trackpad won't connect with bluetooth

Here's what I did to make the Magic Trackpad to connect:

1. Take off the battery cap of the Magic Trackpad
2. Turn off Bluetooth on the computer (in Bluetooth Preferences)
3. Turn on Bluetooth on (in Bluetooth Preferences)
4. Replace battery cap of the Magic Trackpad
5. Press "+" to add a device in Bluetooth Preferences on your computer
6. Press, AND HOLD, the Power Button on the Magic Trackpad, AND KEEP HOLDING while green light is blinking.
7. Select the Magic Trackpad
8. Once the Magic Trackpad is connected you may release the Power Button on the Magic Trackpad

Well, it kind of means that there really is something wrong with the iMac's bluetooth, and not just with the connection with your trackpad. Unfortunately I can not find any 'special' options in the bluetooth settings.

However you could try this:

• Open "System Preferences"
• Select the "Bluetooth" pane
• Find your trackpad (it should say "Not Connected" underneath the name)
• Select the trackpad and press the little "-" and confirm by clicking on "Remove"
• Now, turn your bluetooth off and back on again, just in case

Please let me know whether this works or not.

Jeff DeMello below had the answer that was the closest to helping me. With my MacBook Pro 2017, I had to modify the steps slightly:

1. Take off the battery cap of the Magic Trackpad
2. Turn off Bluetooth on the computer (in Bluetooth Preferences)
3. Turn on Bluetooth on (in Bluetooth Preferences)
4. Replace battery cap of the Magic Trackpad
5. Wait for the "sunburst" searching icon (in the upper right corner of dialogue box) to finish one cycle of searching for new bluetooth devices. Once it disappears:
6. Press, AND HOLD, the Power Button on the Magic Trackpad, AND KEEP HOLDING while green light is blinking.
7. While still holding button, select "Pair" when your device is discovered. Keep holding button!
8. Once the Magic Trackpad is connected you may release the Power Button on the Magic Trackpad

Thanks again, Jeff DeMello, for clear and concise instructions!

My new Macbook Pro (which was migrated from my older Mac Pro tower) failed to discover and connect to my trackpad this morning (despite having connected yesterday), so I used the Apple Developer tool called "Bluetooth Explorer.app", found and deleted the trackpad from the Device Cache, and walked through the Setup Trackpad steps in System Preferences. That seemed to work.

I realize that not everybody has knowledge of or access to the (free!) Dev Tools at Apple, but if you know your way around developer.apple.com you can often find some interesting tidbits. Well worth signing up for (https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action?name=for%20Xcode%20-# Download "Hardware IO Tools for Xcode")

I'm not sure why caching a device would prevent re-connection -- I've got a theory that it's something to do with Migration Assistant or upgrading from 10.7 to 10.8 -- the device is recognized as cached but the cached info is out of date or has metadata applicable only either to the older computer or 10.7.

My other theory is that perhaps when the device lost connection that it did not get "put away" correctly. I also noted that prior to my removing from the cache, that the Bluetooth Explorer was unable to pull down the device's SDP record (error 0x4). The SDP record are how Bluetooth devices tell the host computer what capabilities they support, and I think the OS caches these.

Joe K.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I was away from my computer for 10 days and came back to a dead wireless trackpad, magic mouse and magic keyboard. I was able to charge the mouse and the keyboard but I have the older battery type trackpad. I've been troubleshooting for an hour when I found your post. No idea why but the trick seemed to be taking off the end of the trackpad. YAHOO! I'm using an iMac running system 10.12.6 FYI.

There probably is some solution that involves some terminal-magic, but since I only know a few Terminal commands, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a Terminal-wizard to reply to this post. You could also try contacting Apple and see what they have to say.

Any other solutions here? I'm having the exact same problem. My trackpad is connected to my iMac. Went to the Apple store and tested the Trackpad and it worked fine. Bluetooth keyboard works fine.

Check to make sure your trackpad is not connected to another Mac in the area of your current Mac you're having the issue with.

In my experience the trackpad will not connect to a new device if it's currently connected to another device.

I had this same problem on a recurring basis. Using Apple Care, one of the phone geniuses told me to do the following.

SMC reset

unplug power cord for 15 sec

Over a year later, I just tried this by basically power cycling but unplugging the cord in the middle. And the track pad came back.

Hope this works!

Thanks for the tip! I don't develop anything, but was easily able to signup, download the Dev Tools, select "Show Device Cache" under Utilities and delete the trackpad. Then I set up the trackpad as a new device, and voilá - I have my trackpad back!! It took me 2 difficult days of dealing with a standard mouse and attempting easier solutions before I finally decided to try this out. This process saved me before classes start - I don't think I could handle the stress of a new semester without my trackpad.

& Jeff DeMello

PLEASE let people know that the "Bluetooth Explorer" App from the App Store is a scam!!

It ***** enough that my trackpad stopped working; (and yes, I've tried all the tips/tricks from this thread) now I'm angry & upset on top of the overall frustration.😟

So, I just spent 2.5 hrs, and $3.99 for these reminders::

• "Apple Support Services" is a myth in itself,
• context means EVERYTHING (like the difference between a "Bluetooth Explorer" App from the App Store, and Developer Tools from Apple's widely unknown "Apple Developer" site --- *which grants FREE access to everyone who wants it* (https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action?name=for%20Xcode%20-) THANKS joeman42 !!! /message/19139995#19139995
• and last, don't buy apps that have repeatedly been rated "1 star", meaning every single reviewer selected "hate it", because the first 54 people hated it, and you probably will too. (...no matter how Mac-savvy you think you are, it probably won't work for you, either. 😊)

Sincerely,

One blockhead, looking to save fellow blockheads $3.99. 😉

Mine too has started disconnecting and reconnecting every 2 seconds after I replace the batteries.

I tried several different sets of rechargable batteries and found that, for me, it was in the batteries.

I have used some ultra pro for the last year, rotating and recharging them. This time, trackpad would not stay connected. The engergizer recharge I stuck in is working fine and it even shows the same battery level as the Ultra Pro.

Before I verified the battery solution, I did try Bluetooth Explorer and did what Joe K. advised. It was a simple to download since I had registered as a developer years ago. BE started up and I found the Device Cache and deleted my device, then use system preferences>Bluetooth to pair it up again.

I will update if I start having trouble again.