Magic Trackpad: Erratic & Unpredictable Behavior

Nine days ago I purchased a Magic Trackpad (S/N 8B05004NQBRDA). When it works, as intended, it is a pleasure to work with. However, most of the time the cursor behaves very erratically and unpredictably. Trying to select or highlight text is almost impossible as the cursor is uncontrollable.

Before using I updated to Mac OS X 10.6.6 and the latest trackpad software. Installed fresh batteries. I paired it with my MacPro and since the indicator light is not blinking assumed it is paired and connected. (Oddly, when you enter System Preferences > Trackpad > Set Up Bluetooth Trackpad, in the middle of the pop-up screen the words “No trackpad found” appear.)

In Systems Preferences > Bluetooth > in the left hand column it shows that the “Apple Wireless Trackpad” is connected. On the right hand side it shows that the trackpad is paired, is configured, is a favorite, is connected.

I’m at a loss as to what else I can do to solve the problem. I have five days left in which I can return the Trackpad to the Apple Store. Time is of the essence so if you have a solution for the erratic behavior please let me hear from you ASAP!!

Thanks

Apple MacPro, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Mar 24, 2011 1:00 PM

Top-ranking reply

David Thorpe2

Level 3

637 points

Posted on Nov 12, 2011 1:19 AM

FWIW, I use a number of different Macs and have trackpads with them all. All have worked well apart from one paired with my Mac Pro which repeatedly would go into 'weird mode' in the way you've all described here. Switching on and off would fix for a while but then the behaviour would return.

Swapping the erratic trackpad with one of the others would again temporarily solve the problem but then it would return (i.e. not an issue with the Trackpad itself). I also have a bluetooth keyboard attached to the Pro which works perfectly, so no problem with the bluetooth per se.

Whilst clearing out some old drawers I found an old (5+ years?) bluetooth USB dongle. Good ness knows what version of bluetooth it supports. I decided to see if the Mac Pro would recognise it. I disabled bluetooth on the Pro, then went about plugging in the dongle and re-pairing the keyboard and trackpad. And guess what? Over a week now and not a single piece of erratic behaviour. For me, at least, this has totally solved the problem.

I am not saying this is necessarily a universal cure but having just checked on Amazon there are USB bluetooth dongles for just a couple of £. Hardly a huge investment to see if this works for you.

Hope that helps at least some of you.

David

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21 replies

SBeattie2

Level 2

241 points

Nov 30, 2013 8:04 AM in response to Miss Julia

So - you are saying that the problem isn't only happening in clamshell mode on the MacBook Air - but also on desktop Macs (MacMini and iMac)? I think you definitely need to try the one from the church before wasting time troubleshooting further.

Nov 30, 2013 1:09 PM in response to SBeattie2

Thanks, Scott. I'm going to try the church's trackpad tomorrow morning.

I just called MacAuthority (our nearest Apple store is a 90 minute drive away). The service guy I talked to thinks it's a hardware problem – the same conclusion you and I had come to. If that is confirmed, they'll send it back to Apple & see if they will give me a new one at discount. Since the trackpad has been perfect for over three years, I can't really conplain. Thanks for your help. I'll post back when I know anything – it might help someone else.

Dec 2, 2013 1:38 PM in response to SBeattie2

That's exactly right. If I had a software issue that neither Disk Utility nor TechTool Pro could fix, then what? That's why the relief – no more time and frustration trying to diagnose the problem. Easy fix.

SBeattie2

Level 2

241 points

Dec 7, 2013 5:00 PM in response to Miss Julia

Glad to hear that you narrowed it down to a trackpad issue - rather than a quirk with Mavericks. It is a little unusual that the problem started after Mavericks upgrade. But ... it is also possible that Mavericks changes the way the way that the Mac interacts with the trackpad - and if the trackpad was borderline failing just prior to Mavericks upgrade - then maybe whatever change was introduced by Mavericks - was enought to make the trackpad failure surface.

Mar 25, 2011 8:23 AM in response to f-stop__

I'm having similar problems on my mid '10 iMac. Suddenly the magic track pad isn't so magic. I tried all of the above but no luck.

Mar 29, 2011 6:39 AM in response to f-stop__

I have exactly the same problem. No solution found yet …

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Magic Trackpad: Erratic & Unpredictable Behavior