Keyboard AND trackpad intermittently stops responding on my macbook pro.

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Keyboard AND trackpad intermittently stops responding on my macbook pro.

Hey everyone,

So basically i have this problem since day 1 i bought my mac at the apple store.

When i start up my macbook pro and want to type my password, well its 50/50 because my keyboard and my trackpad stop working.

Sometimes there is no problem, but MOST of the time well it keeps going on and off.

The only way i found to make it work, is to shake my mac a little bit. So from that i think there may be a problem inside my mac. But still, i've asked a lot of mac user around me, and they say the same. Trackpad/keyboard intermittently stops working.

Lats time took me 20min at a job interview to log in and then be able to use my trackpad.

So if anyone have a idea of what the problem could be ?

Cause i tried everything i could find on google, but nothing solved the problem...

Thanks

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Aug 30, 2016 3:38 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

jeremy_v

Community Specialist

Aug 31, 2016 12:29 PM in response to Etivey

Hello Etivey,

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

It is my understanding you are experiencing an intermittent problem with your keyboard and trackpad. I have a couple of suggestions that should help you out.

The first thing I would do is backup everything that is on the computer. Nothing I am going to suggest should cause any data loss, but it is always a good idea to have a backup. Your computer has software on it called Time Machine. It is fantastic software for backing up your computer. Information on how to use Time Machine is available here:

Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac.

Once you have a backup, then the next step would be an SMC reset.

Shut down the Mac.

Plug in the MagSafe or USB-C power adapter to a power source and to your Mac.

Using the built-in keyboard, press Shift-Control-Option on the left side of the keyboard, then press the power button at the same time.

Release all keys, then press the power button again to turn on your Mac

Test the system and see if it works as expected now.

If the problem continues, the next step is to try and isolate what is causing the problem. The first thing to do to help isolate what is causing the problem is to start the computer in what is called Safe Mode and see if the problems still occur.

Starting up in safe mode

Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.

After your Mac shuts down, wait 10 seconds, then press the power button.

Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after you hear the startup tone, but not before.

Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator.

Safe Mode

Once the computer is running in safe mode, see if you can duplicate the issue. If the issue does not appear, go ahead and try restarting normally again. If the issue is gone, it may have been caused by a cache file or directory issue that starting in safe mode fixed.

If the issue returns, you are going to want to check login items. You can find login items by clicking on the Apple Logo in the upper left corner, then click on System Preferences > Users & Groups.