Force Touch Issue

[Nihein]

I noticed that my MBP 14“ sometimes does not recognize Force Touch when Click is set to Medium or Firm. However, when Click is set to Light there is no issue regarding Force Touch.
Do you guys think that this issue is software or hardware related?

thanks in advance!

 

[DeltaMac]

I will choose to say software (but I don't know that for certain)
The latest Monterey 12.1 beta is reported to fix an issue with "tap-to-click".
Maybe the fix also would extend to your (somewhat different) force touch issue.

 

[Nihein]

Thank you!
The problem seems to be solved. First I restarted the Mac which did not solve the problem. Then I shut down the Mac and started it up again, which did not solve the problem. Finally, I left the Mac off for several hours and only then started it up again. Now the problem does not exist anymore (not even after I shut down the Mac again and then started it up). This indicates that the problem was software related or?

 

[DeltaMac]

When the feature started working after leaving power off for a few minutes, then that would suggest hardware, not software. Good to hear that it is working for you now.

 

[Nihein]

Thank you for your reply.
I thought that turning the machine off and then on again is a way to overcome software issues.
According to your thought, would you suggest to send the device to apple in order to get a new one because the hardware of the device could be broken?

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, a power reset -- turn off, then on again, (not just a simple restart) can clear some kinds of software issues, of course, but it also does a full start from power off, which starts all the hardware from a full power-off condition, sometimes resulting in a fix for some kinds of hardware issues.
"... could be broken ..." probably is not a good reason for a return, or some kind of repair, when there is no repair needed at this time.
A hardware reset, such as what you did, that clears an issue can often remain a good fix. However, it remains to be seen if the fix is permanent, or the issue returns in a few days.

 

[Nihein]

I see thank you!
So I’ll check for the issue coming back in the next few days.
out of curiosity: A hardware reset (turn off, then on again) is able to repair the hardware, at least in some cases? Or how does this work? (It’s hard for me to imagine)

 

[DeltaMac]

No, you misunderstand.
A hardware reset doesn't physically repair anything, if a fault or failure has actually occurred. It DOES take the hardware back to defaults, or a no-power condition. Booting the system, which then powers all the various chips, may result in the hardware working as designed. Of course, that would also mean that the software - the operating system - needs to be installed and working correctly. It all works together.

 

[Nihein]

thats what confused me. So this means that a hardware reset does only solve a hardware related issue if the hardware is physically alright. therefore, if the hardware reset I performed solved the Force Touch problem (not only for a few days), this suggests that the hardware is alright.

 

[DeltaMac]

Or, a hardware problem is there, and the hardware reset is just temporary, and needs to be repeated.
It's a new MBPro, you get to wait to see if the issue is gone permanently, or you would need to do something else.

And, you should remember that an apparent "hardware" problem can be the result of a bug in the operating system (and there are some device bugs in Monterey, some have been fixed, there may be others as time goes forward)

All I can say about that, is that the symptom that you had suggests a hardware problem - but you can't really rule out software. As I say, it all has to work together.
And, your MBPro is working... Hopefully, you just had a random glitch, which is now gone forever.

 

[Nihein]

Alright. Thank you so much for all the time you devoted to me!