msomers

Q: Force Touch Trackpad input while typing

Apple claims that OS X ignores trackpad input while typing and has removed the option to enable this. However, I just purchased a 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro with the Force Touch trackpad and it regularly takes input while typing and the cursor jumps all over the place - I've even watched the cursor move slowly across the screen as I type.

 

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there any way to fix it?

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Jul 26, 2015 9:07 AM

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Q: Force Touch Trackpad input while typing

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  • by Phasma Nemo,

    Phasma Nemo Phasma Nemo Jan 27, 2016 8:10 AM in response to msomers
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jan 27, 2016 8:10 AM in response to msomers

    QQuick question. how many of you guys use better to use Better Touch Tool on your MacBook?

  • by dobes918,

    dobes918 dobes918 Jan 27, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Phasma Nemo
    Level 4 (1,442 points)
    Notebooks
    Jan 27, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Phasma Nemo

    Never heard of it. Does it help?

  • by dobes918,

    dobes918 dobes918 Jan 29, 2016 7:17 AM in response to Phasma Nemo
    Level 4 (1,442 points)
    Notebooks
    Jan 29, 2016 7:17 AM in response to Phasma Nemo

    I've only been using Better Touch Tool for a day, but it has gotten rid of 95% of my cursor jumping problem, so thank you for mentioning it! The other option that worked for me was unchecking 'tap to click' in trackpad preferences. That worked 100% and was free, but for some reason it made my keyboard feel firmer, and I had to press the keys much harder to make them work. I prefer a fast and light typing style, so Better Touch Tool is the better choice for me.

     

    To me, this also indicates that the jumping cursor is a software problem. When I brought my first new macbook in last week because of the problem, the Genius told me it was a hardware issue, due to faulty electrical grounding, and he immediately traded it for a new one - which also had the problem, but to a lesser extent. I didn't want to go in for a THIRD macbook, so looked for other solutions. That the two solutions I found involve software tweaks indicates to me that the problem is there. That's hopeful, because maybe they'll solve it eventually.

  • by anneof28days,

    anneof28days anneof28days Jan 29, 2016 7:55 AM in response to dobes918
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2016 7:55 AM in response to dobes918

    Thanks so much for reporting back about Better Touch Tool!  I'm going to give that a shot.

  • by dobes918,

    dobes918 dobes918 Jan 29, 2016 9:07 AM in response to anneof28days
    Level 4 (1,442 points)
    Notebooks
    Jan 29, 2016 9:07 AM in response to anneof28days

    It's had excellent reviews for years, so I wasn't worried it would screw up the insides of my mac. You can download and try it for 45 days - after that you have to pay to keep it, but it's pay what you want. Definitely worth a try!

  • by N_Shade,

    N_Shade N_Shade Jan 29, 2016 9:47 AM in response to msomers
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jan 29, 2016 9:47 AM in response to msomers

    I have this same problem so to help fix it I started using a bluetooth keyboard, because when I type fast it really slows down the process by having my cursor suddenly appear at the pointer location which is usually at the start of the paragraph and text suddenly starts appearing in the wrong place which is not only an annoyance, but a costly annoyance because time is money and the time it takes correcting our typing over the course of a year means losing out on productivity especially if you are a professional who charges $150-$300/hr. If you lose out on a few hours over a year it gets pretty expensive? Because of a design flaw is not acceptable from a company we expect and pay so much for/from.

     

    Come on Apple you have made me a very happy camper in the past, but this is just annoying for anyone who does a lot of writing and gets frustrated when the trackpad interferes with your workflow. Apple puts a lot of thought into their designs, I wonder if it has anything to do with Haptic sensors (Force Touch) being too sensitive. But there has to be a trade off somewhere? I can do without Force Touch if that will help stop this design flaw?

     

    Like other people say in the post, I have had four MBP's since 2007 and all of them did not have this issue. It has to be the Force Touch(which is just a glorified right click anyway) and redesigned trackpad on the 2015 MBP lines? So please Apple, like most of the posts say, fix this issue to make us happy and might I say loyal customers once again...

  • by Larry McJunkin,

    Larry McJunkin Larry McJunkin Jan 31, 2016 1:53 PM in response to msomers
    Level 1 (85 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 31, 2016 1:53 PM in response to msomers

    I have the same problem and have a rMBP 13". I don't care what Apple says about disabling the trackpad while typing, it is ENABLED. All I have to do is touch it while typing and the cursor jumps all over the place.

  • by Phasma Nemo,

    Phasma Nemo Phasma Nemo Jan 31, 2016 4:46 PM in response to dobes918
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jan 31, 2016 4:46 PM in response to dobes918

    It may be a placebo effect...

     

    I only asked about Better Touch Tool because I am using it, and having a problem. So I was wondering if it was related to that.

     

    Disabling tap will definitely get rid of the problem, but man... Why do you I have to disable a function Ive been using for years? It's not a solution!

     

    I can't believe more people are not complaining about this issue. Its VERY annoying!

  • by Larry McJunkin,

    Larry McJunkin Larry McJunkin Jan 31, 2016 5:57 PM in response to Phasma Nemo
    Level 1 (85 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 31, 2016 5:57 PM in response to Phasma Nemo

    I just tried it an you're correct...disabling "Tap to Click" fixes the problem, but now I have to firmly press on my Force Touch trackpad for everything, which is not optimal. This is something Apple needs to fix.

  • by dobes918,

    dobes918 dobes918 Feb 1, 2016 5:54 AM in response to Phasma Nemo
    Level 4 (1,442 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 1, 2016 5:54 AM in response to Phasma Nemo

    It may be placebo. But the gestures I set up with BTT work reliably, so why shouldn't its trackpad settings? Anyway, I've had very significant relief from the jumping cursor so far using BTT, and if I need perfect control while I'm working on a crucial document I'll temporarily disable tap to click. As I have nearly a full year on warranty, I'm not worried - if the jumping gets out of control I'll bring it to an Apple Store and they'll figure it out.

     

    My first Mac was the first gen white macbook in 2006. There were lots of things wrong with this first gen machine - it snapped off randomly, for instance, and the magnets holding it closed were too strong, splintering the plastic case multiple times. In some, the battery swelled, but not in mine. Apple corrected all these defects over time - they even replaced a fan and the case - for a fourth time - for free after my 3 years of AppleCare were up. The snapping off problem was traced to a defective heat sink, which they replaced right away. Every repair was completed while I waited. I'd had two Sony laptops before that, but since that experience I've stuck with Apple. BTW, my next Mac, a 2011 11" Air never needed a repair in the 4 1/2 years I used it, and it still works great today - I just filled up its tiny 128 gig flash drive and needed a bigger one.

     

    I don't think we should have to deal with jumpy trackpads, or come up with workarounds.  The Genius that gave me this machine in trade for my first with a truly manic trackpad told me to have zero tolerance for problems while on Apple Care. I guess I think this is a software problem, or I would bring it back and ask for a third machine. But I trust Apple to eventually recognize and correct problems like this, so I'll use BTT and disable tap to click, and wait for a while before doing that.

  • by Shabidoo,

    Shabidoo Shabidoo Feb 24, 2016 2:26 PM in response to msomers
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 2:26 PM in response to msomers

    This is sooooo frustrating.  Before I purchased a $1700 macbook, I had read wonderful things about mac's ability to disable the trackpad while typing. I was really looking forward to that specific feature after having the same problem on my pc laptop. Then I get this and the problem is even worse.  I have to move the cursor back to the end of the document over and over--every time I'm p.o.ed. Turning off tap to click is not a solution!

  • by niugnep,

    niugnep niugnep Feb 24, 2016 3:06 PM in response to msomers
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 3:06 PM in response to msomers

    Hey guys,

     

    I have been dealing with this issue for a long time. I finally got frustrated enough to take the time out of an already hectic schedule of programming work, school work, relocating jobs, and relocating our family, to call AppleCare to see if they could offer any insight that I have thus far failed to find via Google and standard troubleshooting. It's just very frustrating, a huge waste of productivity, and a feature that I've seen in every OS and every laptop I've ever used as long as I can remember.

     

    According to this Apple Support article, the option was removed from OS X. While it's supposed to be enabled by default, apparently somewhere down the line it messed up again. Since the one common theme among the complaints that I've seen is that they all have the newer force touch trackpad, there may be a correlation there.

    The "Ignore accidental trackpad input" trackpad option no longer appears in System Preferences. Functionality for "Ignore accidental trackpad input" is enabled automatically, by default for these computers.

     

    I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015).

    It's upgraded to the latest version of Max OS X released (at least the latest version right this minute), which is OS X El Capitan, 10.11.3.

     

    AppleCare was very sympathetic to my issue and at first asked me to change the System Preferences > Trackpad > Click option from Medium (the default) to Firm and reboot. This had no effect on the issue. At no point did they ask me to reinstall, take it in for service, etc. They then put me on hold while they spoke with an engineer and their product team.

     

    When they got back on the phone with me, they said that this is a known issue, there is no known solution, and offered me some workarounds. Here is a list of workarounds they offered, or that I've seen in this and other threads:

    1. Disable System Preferences > Trackpad > Tap to click. (This is the only workaround that makes sense, since it's the culprit, but it also means you lose the feature that you probably enabled because you wanted it. AKA: It's too buggy to use.)
    2. Enable System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad > Enable Mouse Keys and Options... > Press the Option key five times to toggle Mouse Keys. (This option seems like a huge hindrance and I would never resort to such measures, ridiculous!)
    3. Enable System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad > Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present. (Great workaround if you're not on a laptop, however... then you don't have a large trackpad sitting underneath the keyboard and it's not an issue to begin with.)
    4. Use alternative drivers or see if there is an option in the program to disable accidental input while typing. (This is an OS feature, so this suggestion was a long shot and not an option as there are no alternative drivers for Mac OS X that I know of, nor any options in any of the software I use to accomplish this, let alone system-wide).

     

    To those wondering: I also use Better Touch Tool and have for a long time. I am on version 1.56 (471) (also the latest version right this minute). This software neither causes the issue nor fixes it.

     

    There is no known solution that I nor AppleCare could find. I have submitted an Apple Feedback for the Macbook Pro as a Bug Report and referencing this thread. While I don't expect to hear anything back, I can only hope this issue is eventually resolved!

  • by dobes918,

    dobes918 dobes918 Feb 24, 2016 3:25 PM in response to niugnep
    Level 4 (1,442 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 24, 2016 3:25 PM in response to niugnep

    I've gone through exactly the potential solutions you have, with one addition - I tried to learn to type with my hands held far above the keyboard so as not to accidentally brush the trackpad! Unfortunately, that slowed me down too much, so for now I've settled for disabling 'tap to click' and over the last couple of weeks I've become accustomed to clicking again. It's not too bad, set on 'light' it needs only a little more pressure than a tap, and it's a lot better than chasing the cursor all over the place.

     

    I also have Better Touch Tool, which ultimately did not solve the problem well enough to rely on it. But I like its other functions very much! :-)

     

    I mentioned above that the first time I went to the Apple Store with the cursor problem, they immediately replaced the computer (it was new). But, sadly,  the replacement has the same problem. I love EVERYTHING else about this 12" macbook, and so have decided to live with clicking instead of tapping for the time being. I've also filed a bug report, though, and hope they manage to find a way to fix it.

  • by anneof28days,

    anneof28days anneof28days Feb 24, 2016 3:27 PM in response to niugnep
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 3:27 PM in response to niugnep

    This is the first I've heard they're admitting to an issue.  That's progress, at least. I was told I simply didn't know how to type correctly.    That, after using trackpads for fifteen years. I filled out the bug report some time ago.  Hopefully others will too.  Thanks for the info!!

  • by niugnep,

    niugnep niugnep Feb 24, 2016 7:46 PM in response to dobes918
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 7:46 PM in response to dobes918

    dobes918 wrote:

     

    I've gone through exactly the potential solutions you have, with one addition - I tried to learn to type with my hands held far above the keyboard so as not to accidentally brush the trackpad! Unfortunately, that slowed me down too much, so for now I've settled for disabling 'tap to click' and over the last couple of weeks I've become accustomed to clicking again. It's not too bad, set on 'light' it needs only a little more pressure than a tap, and it's a lot better than chasing the cursor all over the place.

    I tried this as well, but then I lose drag lock. If I go and re-enable it, then it re-enables tap to click, haha. I can't live without drag lock. That feature is so useful with a trackpad, otherwise I just end up fumbling and dropping stuff where I didn't intend to. Now THAT can really get things all sorts of messed up! Just can't win...

     

    wrote:

     

    This is the first I've heard they're admitting to an issue.  That's progress, at least. I was told I simply didn't know how to type correctly.    That, after using trackpads for fifteen years. I filled out the bug report some time ago.  Hopefully others will too.  Thanks for the info!!

    The person I spoke to was very sympathetic. I actually thanked him for not doing that, as I had read your earlier post about the "Tier Two" adviser. That would have really upset me too.

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