MacBook Trackpad Not Working? Every Fix in Order

Ten fixes from fastest to slowest, the hidden accessibility toggle that "kills" most trackpads, the swollen-battery warning sign you should never ignore, how to tell a software freeze from a dead flex cable — and the point where upgrading beats paying for the repair.

A completely dead trackpad is alarming — but the majority of "my trackpad stopped working" cases are software. A frozen driver, a hidden accessibility toggle, a third-party input app crash, or a forgotten Bluetooth mouse that tells macOS to ignore the built-in trackpad. Work down this list in order — the first five fixes take under five minutes combined and solve most cases. If you hit fix 8 (swollen battery) and the shoe fits, stop immediately and get the battery replaced — that's a safety issue, not just a convenience problem.

First: can you still use the Mac?

If the trackpad is completely dead, you need a way to navigate while you troubleshoot. Your options:

Plug in any USB mouse — works instantly, no drivers needed. This is the fastest path.
Keyboard shortcuts — Tab moves between controls, Space activates buttons, Cmd+Tab switches apps, Ctrl+F2 puts focus on the menu bar. Enough to reach System Settings.
Mouse Keys — if you can get to System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → Alternative Control Methods, enable Mouse Keys. The number keys on the keyboard become a cursor controller.

What kind of failure are you seeing?

Trackpad completely dead — no cursor movement, no click → Start at fix 1 (restart) and work down. If it failed after a macOS update or hard crash, fix 4 (SMC reset) often solves it.
Cursor moves but clicks don't register → Check Trackpad Not Clicking — different issue (Force Touch calibration, physical mechanism).
Cursor jumps or ghost-clicks on its own → Check Trackpad Jumping / Ghost-Clicking — different root causes (moisture, capacitive interference).
Trackpad works sometimes but dies intermittently → Note when it fails: after heat-up = suspect flex cable or battery swelling; randomly = suspect Bluetooth device or third-party software. Fixes 2, 3, 6, and 8 are your targets.
Trackpad feels physically stiff, raised, or won't depress → Jump to fix 8 (swollen battery) immediately. This is the symptom.
Trackpad died after a battery replacement or repair → The flex cable was likely damaged during the repair. Jump to fix 9 (diagnostics) and fix 10 (bypass test).

The 10 fixes, fastest first

Fix	Time	What it fixes	How
1. Restart the Mac	2 min	Temporary software glitch that froze the trackpad driver — the most common cause of sudden total trackpad failure	If the trackpad stopped responding completely and out of nowhere, a restart clears the frozen IOHIDSystem driver that handles trackpad input. If you can't click anything: Ctrl+Eject (or Ctrl+power button) brings up the shutdown dialog — use the keyboard arrows and Return to restart. On an Apple Silicon Mac you can also hold the power button for 10 seconds to force a shutdown.
2. Disconnect any USB or Bluetooth mouse	30 sec	macOS silently prioritizing an external pointing device and suppressing trackpad input	macOS has a setting (System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → 'Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present') that disables the built-in trackpad whenever an external mouse is connected. A forgotten Bluetooth mouse in a bag, a wireless receiver plugged into a hub, or a drawing tablet with a pointing mode can all trigger this. Unplug or disconnect everything external and test the trackpad alone.
3. Check the Accessibility trackpad setting	30 sec	The 'ignore built-in trackpad' toggle turned on accidentally — trackpad appears dead but works the instant a mouse is unplugged	System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → uncheck 'Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present.' If this box is checked and no mouse is connected, it can still be active from a previously-paired Bluetooth device macOS remembers. Unchecking it re-enables the trackpad immediately — no restart needed.
4. Reset SMC (Intel) or force restart (Apple Silicon)	2 min	The hardware controller that handles trackpad power and communication is in a stuck state	Intel Macs: shut down, hold Shift+Control+Option+Power for 10 seconds, release, power on. This resets the SMC, which manages the USB bus the trackpad communicates over internally. Apple Silicon Macs: shut down, wait 30 seconds, power on — Apple Silicon has no separate SMC; the equivalent reset happens during a cold boot after a full power-off. If the trackpad stopped responding after a macOS update or a hard crash, this is often the fix.
5. Reset NVRAM / PRAM	1 min	Corrupted low-level settings that tell the firmware how to initialize the trackpad at boot	Intel Macs: shut down, power on, immediately hold Option+Command+P+R for 20 seconds — the Mac will chime or flash the screen twice before releasing. Apple Silicon: NVRAM resets automatically on every normal shutdown, so a clean shutdown + power on is sufficient. NVRAM stores peripheral initialization data; corruption here can cause the trackpad to not be recognized at all during boot.
6. Boot into Safe Mode and test	5 min	A third-party kernel extension or driver (BetterTouchTool, SteerMouse, Karabiner, USB Overdrive) interfering with the trackpad driver	Intel: restart holding Shift until the login screen. Apple Silicon: shut down, hold power until 'Options' appears, select your disk, hold Shift and click 'Continue in Safe Mode.' Safe Mode loads only Apple's built-in drivers. If the trackpad works perfectly in Safe Mode, a third-party extension is the cause — restart normally and remove or update the most recently installed input customization app.
7. Delete trackpad preference files	3 min	Corrupted trackpad configuration accumulated over macOS upgrades — gesture settings, click force, tracking speed stored incorrectly	Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder → /Library/Preferences/. Move com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad.plist and com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad.plist to the desktop (for backup). Also check ~/Library/Preferences/ for the same files. Restart. macOS rebuilds them from defaults. If the trackpad immediately works after this, the old files were corrupted. Re-configure your tracking speed and gesture preferences in System Settings.
8. Check for a swollen battery	1 min	A swelling lithium battery pushing up against the underside of the trackpad, physically preventing it from registering clicks or touch	Place the MacBook on a flat surface, closed. Look at it from the side — does the bottom case bulge upward? Does the laptop rock when you tap the corners? Open it — does the trackpad feel stiff, raised, or physically hard to press? A swollen battery expands upward into the trackpad cavity. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE: stop using the Mac immediately, do not charge it, and do not puncture the battery. An Apple Store or independent shop replaces the battery for $129–$259 depending on model. The trackpad itself is almost never damaged — once the new battery is in, the trackpad works perfectly.
9. Run Apple Diagnostics	5 min	Confirms whether the trackpad hardware, its flex cable, or the logic board connection has failed	Apple Silicon: shut down, hold power until 'Options' appears, press Cmd+D. Intel: power on holding D. A reference code starting with VDH, PPT, or NNN points to a trackpad or input device hardware failure. If diagnostics reports no issues and the trackpad still doesn't work after every software fix, the flex cable connecting the trackpad to the logic board is the most likely culprit — it runs under the battery and can be damaged during a battery replacement, a drop, or just from years of flex.
10. Test with an external keyboard + mouse (bypass test)	1 min	Isolates whether the problem is the trackpad specifically or the entire input subsystem (logic board issue)	Plug in a USB mouse and USB keyboard. If both work perfectly, the trackpad hardware or its cable is the problem. If external devices also glitch, freeze, or disconnect, the issue is on the logic board's USB/input controller — a board-level problem, not a trackpad problem. This distinction matters for repair cost: a trackpad or flex cable is $80–$200 to replace; a logic board input controller failure is $300+ and often isn't worth fixing on an older Mac.

The three that solve the most cases: restart the Mac (fix 1) — a frozen IOHIDSystem driver is the #1 cause of sudden total trackpad failure — disconnect external mice and check the Accessibility toggle (fixes 2 and 3), which accounts for nearly every "my trackpad is dead but it works with a mouse" report, and SMC reset (fix 4), which clears the hardware controller state after crashes and updates.

The hidden toggle that "kills" most trackpads

This is the single most common cause of "my trackpad suddenly stopped working and I don't know why": the macOS setting "Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present" in System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control.

It can be triggered by a Bluetooth mouse that auto-connected from inside a bag, a wireless mouse receiver plugged into a USB hub you forgot about, a drawing tablet in mouse mode, or even a game controller that macOS interprets as a pointing device. The trackpad appears completely dead — no cursor, no click — but it's just disabled by software. Unplug everything, turn off Bluetooth temporarily, and uncheck the toggle. The trackpad comes back instantly.

The swollen battery warning — don't ignore this one

If the trackpad feels physically stiff, raised, or hard to press — or if the MacBook rocks on a flat surface because the bottom case is bulging — stop using the Mac immediately. A swelling lithium battery expands upward into the trackpad cavity and physically prevents it from functioning. This is a safety issue, not just a repair issue.

Do not charge it — charging accelerates the swelling
Do not puncture or pry out the battery — lithium cells can catch fire
Get the battery replaced — Apple charges $129–$259 depending on model; independent shops are often less
The trackpad is almost never damaged — once the new battery is in, the trackpad works perfectly in the vast majority of cases

Swollen batteries are most common in MacBooks that are 3+ years old, kept plugged in 24/7 (constant charge cycling), or exposed to heat. If your trackpad is getting progressively stiffer over weeks, this is almost certainly the cause.

Confirmed hardware failure: flex cable, trackpad, or board?

If you've exhausted every software fix, Apple Diagnostics shows a VDH/PPT/NNN code, and the bypass test (fix 10) confirms external input works but the trackpad doesn't — the hardware is the problem. Three possibilities, from most to least likely:

Damaged flex cable: The flat ribbon cable connecting the trackpad to the logic board runs under the battery. It can be damaged during a battery replacement, from a drop, or from years of thermal cycling. The most common hardware cause. Part is $30–$60, repair $80–$200 total.
Failed trackpad sensor: The Force Touch trackpad unit itself has failed — rare, but it happens. Replacement part is $50–$120, total repair $130–$599 depending on model.
Logic board input controller: If the bypass test shows external USB devices also glitching, the USB/input controller on the logic board is failing. That's a board-level repair at $300+ — often not worth it on an older Mac.

The decision rule: if the repair costs more than half the Mac's resale value, put the money toward an upgrade instead. A $150 flex cable repair on a 2021 MacBook Pro is a no-brainer — the machine is worth $800+. A $300 board repair on a 2017 MacBook Air is not — that money goes further toward a refurbished Apple Silicon Mac with a fully tested trackpad and years of life ahead.

Trackpad died after a repair?

If your trackpad was working fine before a battery replacement or other internal repair and stopped immediately after — the flex cable was almost certainly damaged during the repair. This is the most common repair-related complication. The cable runs directly under the battery and is easy to nick, kink, or unseat during removal.

Take it back to the shop that did the work — a reputable shop will fix the cable at no additional charge since it's a consequence of their repair. If they won't, an independent repair shop can replace the cable for under $200.

Honest take: Most "my MacBook trackpad stopped working" cases are solved by a restart, disconnecting an external mouse, or unchecking one Accessibility toggle — under two minutes, no tools, no cost. The SMC reset and Safe Mode test catch almost all of the rest. If the trackpad is physically stiff or raised, that's a swollen battery — get it replaced before it becomes a fire hazard; the trackpad itself is fine underneath. An actual trackpad sensor failure is rare. Don't pay for a new trackpad until you've confirmed it's not a cable, not a battery, and not a software toggle.