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keyboard and trackpad stopped working

Hi has anyone else had their keyboard and trackpad stop working just like that?

I have had my MacBook Pro 13 for around 2 years, last night it was working fine but this morning when I turned it on the keyboard and trackpad were non responsive.

I rang Apple support and they were not able to help me so I went to the nearest Mac shop (Manchester Arndale ) and had someone look at it.

The prognosis was that I could have the laptop repaired but at just shy of £600 I feel this is not acceptable. So wireless keyboard and mouse it is at £20, but this also annoys me as really a laptop at the premium price of £1299 should go wrong like this after two years.

I am now at the point of saying goodbye to all Apple products as it make las me feel that the hardware is not all it is cracked up to be and prone to instant failure.

so if anyone can advise as I really don’t think it’s the hardware at fault then I would be super interested

thanks

MacBook Pro 13″, 12.2

Posted on Mar 2, 2022 10:38 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 2, 2022 5:40 PM

Usually when both the Keyboard and Trackpad fail at the same time, the problem may be with just the Trackpad or the Trackpad Flex Cable especially with the 2015 model where this problem is common. If you have a USB-C model Apple laptop, then Apple does not consider the Trackpad or Trackpad Cable to be a separate part. For the USB-C laptops the Trackpad & Trackpad Flex Cable is considered a part of the Top Case Assembly which also includes the Keyboard, Trackpad, Battery, and for some models the Touchbar and Speakers as well. The Top Case Assembly is very expensive since it includes so many other items that would normally be considered separate individual components on older models.


You can try contacting an Apple Authorized Service Provider to see if they may be able to swap out a Trackpad from one of the Top Case Assemblies to see if that is enough to fix the laptop, although you would be receiving a used part. An independent repair shop unaffiliated with Apple may also be able to acquire a used Trackpad online. Depending on the exact model of the Mac, this could be a problem since 2018+ models use a T2 security chip where all the part serial numbers are associated with the T2 security chip. If an item is using an unknown part serial number on a 2018+ Mac, then your laptop's security level may be considered compromised or unacceptable for certain features (such as streaming video content, Apple Pay, etc.). This also applies even to an AASP unfortunately due to how Apple restricts programming the T2 security chip.


However, since you did not mention which part Apple intends to replace, I may be wrong and the problem may be with the Logic Board or possibly the Keyboard itself. An Apple Store seems to only do the most basic checks, while an AASP may perform a more thorough troubleshooting, but an AASP is still limited by only having access to just three main components for the USB-C laptops which are the Display Assembly (LCD, Camera), Logic Board (CPU, GPU, memory, SSD, WiFi), and Top Case Assembly (Palmrest, Keyboard, Trackpad, Touchbar, Battery, Speakers). As you can imagine having so many items on a single component greatly increases the cost of that component versus having each of those smaller items as their own separate replaceable component. Apple has apparently decided people who pay lots of money for an expensive laptop can afford to pay for an expensive repair or perhaps never gave repairs any thought during the design process.


Depending on what is bad, the problem may get worse over time to the point you may not be able to boot the Mac or access the data on the SSD. Make sure to have good backups. If you don't have Mac with the same OS or newer, then you may want to have a backup of the files on external media that can be accessed from any device or OS (even non-Apple OS).


You should always have frequent and regular backups of your computer and any external media which contains important & unique data.


6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 2, 2022 5:40 PM in response to Jeffreyknopf

Usually when both the Keyboard and Trackpad fail at the same time, the problem may be with just the Trackpad or the Trackpad Flex Cable especially with the 2015 model where this problem is common. If you have a USB-C model Apple laptop, then Apple does not consider the Trackpad or Trackpad Cable to be a separate part. For the USB-C laptops the Trackpad & Trackpad Flex Cable is considered a part of the Top Case Assembly which also includes the Keyboard, Trackpad, Battery, and for some models the Touchbar and Speakers as well. The Top Case Assembly is very expensive since it includes so many other items that would normally be considered separate individual components on older models.


You can try contacting an Apple Authorized Service Provider to see if they may be able to swap out a Trackpad from one of the Top Case Assemblies to see if that is enough to fix the laptop, although you would be receiving a used part. An independent repair shop unaffiliated with Apple may also be able to acquire a used Trackpad online. Depending on the exact model of the Mac, this could be a problem since 2018+ models use a T2 security chip where all the part serial numbers are associated with the T2 security chip. If an item is using an unknown part serial number on a 2018+ Mac, then your laptop's security level may be considered compromised or unacceptable for certain features (such as streaming video content, Apple Pay, etc.). This also applies even to an AASP unfortunately due to how Apple restricts programming the T2 security chip.


However, since you did not mention which part Apple intends to replace, I may be wrong and the problem may be with the Logic Board or possibly the Keyboard itself. An Apple Store seems to only do the most basic checks, while an AASP may perform a more thorough troubleshooting, but an AASP is still limited by only having access to just three main components for the USB-C laptops which are the Display Assembly (LCD, Camera), Logic Board (CPU, GPU, memory, SSD, WiFi), and Top Case Assembly (Palmrest, Keyboard, Trackpad, Touchbar, Battery, Speakers). As you can imagine having so many items on a single component greatly increases the cost of that component versus having each of those smaller items as their own separate replaceable component. Apple has apparently decided people who pay lots of money for an expensive laptop can afford to pay for an expensive repair or perhaps never gave repairs any thought during the design process.


Depending on what is bad, the problem may get worse over time to the point you may not be able to boot the Mac or access the data on the SSD. Make sure to have good backups. If you don't have Mac with the same OS or newer, then you may want to have a backup of the files on external media that can be accessed from any device or OS (even non-Apple OS).


You should always have frequent and regular backups of your computer and any external media which contains important & unique data.


Mar 2, 2022 12:21 PM in response to my ginger

All they did in store is hook it up to external keyboard and Mouse they then took it in the back and supposedly opened it to see if there was a loose wire.

they did no reinstalling of anything.

it does seem to be an issue though with MacBooks. And the repair seems like they are replacing things that don’t need replacing hence the crazy cost.

The fact that it works with external keyboard and mouse says a lot

Mar 2, 2022 4:52 PM in response to Jeffreyknopf

When you called Apple, did they offer any help, or did they all you to just take it in? What exact year is your make book pro? there is a recall over keyboard problems on some MacBook Pros. Here are some things to try.https://www.lifewire.com/fix-non-working-keyboard-on-macbook-pro-5120446 Try safe mode if you can.Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support If your keyboard works in safe mode then it's definitely software. If you have an early 202 or older MacBook Pro you could try Nvram reset or a SMC reset.Mac startup key combinations - Apple Support. How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support With something like notes open does push and holding a key produce anything.

Mar 3, 2022 8:17 AM in response to Jeffreyknopf

Do you have access to an external keyboard and mouse? So you can try some of the suggestions I gave. Also with something like notes open did you try all keys by holding them down to see if any work? Also Apple has a keyboard service program for select Mac laptops. you would have to check if yours is one of them.Keyboard Service Program for MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro - Apple Support

keyboard and trackpad stopped working

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