Trackpad on mac book is going crazy!

I had this problem twice now....very frustrating but ended up having to take it in to be looked at. Technician says there was a build up of static on my track pad and that if you plug in the power adapter and have the user grouned (feet on a hard surface floor) then the user will absorb the extra static and solve the problem.

Mine is home and working great now so thought I would share that solution at least as something for people to try

Apple didn't know that. They thought there was something wrong with the hardware

I've been struggling with this problem on and off for over a year. I originally thought it was a swollen battery but upon inspection that was not the case. Resetting PRAM and SMC worked temporarily. I tried blakeprendergrast suggestion and it worked perfectly. In the past, I have gotten the trackpad wet accidently, and this certainly could have made the issue worse. After a thourough cleaning, the trackpad works better than it has in years!. Very responsive, very sensitive, very accurate. Thanks for the help! Oh, and I ordered a replacement bottom cover while I was at it! Thanks for the tip!

I found (accidentaly) another action that makes my tracpad act crazy...it's when I have it plugged in to the charger whilst using it.

It doesn't happen all the time but when it does and I unplug it, the tracpad goes back to normal immediately.

Weird huh?

I contacted Apple and had them send me a bottom cover to replace my deformed one. The new one arrived the very next day and it included a screwdriver. My Macbook looks and feels as it did when it was new!

I know this thread is pretty old but I just wanted to say thank you so much! The same thing happened to me today, just a few drops of liquid that found their way into the cracks around the trackpad, and the receipt thing pretty much fixed everything.

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thank the Lord! My mouse cursor was moving erratically, seemed to be opening tabs, maybe doing the equivalent of holding shift and dragging, minimized windows, etc. Pretty much the same problems I see on other's posts.

I tried dissonnecting WI-FI, then shutting off Bluetooth, Disconnected and Turned off my Bluetooth Mouse, disconnected my wireless keyboard nub from the USB port, tried shutting off my Macbook and restrarting. I even shut the lid of my Macbook and worked off my second monitor in clamshell mode. NOTHING WORKED.

I thought I was hacked or had some type of Malware for sure, but it was a simple fix that I found on another help board.

I clean my Mac, keyboard and mouse regularly and had just got done wiping everything with a cloth with a mixture of warm water and rubbing alcohol (recommended)

I saw on another board that someone fixed their problem by moving their trackpad (gently) to the right, since the trackpad seemed to be too snug on the left side of the macbook body edge it sits in.

I moved the trackpad over and it took care of my problem immediately.

It was comforting to learn that Malware on a Mac is in fact still rare and that it is unlikely that someone would hack into your computer to 'remote control' your machine and be obvious about it.

No ghost in the machine. Trackpad is incredibly sensiitive I've learned.

Share the knowledge!

Blessings!

We just had our MacBook Pro trackpad go crazy on us yesterday. I like Linc's information. I reset the PRAM. No difference. I visually inspected the case. Guess what? Bottom case had a dent right over the battery. I removed the case, straigtened the dent until just about undetectable, then very carefully bent the case outward a little more than it already was, to hopefully take any possible pressure off the battery. I then took a very small flatblade screwdriver and ever so slightly loosened the battery screws. NOT loose but NOT overly tight. Note that these are weird screws on the non-removeable batteries. They call them non-removeable. They are removeable, but it has weird screws that take a special driver. Replaced the cover. Did the SMC reset, which is really easy to do. So far after a day of use, trackpad is working fine. By the way, I have been monitoring battery temp. Ours never seems to get very warm. It is usually quite cool to the touch. The area directly below the CD drive gets quite warm. By the way, the CD drive no longer works. Maybe that is why it is getting hot right there.

NOTE: I have NOT cleaned the trackpad, or the keyboard either, for quite a while. Will do that and make sure that will not be an issue, but so far, so good!

Slightly off topic, but since I am here, both CD drives have died, on my iMac and MacBook Pro both. I refuse to replace them. I have given up on slotloaders. The best you can get is the drawer type. I bought the LG external drive for Mac. It has worked great so far. I had one bad, very used DVD get stuck. Just hit the emergency eject and it ejected just fine. A slotload, you are SOL. There is no emergency eject. You have to forcibly remove the bad CD/DVD and it usually results in a damaged drive mechanism. Slotloads are by far the worst design for CD/DVD drives, unless they build in an emergency eject button, which most do not. Thank you all for your feedback! I think it helped me get mine working again! Keep up the good work!

Hi Blublud02,

I have this problem since now a month...

I would like to try what you did!

May you be more precise on the way to "moving their trackpad (gently) to the right"?

It could help me a lot.

Thanks a lot

Think of the trackpad as one large button.

The MacBook trackpad 'gives' when you press on it.

That's how you are able to click down on it.

It's apparently possible that the slate button that is the trackpad shifts and moves and may get stuck, positioned to closely to edge of the MacBook casing it's sitting in.

What's happening is that (possibly after cleaning or pressing Down too forcefully or just over time with regular use) the trackpad has come to rest in a way where one side of the trackpad is very close to the MacBook body.

Apparently causing the trackpad to create erratic input commands without you touching it at all.

If you look closely at the very edges of the trackpad you may notice that there is more "room" between the trackpad and the part of the MacBook surrounding the trackpad on the right or left side.

Unplug the MacBook and take any and every precaution to not get electrocuted and use some thin hard plastic to carefully move the trackpad away from the side it's to close to and toward the center.

You could also try to push down firmly on the track pad with all your finger tips and try to slide the trackpad over with just your hands instead.

I even saw some say that if you press down on all four corners of the trackpad firmly might be enough to align it back in place.

Does that make sense?

I can't explain how the trackpad being out of position would cause the erratic inputs but as I've said this worked for me. If the problem comes back I'll let everyone know and stop selling this snakewater solution.

and 'moves' around slightly within

(especially the lower left and right corners)

Think of the trackpad as one large button. It's like one big button sitting inside the MacBook surrounded by the actuall MacBook body.

If your trackpad has shifted in the way you describe, you have a hardware problem. If you try to fix it yourself, you risk damaging it further and voiding your warranty (if your machine still has one). This is something that should only be fixed by Apple, or by an Apple-authorized repair shop. (Preferably Apple.)

I agree it's a problem, but you can possibly fix it in 5 seconds by doing what I described.

You don't open the machine. It's not rocket science.

Moving the trackpad over a bit, I'm talking a cm, should not void your warranty.

If the problem is not simply resolved.

Then seek professional help.

Try the quick fix before paying anyone a dime.

I have 2 mac books 2011

have gone through all the fixes and the only one that works for both of mine is replace trackpad !

its a common fault and apple know it !

if your under warranty they will change it no questions if your out you will have to pay for a new one!

its the only thing that lets the mac book down!

I'm having the same issue with my trackpad. The cursor is jumping up and down the screen (and moving vertically), opening the apps one after the other. It is completely beyond my control. I tried all the options that you suggested, but nothing worked. I even tried cleaning the corner of the trackpad with a piece of paper.

Fortunately, my machine is still under Applecare protection plan. I'm afarid to open the case as the protection might be voided because of that. I've logged a case with them. Let me see if it helps.

I also vote for the potential cause of the mousepad going wild that some moisture collects around the edges. I often show a habit of cleaning my Macbook Pro using Window Cleaner spray that together with a micro fiber cloth returns the finish to a satisfying as-new splendor. But these actions have more than once coincided with incidents of a mousepad with a life of its own. What speaks against this in my case is that a reboot often reinstalls stability. I have seen cases where the phenomena starts after doing a two finger gesture on the keyboard such as sliding a view to the next one.

I had the crazy track-pad issue on our 13" Macbook Pro (mid 2012).

I could see a noticeable bulge in the battery and pushing down on all 4 corners of the track pad caused the problem to go away for a few minutes. This proved that the issue was hardware related.

I replaced the battery. But that didn't fix anything.

I then removed the track-pad and gave it a good cleaning. Lots of hard gunk had built up in the little gap between the track-pad and the metal case. I had to use a knife blade to scrape the gunk out.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1342+Trackpad+Replacement/63 38

The cleaning seems to have fixed it good as new! I only wish I would have tried the cleaning BEFORE I bought a new battery.

Mine's a 2011 iMac - I had the bluetooth trackpad constantly acting like I was holding it in 'click & drag'. Checked everything including the obvious. It started to behave normally when I moved a USB hub with a couple of (older) HD's away from the Mac. Only to about 18" away, but that seems enough.

Cheers!