Jumpy erratic cursor/arrow - Moves & Selects without touching

Forget about getting Apple to help on this matter. I too had the same issue on my Macbook Pro. After seeking online help I discovered that many people had this problem. I followed the advice of one poster who suggested pressing down on the corner of the trackpad to release it in case it had become stuck in place. My trackpad shattered when I did that. No problem 'cause I've got AppleCare right? Wrong. I called the help line and when I explained what happened the rep told me to bring the unit in for repair I explained the problem to the local Genius and advised him that the computer overheated so badly that I didn't normally use the trackpad mouse because it was too hot to the touch. They took the unit but could not reproduce the problem. That's probably because I had shut the computer down and it took me several days to get over to the Apple store by which time the computer was not overheating. They ran diagnostics and next day called me to say that the problem I described was not in their database but that they would replaced the trackpad for $90 because physical damage is not covered by AppleCare warranty. I nearly exploded and explained to them that this problem is well documented on the Apple Support Community site. The computer had physical damage because it overheated and when the trackpad was pressed, it shattered. I elected to decline their offer to pay $90. Same thing happened a few years ago when my MacBook case warped near the DVD player, again, due to overheating (I live in Mexico - it's very hot here in summer). Thank goodness someone had a brain at that store and made sure the repair was done under warranty.

Beware of pressing too hard on the trackpad. I was having the same problem and like many of you, pressed on the corner of my trackpad to try and solve it. The trackpad shattered and even though I have AppleCare, Apple refused to repair it under warranty, stating that this issue is not in their database (!!!) and that physical damage is not covered by AppleCare. I realized that the problem occured because of overheating - my trackpad was so hot to the touch that I always used an external mouse - so now I shut the computer down every night instead of allowing it to build up heat and can use it with the shattered trackpad - problem solved!

Last time I wrote (the 29th of September) my track pad was still behaving in that mysterious “jumping every were but not to the spot I want it to” - way. In my case, I believed after reading all posts here, it could have had something to do with the track pad getting wet. I didn´t actually try the rice-solution instead I kept to the USB-mouse. For more than two weeks I almost didn’t touch the track pad - and I sure kept it away from wet wipes and stuff like that. I it in a fairly dry and warm place - as I live in Sweden it means inside and away from open windows.

So, a few days ago, when I brought the computer to my workplace and, due to the stress of the situation, I forgot to plug the usb-mouse in and started to use the track pad instead. It took a while until I realized that it worked...

...and still does. Haven’t used the usb-mouse since then!

Don't know if this is to any help for you guys out there, but anyway this is my story of How I got rid of the anarchistic way of behaving mouse-trackpad. Hopfully t lasts - if not, I'll let you know! 😍

Had same problem. Tried PRAM reset. No avail. As a longshot I just downloaded the supplementary update for 10.8.5 and, my track pad is working fine again! Not sure if it will last but all is well at the moment. Can anyone else confirm this has worked for them as it will help a lot of people out...😎

I still have the problem with the jumpy cursor. To summarize, my MacBook Pro is only a few weeks old and the problem has existed since I first opened it; I haven't had any moisture near it to explain the problem; my software is up to date; some suggested pressing the corners of the track pad (I did this gently but I'm not going to overdo this; some wrote that the plate in the trackpad cracked and in some cases the replacement cost them a lot);

I will call the Apple service line but haven't had the time to set aside for this. And if necessary I will take the computer in to the Apple store for help.

I am using the computer which works well most of the time, but it can cause significant problems when the cursor jumps while I'm diverting my attention to press the pad to click the link i want, only to find that something else has been opened by mistake.

kevinrt wrote:

I had the same sort of issues as others are describing here. Had to use a trackball instead of the trackpad.

With nothing to lose I tried the moisture fix (covered the trackpad with dry (uncooked) rice and left it for a day). When I switched it back on the trackpad was back to behaving normally.

It's still early days yet, only an hour since I switched back on but fingers crossed.

This fix last 4 days (trackpad worked faultlessly) now the same problem is back again.

OK So I've managed to have luck with what I thought was a busted trackpad, and cost be about 5p.

I tried most of suggestions on here with no luck.

First download BetterTouchTool, its free. Its designed to add more functionality/gestures to the trackpad. It has a very handy feature - live view. This shows what the trackpad is sensing at any time. You can use it to help diagnose the problem.

For me, I had a constant iterference in a horizontal line about halfway up my trackpad. It would make the computer think it was constantly being pressed, causing all kinds of annoying madness.

I voided my warranty a long time ago (putting in a 2nd hard drive in place of the cd drive) so had no problem opening it up and having a tinker.

If you do open it up, be warned it may void your warranty, so if possible just get apple to have a look first.

These are my steps:

1. turn over and take out all the screws on the bottom.
2. Unscrew/ unplug and remove the battery.
3. Unsrew the 4 screws holding the trackpad in place and 'pop' it outside of the case (so when the laptop is upright it is out of the case.
4. Take this opportunity to thouroughly clean everything, as its much easier when its apart.

Now what I noticed was, after turning it back on after plugging it into the mains, it was working. I put BetterTouchTool into live mode and saw nothing.

In this state I started to play around with the trackpad to see what was going on. What I found was that by touching the dotted metal underside of the trackpad it caused it to kind of 'short', touching any point would result in the same horizontal interference.

Then trying with a bit of trial and ever to gently place the trackpad back into place I decided it was shorting out on the part where the screws attached it to the rest of the laptop.

So

1. Get some electrical tape and just cover the two metal fixtures (that have 4 screws in a line).
2. You should still be able to screw threw the electrical tape after pricking a small hole in.

For clarification, and help of how to take it apart you can use this guide.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Late+2011+Trackpad+Repla cement/7664/2

step 12+13 show the part I am talking about.

Now this works for me and have had no problems since. I cannot say whether it will help you, but due to the fact you have to take it apart it may not be a fix for everyone. So just be careful and make sure you check to see what BetterTouchTool shows you.

I really hope this helps.

Hi all I did the process that has been described by tomekent and it worked for me. The shortening diappeared. Simple, easey and just needs few centimeters of electrical tape 🙂 Thank you a lot tomekent

Good to hear it works for you as well. My trackpad sits slightly higher, but I guess that a small price compared to the £50+ of replacing it.

I would advise that you check it every so often, as electircal tape has adhesive on it and I am not sure how well that will continue with it being sat atop a warm battery.

Now I am happy that it works, but what is really bugging me is I don't understand how it could of become an issue in the first place? 😕

Thank you it worked! Well I am praying it is permanently sorted...

I am having the same issue on a 2012 15″ MacBook Pro Retina connected to a 30″ Cinema Display. At home I use a Magic Mouse but in work I use a Logitech mouse with it’s own receiver. It is only happening on the Cinema Display not on the built-in screen. I know this because when I move a window where it is happening from the Cinema Display to the MBP screen the behaviour is gone, move the window back and it is there again.

System is 10.8.5

After some further testing I found that if I closed all windows in Safari that were displaying PDF documents then the problem went away.I checked in Activity Monitor and the "AdobePDFViewerNPAPI" process was pretty active. So I think the it is causing the problem.

I have had this problem twice! Once several months ago, and it seemed to self correct. It happened again roughly 3 days ago. As a busy student with scarce time to spare, you can imagine my dismay at the possibility of having to go to the computer labs anytime computer access was required.

I can't afford (and refuse) to pay for an issue that I feel wasn't caused by my use of the MBP.

This worked for me:

1. System Preferences ---> Accesibility ---> Mouse & Trackpad

2. Click to disable when an external mouse is present

3. Plug in a USB mouse (wired or wireless)

4. Tadaa!

I got my Macbook in a bundle that included a mouse, so this was free for me. I'd recommend trying this (A mouse is as cheap as $5) before shelling out the money for "repairs". While I much prefer to use the trackpad, I can sacrifice it for the amount I saved.

I had the same problem and Most of them keep saying that the battery is swollen. And that may be the case. What happens is that the trackpad deposits dirt, oils from our hand, dust in around the edges, which interfers with this amazing yet delicate trackpad. what i did was:

Took the bottom panel off. Took the battery off. Took the Trackpad off. Gently cleaned the edges of the track with rubbing alchohol . Then cleaned the the edges of the emply square where trackpad fits. SInce I had the battery out I cleaned that too. once I put everything together everything came back to normal.

Hope this will help.

Same problem happened here since yesterday. A new macpro bought in end July. What to do? Apply hotline wants to charge $349 before answering questions.....

Hi the19trier!

I had exactly same problem - it was driving me crazy! This what helped me, advice is from Bensteready.

Attached mouse to your computer then go to:

1. Applications

2. Utilities

3. Disk Utility

Select the hard drive and select ' First Aid' (top left highlighted in blue) then ' Verify Disk Permissions ' (bottom left) and once it is finished hit ' Repair Disk Permissions'.

Hope this helps! It worked for me -:)

Good luck!