Mouse trackpad broken?

[Kross]

The trackpad on my macbook air seems to be broken:

Sometimes it works, sometimes not. It has been happening more and more often though. When I move my finger around the pad. It will do all sorts of random things.

- Sometimes it moves, sometimes completely unresponsive
- Sometimes it will do a double-finger click (I'm just moving my one finger around)
- Sometimes it will resize the icons on the desktop (doing the double finger "enlarge" gesture I guess)
- Other times it will just jump across as I move my finger across

Really weird part is SOMETIMES it works fine. I also notice that when I FIRST START to move it, it works fine for about 2 seconds, then locks up, then starts acting as described. Everytime it works for 2 seconds.

The bluetooth mouse I have works fine with it. Making me think that it has something to do with either...

- The trackpad
or
- Some type of software running?

sidenote: for the first 10 minutes of me using the macbook air it has not been working (doing as described). Now all of a sudden (while typing this) it works fine, perfectly in fact. I'll be impressed if someone has any idea whats going on, cause I definitely don't. DAMN IT... NOW 2 minutes later it's back to not working, wow this is crazy

- Kross (frustrated)

 

[Kross]

just noticed something (could be a fluke), but I unplugged it from the power source in my car (which I'm guessing isn't the most consistent in delivering an exact amount of power). And as soon as I unplugged it, the mouse started working fine.

WOW I think that was it, when I plug it back in. The mouse starts freakin out again! I'll test more through-out the day. Found a pretty crazy flaw imo. I will also try it plugged into the wall as well..

- Kross

 

[Jess Kaminsky]

Mouse trackpad broken?

Definitely not a fluke. I have been searching for a reason my MacBook Pro trackpad does not work sometimes. I bought a mouse after one such episode and it worked fine. A month later, I returned to the same AC wall outlet and the trackpad again did not work. I found your thread and unplugged the computer. Worked fine. I plugged and unplugged multiple times with the trackpad responding accordingly. Mouse always worked fine but the trackpad would not jerk around when plugged in. Apple should look at their adaptor! Thanks for the solution.

just noticed something (could be a fluke), but I unplugged it from the power source in my car (which I'm guessing isn't the most consistent in delivering an exact amount of power). And as soon as I unplugged it, the mouse started working fine.

WOW I think that was it, when I plug it back in. The mouse starts freakin out again! I'll test more through-out the day. Found a pretty crazy flaw imo. I will also try it plugged into the wall as well..

- Kross

 

[Kross]

no problem,

it's actually a great feeling when you get an email saying a "reply to your post". Then you check it and see someone else has had the same problem and probably saved some time by reading this thread.

- Kross

 

[silentio]

Came across this thread when this problem happened to my notebook as well. The fact that it has something to do with the power adapter is true for me as well, but I have a few more observations.

First, the power socket does not have to be turned on for it to occur. This might seem like a strange thing to say if you are American because, correct me if I'm wrong, wall sockets in the US do not have an on/off switch--it's turned on the moment you plug something in. Over here in Singapore. after you plug in the adapter, you still have to flip a switch on the wall socket. My trackpad goes jerky even when I plug it in and leave the switch turned off.

Second, when plugged in, the jerky action only happens when my MBA is on the table. Even with the MBA plugged in (and wall socket in off state), the jerkiness disappears when I lift the notebook up and use the trackpad. I know, it seems very strange, but that's what's happening.

I think I will call Apple tomorrow to ask if there's anything to worry about.

 

[PLin]

I just experienced the exact same problem. My MBA was working fine this morning at the airport, and I had a layover in Atlanta. I stopped at the Delta lounge while waiting for my flight and plugged in the MBA. When I woke it up, the trackpad was so erratic that I could barely do anything.

I tried rebooting, full shutdown and start, even booting off an external I carry with me. I also tried resetting the PRAM and SMC. Nothing fixed the problem. The trackpad even had problems at the EFI boot disk screen that you access by hitting the option-key at startup.

I had given up and called AppleCare while I was walking to the gate to catch my flight to get a case number to have it repaired. On the flight, I decided to play with the trackpad some more, and when I woke the MBA, the trackpad was fine. It never occurred to me that it could have been the wall power in the Delta lounge until I saw this thread. I'm flying through Atlanta again next week, so I'm going to try using the same power outlet again to see if that really is the cause of the problem.

UPDATE: Apple seems to have a KB article related to this issue. I was using the three-prong power cord, so I'm not sure if it's the same issue. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1248

 

[Kross]

makes me laugh every time someone replies to this thread and I get an email. it took me FOREVER to figure that out. I really thought my macbook was going bad. Really glad i posted it. I can completely relate to the weird look on your face when all-of-a-sudden it works fine, then it doesn't work again! AHHHHHHHH! lol... glad you found the culprit.

regards,

- Kross

 

[silentio]

makes me laugh every time someone replies to this thread and I get an email. it took me FOREVER to figure that out. I really thought my macbook was going bad. Really glad i posted it. I can completely relate to the weird look on your face when all-of-a-sudden it works fine, then it doesn't work again! AHHHHHHHH! lol... glad you found the culprit.

regards,

- Kross

Back to this thread because of the email notification too. Realised I didn't provide an update to my situation.

It turned out to be the power strip that I used. I ditched it and bought a higher quality version and the problem went away. The grounding on the old power strip must have been faulty.