Macbook Pro cursor jumping around

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.

Hey I had this issue in my macbook pro. Seems its a hardware issue I just pressed my mouse pad from all four corners and then from centre for few seconds and the problem went away. I was thinking that some one hacked my computer but when i turned off my wifi it was still happening so i just went online and saw the solution in one of the threads and it worked very well for me. The cursor stopped instantly.

Just solved this: It was mechanical, not a hardware problem. It's been jumping for days, highlighting things, etc. I held down the clicking pad and blew air around it several times and viola. I had spilled a little water on it when it started up.

Try to dry it out or un-wedge any dirty that could have gotten stuck in the corners.

To users who have problems with the cursor moving on its own, I had the same problem using os 10.10.3. I did not want to reinstall the OS and

my data. I purchased CleanMyMac3, and for the past week this problem has gone away. For my it was worth the $40.00 to purchase this program.

This problem was making almost impossible to use my Mac Book Pro. Hope that this suggestion is helpful and that it works for you.

luis5255 wrote:

I purchased CleanMyMac3, and for the past week this problem has gone away.

There is absolutely nothing that CleanMyMac could have done that would have affected this problem. What you observed was just coincidence. CleanMyMac is a scam, often installed alongside adware, and like all "cleaning" apps, has no real purpose. See:

The myth of the dirty Mac

(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com.)

In addressing this problem (which looks like it has been going on for quite some time) I thought I would post my own situation and solution (so far).

15" 2.53GHz MacBook Pro Mid-2009, 8 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive, running Yosemite 10.10.5. About 4-5 days ago, the cursor was behaving erratically: jumping around, opening Launchpad, moving files and windows. I tried resetting PRAM and SMC, all to no avail. Also did the "hard push" on the trackpad and opened the back (but did not take out the battery, as I did not have the tools to do so) to see if there was moisture inside.

Solution (thus far): start the computer in Safe Mode. While I did not test any third-party programs, I did delete a Safari Extension that was not helping me or needed anymore (iGive.com). While I don't believe the extension was the source of the problem (the erratic trackpad behavior would happen even if Safari wasn't open) I do believe there were some file and/or directory issues causing the problem. I've had the computer on now for about six hours straight, and it has not jumped around yet (fingers crossed).

Thanks to all who have posted so far, especially Linc Davis. Good luck to all those still having the issue.

Linc,

thank you for your detailed suggestions; haven't tried them yet but will soon. My question is undoubtedly naive but here goes. If you always use external power, why should you need to change your batteries? How do batteries get "swollen"? How often do you recommend changing batteries? I have a MacBook Pro mid 2009 and other than a recent jumping cursor, have had no trouble with it. My desk top is my work horse, but my laptop gets plenty of use. Candace

I just had the same problem after cleaning my trackpad with Windex on a paper towel. Luckily I live in a dry climate and it fixed itself in about 45 minutes. If you have to clean the trackpad, do it very sparingly with as little liquid as possible!

I've been having the same issue with my Macbook Pro as well-- first with the trackpad, then I purchased a magic mouse to see if it would solve the problem, but unfortunately it didn't. There seemed to be a correlation between the amount of power the mouse had and how wonky it was. At full power it is unusable, but as it loses power the cursor won't jump around as much. I tried the suggestions above, except for replacing the battery, and none of them worked. I explained the issue to my boss and he pointed out that my mouse is being used on a reflective white surface and since the magic mouse uses an optical sensor, that might be causing the jumps and increased sensitivity. So I flipped over my navy canvas notebook for a mousepad and the problem was gone immediately.

But why was it jumpy before I got the mouse? Still not sure... maybe a swollen battery?

Could be a misalignment of the trackpad. Try to push gently the trackpad to the side from the outside without opening the Mac (the trackpad must be centered by some reason get off-centered). I had the same problem after installed a new logic board and was becoming me crazy until I do this. Maybe was good luck but it works.

Just have a look at these solutions, worked for me... cheers

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1248?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

yes i tried step 3 . in safe mode it works well.. after rebooting its giving same problem..could you please solve the problem i am having for 4 months

Thanks. That is what was happening with mine. Note: aftermarket supply which costs half the price. It runs very hot too. I wish I had ponied up the dough and bought aapl now :-)

Hey, Linc, as requested I am posting that my cursor behaved normally in safe boot mode. Two other important factors to include; occasionally the computer will shut down with a kernal panic error; and the cursor jumps around without clicking anything. So logically (I assume) I erased the hard drive, reinstalled os x and uploaded my timewarp backup. However the problem continues to persist.

Any solutions? I am wondering if maybe I should erase everything but the essentials from the backup, ie. documents, games, some apps, and erase the rest. Perhaps the problem is coming from something that I backed up in the hard-drive; is there a way to identify if the cursor jumping around is a result of the faulty operating system or something else?

Thanks, Ian.