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Today my trackpad started clicking when depressed. It didn't do this previously. After a search, I find that my SystemSettings>Trackpad do NOT include a checkbox for Silent Clicking. What has happened and how do I restore silence to my MacBook?
[Image Edited by Moderator to Remove Personal Information]
MacBook Pro (2021)
Hmm, yeah, Silent Clicking isn't an option on my 2021 14" MacBook Pro. I don't think ever was. Click is set to Light but it's still seems like too much, and seems to be louder than it was just recently. I'm on Monterey but have doubts that this option will return if I upgrade to Ventura. It's annoying but I don't think it's annoying enough for me to upgrade to Ventura. I'll be avoiding the "upgrade" to Ventura for as long as I can... This is probably the best overall apple product I've purchased, but this trackpad's loud "light" click is in my mind, a flaw.
Hi jedvoracek,
Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities. We understand your trackpad has started making a clicking noise. This article explains where you should see the "Silent clicking" option if it's available on your MacBook Pro: How to use the Force Touch trackpad.
"Force click with Force Touch trackpad
The Force Touch trackpad lets you Force click by pressing on the trackpad and then applying more pressure. This allows you to take advantage of added functionality in many apps and system features on your Mac.
To see a video of a Force click, choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Then choose Trackpad, click the Point & Click tab, and hover the pointer over the Look up & data detectors checkbox.
Change trackpad settings
To adjust the pressure you need to click your trackpad, follow these steps.
To turn off Force click, deselect the “Force Click and haptic feedback” checkbox. This will disable the functionality described in the Trackpad preferences pane.
A few of the examples of what you can do with a Force click only work if "Force click with one finger" is active. You enable or disable this in the "Point & Click" tab under "Look up & data detectors."
On some Mac laptops, you can turn off the sound of your trackpad's click by selecting Silent clicking."
If you're not able to change the behavior in System Preferences, then you may want to have it properly evaluated by a technician to check for any hardware issues.
To find service options in your country, Contact Apple Support.
Take care.
Thanks but that is neither the problem nor the solution. My 2021 MacBook Force Trackpad settings do not have the silent click touch clicking setting, and I somewhat erroneously characterized the noise as "clicking" but I should have called it a twang or a metallic note. Apple support listened and I think were baffled. They asked me to update to latest Ventura and power cycle which did not help. After that they set me up for the Genius Bar. Subsequently I found a random post on another issue that talked about the "haptic motor" on force responsive trackpads, and I remember my trackpad is a little inconsistent at times. On the morning I was going to the Apple store, the sound stopped as suddenly as it began. If the store was close, I would have gone so they could run diagnostics but with an intermittent problem, that seems unlikely to help. Unfortunately although I had Apple support listen on the telephone, I failed to make a recording, so with the noise gone and the store 70 miles away, I rescheduled my appointment for this Wednesday. If the noise does not return, I doubt I will take it in. If I had recorded the sound, then I probably would even if it doesn't return. Time will tell.
@rootsmaneuver et. al., here's the outcome of my trackpad issue and findings. At some point on some/all models, Apple switched from a mechanical trackpad to a "haptic" trackpad where the feel and the click are driven by a motor and sound generation. My 2021 MacBook Pro (M1) lacks the silent click option which seems associated only with the older trackpads. The noise mine developed on physical pressure application was present about 24 hours, then resolved. This noise was related to the trackpad haptic mechanism. About the same time my trackpad felt "funny". Areas didn't seem responsive. The feel was softer. I talked to Apple Support, tried what they suggested (reboot, install latest version of Ventura) and of course that didn't help. They also set me up with the Genius Bar at my local (60 miles away) Apple store. They agreed the trackpad was not up to specifications and kept the MacBook saying they would "recalibrate" the trackpad with special service software, and if that didn't help, I would need to replace it. Five days later they called, said the recalibration was successful, and come get my MacBook. It's still working fine as I type this reply.
It is still there on my computer:
This is a 2017 Intel MacBookPro. What does your display look like in System Settings > Trackpad?
Luis Sequeira1 wrote:
This screenshot shows you are running Monterey.
Perhaps this silent click option is new in Ventura? I don't have an M1 or other Apple Silicon MBP to compare.
I can say that I never had this option in my 2019 Intel MBP, in either version of macOS.
Nope. I have it on my 2021 16" M1 MBP:
Edit: Hold up. I just discovered something.
I don't have it on my new computer at all. This setting is for my Magic Trackpad, which I noticed was at 20% battery so I plugged it in. When when I turn off the Magic Trackpad, the silent click option goes away entirely, and then returns when I turn the track pad back on.
I was hoping to find an answer to this as well. I have a 2021 14" M1 Pro base model, and the click recently started seeming much more pronounced. I'm not sure when exactly, but I just really noticed it a couple of days ago. It's possible that this started after an OS update, but I'm not sure when that update occurred, maybe 2-3 weeks ago. If it is related to an OS update, it's possible I didn't notice until now because I'm mostly carting my MacBook to work and back, hooking it up to a monitor, keyboard and mouse in both locations.
Of course, I've checked my settings. I have it at the lowest click setting but it still seems too pronounced, much more than I remember it being. APPLE, bring back "silent" clicking!
This screenshot shows you are running Monterey.
Perhaps this silent click option is new in Ventura? I don't have an M1 or other Apple Silicon MBP to compare.
I can say that I never had this option in my 2019 Intel MBP, in either version of macOS.
Thank you for clarifying.
If I understand it correctly, this setting is thus available for the standalone Apple Magic Trackpad, and not for the trackpads built into Apple laptops, right? And, I am guessing, only for the second generation. I only have one of the old ones with two AA batteries, and it's not with me at the moment to test.
Luis Sequeira1 wrote:
Thank you for clarifying.
If I understand it correctly, this setting is thus available for the standalone Apple Magic Trackpad, and not for the trackpads built into Apple laptops, right? And, I am guessing, only for the second generation. I only have one of the old ones with two AA batteries, and it's not with me at the moment to test.
Not necessarily. I would say this setting is only available for devices that support it. 😄
I do see it on my 2017 computer, but then it could also be connected to a Magic Trackpad. I would have to try it again and make sure to turn off the trackpad. Even then, there is no guarantee that there isn't some class of built-in trackpads that support the feature.
This is super helpful, thank you! I'll keep an eye on it. If it gets worse, I'll definitely be contacting Apple.
2021 MacBook M1 Pro trackpad has abruptly started clicking
