Q: TrackPad won't turn on after batteries were changed.

That I know… it didn't even stay lit for more than a second; usually it stays on for longer than that.

The trackpad is defective. I can usually revive the most stubborn devices… even the problematic Wireless Mighty Mouse (just by taking it about and cleaning carefully with compressed air). My Apple TrackPad is now DOA… I've accepted it and will re-buy when I think I really need it.

Thanks for the Snark!

When you said energizer and duracel, you were NOT mixing those batteries were you?

Maybe try changing batts just one more time before giving up on it, since trackpads are not cheap.

Also, turn off the mouse before you turn on the TP and see what happens.

The light going off in less than a second and not doing anything after that may be indication that you dropped the TP recently (on the floor?).

Do you remember that happening?

I am 100% certain that "I" didn't drop it — ever.

I set it up and never really moved it from my workstation. However we do have office cleaning people who may have moved things and possibly dropped it but I rather doubt it. It worked fine whenever I "rarely" used it and then suddenly it was just dead.

I put in back in the original packaging with a note that it was broken… I'll get it out of our storage closet and try setting it up with a wired mouse and keyboard leaving the TrackPad as the only Bluetooth device on my system — good idea, hope it works… Either way worth a try. Thanks.

If you could not turn on your Magic TrackPad, if you're press the power button on the peripheral, but it doesn't light: one of the reasons is a faulty contacts. Open the battery module. Remove the batteries. Take a long screwdriver and put a bit of cotton on its end. Wet the cotton by the medicine alcohol. The carefully move the end of the screwdriver with the cotton into the battery module and carefully clean the remote side of the module (you can see the metallic contact there). Then carefully clean the screwing cover of the module. Wait about 10-15 minutes until the medicine alcohol evaporates. Then put the batteries back, screw the cover and try tu turn on your Magic TrackPad by its power button.

Warning! Don't use a huge peace of cotton and much medicine alcohol, you must clean by it, not wash in ;) Don't hurry up after the cleaning: wait until the medicine alcohol evaporates, only then you can insert batteries. Don't use drinks like whiskey, they have components that will not evaporate and the device will be broken. Use only clean medicine alcohol.

P.S. If you can't repair the TrackPad, maybe its hardware is damaged.

This just happened to me and I am happy to say I finally figured out what happened. There is a spring on the inside of the cylander that contains the batteris next to the power button. The spring lost it well "spring." To fix the problem I folded up a piece of aluminum foil into a tiny square probablly a milimeter or two thick and put it in between the negative ( - ) side of the batter any the little piece you need to screw in with a coin. It worked like a charm! Give it a whirl.

I just shake it a little and it is connected. 

Just happened to me.  Got the trackpad to work again after I inserted the two batteries and using my finger to bounce them in and out quickly a few times.  Really need to push them in about 1 cm every time. Replaced the screw in cap and it worked again.  Hope this helps.

Okay… I tried the alcholol and pushing the batteries in several times as well as using aluminum patch – nothing worked. I still have the same result: the trackpad is recognized "Found" by my system but after that I get a message that "Pairing" was unsuccessful. I don't know why. Use a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse that work perfectly but not the essentially new Apple Trackpad. As I said in my original post I have not used this device much and had it for a while before I even had time to setup; when I did it worked well for a few months and then pooof… no more. I think I've tried everything and I am glad these other methods work for those ofyou who are having a similiar problem but perhaps its the bluetooth within the trackpad that is the problem.

Rikki88,

Your problem is different.  You have no problem turning on your trackpad but you have difficulties getting the pairing finished.

Please try to follow "Brand new trackpad won't pair" to see if you get a solution.

I first had the problem with turning the trackpad on after new batteries, now after cleaning and adding a small piece of aluminumn the trackpad stays on but will not pair. I'll take a look at the other discussion for a pairing solution.

After reading this I gave mine a little shake too and it worked again. Thanks for the hint. Very odd solution but glad you posted it!

Great - worked a treat, thanks. Blessed are the people who tinker, fix and post. I didn't need the foil in the end... just pushing the springy bit inside with a chopstick did the trick. but if the spring should sag, I'll know what to do. Makes perfect sense.

I'll just go stash for "next time" the el-cheapo mouse that I bought so I could actually get online and search the solution. Sigh another 4-hour downtime.

Thanks for the "wiggle the spring" idea. I had used a pencil eraser on it... but that didn't work... now, it is working cuz I took the same pencil eraser and stuck it in the battery compartment and pushed a few times on the spring down there.... put in the new batteries that had not worked... and, voila, it turned on and connected... You guys are great sources of info.... Thanks....

I had the exact same problem as described earlier - track pad wouldn't turn on after changing the batteries, not a flicker of the green light, so I figured it was a connection issue. Batteries were swapped with my magic mouse, and they worked fine in that, so I swapped them back and got to work.

It was that same white plastic circular spring on the inside of the battery chamber that was playing up.

I tried the chopstick trick but it didn't seem to be caught on anything

Shaking it didn't do anything

I tried the aluminium foil cube with success, but I needed it in the deep end of the chamber, not near the screw lid as iamsachirock tried.

Came on straight away!

Hope this extra approach helps any one else who has this seemingly common problem.

ditto the aluminum foil trick. worked like a charm. using magic trackpad after having it sit on my desk unused for about 6 months. seems the internal spring loses its spring after a year or two.