Help with 2010 macbook trackpad click issue

My wife bought me a macbook for last christmas and i have to say i was anti mac for as long as i was in the computer community. i feel in love with this machine instantly.

lately i have had issues with the clicking functionality on the trackpad. it registers maybe 10% of the time and i have to find that magic spot. Just tapping works 100% of the time, but i feel that a 1 year old macbook should not have such a hardware problem.

has anyone had similar issues and found a solution sans visiting an apple store or sending it to have it repaired?

any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

This will probably be something that is way too simple to mention, but just to be sure, you've checked the mouse/sensitivity settings, right? If you're the only one that uses it I'm sure you'd know if something had changed, but if someone else uses it, maybe they fiddled with a setting?

I'm sure someone else will chime in with a much smarter/more likely suggestion

yeah. nothing has really been changed. thank you for your response though
it wasnt anything too drastic. it started to register less and less and now its to the point where every 20 or so clicks one will work.

its just frustrating having an expensive machine that is relatively young that shouldnt be having this problem.

also on a side note i have all software update to date and im running MAC OS X 10.6.6

You do realize that you don't have to use the click function right? That just wears out the button. Tap to click and two finger tap to get secondary menus.

Since it's relatively new anyways you can always bring it into the Apple store and have them take a look at it.

yes i know that i can just tap, which is what i have been using since the click doesnt work.

and youre telling me its ok to spend $1000 on a laptop and having the click button not work after only one year is ok? that doesnt make sense to me.

the laptop is not warranted and i dont have applecare since i assumed that apple products are very well designed and durable. if i go to the apple store im certain there will be a cost to it.

i appreciate your response and guide posted. thank you

If the unit has a removable battery (iffy considering when it was purchased), you might try removing the battery and seeing if the click response returns. There's been an issue in the past with batteries swelling varying amounts, which will press on the underside of the trackpad and prevent it from clicking properly.

EvenStranger said:

If the unit has a removable battery (iffy considering when it was purchased), you might try removing the battery and seeing if the click response returns. There's been an issue in the past with batteries swelling varying amounts, which will press on the underside of the trackpad and prevent it from clicking properly.

Click to expand...

i looked underneath lastnight and its all one solid piece beneath it.
i didnt see any easy access points or screws to undo to gain entrance.

does anyone know how much apple would charge for this repair?

Just removing the battery to confirm it's not the culprit, probably nothing... it's 10 screws on the bottom and three screws in the battery. If the battery is swollen, you'll need to have them replace the battery. You may be able to negotiate with the and just pay for parts or they might replace the battery free of charge if they're feeling generous. If it's a defective trackpad assembly, they aren't terribly expensive, but I don't recall how much. Labor would be about $85.

bingfo still

i dont see any screws on the bottom.
i dont feel comfortable taking it apart.

does anyone else have any info

it has been over a year since i purchased the macbook...could i still buy the 3 year extended warranty for it?

also, would it cover repairing the non rresponsive click issue?

As far as I'm aware you can't purchase extended Applecare after the initial one year warranty has expired.

You do realize that you don't have to use the click function right?

Click to expand...

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Except when logging in, if you have a couple of accounts to choose from it cannot be done with a tap, it has to be a click.

i also have issues trying to select/highlight more than just a sentence with click....

i gotta figure out a way for this to get fixed....dang annoying

i actually got a virus that did the same thing to my windows machine. im pretty sure i got it from visiting an image upload site called deviantart. ive read this before it has something to do with the way their ad system rotates ads and they get some real nasty stuff there sometimes if you dont pay to have the ads removed. anyway my click got progressively worse over time. to the point i was really abusing the button out of anger. strange thing is i reinstalled windows and it worked again like brand new. never had the issue again. i dont know if thats what happened to you but anyway, true story. it works fine now after reinstallation.