When typing, my cursor jumps to other places in the document/email/even typing this question? Any ideas?

I know this is an old thread but, for what it's worth, I have this problem too. I currently use both a late 2013 iMac and and MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015). I have noticed it in numerous applications. My loose observation is that it is more likely to happen the faster I type BUT I am by no means a fast typist, all things considered. The iMac can't blame this on a swollen battery.

- LA

I followed those exact same SMC steps two nights ago for a different problem--my MacBook Air would not boot up. The steps worked, it booted up, but the cursor still jumps around. As a young pianist, my teachers admonished me to curl my fingers, i.e. don't drag them on the keys, but I seldom curled. I think the problem is that we're holding our hands too close to the trackpad and accidentally touching it with different parts of our hands while our fingers are on the keys. While typing this reply, I'm being careful to keep my hands away from the trackpad and my cursor is keeping up with me just fine.

That said, someone told me there is a way to cure the problem by changing the sensitivity of the trackpad in preferences. I can't find it. But being conscious of touching the trackpad while typing will solve it.

This is driving me nuts. I figured out a little more about the symptoms. When I'm writing in NisusWriter Pro, a word processor, I find that I'll type from 6 to 15 lines and then mid-word the cursor jumps back to where I'd clicked to start typing. If it did that here (in this window) then what would happen is: where it says 'symptoms.' It would now say 'appesymtoms.' It's almost criminal that we can spend thousands of dollars on a new computer get a problem that is not new-- except to us-- and then find it almost impossible to solve.

This discussions leads us to doing all manner of nonsense, restarts, hitting the track pad (yes in these discussion....)

So what causes the insertion point to suddenly jump to the last time it was used? I don't know. What I do know is that none of the answers I've seen here is going to fix it.

I have had this problem for a HUGE while! I've looked it up on google and came up with 4 good solutions, all from the buddies at "MacRumors" (the mac forum).

SOLUTION #1: Resetting your display.

1. With your computer on as normal, press COMMAND, SHIFT, ESC, EJECT (the key for taking out CD's).
2. Hold those keys until your screen goes black.
3. When it goes black, release your fingers from the keys.
4. When the screen goes on again, your mouse should go back to normal (it did for me).
*This solution resets your display. IDK why it works for making your mouse go back to normal, but it does.

SOLUTION #2: Resetting your computer (it doesn't change settings or anything like that).

1. Take out your battery (if you have an older macbook).
2. Take it out, set it aside, grab the power cord.
3. Take the computer (without the battery or the power cord plugged in) and press the power button for 10 seconds.
4. Then, after that, take the power cord, plug it in the computer (without the battery in), and turn on the computer.
5. As soon as the light goes on, press Command, P, R. (This resets the PRAM)
6. Hold those keys until you hear the start-up chime 3 times. Let go of the keys.
7. Turn the computer off again, stick the battery back in, and turn it on again normally.
*This solution resets something. I (and the people at MacRumors) don't know what it resets, but it does work for making your mouse go back to normal!

SOLUTION #3: Resetting your PRAM.

1. Shut down your computer like normal.
2. Restart it like normal, and as soon as the light comes on, press Command, P, R.
3. Hold these keys until you hear the start-up chime 3 times. Let go of the keys.
4. When the computer turns on, log in like normal. Wait for everything to load.
5. Once everything is loaded, shut it down and restart it again.
*This solution resets your PRAM. Don't know why it helps with your mouse behaviour, but it does!

SOLUTION #4: Booting it into Safe-Mode, then shutting down & restarting again.

1. Shut down your computer.
2. Press the power button.
3. When the grey screen appears, immediatly press SHIFT.
4. Hold it.
5. The grey screen should now have a grey bar at the bottom that is loading. Keep holding the shift key.
6. Once it's loaded, it should take you to the normal login screen, only this time it will say "safe mode". Log in like you usually do.
7. Once you're logged in and everything is loaded, shut down and restart your computer again like normal.
8. Log in again.
*This solution should help, it apparently resets something. I (and the people at MacRumors) don't know what it resets, but it does work for making your mouse go back to normal!

These solutions should help! Try every one of them (please do). If they work, or if they don't work, please reply back and tell me! Thanks!

Welcome to Apple Support Communities.

The steps above from the previous post certainly won't hurt anything, but if you have an older MacBook (2006-early 2008 black or white) with a removable battery, there is a much simpler thing to check first:

Check the battery for swelling. A swelling battery can distort the topcase and cause trackpad and keyboard malfunctions as you describe.

1. First, power off your MacBook.

2. *Unlock and remove the battery.

*Note that if the battery is VERY swollen, it may be difficult or impossible to reinstall it and lock it back in place. In that case you'll have to use the power adapter until you purchase and install a replacement battery.

3. Connect the power adapter.

4. Power the computer on.

5. Try using the computer as you typically do to see if your problem is gone.

Replacement batteries are available from Apple for $129, and many less expensive sources, such as macsales.com, ebay, and amazon. Users in these forums report a wide range of experiences with replacement batteries, so be certain you have some warranty period and return privileges.

If you have a MacBook with the removable battery you can get a new third party battery fairly cheap on eBay. Every MacBook from 2006 through Mid 2009 except the Late 2008 Aluminum Unibody and the Late 2009 and 2010 White Unibodies use the same A1185 battery.

Black Batteries http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=macbook+black+battery&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=12 &_dmpt=Laptop_Batteries&_odkw=macbook+white+battery&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0. m 270.l1313

White Batteries http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=macbook+white+battery&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=12 &_dmpt=Laptop_Batteries&_odkw=macbook+black+battery&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0. m 270.l1313

Or for $129 from The Apple Store http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA566LL/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

Removing the battery:

1. Shut down the computer. Disconnect any cords connected to the computer.
2. Turn the computer over.
3. Locate the battery latch on one side of the battery.
4. Use a coin to turn the latch a quarter-turn clockwise. The battery should pop up slightly.
5. Lift the battery out.

Installing the battery:

1. Place the right side of the battery into the battery compartment at an angle, as shown below.
2. Gently press the left side of the battery down until it sits flat.

While holding the battery down, use a coin to turn the latch a quarter-turn counter-clockwise. The battery should lock into place.

Note: Keep in mind that once the new battery is inserted, you will need to press the power button to start up the computer.

Hi kostby – Thank you Thank you Thank you!

I've had the same problem as Claire624, and when I searched the web for solutions I found tons of others having the same issues... cursors going bananas, jumping all over the place while typing.

People offer plenty theories and bogus fixes, but you're the first I've found with a solution to my problem...swollen battery syndrome. I removed the battery as you suggested, and all the keystroke grief finally went away.

All I neeed too do now is lean to type beter.

Kudos and thanks to you!

There’s one problem with running your MacBook with the battery removed. MacBooks and MacBook Pros automatically reduce the processor speed by about half when the battery is removed.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2332
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/apple-macbook-pro-battery-benchmarks,6643.html

Removing my swollen MacBook battery cured the crazed cursor action, so I was going to go no-battery for now. Then I read your post that processor speeds take a big hit... I believe a new battery is in my future too.

Thanks for your insights and supporting links.

Apple Support Communities Work.

Thank you so much for the suggestion to remove the swollen battery (which I didn't even know I had!) Not only did it solve the cursed cursor skipping issue but probably saved my life or me from serious injury at least. Bless you.

I've had the same exact problem several times. Here's what worked for me:

Reset SMC as below completely solved the issue I was having with jumping cursor - in first case frequently when I hit the “y” key; I reset the SMC; and the problem went away for about 6 months;... then gradually the problem came back less specifically; the cursor would jump while typing more erratically, but again after resetting the SMC as below it completely goes away.

How to reset the SMC

See the appropriate section below for your Mac notebook or desktop computer.

On Mac notebooks with non-removable battery

Mac notebook computers that have a battery you should not remove include: MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and later, all models of MacBook Air, MacBook (Late 2009), and MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015).

To reset the SMC:

• Shut down the computer.

• Plug in the MagSafe or USB-C power adapter to a power source and to your computer.

• On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.

• Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.

• Press the power button to turn on the computer.

On MagSafe power adapters, the LED might change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

I had the same problem on my 5 month old 15" MacBook Pro with El Capatan. My solutioon was to reinstall El Capitan.

HI Claire624

I was also having this problem, on my ipad.

Try this...I went to settings>general>keyboard then I turned off predictive and shortcuts.

my iphone 6 is doing exact same thing! any ideas? thanks!!!