high sierra: keyboard not responding after update

Hi Folks,

I've been dealing with this issue for the last couple of months now. Tried all possible things that have been posted din the forum. Ended up spending $450 because the Genuis Bar folks decided it was a HW issue and replaced the entire keyboard and trackpad. This was inspite of me telling Apple support and genius bar that this started to happen after upgrade to High Sierra.

Even after the HW upgrade, once I reinstalled my data fro TM backup, the problem was back again. The only way i was able to address this is

1) Back up data into TM

2) Erase the HDD and went into Internet recovery mode

3) After the internet recovery mode, it suggested installing El Capitan (i guess that was the last best known configuration that was there on my system)

4) Installed El Capitan, the relevant security updates etc

5) From my TM, copied only the data

Its been a few days and everything is working fine. Hope Apple realizes that they have an issue with High Sierra and addresses it. They should also ensure their Genius Bar folks are aware of this instead of trying to do a standard HW replace.

My built in keyboard and trackpad stop working once a week on my Early 2015 MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch. It's running macOS 10.13.1.

I know it's not a hardware issue because I'm able to reset the smc with the built in keyboard. This is what I have done to get my keyboard/trackpad working. It usually takes me multiple tries with different combinations to get it working.

1. Remove anything connected to the computer.
2. Shut down
3. Reset SMC (power cord plugged in, shift + option + command + power). The power cord flashes a different color after the reset. I reset it multiple times to make sure the computer registered it.
4. Boot
5. Shut down
6. Reset pram (command + option + p + r). I reset the pram 2-3 times, until the keyboard and trackpad work.

I had a complete non-responsive keyboard and trackpad on an early '15 MBPr after a high sierra update. Only thing that worked was shutting down, taking the bottom off and disconnecting the battery, holding on/off while disconnected for 5 secs, then reconnecting and reassembling.

I also had just manually cleared nvram with "sudo nvram -c" but that didn't seem to work. Could be part of the procedure...

I replaced the trackpad cable. Cost around $90 and I was without a computer for 4 hours, but my keyboard and trackpad have been working for the past month.

Just strange that the keyboard/trackpad stopped working after a High Sierra install. Maybe it was bad timing or maybe a software issue resolved with a new cable.

Update: I took my Macbook Pro to the Genius Bar on March 8. It was diagnosed with a faulty/loose trackpad/keyboard cable. Once it was replaced my laptop seems to be working fine. Luckily it was still under warranty and they replaced it for free.

The best I can figure out is that the problem is intermittent and when the laptop cannot detect the keyboard/trackpad it automatically turns on Bluetooth to search for a bluetooth keyboard and/or mouse hence the messages I was getting. Because the problem is intermittent the keyboard sometimes does work and my rebooting and resetting PRAM and getting it to work sometimes was probably coincidental.

It happened to me as well. I went to an Apple store and got the keyboard cable replaced. $100 cost and the problem is solved. Might be an issue caused by OSX, but could also be a random hardware issue. In any case, the solution is likely the same.

I'm also having this issue - I have an early 2015 MBP and shortly after High Sierra update my keyboard and touchpad stopped working. I've spent time on the phone with Apple support, did SMC resets and PRAM resets and nothing fixed the issue. The only thing that fixes the issue is opening the case, disconnecting the battery, reconnecting and booting up again. Unfortunately a few days later the problem came back so I'm only able to use external keyboard and mouse again.

This only happened to me after installing macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 Supplemental Update detailed here: About the security content of macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 Supplemental Update - Apple Support

I had the same problem and did the same thinks. Apple official service didn’t know fix the problem because official test software didn’t find errors.... I changed the trackpad flat cable alone because it was cheapest solution of three about hardware problems (which he assumed apple service) .... And 1 month I have not problem. This is hardware problem for sure

Hi there, some_lun.

I see that the keyboard and trackpad of your MacBook Pro has stopped responding since you've updated to macOS High Sierra. Great job on the troubleshooting steps you've tried. Since any troubleshooting steps I'd provide you with would require the use of your keyboard and trackpad, I'd like for you to contact Apple Support.

Apple - Support - Product Selection -- Apple Support will be able troubleshoot this issue further with you and will also be able to supply you with all of your service options.

Find Locations -- You can also locate the nearest Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider if you'd rather. Make sure the country you're located in is showing on the top-right corner. If it isn't, click it and choose the correct one.

How to back up your Mac -- Before you take or send your MacBook Pro in, please be certain you have a fresh backup to keep your personal information safe.

Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair

Some product repairs may involve replacing your computer's hard drive, and some may not. If your hard drive contains sensitive or confidential data, read on for some suggestions on how to keep that data secure.

Take care!

Exactly what Apple told me today. They took my MBP to the back, disconnected the trackpad and reconnected the trackpad. The keyboard and trackpad worked fine after this. I doubt we need the $450 repair (replace the keyboard and trackpad).

I am getting the cable replaced that connects the trackpad to the computer. I'll let you know if it helps.

My next steps are to do a clean install of High Sierra and see if I still have a problem. If that doesn't work, I'll install legacy software until a bug fix is pushed. Seems like this is a software issue.

I have the similar problem, but mine was touchpad not responding to tap and right click, I brought into an apple store, they fixed it for me by downgrading the macbook to sierra 10.12.6, my tap is back after that. Might help

I ended up going to the Apple store where they replaced the keyboard cable. Cost me $90 and solve the problem. Might not be the issue, but at least I can work now.

Hi, I am having a similar issue. I believe that there is a bug in the way the sleep image is written. By unchecking the the box "put hard disk to sleep when possible" in the energy saver preferences it seems to have remedied the issue for me. I do hope they fix this soon though, since this work around burns through slightly more battery life.

My MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) was working fine earlier today. After upgrading to High Sierra the internal keyboard stopped working. I made a fresh install of High Sierra (deleted existing partition from the hard drive before install). The installation process was smooth and nothing unexpected happened. After the installation I restored some of my old files from time machine. Everything was working fine. After being away I logged in again and the internal keyboard stopped working after a few seconds. I rebooted, logged in, and then it happened again after a few seconds. Please note that I can enter my password using the internal keyboard. The internal keyboard fails directly AFTER the login. The internal keyboard also work if I boot up using safe boot or if I boot up on another partition with windows, so there is nothing wrong with the hardware. After googling comments from desperate mac owners with this error I found some things to try. I've tried standard reboots, SMC resets, PRAM resets, verified that sticky keys is not enabled, verified that mouse keys is not enabled, hitting option key five times, connecting/disconnecting usb keyboards and so on. None of these suggested tricks prevents the internal keyboard from becoming unresponsive after login. Something is being loaded after login and it breaks the internal keyboard. This bug came with the High Sierra update. I've never had this issue with previous versions of OS X. Luckily for me I don't need my mac to finish what I'm working with.