Trackpad doesn't work

Question

Level 1

15 points

Trackpad doesn't work

I got my new macbook. Bought the $1299 model. Got it home and noticed that at times when I clicked on the mouse nothing happened. There was a noticable "click" when depressing but nothing happening on the screen. At times this will happen basically anywhere on the trackpad. Once it does I have to press very hard in the center of the trackpad and then it "clicks" on the screen and works for about another 5 to 10 clicks anywhere on the trackpad. After that the same thing seems to happen.

The trackpad click noise is VERY loud compared to other computers I've had and used. Guess I'll be stopping back at the apple store tomorrow to see about a replacement.

macbook aluminum, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 15, 2008 12:21 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Oct 15, 2008 1:14 PM in response to matt kelly1

The trackpad is on a spring-loaded mechanism, and as such will be harder to press down towards the top of the trackpad. Try pressing on the bottom edge of the trackpad.

Reply

Answer 2

matt kelly1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Oct 15, 2008 1:46 PM in response to matt kelly1

Tried that. It hardly works at all towards the bottom. In almost every case I need to push very hard on the center of the trackpad with my index finger. I can click away all day at the bottom with my thumb but it does nothing on the screen.

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 15, 2008 3:26 PM in response to matt kelly1

Sounds like you got a busted one. I'd take it back and have them replace it ASAP. Especially since the button trackpad is a new feature they'll want samples of ones that dont work so they can refine the mechanisms.

Reply

Answer 4

Oct 15, 2008 3:27 PM in response to matt kelly1

Yes, sounds like a faulty one. My one clicks easily and quite quietly.

Reply

Answer 5

matt kelly1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Oct 15, 2008 3:33 PM in response to matt kelly1

I'll shoot back there in the morning and let you all know what I find out. Hopefully it's just a rare thing and not more wide spread.

Reply

Answer 6

Oct 15, 2008 8:09 PM in response to matt kelly1

yes, please do. I am having the same problem.

Reply

Answer 7

Oct 16, 2008 9:09 AM in response to James Veitch

Actually, can anyone chime in with how clicky their trackpad is?
How quiet it is ?

Reply

Answer 8

Oct 16, 2008 10:43 AM in response to James Veitch

Mine is pretty quiet --- not much different than the sound of the clicking of the keys.

Reply

Answer 9

Oct 16, 2008 10:54 AM in response to James Veitch

Haven't got my own yet but I went to my local Apple Store to see the new beasts - I thought they were amazing and will likely get the 2.4GHz MacBook.

One of the things that particularly interested me was the trackpad - I'm moving from a 12" PB G4 and its mouse button is fairly loose. I detected a difference between the trackpads on the MBPs and those on the MBs. I tried all the machines on display and all the "clickers" were quiet, very quiet. But for some reason I found it much, much easier to double-click correctly on the MBP trackpads than the MB ones - on which I seemed mess up. I tried various double-click speeds in the System Preferences to no avail.

I'm guessing it was just me but strange that the MBP trackpad button seemed more reliable to use....

Reply

Answer 10

matt kelly1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Oct 16, 2008 1:49 PM in response to matt kelly1

I went back to the store and tested the models on the floor a bit. They all seemed ok to me. I spoke with the genius there who clicked it a few times and said it was "within specs". In any event they told me they would replace it for me. So while I was there I decided to upgrade to the pro for a few reasons. I got home, opened it up and its much better but... it still happens at times. This one is mostly right towards to the very bottom of the trackpad middle to right side. This happens to be right where my thumb resides for pressing.

I bought the apple care so I'm covered for three years and I'll keep any eye on the forums. I can't believe I could get two with the same issue. I've had portables for 10 years and this is my 5th mac portable. I'm on it all day and night for work. So it's not as if I don't know how to use this thing!

If anyone else has issues and posts here maybe we can figure it out.

Reply

Answer 11

matt kelly1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Oct 16, 2008 2:53 PM in response to matt kelly1

As an update to this I've found something interesting. It seems to depend on the angle at which you press the mouse. If I press with my thumb towards the bottom then none of these things seem to work, it does "click" though. If I press with index finger and press straight down then it works.

I'll keep checking at different mac stores and maybe take mine to a different store to see what they make of it.

Reply

Answer 12

Allan757

Level 1

0 points

Oct 16, 2008 5:21 PM in response to matt kelly1

My Trackpad was working fine the first day of owning the new Macbook. However now I am having to press down really hard to get it to recognize mouse clicks on the trackpad (like I have to hold it down for longer than a second). This is extremely fustrating after having a fantastic experience with the trackpad on the first day. Ive tried pressing all over the trackpad and its consistent in having to press down hard on it for a second or longer.

I've enabled the tap feature in the meantime, however I would really like to get this resolved. The only thing I did today that was a major system change, was migrating my stuff over from my old Macbook.

Reply

Answer 13

matt kelly1 Author

Level 1

15 points

Oct 16, 2008 5:44 PM in response to matt kelly1

Good tip on the tap feature. That is nice to use for the time being. I wonder if there's a way to highlight text without having to press down the trackpad.

I spoke with a few people who got the macbooks and they're having issues also. My hope is this isn't a hardware issue but rather something that can be fixed via software but I doubt it.

Reply

Answer 14

Oct 16, 2008 10:54 PM in response to matt kelly1

Yeah, got a similar problem. It's specifically the click that is erratic. And it doesn't have to do with the strength, at least for me.

Often times, it just won't register a click, and in those cases, even if I press down on the button/pad really hard, it still won't register the click. That leads me to think this is more of a software/firmware problem rather than a hardware problem, and hopefully will be fixed soon; if not I will have to take it into an AppleStore :-p Love the machine otherwise, but not a very good way to kick off a relationship.

Reply

Answer 15

Oct 17, 2008 12:57 PM in response to matt kelly1

I took mine back to the apple store and they replaced it. This trackpad seems far more sensitive and doesn't seem to have the problem. The clicking is still loud compared to my old blackbook but it's not as bad as the old one.

Reply