My built-in keyboard and trackpad not working

I started the repair process through calling the apple support line. An apple rep took charge of the case and made an appointment for me at a genius bar. At the genius bar is when I found out there are issues with the early 2015 MacBook pro's trackpads and keyboards. the rep told me to call him back if they told me it was a hardware issue. They quoted me 475, so I called the rep back yesterday. He waved the whole cost of the repair, so I actually don't have to try replacing the cable after all. I guess he was saying Apple will hopefully address the issue soon, but as of right now there is no recall or anything official. If the problem keeps occurring I suggest being persistent like I was. I had to go to 2 different genius bar appointments and call the rep back a couple times, but in the end it worked out. I've never had a problem with apple until this issue, and I have been a customer since I got the first iPhone when I was in 8th grade. Looks like I don't have to switch from Apple lol, I was really starting to get upset if I was going to have to spend 500 bucks on a repair when I've only had the computer about a year and a half.

I'll add myself to the list of MBP users with this issue. 13" MBP late 2015/early 2016 model. Keyboard and trackpad become unresponsive after sleep or restart, until battery plug is lifted and the machine is left for a few minutes before plugging battery back in. I am unable to clear the system control or PRAM otherwise since the keyboard is unresponsive at all times including at startup (therefore no keystrokes work, only the power button responds). In addition it won't do a full shutdown properly either, it hangs with a lit keyboard and screen back-light running forever, until one kills it manually with a power-button-hold-down move. External (USB only) keyboard and mouse work fine, which is the only way to drive it at the moment. It's going to go to the mac shop next week, hopefully this can be resolved under warranty as it's so new.

I posted on that issue earlier. The problem is the trackpad/keyboard ribbon cable. I replaced it a while ago. After replacing the problem disappeared. Never had a problem since. Here is what I did:

You can get the cable for about $15 (821-00184-A Touchpad Trackpad Cable for Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13" A1502 2015). To change the cable you need to follow steps 7, then 17-20 in (https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Early+2015+Track pad+Replacement/45138). This is very simple. I am not sure why the cable brakes, but the cable is bent (seems a little to long) and combined with the heat from the battery it may lose connection over time. I am sure this was causing the problem on my MBP (retina, early 2015). Really happy to finally have it working again.

Update on the repair. I was given a customer satisfaction code, which means the issue will be fixed for free. I suggest you trying to go this route first if you have a problem with the trackpad. Doesn't hurt to try! They replaced the trackpad, keyboard, battery and whole top case all for free. Apple definitely earned my trust back. That's customer service!

Hi all, if it helps anyone else, my MBP has been fixed, with the issues as follows:

1. After some investigation, it turns out the shutdown issue was in fact an incompatibility with my (recently upgraded) Mac OSX Sierra and my (previously installed) MySQL Server which was causing the MBP to hang on shutdown. I removed MySQL and now the MBP shuts down properly.

2. The keyboard and trackpad issue was traced at my local apple shop to a faulty ribbon cable. This was replaced and it seems to be ok now (day 4 after fix - no issues to report). My MBP was two-months out of apple warranty, but fortunately we have a Consumer Guarantees Act in NZ that protects the consumer for two years, so in effect the fix was performed on warranty.

I have the same problem with a MacBook Pro 13, Retina, early 2015. First it was the trackpad alone. It would stop working every now and then. I could move the cursor but didn't had the click feeling. I would close the lid and it would work again. Until one day I couldn't use the trackpad anymore. I called Apple support and they told me to reset the SMC and the NVRAM. The problem was fixed and it didn't happen for months. Now I've been having the trackpad issue every now and then but yesterday something else happened: both the keyboard and the trackpad stopped working altogether. I had to connect an external keyboard and external mouse to try to see what was happening. My laptop was like that for almost two days until, for some reason, It started working again. I'm so frustrated with this problem and Mac is not doing anything to solve the issue. I'm convinced that MacBook Pro 13, Retina, early 2015 are faulty and should be fixed for free by Mac.

I had the same problem about 5 months ago and did a bit of research, at the time it was a problem with an expanding battery pressing up on the keyboard, I took it to Apple and they fixed it within a day. Never found out what the problem actually was. Now it has happened again, I open it up after it sitting all night and it says "connect bluetooth keyboard and mouse", what could it be? It had no chance to expand (the battery) because it wasn't on, so didn't heat up. I will take it to Apple within the next few weeks as I don't live near an Apple store and get it fixed but until then I would still like an understanding as to how when this happens so often in the community, they can get away with a faulty product, or faulty part of a product?

Same problem here. My keyboard and trackpad were unresponsive this morning. After plugin the power adapter it worked for a while. When the battery dropped around ~30% the keyboard and the trackpad were once again unresponsive as I was working with my mac. Not 100% sure if the battery is the source of the problem... If I use an external keyboard it works fine but not the built-in keyboard/trackpad.

I am using a Retina MacBook Pro Early-2015 with the latest updates from the app store.

Hi All,

Facing the same issue for a week now.

Went to the Apple Store guys and they recommended a replacement of Top Case and trackpad. Didnt even bother to see the laptop.

So went to another IT place and they troubleshooted the lap and said it seems to be SMC issue and it works for sometime and then loses connection with the Input devices. Said a service to the SMC section might fix this issue and there is a 95% chance of full recovery. But seeing other getting the issue back even after a replacement of keyboard and trackpad I am now sceptical. Right now I am typing this using the inbuilt keyboard in my Mac. If some pressure is applied to the back panel and then turn on the lap everything works (except the Caps lock light and heptic feedback from the trackpad - cant feel that click feel anymore). Any suggestions or updates from other users facing the same issue?

Good to hear that. If I apply some pressure or lift the lap holding the rear end were the trackpad is I am able to use the keyboard and trackpad. Its seems to be some problem with ribbon itself. Let me check for few more days and see where this leads.

I changed the cable but it is still not working, I tried it twice with 2 different trackpad cables. This is absolutely frustrating. Don't know what to do now. I have been using a bluetooth keyboard and mouse since last 4 months.

Do you guys have any other recommendations or suggestions?

Faith in Apple lost.

This worked for me as well! 🙂 MacBook Pro Retina (Early-2015). Ordered a new cable 821-00184-A from Amazon (17 EUR incl. shipping) and replaced it, just a few screws and no need to remove the battery. Works great now! Before this I tried SMC & PRAM resets, also reinstalled macOS without success. Replacement of the cable was the answer for intermittent problems with TrackPad+Keyboard stopped working. Even if there was no sign of use/wear on the cable, it was obviously faulty.

Since all other options seems to be exhausted I am also going for the cable replacement. Can anyone confirm if this one is the right thing to buy (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-New-2015-Year-821-00184-A-Touchpad-Trac kpad-Flex-Cable-for-Apple-MacBook-Pro-Re…)

Mine is the same model mentioned. A1502. 13" Retina Early 2015.

Facing problem with both keyboard and trackpad. Changing the ribbon fixes both keyboard and trackpad issues rite?

Let me share my experience with my Early 2015 MBP 13 A1502 256 GB SSD 8 GB RAM.( out of warranty for just 4 months older and no apple care )

Problem started with my macbook lid not closing properly and slowly realising that my internal battery has swollen and now was physically altering the shape of my macbook , pushing the keyboard upward .. like a bulge just above the trackpad lifting the keyboard slightly upwards.

To avoid explosion & leakage issues i needed to remove the battery i took it to apple service centre and was told to replace the entire Top case worth Rs 35K. ( my MBP cost me 80K ) This was absurd and ridiculous , and i ordered a battery from amazon

Every thing went fine until i replaced the battery ( using ifxit videos etc) and then realised that my internal keyboard /Trackpad was not responding in macOS .completely frozen.

I did the following after several clean installs of mac os ( the internal key/trackpad never came alive during external usb boot, showing it is not a software issue) also i was misled that a firm ware update is needed after battery replacement of the A1502.

1) SMC RESET WITH cntrl + option +shift + power , with external power connected . every thing works with SMC reset the power led turns green and then back to ember after pressing for 10 sec or more. ( make sure your battery is slightly discharged for this test to work though).

NOTHING CHANGED but how did the test work , this made me believe that the keyboard was somehow working and allowed this test to happen right??

2) PRAM reset with option+command+P+R keys ... this works too with chime happening twice perfectly .. atleast the keyboard seemed to be alive ..

3) nothing was moving ahead for a few days in terms of diagnosis but i read somewhere that the internal capacitors need to be discharged for a full SMC reset . so disconnect the internal battery and press power button for 10 secs or more , .. tried it several times and voila the trackpad started working ....

i was happy till nothing changed and never managed to get everything working.. i was still using my bluetooth key/mouse until then.

until.....i finally found the solution by chance.

one day accidently i pressed the trackpad cable in a particular position removing the trackpad cable and resetting the same..( i had taken extreme care to this one)

The trackpad cable is the culprit , apparently the design is so poor that if you just touch it you damage it somehow.

also in my case my battery had expanded so it might have damage the cable anyways without touching.

As of now i am using the old cable and my MBP is fully operational . if any issues i order the cable and replace it straight away it costs nothing probably about 5 USD on ebay

HAPPY TROUBLESHOOTING THE MBP it was fun

Thanks. Will be ordering soon.

I found in some other post that the problem might also be due to OSx. Other than users with swollen batteries. Those who have faced the issue all of a sudden like me.

One user has reported that there seems to be no issues when booted using Linux. Back to OSx and the problem appears.