Level 1

30 points

Pinch zoom on MacBook Pro unreliable with macOS Monterey

On the latest MacBook Pro (16" M1 Max) running macOS Monterey the pinch zoom gesture on the track pad is unreliable. About half the time spreading my thumb and index finger apart or moving them closer together does produce the expected zoom effect, but the rest of the time either nothing happens at all, or the curser tracks the index finger but there's no zoom. This happens with Safari, Chrome, Photoshop, and other applications.

The problem does not appear to be caused by a hardware defect. It occurs with both the built-in trackpad and an external Magic Trackpad. Only pinch zoom is affected; other single and multi finger trackpad gestures work fine. Also, pinch zoom used to work on a 2019 MacBook Pro 16", but it became unreliable after upgrading to Monterey.

Is this a known bug? Is there a workaround?

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Nov 15, 2021 6:06 PM

Top-ranking reply

jackIsCracked

Level 1

16 points

Posted on Nov 18, 2021 4:29 PM

Hello fkadb,

I hope that I can help you and anyone else out that is having this problem including Apple. I wanted to let you know that you aren't the only one experiencing this issue. I 100% have been experiencing this as well. This is almost certainly due to the new MacOS. I have a MacBook Pro (16' Intel 2019). It responds the same way (meaning its tracking about half the time when pinching to zoom). This happened after updating to Monterey. A fresh install did not fix this problem, nor will safe mode unfortunately.

As far as a fix I believe this needs to be looked over by the developer team. This seems weird but I notice after asking a few of my friends to try it out - some of them had more success zooming in first try than others. The issue seems to arise from size and / or shape of the inputs on the trackpad - meaning the size of your fingers and what part is touching the trackpad (believe it or not).

Makeshift Fix

I have found a work around. However, my fix is less than ideal. Use both your hands (I use my both my index fingers) and spread them apart at the same time like your normally should be able to do with one hand. You will run into hiccups doing this but it almost always works with having fewer instances were it doesn't read the input of your fingers.

I hope this helps you out a little, and I hope an actual fix comes

Jack

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68 replies

Mar 5, 2022 2:31 PM in response to alexraujo

Agreed, this Dock-killing solution worked for me on a 16" MBP, M1Max, MacOS 12.1. I was going crazy trying to zoom within Preview, with no luck. But killing Dock restored pinch-to-zoom for me. Thank you!

tobi72

Level 1

8 points

May 6, 2022 9:28 AM in response to fkadb

Is there a fix on this issue? If so, can we get this published?

This is actually such a frustrating experience. The issue is consistent enough, you recognize it, and inconsistent enough to be so frustrating it drives one mad >>> I'm in figma in flow state (which is cognitively expensive btw), zooming in and out, and all of a sudden I can't zoom in or out. I literally thought I was losing my mind till i found this forum.. Please for all that is good in user experience, Please address this issue.

May 16, 2022 2:20 AM in response to fkadb

Same Issue on MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) Monterey v12.3

I have this issue since months now. I reinstall MacOS but still there. Most annoying issue ever ! Congrats Apple :) Impossible to work most of the time, I lost hours and hours in my job.

Jun 12, 2022 5:28 PM in response to fkadb

I just bought a brand new macbook, picked up from The Apple Store myself (16 inch), and the zoom is so unreliable. I can't work on this thing. I am stuck with it now. I am really bummed my old macbooks trackpad was solid as stone, but it seems Apple let us down this time. Bummer.

fkadb Author

Level 1

30 points

Nov 19, 2021 11:01 AM in response to jackIsCracked

jackIsCracked, thank you for the tip.

Nov 19, 2021 8:18 PM in response to fkadb

No problem!

fkadb Author

Level 1

30 points

Nov 23, 2021 4:19 PM in response to alexraujo

alexraujo, I just tried your suggestion, quitting the Dock process. The process does exit, and a new one (with a new PID) starts up right away, but the zoom gesture is still unreliable.

mereøl

Level 1

8 points

Nov 26, 2021 4:16 AM in response to fkadb

I have same problem with brand new MacBook Pro 2021 16" M1 Max. Hope Apple will fix is

soon . :-(

fkadb Author

Level 1

30 points

Dec 27, 2021 2:32 PM in response to kellaritis

I was hoping the problem would have been fixed with Monterey 12.1, but pinch zoom still doesn't work reliably for me.

rptoma

Level 1

8 points

Dec 29, 2021 3:20 AM in response to fkadb

M1 Pro here. My problem is even worse. Not only that pinch to zoom stop working, but back swiping and force touch as well...

mereøl

Level 1

8 points

Feb 1, 2022 1:43 PM in response to fkadb

Still same problem with 12.2 on MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max. My old late 2013 MB Pro is way better :-(

Apple wake up and fix this.

Feb 28, 2022 1:08 AM in response to fkadb

Hey Apple, please fix this bug. Its affecting my workflow multiple times every single day since i got the new MBP 16 M1 Pro!

fkadb Author

Level 1

30 points

Mar 6, 2022 5:20 PM in response to Daniel Harrington

Killing the Dock doesn't improve zooming for me. It's still unreliable, and even when it works it doesn't feel quite right. I have to move my fingers fairly far before anything happens at all.

tzombor

Level 1

0 points

Apr 7, 2022 5:20 AM in response to alexraujo

It's worked for me, thx!

Apr 15, 2022 3:59 PM in response to Justindustries

i do this but then it happens again. you have to keep doing it. very annoying.

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Pinch zoom on MacBook Pro unreliable with macOS Monterey