VO, and poked around to find ground (it wasn't hard - you can see the ground-plane floods on the board).

Here's what mine looked like, and it works great - both trackpad and keyboard, including the special keys like brightness, play/pause, volume and mission control (on a Mac). [ edit - the trackpad does NOT work on linux incl RPi, but the keyboard does ]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xi8sumh4anKHZc...

FYI, the solderpoints are TINY and you need a steady hand to avoid hitting any components -- it was not easy and I definitely needed a magnifier and tweezers.

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This worked great for me too, thanks! I used the trackpad from an early 2008 MacBook Pro and it was immediately functional as a pointing device once I connected it to my computer running macOS Sonoma.

However, multitouch didn't work! To fix this, I injected AppleUSBMultitouch.kext and AppleUSBTrackpad.kext from the OCLP project, and bam, multitouch, Trackpad control panel, everything just worked. Get the kexts here: https://github.com/dortania/OpenCore-Leg...

21 фев 2024 г. из Larry Davis

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Adit R @aditr70125 Репутация: 1 · Answer 3 · 2018-10-27T03:24:30-07:00

Adit R @aditr70125

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Опубликовано: 27 окт 2018 г.

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Hi, has anyone managed to do this? I’d like to try myself

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Queen meeks @queenmeeks Репутация: 1 · Answer 4 · 2019-01-01T10:29:19-07:00

Queen meeks @queenmeeks

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I got a macbook but forgot the password how can i fix

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If it can be fix how much do it cost

1 янв 2019 г. из Queen meeks

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Greg Stearns @gregstearns Репутация: 1 · Answer 5 · 2020-08-28T18:52:39-07:00

Greg Stearns @gregstearns

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Опубликовано: 28 авг 2020 г.

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I got a hold on the new style of trackpad (started in 2016, I think) and the board schematic for a matching macbook pro. It looks like they moved to SPI for the trackpads, so I think you’d need to add another controller to convert it and at that point I don’t think you get the driver support.

Here’s some info for anyone that wants to pick up from here.

Interesting chips on the trackpad:

BCM5976C1 - There’s 2 and I think this is the digitizer and I think it’s i2c
STM32F103C8I6 - Arm Cortex-m3, capable of USB but IO is software controlled I think

Here’s the pin out for the trackpad connector on the logic board (I think you can ignore the KBD stuff since the keyboard uses a different connector):

SMC_LID
SMBUS_SMC_3_SCL
SMC_PME_S4_WAKE_L
SMBUS_SMC_3_SDA
SMC_ACTUATOR_DISABLE_L
KBD_INT_L
TPAD_SPI_INT_L_CONN
KBD_I2C_SDA
GND
GND
TPAD_SPI_MOSI
KBD_I2C_SCL
TPAD_SPI_CS_L_CONN
KBD_BLC_XBLANK
TPAD_SPI_MISO
KBD_BLC_XBLANK
TPAD_SPI_MISO
KBD_BLC_GSSOUT
TPAD_SPI_CLK_CONN
KBD_BLC_GSSCK
PP5V_S4_TPAD_CONN
KBD_BLC_GSLAT
SMC_VIBE_L

then everything else is power or ground (5v, 3v, 0v - active gnd, 12.6v on a fuse)

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This is great! Have you managed to do something with it? It's a massive challenge but I'm looking to turn one of these 2016-2019 15 inch trackpads into a standalone usb or bluetooth trackpad

6 мар 2024 г. из scoopy

Did you succeed, scoopy?

1 дек 2024 г. из Ian Marlowe

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Gianni V @giannisnake Репутация: 1 · Answer 6 · 2021-02-06T13:32:51-07:00

Gianni V @giannisnake

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Hi guys,

I also looked for info about this mod

I would like to do this on the touchpad and keyboard of a 2011 macbook pro 17.

Were you able to do it?

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I got a broken 2011 MBP for cheap and did that "conversion". You need the original motherboard for this and the keyboard and trackpad work as follows for me:

Long story short: It works in Windows (as "mouse" only, no gestures on the trackpad). In MacOS and Linux (tried Ubuntu) all gestures work out of the box as well. On Android_x86 it works if you connect it BEFORE booting Android (including gestures), if you plug it in after booting, the trackpad will not work.

On Android phones/tablets I can't get the trackpad working AT ALL (if anyone could help me I would be super grateful!)

Someone did it with a mid 2012 MBP (like a guy on hackaday) who described everything in greater detail: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/proje...ra...

If you also get a 2012 MBP that could be enough, if you get a different year model it's probably better to get the schematics online (somewhat easy to find on Google) like I did. Hope this helps you.

31 мая 2022 г. из Eric Damon Stahl

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