touchpad freaking out on a plane

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touchpad freaking out on a plane

I have seen one post related to this problem: while on a flying plane the touchpad freaks out and thinks that I am doing a 2 finger touch or a scroll. It only works correctly intermittently. After getting off the plane at my destination, the problem goes away.
This happened twice already.

I have seen some users connecting this problem with being plugged in into the plane's power outlet, so I will try disconnecting from the power next time this problem happens.

Has anyone else seen this problem

Artur

Power PC G5 Dual 2.3 GHz / MBA SSD 1.8 GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on May 25, 2009 4:34 PM

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Answer 1

Soft Reset

Level 4

1,790 points

May 25, 2009 7:09 PM in response to artek

Hi Artek,

Just to clarify, when you say you're flying in a plane. You mean to say a commercial airliner with a pressurized cabin, correct?

I've flown a dozen or so times with MacBook Air (Rev A) and two or three times with my MacBook Air (Rev B) and have not encountered a trackpad problem.

I've also seen my fair share of MacBook Airs at airports and on planes (maybe 10 in my travels) and I've always seem them in constant use. It'd seem unlikely that the problem is specific to the MacBook Air or airplanes, nevertheless very strange. It makes hard to reproduce the issue as I do not believe Apple has technicians at 35,000 ft.

When's the next time you fly? I'd be inclined to have you record the sequence as it's occurring and make it known to Apple/Applecare. I realize that seems like a lot of work, but with an intermittent issue like that (which only occurs when flying) I can't really think of any other "fix" for this.

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Answer 2

artek Author

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May 25, 2009 11:10 PM in response to Soft Reset

Yes, I do mean a commercial airline flight at 35 000 ft.
I'm flying back on wednesday night, and if you give me specific instructions, I will try to reproduce the problem,
A

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Answer 3

Soft Reset

Level 4

1,790 points

May 26, 2009 12:21 AM in response to artek

Hi artek,

I don't really have specific steps for us to resolve or reproduce an issue like the one you're currently experiencing. Because it's intermittent and specific to an environment (the cabin of an airplane) the only advice I can offer is what I've told several buddies when they have intermittent issues of the "odd" variety.

Document it... Get it on camera, get on video, get an error log or something along those lines.

Do you own a digital camera that has MPEG capabilities? What if you have it with you at your seat and when you notice the trackpad behaving oddly, quickly film a few seconds of you using the trackpad (with one finger) and the screen's behavior (gestures occurring). I realize this seems elaborate and maybe more hassle then it's worth. I'd also recommend documenting what time it occurs so someone could retrace through console/system log files at that time to see if anything out of the ordinary appears.

I, unfortunately, can't think of anything else for something that's specific to a location and intermittent.

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Answer 4

May 26, 2009 12:37 AM in response to artek

Hey Artek,

I had this on my RevB Air on flight to Korea, trackpad went crazy. Tried washing hands and more. Luckily had Bluetooth mouse to save the day. Now carry a tiny USB mouse

Strangely last flight to USA was fine. Not identified the cause. Will try power on off next time

Cheers, Robert.

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