Track Pad feels stuck and won't click.

After only having my computer for about a year, maybe a little less, my trackpad stopped physically moving. It would still function but wouldn't make the clicking sound or have the normal movement. After some lengthy conversations with apple support where I did, SMC resets and PRAM resets, turned it on and off, checked settings and reset preferences, (which make sense if the software isn't functioning) but this was clearly a hardware problem where something wasn't moving in its normal capacity, I finally decided to try a few things myself and fixed the problem . I thought I would write this article to help any of you in the same situation. The first thing I did was shut down the computer. Next I stood the computer on it's side (ie. the power port on the table) and lightly tapped the back behind the trackpad, the trackpad itself, and all around the trackpad. I then rotated the computer so that a different edge was resting on the table and repeated the above steps. As was my suspicion the trackpad began to move, slightly at first and then more freely as I adjusted positions. I believe the trackpad probably collected some dust, or other debris over time and the light tapping gently freed the mechanism. Since then I have not had any issues. Hopefully this helps!

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014), iOS 9.2

Posted on Dec 16, 2015 10:10 AM

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38 replies

Jul 2, 2017 2:47 AM in response to Crouchysinger

Re. my own post above about a possibly slightly swollen old battery, oddly, next day, after I had shut down my MacBook Pro and left it closed for some time, the keypad started working again even with the old battery in it, the battery I had thought was the problem, as when I took it out the night before the keypad suddenly worked / clicked properly again. Anyway, the tip / solution in the main post here seems to work for many. Plus last night, taking the battery out worked for me, as some sort of pressure was released. And now, even with the battery in, the keypad is working again. Oh well, The Mysteries Of Macs!!

Sep 19, 2016 5:12 PM in response to SaskMacMan

Thank you so much for this post. My trackpad on my 3 month old Mac Air was working earlier today, I packed it up and moved location by car, and when I opened it up, it was totally stuck. Everything about it was working.


Turning it on it's side loosened whatever it was that was making it not click. I did it from both sides, like burping a baby.

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Track Pad feels stuck and won't click.

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