Q: Trackpad and mouse clicks do ...nothing.
MacBook Air two months old.
Symptom: pointer moves across the screen as I use the trackpad, clicking sound and feel is full, but the clicking does nothing in the system. I can't click anything on the screen, can't open or close anything. Plug in wired mouse to usb, same thing! --pointer moves, clicking sound happens, but no action on the screen (or OS environment) as a result of the clicks.
So, ...huh.
SMC reset works temporarily, but same symptoms comes back.
Some responses have been that there has been a spill, crumbs or a bent frame.
Crumbs? --Gosh, maybe. Bent frame or such?
But then WHY would an SMC reset temporarily fix the problem, as it does in my case?
If the problem was physical (trackpad inhibited by crumbs or bent), then PRAM or SMC shouldn't have an effect, in my thinking.
Also, if it was a trackpad problem, why would the same thing happen with a usb mouse?
Anyway, I just hate my experience on my two month old MacBook Air right now. I know, give it to Apple, and let them have at it. But, ...dang, the problem can be temporarily fixed, so, ...what to those that really know about main boards, firmware, or the like think about this?
iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), null
Posted on Sep 15, 2016 1:17 PM
Please read If your pointer is jumpy when you use a trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse - Apple Support.
Also, if it was a trackpad problem, why would the same thing happen with a usb mouse?
The following may help you to isolate the problem. Please refer to OS X El Capitan: Mouse & Trackpad pane of Accessibility preferences.
To ignore trackpad input while using the mouse, choose (Apple menu) > System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad. Select Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present.
Determine if that setting changes the behaviour you have been experiencing.
Posted on Sep 22, 2016 10:51 AM