Trackpads won't 2-finger scroll on Mac Mini

Question

Trackpads won't 2-finger scroll on Mac Mini

I have two Magic Trackpads (wireless), a couple of years old; neither will 2-finger scroll on my Mac Mini (trying them for the first time on the Mini); both work fine on my other machines. All machines are updated to latest version of El Capitan, plenty of RAM. Same trackpad settings on all machines. Trackpad cursor movement, highlighting, one-click select OK on Mini, but no two-finger scrolling, no pinch to resize. Haven't checked all possibilities, but lack of scrolling is a deal-breaker. Track pad update 1 is too old, haven't found another. Tried with wireless mouse on and off. Ran First Aid. Reinstalled system software. Even toggled the scrolling options, the mouse settings. Help!

Mac mini, OSX 10.11.6

Posted on Sep 27, 2016 4:04 PM

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Answer 1

seventy one

Level 7

27,466 points

Sep 28, 2016 9:50 AM in response to bennettfromca

If both of your machines are running El Capitan and both of the trackpads are the Trackpad 1 version, that is probably the reason. While older versions of both the trackpad and mouse will work to some degree, full functionality with El Capitan requires the Magic Trackpad 2 version. The MT2 was developed specially for El Capitan and later OS's. I know it is a nuisance but the new trackpad is charged directly from your machine and needs no batteries.

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Answer 2

Sep 28, 2016 9:51 AM in response to bennettfromca

And yes, I restarted in safe mode, still no scrolling.

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Answer 3

Sep 28, 2016 9:54 AM in response to seventy one

Thanks, 71. Both trackpads work perfectly with my older Mac Pro desktop, running exactly the same version of El Capitan as the Mac Mini. Neither trackpad will scroll with the Mac Mini. Thoughts?

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Answer 4

seventy one

Level 7

27,466 points

Sep 28, 2016 1:49 PM in response to bennettfromca

Hello bennettfromca,

You may have been lucky with the older Mac. Or maybe not gone through every possible option with the trackpad to counter my view that full functionality is not likely with either machine. The Mini follows that view as it works partially. Interference could some effect depending on the location of the machines but I can't add to the thought expressed earlier.

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