pairing trackpad with another computer without unpairing from previuos computer

Paul Schleuse wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion, iRob. I've gotten that far, and the trackpad is showing up in the list of Bluetooth devices, but the Bluetooth ID number is grayed out and attempts to pair with it fail (I get an error message with no helpful information). I've tried all the various code settings, but nothing works.

My trackpad remains an orphan. I wonder if captfred can suggest anything?

Sorry for the delay Paul, I was enjoying a few days on the water.

I'll start at the beginning so excuse any redundancy.

The trackpad support started with 10.6.4 with the multitouch update so make sure you're updated to the latest release of Snow Leopard. Also several 3rd party addons conflict with the trackpad. USB overdrive is one of those that causes issues. If you have it installed then uninstall it.

The Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and wireless keyboard can all be paired with multiple Macs at a time. The recommendation to unpair is just to prevent confusion when both macs are in range of the device. The first mac it finds, it connects to. People end up with 2 keyboards on one Mac and 2 trackpads on the other.. 😁

Don't use System Preferences > Trackpad or SP > Mouse to pair the device, Use System Preferences > Bluetooth. Once it's paired it should never have to be paired again.

The process to pair is to turn off of the device by holding the power button for 5 seconds. The green light will come on while you hold the power button and turn off when the unit powers down.

Click the + icon below the list of bluetooth devices in System Preferences > Bluetooth

Then the setup assistant will search for devices:

Now tap the power on button on the device 1 time. The green light should start blinking indicating it's in discovery mode. After several seconds (maybe as many as 30) the device shows in the list above. Click continue and you're there.

If this process doesn't work, another thing to try is reset PRAM and SMC and try again.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

and

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Hope this works for you.

Captfred

Edit: As an added note, You can only pair about 4 sometimes 5 devices in bluetooth reliably. If you have that many devices, try removing something else first.

None of the options listed above worked in my case, but this did....

NB: This trick works especially on the original Bluetooth Wireless keyboards, mice and trackpads. New keyboards and trackpads were released in late 2015 which do not have removable batteries. This may not work for those devices. Please let me know if it does so I can update this.

1. Switch off the keyboard by holding down the power button for at least 3 seconds
2. Click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar
3. Click on “Set Up Bluetooth Device” or “Open Bluetooth Preferences”
4. Turn on the keyboard by holding down the power button, BUT DO NOT LET GO OF THE POWER BUTTON. It must be kept held down through the entire process.
5. The Setup Assistant will find the keyboard, so click the name of the keyboard, and then click on “Continue”. Make sure you are still holding the power button down.
6. You will be prompted for the Pairing Code. You can now release the power button, type the pairing code on the keyboard and then press return. There will be a slight delay whilst the pairing completes (a few seconds)
7. The keyboard will now be Paired.

So just to clarify, the trick is to continually HOLD DOWN THE POWER BUTTON.

No problem, you just pair it in the normal way with System Preferences > Bluetooth > click the "+" icon below the list of bluetooth devices.

Bluetooth devices don't have to be unpaired with a previous computer as the device itself has no knowledge of which computer it's paired to. (mice, keyboards, trackpads that is). It can be paired with multiple systems but can only connect to one at a time.

Regards,

Captfred

I'm afraid Harold Lampert is right — I have the same problem with a trackpad that was paired to a computer I no longer own. The Bluetooth Setup Assistant on my new computer can't find it (nor can it find other Bluetooth devices that are paired with another computer in my office).

Is there a way to "reset" the Trackpad itself? I've already tried turning it off and on, removing and replacing the batteries, etc. Or am I now stuck with a useless orphaned device?

I found the solution from a similar post about the wireless keyboard.

Bring up Preferences

Click on the Bluetooth icon

When open, select "+"

While the Mac is "searching" hold down the power button on the trackpad

In my case, the green indicator went dark. I pressed and held the button a second time and it was discovered.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestion, iRob. I've gotten that far, and the trackpad is showing up in the list of Bluetooth devices, but the Bluetooth ID number is grayed out and attempts to pair with it fail (I get an error message with no helpful information). I've tried all the various code settings, but nothing works.

My trackpad remains an orphan. I wonder if captfred can suggest anything?

Here is what happens when I try to re-pair my trackpad :

Holding in the Trackpad power button, the green light winks once at about 2 seconds - that's all.

It doesn't matter whether I press briefly or hold the button, the result is the same.

It's not detected by my Mac mini. (OS 10.7.2) ever since the batteries ran out. I've replaced them obviously.

I tried removing it from the list of Bluetooth items and now it's apparently orphaned, still behaving as though it's paired.

Frankly, I'm unimpressed to say the least. How much did the trackpad cost? HOW MUCH ? - and it doesn't have a proper power light showing when it's on or off, or a battery power indicator on it, and it can't re-enter pairing mode by itself?

This just seems absurdly poor. It's so bad, it's almost impressive.

Just to say I RESOLVED MY ISSUE

- the replacement batteries (both sets) were too flat to work in the Trackpad.

They lost their charge whilst sitting idle for months.

Sure, they could power the single light flash, but not, apparently, a more informative warning.

So if you are unable to detect your Trackpad, blame your batteries first.

Even a simple rapid triple flash warning with the green power light would have diagnosed this unambiguously.

Perhaps a firmware update could address this.

Just turn it off, move it to the new host and turn it back on; I do it with a Magic Mouse (and keyboard) all the time.

Worked like a charm!

Thanks!