macbook pro trackpad - weird clicking - sometimes normal, sometimes not

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hey everyone, new here,

did a bit of searching on the net but i haven't seen this specific issue brought up, so i am.

I have a macbook pro 13", 2.7 Ghz Intel Core i7, running 10.6.8, that I bought in july 2011.

early 2012 the trackpad started acting weird.

On a normal trackpad, when clicking on the trackpad (wether left or right), you feel and hear a very crisp click. When you release the pressure of the click to let go, there is also a muffled unclicking sound due to the...well....unclicking.

My trackpad will sporadically behave differently than that.

Sometimes, the clicking sound when applying pressure feels abnormal, not as crisp as usual, and is sort of "shorter" and "further"...a bit like if there was a piece of cloth underneath and that i had to press harder to reach the clicking point. Then, when releasing the pressure, the unclicking sound is almost non-existant.

Other times, clicking will remain crisp but extremely hard, as if something sticky was holding up the trackpad.

And finally, fewer times, there will be 2 levels of clicking when applying pressure ; a first very "close" click, and a less apparent one right after. As if what is usually a single click was suddenly divided into 2 shorter ones.

I have brought my macbook pro to the apple store. I explained what the issue was, and that i was suspicious that it may be a swollen battery problem. They checked the battery wasn't swollen, but they did change it along with the trackpad for peace of mind.

For about 2-3 weeks, it seemed like the problem was resolved. But now its back!
I plan on going back to the store and show them the recurrence, but i wanted to post about this here first in case anyone has had that issue, knew of this problem, and/or had an explanation/solution.

thanks people!
cheers.
 
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I have a similar problem where intermittently the trackpad feels like it's not clicking down properly. It's like something has gotten in and gotten stuck underneath.. I don't really know how things are laid out and if that is an actual possibility.
 
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Had the same problem and I just found a fix for that (yeah, I registered just for this post!)

Try applying a good amount of pressure on the whole trackpad. I used 6 fingers scattered on the whole surface and pressed hard for a couple of seconds and it instantly went back to normal. I also read about hitting it gently with your fist but... I wouldn't hit my $2,000 computer...

Hope it helps you too!
 
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Not a good idea

Had the same problem and I just found a fix for that (yeah, I registered just for this post!)

Try applying a good amount of pressure on the whole trackpad. I used 6 fingers scattered on the whole surface and pressed hard for a couple of seconds and it instantly went back to normal. I also read about hitting it gently with your fist but... I wouldn't hit my $2,000 computer...

Hope it helps you too!

(yeah, I registered just for this post too)! Do not EVER do that. I just shattered the glass on top of my trackpad trying to do this very thing. I didn't even have to press hard. This is the worst idea ever.

I have been having trouble with my trackpad for over a year now. It's like there's something stuck underneath it in the middle of the lower part of the trackpad. When I right click, the trackpad goes in deeper than it should, with that crunching sound that just doesn't sound normal. When I drag my finger across the trackpad from left to right, it clicks normally on the left, then as I make my way to the right, there's this place in the middle where I feel my trackpad abruptly going in deeper, and it makes the clicking stop, making it hard to drag folders around my desktop, for example.

A few months ago, I brought it back to the apple store to have it checked, and the "genius" tried it, experienced the problem, and tried to fix it with no success. He had never encountered that problem, and didn't see anything physically wrong with it. He lossened the screws to make the hard clicking problem better, but with poor results. He suggested I changed the trackpad, but then I figured I'd deal with it myself first. Which brought me here, where I tried this very dumb fix and shattered the glass. Let's just say I am not very happy right now.
 
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Something funny going on with my trackpad

Registered just for this post !

So here I sit, noticing my trackpad is getting weirder by the day.. finally decided to make an appointment to do something about it. I came across this thread, and thought "pushing with 6 fingers?" and gave it a shot. IT WORKS and the trackpad is back to normal.

* It DOESN'T take alot of force - no where near the amount of force to actually break the glass, think about the amount of force to break a ritz cracker.

* It only takes one second, 3 fingers on each side, gentle press and release and done. That's what worked over here.

* If you push like a gorilla and bend the macbook in two, or it slips out of your hand and flies out the window, it has nothing to do with me.
 
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I believe there is something supernatural going on with the Trackpad

I know it sounds crazy but about six months in to my Macbook pro 13 incher the trackpad started acting very erratically. It would drift over and open files and I would lose any control. It also would pull like a 1967 chevy cavalier with bad alignment (no burning brake smell though) I brought it to the Geniuses and they simply put in a new TP and everything seemed great. About a month ago "it" returned bigger than ever! I looked online and found that this is a common problem. I reset my Software Management System SMS using a variety of keystrokes and ritual chanting that was very masonic this sometimes "seemed" to work for a while then like an alcoholic girlfriend who comes home drunk from AA Bible camp, it would happen again. I tried cleaning the crap out of the Trackpad including trying to get any dust out of the edges with my thumbnail (while singing an old quaker hymn). I tried the "six-fingers to healing" that i read about here and learned in Massage Therapy school, Reset the SMS a lot.

I am now calling an exorcist (they're behind the Genius Bar). Any Help
 
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Your Mac's Specs
13" MBP, OSX 10.8.5, 2.5 GHz Intel core i5 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 - I also have an iPad Air.
Maybe these trackpads aren't so good anyway, despite the expense of the machine. It might be time to hook up a mouse. My trackpad's been behaving badly, too. I'll try the gentle press and some cleaning, then if it acts up again, I have a mouse.
 
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Might be a cracker

Well, I'm having the same thing--intermittently. Sometimes it works perfectly, other times it almost makes a grinding sound. Took it to Apple Genius Bar and of course it was working normally. Genius spoke to tech who said on the MBPR the touchpad is only connected near the keys and is over the battery--so doing anything to it would be a major problem and would have a 48 hour turnaround. I left and it started acting up again. My theory is that a piece of a cracker (like one crumb) worked it's way into the switches and a good blast of air will fix it--of course one has to dismantle it to do that.

Have another appointment tomorrow. We'll see.
 
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Same issue

I've been having the same issue with my MBA 2013, which is only 2 months old. Applying a little bit of pressure does fix it temporarily but eventually it comes back. Its kinda disappointing since I got a Mac for quality but it seems that the trackpad is cheaply made. Other than that I love the laptop, its just slightly frustrating.
 

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