MacBook Pro late 2016 three finger drag issue

If this is an issue with console logging, I don't understand why it only impacts the on-board trackpad and not the BT connected Magic Trackpad. I have no issues at all with my Magic Trackpad. All the issues are with the trackpad on the MacBook itself.

Yes. Exact same thing here. I guess the OB Trackpad needs to handle a lot more event tracking due to palm rejecting etc.

Update -

This issue is also directly related to three other factors

1 - Display Scale. Using default I get noticeably more misses than when on more space.

2 - Automatic Graphic Switching. Turning it off also reduces the amount of misses

3 - The velocity at which you initiate the Three Finger Drag. If very gently you lay down you three fingers the Three Finger Drag is almost 100% certain to miss. If you do the Neanderthal Style - the misses are reduced to somewhere in between 10 & 20 Percent.

Hopefully Apple will provide a quick fix for this. I cannot work like this. Selecting text with this bug in the wild is just the most annoying thing I have ever experienced.

I have fixed the problem on my Computer.

After having received the MacBook Pro from the Factory I experienced this problem and did a quick reinstall. Same thing.

Today, I tried just about anything I could think of to get it to work. Nothing did the trick.

In general I was really disappointed with this device. Three Finger Drag Miss, Jerky Graphic Performance and what not.

Anyway, I decided to Wipe the Internal Hard Drive and CLEAN Install the OS from USB Bootable macOS Sierra before returning the device tomorrow, as a last resort.

After doing doing this - all my issues magically just went away I was able to actually for the first time NJOY this new MacBook Pro.

No matter how hard I tried I was not able to provoke one single Three Finger Drag Miss. Not a single one. And tried really hard. Also no matter how soft or at which angle I put down my three fingers could I replicate all those issues I had prior to clean install...

And Install-Over won't do it. It HAS to be cleanly installed by FIRST Wiping the Internal hard drive entirely which is something I think most won't want to do as setting it up all over would be a lengthy process. To me it is worth the stretch as in the end it will save me hours of time per month being able to use three-finger-drag.

Anyway, given the fact that the Factory Install sitting on my MBP coming from Apple had this issue and a clean install resolves it is an indicator of something off in the way the system is being copied to the drive. Why the normal install-over also did not solve the problem alludes to the fact that an install is not an install.

I'll keep an eye open for those issues coming back after I begin installing Third Parties etc. And report back if they would break anything.. But until then, the clean install cured all the issues of which I have been writing the past 24 hours.

As a 'Side Effect' it also cured ALL Jerky Graphics when Automatic Graphics Switching was on (Thus allowing Integrated GPU). It was like getting a brand new Computer. Which is what I wanted to have as I bought it 😀

Unfortunately issue is back. I had a nice full day with my new MBP after the clean install until the issue began creeping up on me again... So back to square one. Loosing about 20% of ALL three finger drags..

But hey it aint the hardware. Otherwise the clean install would not have remedied it for a full 24 hours...

Still, this is not an issue that be happening with 4000 EURO Device. Especially given the fact that Apple has had more than three months to fix it !

Because for me the issue is fixed 100% (13'' touchbar MBP, macOS 10.12.3), I'm trying to find out what you guys are doing differently.

Which fingers are you using for the 3 finger drag? I use index, middle and ring finger. I noticed that when I use a combination with my thumb, it won't work, but that's not the way I'm using three finger drag.

Also, it would help if someone with the issue posts a video with several misses. I will then try to mimic the movements and see if I could replicate the misses and also post a video. If I can't replicate the issue then, it is likely a hardware problem with some devices

The issue is software related. Could also be hard/software related.

A clean install of macOS Sierra fixed the issue completely for me the first 24 hours after which it came back.

So had it been solely related to hardware a clean install would have had zero improvement.

Guys the problem is simple. The algorithm that controls the track pad (integrated) has a routine for palm rejection. Since the trackpad was enlarged this routine got confused. I challenge you to try one thing. Place your index finger of you left hand on the lower right corners of the trackpad and keep it there. Now try to do 3 finger drag anywhere on the trackpad. It should work 100%.

Then, lift you finger and try again. It will not work 100% of the times, especially when dragging on the left upper portion of the trackpad with your three fingered angled more than 45 drug from the horizontal line.

I'll see if I can make a video over the next couple of days. The most obvious way to view this is to use the 3-finger drag technique in a variety of ways using the Magic Trackpad then attempt to do the same thing on the built in track pad. Go back and forth. The inconsistency in behavior is maddening. Especially if you regularly work at a desk with the BT connected Magic Trackpad then head out on a trip or to a coffee shop and expect the built in track to operate in a similar manner.

I'm on the same MBP that you are with the same OS version.

I have never attempted to shoot and post a video.

BTW, I have been able to consistently demonstrate this issues for Apple Store employees (once the feature is enabled which in most cases I need to show them) and they all go, "Wow. That is not good." But no one knows how to fix it. I'm thinking of going around to Apple Stores and doing demos. ;-(

Sad really that Apple's own employees aren't aware of the absolute strongest feature of their own trackpad.

A Trackpad is inferior to a mouse without 3-finger-drag. With 3-finger-drag it is superior to any mouse.

It takes about 3 days to get used to but man once you do... Nothing beats it... Three finger drag was the reason I purchased a Magic Trackpad instead of a mouse for my iMac 5K.

But in general I see people hard-clicking to do a drag and I really wonder why. When I teach them the 3-finger-drag they are first reluctant but when you meet them a week later, they would rather trade their own mother before they give up the 3-finger-drag. All the more I wonder why Apple's own employees are so ignorant to towards this feature.. Apple Care too... I Spoke to an agent yesterday about this issue and she also was not aware of that feature I had to tell here where she could enable it 😀

Hi There,

I just tested you idea and if I do what you state I never miss one. So that is true. I will keep trying when the CPU gets under heavy console load and test again. To make sure I wasn't just catching the CPU off guard..

Anyway, if only the palm rejection was to blame how do you explain me not having the issue at all for a full 24 hours after a clean install. And sometime I won't have the issue for 3 - 4 hours and then within half an hour I will have like 100..

There is definitely a connection between this issue and number of events fired per second...

But then again perhaps Palm Rejection Event handling has lower priority and that would explain it...

But nice tip.... Now I just need to employ yet another co-worker to sit and place his index finger on the pad while I work :-)

Interesting. I'll need to test this out tomorrow. It does suggest that it could be fixed or at least mitigated with software changes to "un-confuse" the palm detection stuff. So now it becomes the 2-handed, 3-finger drag. ;-)

I don't know if it's related, but I've been having difficulties just dragging and dropping using the trackpad on the new touchbar MacBook Pro. I try over and over before it works; sometimes as many as 5-6 times before a folder or file starts being animated like it's being moved. If I try too deliberately, I end up clicking too hard and it previews the file or folder instead. Very frustrating. Having any similar issues?

Same problem with custom ordered 15" 2.7/16/512/460 Igot a few days ago with 10.12.3. I literally use three finger drag a few times every ten seconds when working with slider controls adjusting colour and key frames in photo and video editors. Machine is basically unusable without mouse or external Magic Trackpad, believe this has also been a feature that has kept me from getting another RSI injury. Sadly I returned the machine for refund as I dont have time to troubleshoot issues when I have faultless operation from 2013 27" iMac and 13" retina MacBook Pro. Will log a report with apple shortly.

Care to share some details please?

I logged a bug report and got this response below.

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Engineering has determined that your bug report (30998208) is a duplicate of another issue (29402763) and will be closed.

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Just post this over on macrumors. Hope it helps:

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I believe the trackpad is now divided into two halves in the software implementation, so three finger drag for me at least, now only works 100% of the time when the right hand uses the right half and the left hand uses the left halves of their respective sides of the trackpad. You can try this for yourself, with your three fingers angled naturally at 30d to 45d angles, try on the opposite sides of the trackpad, no good. But the left hand with natural finger angle on the left side is perfect, even with 2cm gaps between each finger, same deal with right hand on right side. If you align your fingers horizontally in-line, it 'can' work everywhere but its not comfortable to hold your hand like this ( at least I found not). With the natural angle of your fingers on the opposite side of the trackpad it will register as two finger swipe.

This is just my personal observation, there is lots of opinions out there though. Some say it was fixed in 10.12.2/3 I think perhaps they changed how they hold their fingers to be more horizontally aligned with using the 2016 machine. Perhaps 10.12.4 will allow using the opposite half with angled fingers again. Lemme know if what works for me works for you.