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Jumpy cursor/erratic trackpad problem and solution

I'm visiting Buenos Aires and my Macbook air has been intermittently having a problem with the trackpad. The cursor will jump around and the scroll function (2 fingers) was erratic. I tried a bluetooth mouse and it still wasn't "right".

I just figured out that it only happens with the charger is connected. This did not occur in the US but Argentina is 220V...that must be a contributing factor. I'm using the standard charger supplied with the MBA and an adapter. The plug is the type with 2 slanted prongs ... / \ .

I'll probably call Applecare when I get back to the States but thought others may be having this difficulty, so I'm posting my experience. If someone at Apple is monitoring this and forwarding it for investigation, I'd appreciate an email so I don't spend the time.

Macbook Air, Mac OS X (10.5.2), 1.6GHz with 80GB HDD

Posted on Mar 10, 2008 5:59 PM

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20 replies

Mar 10, 2008 10:37 PM in response to mbranning

I've been having this problem as well but unfortunately mine has been occurring both while connected to the power adaptor and while running on battery. I'm in New Zealand so 240v AC for me.

The machine will run fine for a while, sometimes for days without incident - then at random, the trackpad will go crazy, the pointer jumping around the screen and clicking randomly. Makes it difficult to even restart the machine as you can't click where you want to.

A restart will clear it up for a minute or two, then it tends to start again. Machine is cool, fan isn't running, so this isn't prompted by overheating. Have re-installed OS X and this didn't help the problem - have also seen the issue both prior to and following the 10.5.2 update.

I can only assume this is some kind of hardware problem - and my retailer agrees. Currently waiting for my replacement MacBook Air - hopefully it won't exhibit the same strange behaviour!

Mar 11, 2008 12:49 AM in response to mjgrainger

I had the same problem, but only for a couple of hours on day one (which was four days ago). My Air showed a few weird behaviors on day one, which fortunately never came back – I'm pointing the finger at the stress of installation+data import+first wireless backup.

While I don't have any solution to the problem itself, I can give some (unwanted? unneeded?) advice if your cursor is so crazy you can't even shut down or restart: if you haven't changed any settings, you can access a sleep/restart/shutdown dialog box by simply pressing the startup button (as with any Mac laptops). Or you can activate the Apple menu by pressing (Fn)-Ctrl-F2, and navigate it using the arrow keys.

Mar 11, 2008 1:17 AM in response to antiorario

D'oh! You learn something new - and simple - every day! 🙂 Thanks, never thought to tap the power button.

Mine was the same as yours, Antiorario - problems on day one, then nothing for five days. Then I was partway through watching a .avi movie in Quicktime, and the pointer started clicking on the QT controls at random, pausing and unpausing the video, fast-forwarding etc. Closed QT, and the pointer was going haywire again.

Incidentally, I forgot to note above that I ran Activity Monitor while this was going on, and the only process using CPU at the time was Activity Monitor itself. I have Dashboard turned off. So it's definitely not a CPU load issue, which I thought it might be at the time ...

Mar 11, 2008 5:47 PM in response to Volker Runkel

I would normally agree, but perhaps it could be electrical noise that's only produced when the brick works at the higher voltage. It is extremely consistent...on charge, the cursor is erratic. On battery, it's fine. And I've used the Macbook Air extensively back in the States without this problem before.

I'll test it this weekend when I return to get another data point. Thanks for all the input!

Mar 18, 2008 12:31 AM in response to mbranning

I am seeing the same problem on my MacBook Pro: machine running fine for a while, then at random, the trackpad goes crazy, the pointer jumps around the screen and clicks randomly. This happens sometimes even when I am not touching the trackpad.
Using an external mouse solved the problem for the moment. But I haven't worked for a long time in a row with an external mouse - so I can't definitively say, that it solves the problem completely. The other day the problem continued even after a restart.
Talking to Apple Support on the phone brought no solution. Concerning this problem they can only refer to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=17228-en. But all causes listed here are not applicable in my case.
Bringing the device in for repair today.

Apr 12, 2008 8:16 AM in response to mbranning

My wife is having the same problems on her MBA -- random cursor movements, jumpy, hypersensitive, erratic trackpad, weird 'shadow/translucent boxes' that resize when moving one's finger around on the trackpad, etc. Right now, since she is abroad for a few weeks, she can't send it in/bring it in to be checked. (She tried changing the trackpad settings in System Preferences, and that was no help).

Hope there is a solution to this soon -- it's driving her nuts.

Apr 29, 2008 8:14 PM in response to Mulaifi

To everyone with this mouse lag problem, who also has a Macbook Air,

check your processors when you have this problem. If your first core is spiking and your second seems dead, this is likely a core shutdown problem due to overheating. iStat menus, with both cores set to show, will help you see this problem when it happens. The mouse lags and so will your dock icons because your system is overheating, then to reduce heat, one of the cpu cores shuts down temporarily to reduce heat. This is a problem that is effecting many macbook air's. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is some random issue. Join the masses who know this is caused by overheating. Proper diagnosis will force Apple to fix this systemic problem.

Here here are other threads that shows how widespread this problem is.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1415343&tstart=0

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1387729&tstart=0

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1445521&tstart=0

hope this helps!

Jumpy cursor/erratic trackpad problem and solution

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