Macbook Pro cursor jumping around

I have had the same problem, literally for years. Drove me nuts. Took it to the Genius bar more than once but, when I would try to demonstrate the problem, it would not fail in the store. The Geniuses said I was getting Bluetooth interference from my neighbors. Took the machine back home and, sure enough, it started failing again. Finally, at the urging of my wife - who was weary of listening to me cursing all the time - I bought a USB keyboard (Das) for $150, the kind that makes each keystroke sound like old-fashioned IBM electric typewriters. Plugged it in, with an Apple Bluetooth track pad. Voila! Problem vanished.

Moral of this story: The Mac Pro built-in keyboard is crap if you are a fast typist. It doesn't matter how you adjust the keystrokes and pressure, it is total crap. I am angry with Apple about this because the jumping cursor has caused me many hours of frustration. (I am a writer, an author). Anyway, now you know. Go buy a USB keyboard. I have the Das, but maybe others work as well. Bottom line is that the Apple built-in keyboard on the MacBook Pro is glitchy.

I had this problem on and off for ages and finally discovered it was the power supply causing it - I have a few different power supplies - the original which came with the Mac (Macbook Pro 17inch 2009) and others which i have bought online.

The original PSU never gives me problems but some of the others do - i have only just discovered this so havent worked out which of the other ones do give problems yet (its not all of them which do) - might relate to temperature of the unit though!.

I have different PSU because i take my mac around to work in different places so find it is much easier if i have a power supply already set up where i am going.

Hope this helps - a good way to test is to remove the power supply and let it run on battery and see if that stops the problem.

There are several possible causes for this issue. Take each of the following steps until it's resolved.

1. Follow the instructions in this support article.

2. Open the Bluetooth preference pane in System Preferences and check for unknown or forgotten input devices. Disconnect any USB input devices that you aren't using.

3. Boot in safe mode and test, preferably without launching any third-party applications. If you don't have the problem in safe mode, but it comes back when you reboot as usual, stop here and post your results. If you can't boot in safe mode, do the same. If you booted in safe mode and there was no change, go on to the next step.

4. Reset the System Management Controller.

5. If you're using a Bluetooth trackpad, investigate potential sources of interference, including USB 3 devices.

6. A swollen battery in a MacBook Pro or Air can impinge on the trackpad from below and cause erratic behavior. If you have trouble clicking the trackpad, this is likely the reason. The battery must be replaced without delay.

7. There's a report that a (possibly defective) Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter can cause the built-in trackpad of a MacBook to behave erratically. If you're using such an adapter, disconnect it and test.

8. There's also a report of erratic cursor movements caused by an external display that was connected but not turned on.

9. If none of the above applies, or if you have another reason to think that your computer is being remotely controlled, remove it from the network by turning off Wi-Fi (or your Wi-Fi access point), disconnecting from a Bluetooth network link, and unplugging the Ethernet cable or USB modem, whichever is applicable. If the cursor movements stop at once, you should suspect an intrusion.

10. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine and/or external trackpad tested.

My MacBook Pro has had this problem off and on and I accidentally discovered a way to "cure" it. When the cursor starts getting erratic, I quickly close the cover of my MacBook and wait a little. When I open it again, the cursor has usually calmed down, at least for a minute. Sometimes I have to do this over and over for several days, and then it finally stops. This last time it happened, it stopped in much less time than it had before. It takes patience, but it works, and you don't need to call a technician.

jazzrascal:

This is excessively bad advice! What you are recommending really just amounts to ignoring the symptoms and hoping that the problem goes away. If this is being caused by a swollen battery, ignoring it could result in permanent damage to the computer. If it is actually being caused by someone accessing the computer remotely, ignoring it gives them more opportunities to do something malicious.

Please stop posting this advice everywhere!

Seeing the same issue with Early 2011 Macbook Pro 15" 2.2Ghz. I'm finding a corralation with the computer TEMPTERATURE and the trackpad skipping around. When I turn up the fans and cool the device down the trackpad returns to normal function.

Can anyone else recreate this / confirm this on their devices? Thanks.

Hey Linc:

Following your recommendations I booted safe and the cursor behaved OK. But when I rebooted in the usual way the erratic cursor returned. What do you think I should do now? I am VERY inept at computer stuff. Thanks a lot, man.

Hey Linc:

Following your recommendations I booted in safe mode and the cursor behaved OK. But when I rebooted in the usual way the erratic cursor returned. What do you think I should do now? I am VERY inept at computer stuff. Thanks a lot, man.

Another suggestion to add to the list -- check that all the keys on your keyboard are operating cleanly and not sticking. (the principle being to do the simplest thing before you escalate to power supplies, SMC and PRAM resets and goodness know what else, not to mention jazzrascal's crazy oscillating cover). Space bars and other frequently used keys sometimes get clogged and wear out.

Viz:

shut down, power off and disconnected

check that each individual key operates cleanly without sticking, or extra or unusual clicks, and returns fully to the disengaged position when released

if you find a sticky key then search for the cleaning method appropriate to your keyboard (types of key mechanisms vary)

and then, just for good measure

invert the keyboard and apply a clean brush, like a soft clothes brush, over all the keys to loosen and remove accumulated blueberry muffin.

I have had the same issue since installing OSX 10.9. I finally solved the issue by going into the Bluetooth preferences and deleting all paired Bluetooth devices, then re-pairing them. Now my two finger scrolling works again and the pointer is no longer jumping around on it's own or selecting random items. Prior to this it seemed like someone was controlling my pointer.

Seems weird, but it worked. Same sort of thing happened with my internet connection. The wifi was not even an option until I deleted all of my airport keychains. After I did that the wifi option was available again, but I had to re-enter passwords to create new keychains.

Hope that helps because I know it is frustrating.

OK... this may be weird, but true. I work as an entertainer on cruise ships. Been having trouble with the jumping cursor thing like everyone else explained. Then I sat at a table on land while we were in port. No Problems. Get back to the ship and it starts again. Wifi, bluetooth, on or off didn't matter as others have mentioned. I usually sit in my bed and work with the my laptop (macbook pro circa late 2012, Maverick 10.9) . So I got thinking, on a table, no problem (on land)... on the ship, problem. Mac is never level or not vibrating slightly from the ship when it is moving. So I have been consciously making sure my computer is level and cushioned from vibration with a pillow (allowing air flow for fan). NO Problem. Tilt my computer, even a little bit, and it starts up again after a while.

This being said, my wife did recently "clean" my computer and admitted she used some windex and it might have been a bit too much around the trackpad (ugh, I know...Windex, she has been educated since). She did the same to hers and has been having problems too with her trackpad. Also, we accidently left our computers outside one night on our patio. We live near the beach and moisture is pretty prevelant overnight outside.

My thoughts, unscientific for sure, is that moisture is somewhere under, or at the edges of the trackpad and is affecting control. Hers is getting better everyday, and we spray air around the edges of the trackpad regularly to help evaporate the offending liquid.

My 2 cents... maybe it will help someone with this mystery. Cheers

Went into System Preferences and checked Bluetooth. I saw that there was a Roku device attempting to pair (in the condo I'm renting while doing some software consulting) so I turned off Bluetooth entirely. The cursor for the trackpad as well as the USB mouse I use then immediately started working normally again.

No cursor jumping around, selecting things on its own or other weirdness. Now my Macbook Pro w/Mavericks 10.9.1 works like it did before the problem started. I think it was the Roku device near the TV continually attempting to pair with my laptop. Can't prove it, but the evidence suggests that it was a Bluetooth device problem and that was the only Bluetooth device trying to connect.

My Problem - Jumping uncontrollable cursor and also sticky left clicker on macbook pro.

Suspected Cause - Moisture under the trackpad. Not sure about the sticky clicker.

My Fix - some serious knuckle punches to the trackpad, cleaned trackpad surface and edges and left the mac under a fan overnight to try help remove any moisture. This was successful (so far!) and even the clicker is working again.

Thanks, Linc!

I used the fix you suggested, and it took care of everything in about 30 seconds - I did not have to take it any further to fix it than the "restart and test" in Safe Mode to take care of it. Works like a charm, now!🙂

I got similar issue. If I press tab or shift key, the cursor will stay calm for few seconds to few minutes, then it acts up again.

If you have tried all sort of recommendations and still have no luck, you may want to simply test your keyboard and make sure there is no key got stuck!

Here is how to test the keyboard

1) System preference -> language & text

select "Input Source"

check Keyboard & Character Viewer

2) Click language input on top right bar

in the drop down menu, select "Show Character Viewer"

What I discovered is that I got a partially stuck arrow key which caused the cursor jumping around, the arrow key turns itself on from time to time!

Fixing the bad key solved my issue.