Track pad and wifi issues with new 2016 MacBook Pro

[kenoli]

Ever since I started using my new 2016 MacBook Pro, my trackpad hangs intermittently when a popup window shows up. It seems to be the kind of window that warns about something. It is associated with different applications, sometimes Photoshop (warning that a setting needs to be changed in system preferences), sometimes in an app I run to increase the screen brightness (warning that the monitor has been changed and asking if I want to have the app reset the brightness) and sometimes in a browser when a similar warning message show up in a dialog box. It stays frozen for anywhere between 30 seconds and more than a minute. It is totally unresponsive.

Another issue that has shown up is the wifi failing intermittently. Sometimes this shows up by clicks on links simply not working and sometimes I get a warning saying it can't join the network. This when other nearby computers have any trouble joining and persisting even when I reset the network itself.

Has anyone had similar problems or does anyone know what I might do about this. I have been into Apple stores a half dozen times about this. One time they sent the computer in and replaced the logic board saying there was a video problem but, even then, the issue persisted. It is very intermittent and can go away for long periods and then return.

--Kenoli

 

[Sanpete]

Doesn't seem to be hardware, given the logic board replacement. Is it only the trackpad hanging? Do the keyboard and touch bar still work while the trackpad doesn't?

One way to track it down if it's software is to do a clean install and only add your non-OS software back one program at a time, maybe one program a day, to see when the problem reappears. If you have any unusual software, that's the most likely thing, as this doesn't seem to be a common issue, so maybe you could add standard programs back together on the first day, and then more suspect ones more slowly.

There have been occasional complaints about the wi-fi. Don't know how many of them have been resolved, or if there's any trend in the causes.

 

[kenoli]

Doesn't seem to be hardware, given the logic board replacement. Is it only the trackpad hanging? Do the keyboard and touch bar still work while the trackpad doesn't?

One way to track it down if it's software is to do a clean install and only add your non-OS software back one program at a time, maybe one program a day, to see when the problem reappears. If you have any unusual software, that's the most likely thing, as this doesn't seem to be a common issue, so maybe you could add standard programs back together on the first day, and then more suspect ones more slowly.

There have been occasional complaints about the wi-fi. Don't know how many of them have been resolved, or if there's any trend in the causes.

Thanks...

So the wifi and track pad hardware are on the logic board? Is anything not on the logic board?

I've actually done what you say, though since the issue is so intermittent, I have no way to really do this effectively. I'd have to wait days or even longer between installs which would make me pretty dysfunctional. I installed applications over a week and a week or so later started to see the symptoms. I gave it a day or so after installing groups of software. Nothing until some time after everything was installed.

Is there any particular kind of software that might be most suspicious?

--Kenoli
[doublepost=1490738895][/doublepost]PS -- I don't know for sure about the keyboard as I lose the cursor and can't place it anywhere I could enter anything. They keys don't do anything else when I press them. I didi try that. I didn't think to try the touch bar.

 

[Sanpete]

The parts that control the trackpad are on the logic board, and since it hangs up only temporarily it's probably one of those parts which is having trouble. It appears to be similar to when you get a spinning beachball, except it freezes the trackpad too. Could be all your input hangs, not just the trackpad.

You mention the brightness control software in connection with a freeze, so there's one suspect. You can probably do without that one well enough if you want to test without it. Photoshop is probably more essential! And less likely to be causing this problem, as we'd probably hear about it more often.

Any other unusual software you're running, or software associated with freezes? Those are your more likely suspects.

The wi-fi is likely an unrelated issue. It could well be a hardware issue. You might want to look back for some threads on that, which have been current recently. See what matches your issues.