Apple trackpad problems with El Capitan

[macmesser]

I recently upgraded OS to 10.11.6 on my 2009 Mac Pro and have had problems with my Apple magic trackpad. It seems to intermittently drop and recover connection and also appears to lag in response to input. Often it will respond in a jerky way that causes me to overshoot or undershoot my target and it's hard to select things. Sometimes I lose the cursor. All of these symptoms are probably related. Are there known problems with 10.11.6 and Apple trackpad? I am using a usb bluetooth device as the built-in bluetooth is broken and have had no prior problems with bluetooth. Apple bt keyboard seems to be working fine. I am thinking this must be an OS bug, as bluetooth works fine for other devices (keyboard and wacom tablet). My plan is to wait things out until bug is fixed and if necessary revert to a wired MS mouse that works perfectly on this machine. Interestingly, the trackpad problem is very intermittent and it can work fine for a while and then start to get funky. Anyone else experience this or similar problem?

 

[Crosscreek]

I recently upgraded OS to 10.11.6 on my 2009 Mac Pro and have had problems with my Apple magic trackpad. It seems to intermittently drop and recover connection and also appears to lag in response to input. Often it will respond in a jerky way that causes me to overshoot or undershoot my target and it's hard to select things. Sometimes I lose the cursor. All of these symptoms are probably related. Are there known problems with 10.11.6 and Apple trackpad? I am using a usb bluetooth device as the built-in bluetooth is broken and have had no prior problems with bluetooth. Apple bt keyboard seems to be working fine. I am thinking this must be an OS bug, as bluetooth works fine for other devices (keyboard and wacom tablet). My plan is to wait things out until bug is fixed and if necessary revert to a wired MS mouse that works perfectly on this machine. Interestingly, the trackpad problem is very intermittent and it can work fine for a while and then start to get funky. Anyone else experience this or similar problem?

I had trouble with mine also. I sold it and started using my old one again.

 

[macmesser]

I had trouble with mine also. I sold it and started using my old one again.

Thanks for reply. You were using the new trackpad and switched back to old? I am already using the version 1 (old) trackpad so I hope it is indeed a bug that will soon be addressed. Your experience suggests to me that there might be something half-baked in OS trackpad support which manifests differently depending on the system.

 

[Crosscreek]

Thanks for reply. You were using the new trackpad and switched back to old? I am already using the version 1 (old) trackpad so I hope it is indeed a bug that will soon be addressed. Your experience suggests to me that there might be something half-baked in OS trackpad support which manifests differently depending on the system.

It could be software related but my trackpad 2 has lost connection several times. My trackpad 1 does not.

 

[macmesser]

It could be software related but my trackpad 2 has lost connection several times. My trackpad 1 does not.

That's what I'm experiencing now. Loss of connection, then spontaneous resumption of connection with no action on my part, only to be lost yet again. Batteries show full charge.

 

[ifarlow]

The Magic Trackpad 2 on my office Mac does the same thing on macOS Sierra. The one at home does not. It just happens spontaneously... connection lost, connected, connection lost, connected, etc. back and forth every two seconds or so. If I turn the trackpad off and then back on again, it works for weeks without issue and then, boom. Once again the disconnect/connect loop.

Very frustrating.

 

[Crosscreek]

The Magic Trackpad 2 on my office Mac does the same thing on macOS Sierra. The one at home does not. It just happens spontaneously... connection lost, connected, connection lost, connected, etc. back and forth every two seconds or so. If I turn the trackpad off and then back on again, it works for weeks without issue and then, boom. Once again the disconnect/connect loop.

Very frustrating.

Sold mine on Ebay and went back to a Razor wired mouse.

 

[ifarlow]

I just got off the phone with Apple. I will be stopping by the store tomorrow afternoon to see about getting it replaced. I would prefer to keep the trackpad if possible, so hopefully this works out.

 

[macmesser]

I have found that the trackpad works much better with my classic mac pro when I elevate the usb bluetooth dongle above the body of the machine by using a usb cable. Making sure nothing metallic obstructs line of site has greatly improved performance.