Unresponsive trackpad and keyboard

I have had the unresponsive keyboard and trackpad issue since October 2016 on am Early 2015 MacBook Pro. Here's the fix .. turn the laptop over and press firmly on the area below the trackpad ... this, since the cable gets unseated from the expanding battery. The cable runs across the battery. If out of warranty, open up the back and reseat the cable yourself .. otherwise, you'll pay a small fortune for such a small repair ..

I just began having this problem last month and it's exactly the same as the others in this thread!

Originally, PRAM resets fixed the problem. I had to do them at every start-up.

Then, those stopped working entirely. The keyboard and trackpad would not work at all, except for maybe one time a week when for some reason they came on.

Now, I think they are totally gone... ON MAC OS. Today I booted Ubuntu from a USB stick as you (tdmurphy4) have done, and the keyboard and trackpad work perfectly well!

I have no idea what this problem is. Mine too is only a few months out of warranty. It doesn't make any sense. Initially I thought it was a loose ribbon cable which was getting worse and worse. I have factory reset my Mac a few times too, to no avail. Yet everything is hunky-dory on Linux. What are we supposed to do?! I don't want to fork out over the odds for a top case repair, only for this strange problem to come back again.

I have read many bad reviews about Aliexpress ... I already ordered mine from Amazon.com. Keeping my fingers crossed that my MacBook is restored to normal after I install it. Glad yours is working now.

When there is an across-the-board defective part in any industry, it's a recall issue, not a warranty issue. I believe Apple has an ethical responsibility and business imperative to recall all faulty trackpad cables. There are too many documented cases of lemon cables failing within a 2-year period of purchase. Given the premium price of MacBooks, quality is expected... not frustration and failing components. And, if future models are handled in the same manner, at least get rid of the pentalobe screws so that we can replace the cables ourselves. I hope Apple reconsiders how they handle lemon components in the future. We are all Apple fanboys and love our laptops... but this has put a sour taste in my mouth for sure.

It takes some time for the Mac to go-to sleep. Allow it to take 5-10 seconds before opening the lid again. I believe this is the play-safe way of using your Mac. One more question: Did you update your Mac recently or did you install some new software.

I'd be more than happy to help with the issue.

Best regards,

Businesschild

The only permanent fix is replacing the trackpad cable. Until then, keep rubbing the underside of the trackpad gently to spark the cable into action. This is not a user-induced nor software issue; it's hardware.

I'm so surprised no one has started a class action suit over this issue. My MacBook Pro was less than 2 years old when the keyboard and trackpad started to fail. Now completely not working. I can't afford $500 to fix it! Come on Apple this is unacceptable!

Seeing that this was roughly 3 weeks ago.. Any update on this? Have you tried doing a hardware diagnostic test by holding "D" during boot?

I wasn't having this issue up until the last week and around the time I finally updated to 10.10.5. The difference for me is that I have an early 2015 13" rMBP. But all of your symptoms are very similar to mine.

It was first only a problem when waking up from a long sleep. The problem used to be fixed right away once I restarted the computer. Eventually, restarting/shutting down was no longer a fix. It seemed to have slowly creeped its way to the pre-loader/drive selection screen (I have bootcamp on my system) and sometimes I can't even access the drive selection screen. And if I do, I can't even move the cursor or use the keyboard. This issue is also present in Windows 10 via bootcamp. So I think this has everything to do with the firmware.

Anyways, I can't figure out the logic behind this issue and its pretty frustrating. I hope they come out with a fix soon. I'd hate to take it to the apple store because I am still not convinced it's a hardware issue. My hw diagnostic test resulted in zero errors.

Not exaggerating, but it took more than 10 pram and smc resets until I was able to get my trackpad and keyboard to work again.

Here's some of my system details:

Model Identifier: MacBookPro12,1

Boot ROM Version: MBP121.0167.B07

SMC Version (system): 2.28f7

After spending numerous hours on researching this. I am starting to believe that this is indeed a hardware issue. I've seen many posts about people needing to get their top case replaced...

For those of you that don't know this, a top case is the assembly that includes the battery, keyboard, trackpad, and power button (for those that have it). It is all one unit and apple techs replace the unit as a whole instead of the individual parts. It is also a common repair.

This problem is so sporadic for me that I have to rule out a software/firmware issue.

Hi,

Unfortunately I had to also take my Macbook in for service. I basically told the technician that I might have an issue with the top case due to some intermittent trackpad and keyboard issues. A few days later, they went ahead and replaced the top case. Since Apple would prefer to replace parts instead of repair it, I couldn't get any real answers. except for "The top case is a really complex assembly". It's really only 3 parts meshed into 1 unit. I guess gluing the crap out of a battery and riveting the keyboard down is considered complex.

Anyways, I'm sorry to hear that you were out of warranty. Considering my Macbook was only 60 days old... this was unacceptable. This is also my first Macbook (coming from over a decade using Thinkpad products.) I had really high expectations making the switch. And while I still have faith, I hope issues like these do not arise again.

Hi

Early April I received my Macbook Pro 13" Retina (2015-model with force touch) and used it without any problems. Almost exactly 3 months later, on July 13, I was suddenly experiencing a frozen trackpad and keyboard when opening the cover after the MBP has been in sleep mode for a couple of hours. The power button worked, so I forced my MBP to reboot. Keyboard and trackpad worked afterwards. However, after closing the lid and reopening it a couple of minutes later the problem occurred again. The only way I could type in my password and use the MBP was by attaching a USB mouse and a bluetooth keyboard.

On July 17, I went to my local Apple dealer and their technician reset SMC and PRAM. This helped for a while until the problem returned on August 6 - only to be more frequent and more serious than before. So I called the Apple support. They made some hardware tests that all showed no error. They started the MBP in recovery mode and the problem remained. They said, this indicates a hardware problem and sent me to my local Apple dealer to fix the problem. On August 11, the dealer's technician then changed the top case. Everything was fine until this week. On November 9, almost exactly 3 months after replacing the top case, the same problem was back. Today, after returning from a business trip, I called Apple to report the problem. They again sent me to the local dealer's technician...

This is my first MBP and - as long as it works - I really like it. But, as I need this computer for my job, I really hope Apple sorts out this issue. Sad but true, since August, I never leave home without USB mouse and keyboard in my bag.

I'm experiencing the same as kitnftud.

After replacing top case, 5 month the problem came back.

MACBOOK PRO (RETINA, 13-INCH,EARLY 2015)

I have the same problem for 2 weeks now and the only way to make it work is to clear the NVRAM every time I turn it on. I'm so frustrated because my MBP is just a few weeks out of warranty, so I hope Apple gives us some firmware or something to fix it.. do you have any more information?

MACBOOK PRO (RETINA, 13-INCH,EARLY 2015)

I am currently experiencing the same issue on my Macbook Pro 13'' (Early 2015), a few days after the warranty expired. This is my work computer and I wasn't even touching it when it happened; I had an external Apple keyboard and mouse connected.

The problem got fixed through a single boot after I opened the case, but upon restarting it went off again. It's hard to assume a hardware issue since problem only reappears during boot and never while the computer is working. I can also do SMC reset, wake it up when I touch the keys (even though the keyboard and trackpad are still not recognized by the OS), and also feel the trackpad's tactile feedback. The problem also persists through recovery mode and the only way to do anything is through a usb keyboard and mouse. Interesting that I've been reading some of the comments regarding the issue and many of us are just a few days out of warranty.

It's working again this morning but I'm sure the trackpad and keyboard will die again when I restart it, and from what others have said, I can only expect the problem to worsen. I can never trust my computer the same way again...