To connect to the UART bus on the GPS device we used a fun little tool called a “ Bus Pirate. Put simply, the UART connection lets you interact with the hardware as if you had a keyboard and monitor attached directly to it. The UART protocol lets you receive input and output over common copper wires by sending and receiving bits one at a time, encoded by either high or low voltage (the technical term for this is a “serial bus.”) The hardware interface is typically 4 connections: voltage, ground, receive (rx), and transmit (tx). UART stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter. Let’s take a step back and discuss why getting access to the UART port was so important. We wanted to find the UART connectors, which would give us the ability to get diagnostic information out of the Apollo’s cellular modem. The first step was to pry off the case and get access to the internal components. The device was put in the mail and sent to our offices.Ī few days later we received the Apollo and got to work. If it was installed after that date, then it's possible that Sarah had a stalker who had installed the device. If it was installed at the time she bought the car, or before that time, then it could have been installed by the dealership. We told Sarah what we had found, and agreed that with direct access to the GPS tracker, we might be able to find out when it had been installed, and therefore who had installed it. Some people believed the GPS trackers were being installed by dealerships for repossession, or by rental car companies for fleet tracking. Using this port, we could interact with the device in order to find out more about it.Ī quick web search search also revealed that a number of people all over the US had found these exact devices in their cars. The manual also said the Apollo had a special type of port for communicating with the device, known as a UART serial port. According to the manual, the Apollo can track a car’s location, then send the location to a server over a cellular connection. The FCC search confirmed that the device was a GPS tracker sold under the brand name “Apollo,” and made by a company called M-Labs. With that ID you can find manuals, pictures, and even internal schematics on any device the FCC has reviewed. Each device that has a radio transmitter or receiver is required to have an FCC ID. We started by searching for the device’s FCC ID in the FCC’s database. On one side, the words “THIS SIDE DOWN” were printed in block letters, next to three serial numbers.įirst, we wanted to confirm that this was, in fact, a GPS device. It was a black and gray box, about four inches long, with a bundle of 6 wires coming out of one end. Sarah sent us detailed pictures of the device. Confronted with a mystery that could also help us learn more about tracking, our team got to work. This supporter, who we’ll call Sarah (not her real name), sent us an email asking if we could determine whether this device was a GPS tracker, and if so, who might have installed it. Several weeks ago, an EFF supporter brought her car to a mechanic, and found a mysterious device wired into her car under her driver's seat. That’s why at EFF we’ve long fought against dragnet surveillance, mobile device tracking, and warrantless GPS tracking. But when tracking isn’t done by you, but to you-without your knowledge or consent-it’s a violation of your privacy. Being able to accurately determine your location anywhere on the planet is a useful technological trick.
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