Trackpad gestures stop working randomly after monterey update

Thank you rocostain. I added the shortcut.

However the most annoying thing about the killall dock solution is that universal clip stops working if you used this method.

I have a workflow between ipad and my 14 inch, so it's really annoying.

Hopefully the bug will go away with the new OS update...

I want to remind people that for many, simply starting the built-in screen saver instantly resolves the problem, and you can set up a “hot corner” where just moving the mouse pointer into that corner of the screen (eg lower left) starts the screen saver.

Turning the screensaver on or off solves it for me on my 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Max, I only get the freeze up of gestures when the processor is really doing some work not just general low power activities. I first encountered the problem while using Handbrake to change video formats and reduce file sizes, which really had the processor humming. I later tried doing some exports on Final Cut Pro but the gestures never froze up while doing that. I had not installed "Rosetta" at the time I was doing this.

In the "hope Apple fixes this bug soon" catagory... I downloaded 12.3 yesterday. I didn't have the bug before I downloaded the new update. Now, I have the same / similar issue. It only affects my ability to switch between desktops, all other trackpad functions work fine, but the 4 finger move between desktops locks up. I will try force quitting the dock or the killall dock and see if that works.

Thanks… do keep us posted on whether it works… yes, I migrated from an even Oder machine and OS, and I’ve heard similar about a reinstall and pisdible glitches jumping OS like that. Honestly, after all time I’ve spent so far settings to his new machine up and chasing glitches, I haven’t wanted to do an whole install, restore from back up thang. I may just have to bite that bullet. Let us know if your reinstall does solve the issue and Thanks for your solutions and work arounds posted here.

I’m not sure if these new posters are even reading the other posts, so I’ll say this again:

When you encounter the issue, just activate the screen saver for an instant and the issue will go away. I set up my screen saver to activate using the lower left hot corner.

It seems as if this is the only “for sure” solution. None of the “quitting the dock” solutions, or logging out, worked for me. (Although restarting DID)

Apple Support frequently recommends reinstalling MacOS — even when there’s no evidence that will solve the problem.

I appreciate you pushing forward additional possible solutions as it seems there are different routes to dealing with this glitch.

When I experienced the trackpad glitch, all of my hot corners shut down as well. I tried the whole “kill dock” thing and it did nothing for me too.

It’s only been a week since I did the reinstall, which is why I’m not guaranteeing it as a success yet, but so far it’s been the only thing that has worked for me besides restarting my computer each time.

MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021), running latest macOS 12.3 and issue persists. I have found that most of the suggestions did not help previously mentioned. With less than an hour of uptime, I find the issue starts back up again. This behavior is particularly bad in Chrome when browsing long pages. Approx every 4th or 5th two finger swipe would not respond.

One thing I did find that helps is to turn off Lower Power mode under System Pref > Battery. So far, this has been the only thing that made a difference.

I was fixing the issue with @Stepen Greenfield's solution, which worked, but not every time it seemed. It does work most times for me though. I finally tried @laugherdoodle's suggestion and re-installed Monterey. Not a full wipe of the disk/restore from back-up (I don't want to take that kind of time unless I HAVE to). Just a re-install of the OS keeping the rest of my machine intact. So far 2 hours of straight working and no lock up of trackpad. Still very early to tell if this is a long term fix but I'm hopeful. I'll post my experience as time goes by and see if this does the trick.

Well, reinstalling the OS only gave me a day of relief from this issue unfortunately. Today, some of my trackpad gestures locked up several times already. Engaging screensaver with a hot corner then coming back to desktop in a second or two does still fix the issue temporarily. And, it's annoying to have such a new computer with the supposed best chip set running the supposed best software with so many buggy issues that can't be user solved.

I also still get the false "backup disc was ejected improperly" message (especially after sleeping overnight) even though it is sitting right there on my desktop and it was backing up the whole time. I guess at least the backup is working. Apple isn't what it used to be. The new norm...

I get the same issue. Recently, I've noticed it occurs after I make a screenshot (cmd+shift+4).

To solve it I need to: System Preferences > Trackpad > Scroll & Zoom > Toggle zoom in or out off / switch tab / switch back / toggle zoom in or out on.

It's annoying.

Engaging screensaver with a hot corner then coming back to desktop in a second or two does still fix the issue temporarily for me every time now. It is also happening less often but I have to objective reason as to why... I'm just happy it's very quick and easy to work around and it's happening less often so I can work...

killall Dock in the terminal worked for me, and maybe what SurfinTheLight says above works. I totally agree with you that it's deplorable that we have to do this for a thing that should have been fixed a long time ago

It is a lack of respect to the user, I have problems with BT, external monitors, trackpad, I can not connect my cameras for live streaming, I really do not know what to do, instead of a macbook pro I have a brick.

I found a new problem, which adds to the bluetooth, external monitor, RAM, trackpad and the thousands of errors that this **** system has, the searches do not work, I'm trying to search in my downloads folder .ai files, can not find anything, I search png files, can not find anything, I search jpg, can not find anything .... when the only thing I have in my downloads folder are png. jpg, eps, ai ....

This is really unbearable already, I can't work with a 4700 dollars machine, I can't downgrade to big sur, I have a nice brick.