Magic Trackpad 2 not providing haptic feedback

[thadoggfather]

I believe the newer trackpads use one of Apple's haptic motors to provide the click feedback. They are a linear motor and there is the possibility that the driven element that shakes the trackpad could get stuck. It might be worthwhile to firmly tap the trackpad a couple of times on each edge on a hard surface to see if that would free it up again. I'm not sure which direction the motor is oriented in, horizontally across the width the of the trackpad or vertically across the top to bottom.

The only problem with this solution is that if it did get stuck once, then whatever caused it to stick originally will likely happen again.

thats worked for you though?

 

[BanditoB]

I haven't personally experienced this issue, so no. It's just a simple mechanical action that can be tried and would likely be most effective when the trackpad simply fails to provide haptic feedback, in other words it has quit completely, when all of the System Preferences are set up correctly. Where it works temporarily, such as after a reboot, and then fails later on after a bit of time, it is probably a MacOS issue.

 

[thadoggfather]

lol wow, all of a sudden my haptic feedback is working agian

for how long, I dont know but the plot thickens!

 

[twyles]

Mine stopped working today. No recent software changes or restarts. Holy random occurrences, Batman!

 

[thadoggfather]

Mine stopped working today. No recent software changes or restarts. Holy random occurrences, Batman!

When did you get your Magic Trackpad? Like how old is it?

 

[twyles]

When did you get your Magic Trackpad? Like how old is it?

I couldn’t say for sure - it’s a good few years old though.

 

[lucascampelo]

Mine still isn't working. For months. Recently, the battery went down fully and when I charged, it worked again for like 5 minutes. There are some patterns like this. I still think it's software (a firmware issue, most probably, because the problems carries through multiple systems).

 

[winedog]

Haha I didn't believe it at first but a user mentioned to knock the trackpad around it worked for me and fixed the issue. My issue was that the trackpad click all of sudden stopped working today. Whatever motor or mechanism was stuck and hitting it a few times worked! I'm on Monterey 12.6 so I don't think for my issue at least wasn't software related.

 

[thadoggfather]

heh, I just installed Ventura RC, powered Magic Trackpad off an on again and haptic works... for the first time in months.

We'll see for how long though, I am suspicious. Last time it was short lived, but didn't coincide a software update to the os of paired computer.

 

[thadoggfather]

Haha I didn't believe it at first but a user mentioned to knock the trackpad around it worked for me and fixed the issue. My issue was that the trackpad click all of sudden stopped working today. Whatever motor or mechanism was stuck and hitting it a few times worked! I'm on Monterey 12.6 so I don't think for my issue at least wasn't software related.

and it hasn't come back, the issue of not working?

 

[blakespot]

I bought the black Magic Trackpad for my Mac Studio to hand my white Magic Trackpad 2 to my sister. Got is synced and it worked fine. Then the battery drained and I charged -- and now I can connect it to the Studio or my M2 Air and they see it - but it does not control the mouse and makes no click feeling. It's like it's off. On the Studio, I've seen the black pad reported as firmware 8.x.x and also 1.x.x. I just tried it on my M2 Air and it shows firmware 1.x.x, but still does not work. It's now at 35% charge.

I tried the pinch and swing approach...did not help. Is this thing dead? Just got it.

Thanks.


bp

 

[mabaker]

Does the Magic Trackpad give you haptic feedback on the Mail App or the Maps app? The built in trackpads on the MBP give you clear haptic feedback on the aforementioned apps but the Magic Trackpad 2 doesn't seem to? Anybody with a similar problem?

 

[Solomon Oppenheimer]

This is definitely not a Software Issue.
Seems like the Hardware, the so called "Haptic Engine" that causes the effect, is failing. Apparently the copper contacts which connect it to the logic-board inside the Trackpad simply caught some rust/oxidisation w. the time.

As Magic Trackpad (2) cannot (easily) be repaired (unless one manages to "open" it, getting over the mega-glue, without cracking the glass) there is no fix, sorry. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Considering the numerous reports of this issue (I have a 'non-haptic trackpad' now too), shall we call it #haptigate ? 😮😀

 

[Fez Vrasta]

I had the same issue today with my Magic Trackpad 2 (the one with the less rounded corners), the haptic only worked sometimes after I turned it off for a few minutes, but it only worked for 10 seconds or so.

I had to replace it with a new one. Hopefully the new model (with the more rounded corners) isn't affected by this same defect?

 

[Clincero]

I got my Magic Trackpad 2 (bought in 2018) haptics working again, which failed after the macOS 14.7 update. Unfortunately, I am not sure what ultimately fixed it. I opened it up - not too difficult, just a bunch of double sided tape, the glass top is no issue because the trackpad is opened from the bottom. I suspect disconnecting the battery for a few minutes reset the controller, or some corrosion on the battery connector prevented enough current to drive the haptic motor to come through. I did pair it to another device during the repair so that might have helped as well.