My trackpad works but it won't click, and the right clicker doesn't work either

For some reason I was on my Mac one day and I noticed how the trackpad doesnt click things for me anymore. I can only move the mouse where I want it to go, but it won't actually click what I need. Also my Right clicker or whatever you call it, won't copy and paste things for me either anymore. : |

Sorry for using poor computer vocabulary, i barely know a thing about computers.


If anyone can help me with this problem it would be veryyy appreciated!

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Dec 30, 2012 5:00 PM

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Posted on Dec 30, 2012 6:10 PM

If you mean the physical "click" sensation has disappeared, it might be your battery reaching the end of its life. What can sometimes happen is that the battery, which is below the trackpad, begins to swell up as it wears out. This can put pressure on the trackpad from behind, the typical symptom of which is the "click" gets shallower and shallower and then stops working. (I believe the trackpad "click" can be adjusted, too, so it could simply be the case that it's out of adjustment.)


I've personally seen this on two machines, a polycarbonate Macbook and a pre-unibody aluminium Macbook Pro, both with (fortunately) removable batteries. It also happens to batteries from other manufacturers - it's not an Apple-specific problem, nor especially unexpected, just a characteristic of lithium polymer batteries that they swell up when they begin to fail.


I've not personally seen this on a MacBook Air or any unibody Macbook Pro, and there might be something special the newer machines' batteries which prevents this happening, given that the batteries are designed not to be removed or replaced by the user. I wouldn't bet on it, though. You might want to do some web searches to see if anyone else appears to be having problems with expanding batteries in the same model.


If you suspect that this is the issue (and I would certainly suspect it if the physical "click" has gone from the trackpad), then I cannot in conscience recommend that you try to replace the battery yourself - Apple don't consider the battery to be user-replaceable part, and lithium polymer batteries can be (very) dangerous if mishandled or incorrectly installed. However, if it is expanding, you need to have it removed ASAP or it will distort and damage the machine, possibly irreparably.


If in doubt, have an apple centre check over your machine at the earliest opportunity. They'll be able to tell you if the trackpad needs adjusting or the battery needs replacing. Battery replacement is likely to be fairly expensive unless it's an unexpected early failure replaceable under warranty. (I've found Apple to be good about replacing parts which have failed unexpectedly.)


Most manufacturers warranties explicitly exclude batteries, considering them essentially a consumable. I'm not sure what Apple's position is for the ones which are designed not to be removed, though, they can hardly tell you simply to buy a new battery. I would personally expect them to replace it within the warranty period, and for a reasonable fee outside of the warranty period, but I don't know what their policy is.


A third party repairer should be able to replace a battery if no other damage has been done.

38 replies

Dec 13, 2013 12:51 AM in response to Crl Williams

In my case, I guess it's the battery is swelling up.

I have a MacBook Air, using the trackpad I can still 'tap to click' to select something on the screen, but a real physical click is not possible anymore. You need this for example to drag and drop something, to move a map in Google Maps etc etc.

No external mouse in the neighbourhood here.


If I push the touchpad very hard, I can still 'feel' a small physical click (nothing happens though), however I checked on a newer MBA, there the physical click feeling was still clearly there.


I guess I'll have to replace the battery (myself). It's almost 3 years old...

Aug 28, 2014 8:26 AM in response to Chai_Sabz

My MacBook Pro (2010) just started doing this a couple of days ago. It works on the forum (weirdly) but when I go to any site with a button to click (i.e. Amazon, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc) it won't click - I get the little "spinney" coloured ball that spins and spins and spins, but doesn't do anything. I don't think I can remove the battery without unscrewing the whole bottom, which I don't want to do, and I don't have an external mouse. Any suggestions? Thanks for the responses.

Jan 24, 2016 10:13 AM in response to Chai_Sabz

My Mac Air started to exhibit this behavior after a few months. I would come back from a meeting plug my notebook in and mouse and trackpad click was dead. I could move them all over but no click. Close lid for 45 seconds - reopen - fixed. But ... What a bore doing that 4 times a day.


Genius bar guy notes he sees this problem once a year and the reliable fix he uses is two step.


1 - Ensure your power cord is using the long extension cord they supply versus being plugged in from the square adapter plug option.

2 - If that fails have your power adapter checked out.


He notes there is a problem with charging that causes this intermittently.


#1 fixed my issue.

Feb 29, 2016 5:28 PM in response to Chai_Sabz

THANK YOU! I had even attached a corded mouse and reset the PRAM to no avail. I was about to have my daughter shut it down and take it to Apple tomorrow. I luckily found your post and then found my wire mouse, on and under my daughter...she was sitting on my mouse. I turned if off and problem solved. I am still not sure why connecting a wired Apple mouse would not override the apple wireless, but it work! Thank you again and thank you for saving me from having to make an appointment at the Apple Store only to find that the issue was not able to be duplicated. My daughter would not be sitting in the mouse at the Apple Store!

Mar 27, 2016 4:27 PM in response to Chai_Sabz

I started having this problem with my new MacBook Pro a couple hours ago. I tried restarting it, plugging in a mouse, and messing with trackpad options but nothing was helping. There was no wireless mouse nearby.


I shut it down for a few hours and just rebooted it back up and now it's working again! Maybe this happened because I kept it plugged in well after it was fully charged, but I'm not too sure. Happy it's fixed now, though! 🙂

Jun 1, 2016 6:59 AM in response to Chai_Sabz

2016 June 1


I am now on the 2nd 'magic' schlockpad that has failed after about 12 to 18 months of use (conveniently exactly after the warranty lapses).


Same problem both times. The trackpad works in every respect except that it won't mouseup. That is, I can click down, or mousedown, but the trackpad never releases. So if I was dragging something in the desktop window, I can never release the thing being dragged.


Second time in just over 2 years this has happened with the schlockpad. What happened to Apple build standards?

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My trackpad works but it won't click, and the right clicker doesn't work either

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