You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

jumpy cursor?

Basically, what the title says, about 50% of the time when I move my cursor either with my trackpad or a bluetooth mouse the cursor will kind of jitter around and it looks like it just jumps around when I move too fast. It sort of looks like it's trailing behind where it is supposed to be. I'm a bit worried I might have a virus because I haven't been able to find any info on this specific problem. The only info I can find is about the cursor jumping all over the screen but that's not really what's happening to me.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.2

Posted on Feb 28, 2022 3:13 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 28, 2022 5:41 PM

It is possible the built-in Trackpad has a hardware issue, or perhaps the battery is swelling and pressing on the Trackpad which can cause tracking issues. Does the Trackpad appear to be sitting higher above the palmrest, or do you see the Bottom Case beginning to separate from the rest of the laptop around the front or side edges? If the laptop has all four feet intact, then the laptop should sit completely flat & solid on a flat smooth table surface, otherwise the battery may be slightly swollen.


You may also have a software issue or possibly some other hardware issue with a connected device which is causing the problem. To look for possible software issues run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper. If you give EtreCheck "Full Disk Access", then the report will include more information which may provide more clues.


You can also try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.


Edit: Try booting the laptop into Safe Mode to see if you still have the problem since Safe Mode disables most third party drivers & startup/login items.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 28, 2022 5:41 PM in response to Taako_From_TV

It is possible the built-in Trackpad has a hardware issue, or perhaps the battery is swelling and pressing on the Trackpad which can cause tracking issues. Does the Trackpad appear to be sitting higher above the palmrest, or do you see the Bottom Case beginning to separate from the rest of the laptop around the front or side edges? If the laptop has all four feet intact, then the laptop should sit completely flat & solid on a flat smooth table surface, otherwise the battery may be slightly swollen.


You may also have a software issue or possibly some other hardware issue with a connected device which is causing the problem. To look for possible software issues run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper. If you give EtreCheck "Full Disk Access", then the report will include more information which may provide more clues.


You can also try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.


Edit: Try booting the laptop into Safe Mode to see if you still have the problem since Safe Mode disables most third party drivers & startup/login items.

jumpy cursor?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.