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Trackpad gestures stop working randomly after monterey update

I have recently updated from Big Sur to Monterey version 12.0.1 on my Macbook Air M1. Randomly, the swipe gestures stop working. I have asked one of my friends who uses the same device and he too is facing the problem. I often work on applications kept in different windows and with not being able to swipe, I am constantly restarting to recover from the issue. Is it happening with anybody else? Will future updates help in solving the problem or do I need to re-install the OS, heck of a time taking process in later as we need to install the applications again.

Posted on Nov 1, 2021 9:45 PM

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Posted on Nov 17, 2021 8:09 AM

Having this issue, too (i.e. trackpad gestures will randomly stop working).


@sivaprashantK's solution of quitting "Dock" process from Activity Monitor resolves without needing to reboot, works for me, too.


Get this fixed, Apple!


System: Monterey 12.0.1 | MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) | M1 Max | 64GB

105 replies

Apr 8, 2022 8:54 AM in response to Jvanderveen

My work around is setting up a hot corner that activates my screensaver. I don’t lose all my trackpad functions when mine locks up, only a couple of them (like being able to swipe to different desktops). If I use the hot corner and activate screensaver even for a split second, it unlocks my trackpad and it works normally until it happens again. Others have used this work around as well. So strange. Some days, my trackpad never locks up, other days, it can happen every hour or two. This is the buggiest Mac I’ve ever used (and I’ve been on a Mac since OS6). Unfortunately, if they don’t solve these multiple issues (and they haven’t apparently for several years now) this will be my last Mac. Not worth this much money for the aggravation.

Aug 8, 2022 6:50 AM in response to sivaprashantK

Same issue here while using the Apple Magic Trackpad 2. The 2 finger swipe left to reveal notification center works. However, 3 finger horizontal swipe and 4 finger swipes do not work. Super frustrating and will be interested to see when Apple fixes this. It still hasn't been resolved in Monterey 12.4 and I'm wondering if it will ever.

Aug 26, 2022 9:19 AM in response to sivaprashantK

I see this frequently on my 2020 M1 macbook pro. I also had this same issue on my 2017 macbook (not pro), so it's not an Apple silicon issue. Both laptops were on Monterey when it started, so I believe it is a Monterey issue. Opening activity monitor and stopping the "dock" task is a good temporary fix without needing to restart. Hopefully this will be fixed at some point, it just happened to me twice this week!

Oct 16, 2022 11:07 PM in response to Scott Rose

I've got a brand new 16" MBP and 3-finger swipes all stopped working about 15 minutes ago. The "killall Dock" "solution" worked for me as well, so if Apple were, say, a company that allowed user-reports/updates of bugs we could report this, clearly a long-standing bug and clearly tied to the Dock process.


Of note, other gestures (like page back and forth with 2-finger swipes) keep working.

Nov 18, 2022 1:44 PM in response to sivaprashantK

I have this issue with the Intel 16" too.

As well as not being able to see all programmes when I swipe 4 finger up, Finder in particular can be really hard to err...find at times. And lots of bugs in general. TouchBar changed how from working well to something I understand why folk dislike it. Touch button also doesn't OK things anymore, so tediously need to enter password instead. Transfer speeds via USB C is now USB2 speed and various dongle devices cause issues or don't work. Everything was fine in Catalina.

Never had an OSX as buggy as Monteray before.

Dec 5, 2022 7:46 PM in response to sivaprashantK

Super helpful; worked immediately!


FWIW, I get very tired of Apple support insisting on the longest most-time consuming methods to fix, e.g., reinstall OS or resetting NVRAM etc. There is usually a simple and easy fix readily available. I've noticed the former is an increasingly more frequent solution [sic] provided by Apple Tech Support — chat or phone — and only requesting upper tier support help finds a simple 1,2,3 done solution to bugs and issues. This is the 3rd time this month that hours have been wasted when the 5 second solution is there.


Thanks again.

Trackpad gestures stop working randomly after monterey update

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