Trackpad erratic on Virgin America flight

I just bought a new 15" MBP, and encountered a weird problem with it when flying on Virgin America. When I plugged into the in-seat power outlet, my trackpad stopped working properly: when I tried to move the mouse around the cursor was jumpy, and multi-finger gestures came close to not working at all.
Simply touching anywhere on the metal case, or asking someone else to do the same, fixed the problem. That is, if I kept my hands off the machine except for the trackpad, it didn't work right. If I put a finger on the case, it worked fine. And of course, unplugging the power adapter also resolved the issue.
Which leads to two questions:
(1) What's the deal? (It's been suggested that this might have something to do with how Virgin's power outlets are grounded.)
(2) Is this something that any new MBP would do, or a deficiency in my new Mac that I should worry about while I can still exchange it?
Thanks.

Tried two different outlets at two different seats on two different flights (can't guarantee it was different planes).
It was my adapter. (Virgin's outlets are just regular US wall outlets.)

Similar Messages

Trackpad erratic since upgrade

Hello,
Soon after I upgraded my mid-2010 macbook pro to Mavericks, the trakcpad started acting erratically. The cursor follows my commands for some time, but after the computer receives some load, it starts to drift towards either right or left of the screen. The direction in which the cursor drifts changes, but once it happens, it is consistent. Also, unintended clicks happen. It is as if the computational load causes the trackpad to think that there is constant touch in one direction.
The battery was old and system report suggested it was in poor health. But same was the case since 5 months before I upgraded to Mavericks (more than a month ago). Nevertheless, I have replaced the battery after reading about swollen battries pressing against trackpad and reset the SMC. I use a bluetooth trackpad for time being.
Can a swollen battery cause long lasting damage to trackpad?
Could this be related to how new software/driver in the Mavericks detects touch and clicks?
Thanks for the tips!
Shalin

Power down the computer and clean the trackpad with a damp not wet microfiber cloth.
Trackpad is very sensitive often.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1449
Best.

Trackpad erratic in Safari

I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro 13" running Mountain Lion.
When surfing in Safari I have an intermittent problem regarding the trackpad. The following symptoms have been observed:
Multi-gesture movements stop working
When moving the cursor text is erroneously highlighted
When moving the cursor text is erroneously magnified
The curson can't be moved at all
I have noticed these symptoms predominately in Safari. I started using Chrome which seems to improve the situation (less occurences) but I have still observed similar symptoms.
I don't believe it is a hardware failure. My intuition is it is a software issue. If I close the browser and reopen the condition is corrected.

I agree, it sounds like a software problem. But sometimes trackpad trouble can be fixed by cleaning the trackpad with a damp cloth (even a slight film of oil or grease can cause problems). Another thing to try: does it make a difference whether or not the power adapter is connected? When the MagSafe power adapter is connected and the three-prong grounded mains plug is not used, this can sometimes cause erratic trackpad behavior.

Macbook Pro, 10.9.3 - Mouse and trackpad erratic

Hi there
I am one of these "lucky" people experiencing erratic mouse and kepypad movements on my Macbook Pro. Resetting the Pram (Command (⌘), Option, P, and R) has done the job in the past but not really this time.
The mouse (I am using a Logitech wireless mouse) has gotten quite a bit better after resetting the Pram and after updating the Mac to the latest sofware version (10.9.3) so it is kind of managable (it still tends to drift upwards when I dont use it though), but the trackpad is pretty much unusable at the moment.
I really doubt there is something physically wrong with the trackpad, as it worked perfectly and stopped doing so all of a sudden together with the mouse.
BTW my disk space has been pretty full and I made some more space as I thought this might have been an issue...but this hasn't fixed the problem either.
I am really grateful for advise!
Thanks!
Betty

There are several possible causes for this issue. Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until it's resolved. Some may not apply in your case.
1. Follow the instructions in this support article, and also this one, if applicable. A damaged or defective AC adapter could be the cause, even if it's the right kind.
2. Open the Bluetooth preference pane in System Preferences and delete all pointing devices other than the trackpad, if applicable. Disconnect any USB pointing devices. By a "pointing device," I mean a peripheral that moves the cursor, such as a trackpad, mouse, trackball, or graphics tablet. A plain keyboard is not a pointing device.
3. Start up in safe mode and test, preferably without launching any third-party applications. If you don't have the problem in safe mode, but it comes back when you restart as usual, stop here and post your results. Do the same if you can't start in safe mode. If there was no difference in safe mode, go on to the next step.
4. Reset the System Management Controller.
5. If you're using a Bluetooth trackpad, investigate potential sources of interference, including USB 3 devices.
6. A swollen battery in a portable computer can impinge on the trackpad from below and cause erratic behavior. If you have trouble clicking the trackpad, this is likely the reason. The battery must be replaced without delay.
7. Press down all four corners of the trackpad at once and release. If there's any effect, it's likely to be temporary, and the unit needs to be serviced or replaced.
8. There's a report that a (possibly defective) Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter can cause the built-in trackpad of a MacBook to behave erratically. If you're using such an adapter, disconnect it and test.
9. There's also a report of erratic cursor movements caused by an external display that was connected but not turned on.
10. If none of the above applies, or if you have another reason to think that your computer is being remotely controlled, remove it from the network by turning off Wi-Fi (or your Wi-Fi access point), disconnecting from a Bluetooth network link, and unplugging the Ethernet cable or USB modem, whichever is applicable. If the cursor movements stop at once, you should suspect an intrusion.
11. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine and/or external trackpad tested.

Trackpad Erratic

I have a brand new MBP, and the trackpad is very erratic. At times, I will just try to click on a scroll bar, and it won't click on it. Other times, I am just trying to select text and it won't.
I can't tell if I have the settings too sensitive, or not sensitive enough. The constant zooming in and out (not on purpose) is extremely annoying as well!
OH -- and 50% of the time when I click, the trackpad thinks I've "right clicked" and that menu pops up - and I can't highlight or click on whatever I'm trying to.
Any tips you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Kim
Message was edited by: kiminfl

Can it be that you are getting used to it ??
mind you with the update below over all sensitivity issues have been sort of fixed for me
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1066
give it a try

Trackpad Erratic Insanity; Stay away from Fluorescent Tubes, EMI!

Yesterday I was helping a friend with her new 13" Aluminum MacBook. She sat the MacBook down on one of the glass display cases in her gift store. We fired up the computer only to find that the trackpad had gone totally nuts. I could get the pointer to move only a tiny amount. Clicking caused very strange behavoiur such as bringing up the "right click" menu, and activating Expose'. Luckily, we had a Kensington mouse handy; the mouse worked just fine. Because our friend had just installed some new software, I repaired Permissions and scanned the hard drive via Disk Utilities & rebooted. Trackpad still useless, I moved the laptop to a counter near the phone so I could call Apple Tech Support. While I was dialing in and on hold, I noticed that the trackpad seemed to be working normally. After scratching my head in disbelief, I noticed that there was a 4' Fluorescent lamp in a bezel at the upper front of the glass display case to illuminate the case's contents. Relocating the MacBook to its original position on the glass case duplicated the original Trackpad disfunction. I informed the Tech Support person of the incident so she could add it to Apple's troubleshooting database, and also suggested that she needed to inform Apple's Engineering/QA departments so they could do further testing, etc. Luckily no apparent damage was done to the computer, but it easily could have. Moral of the story: KEEP YOUR MACBOOK AWAY FROM SOURCES OF STRONG ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE, such as fluorescent or neon lamps, motors, etc. Even though I have figured out this problem, I thought it would be very helpful to make this post.
Best to you all!

Majic Trackpad Erratic

I have gone through the focum and read all the posts.
I had leopard on the mackbook and i upgraded to Lion by downloading a 3gb odd file from the app store.
It installed well and then worked too for a while.
After a day or two the mouse pointer has started doing its own thing. eg: double clicking, selecting text, changing windows etc.
Before the upgrade the trackpad worked super, and had no issues.
I read the apple fix of cleaning hands and cleaning the glass of the trackpad. Just to give a try i did that also.
After reading so many people having these similar issues, i feel its a software related issue and apple should own it up rather than having users clean their hands , when the same trackpad worked well with old leopard.
If anyone of you have found a REAL fix to this please reply. Maybe there is a software on the mac that is making the trackpad do funny things.
While i write this i am also experimenting by changing settings to see if anything works.
Also just to add my iphone 3 got a update sometime back and after that i havent been able to use the wifi since then. I tried to roll back to earlier settings but nothing helped. so what broke between the update and the previous rom?
I see apple going the windows ways. very disappointing...
Thank You

I am expert level Mac user, I worked for Apple in th 90', and this is THE worst, THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE SOFTWARE PROBLEM I HAVE EVER HAD. This started after the last Lion upgrade and installation of Flash player. Ran for viruses, clean, ran for new update, turned off all trackpad options. Cursor launches anything it touches for a second, cursor has mind of its own acts like old time click an drag, without clicking and dragging. Only let's go when over desktop an pounding the lower corners which click on MacBook. Help,,,,,,!

No trackpad, erratic mouse

Trackpad has stopped working, only cursor moves, no play in the pad or ability to select anything. Mouse works after start-up somtimes, in one or both of the USB slots.
I recently installed 512RAM, but removed it and problem still there. Also upgraded to 10.4.9.
I have tried to reinstall the OS but with the mouse trackpad problems, I have been unlucky in being able to navigate the OS install disc when I startup from it.
Does this sound more like a trackpad or a logic board or a software problem.
I recently inherited this iBook and my understanding was it was little used.
Thanks

Chances are that if a piece of the connector is broken, you will need to replace the trackpad, all right.
In addition to eBay, you may want to check out PowerBook Tech for recycled parts:
http://www.powerbooktech.com/items,cat-(4).htm
And iFixit:
http://www.ifixit.com/Products/G3-12-Inch-iBook-500-MHz-Case-Components/16/23
Good luck.

13" Macbook Air OK for comfortable use on flights?

My 15" Macbook Pro is too big for the space given in economy on Virgin America. Would the 13" MacBook Air fit well, or should I go for the 11" for flights?
Thanks

Where do you typically fly? i.e. on what kind of flights would you be using this? Very long flights? Very short flights? In-between?
If I were often on very long flights, I'd get the 13" Air because those seats will typically be a bit wider, and because the 13" has a 10 hour battery life (give or take, but that should hold you on a flight over one ocean or another with breaks for naps and food). So you could spend those long hours typing away and working on whatever.
If you are talking flights of three-to-five hours with cramped seating, however, the 11" Air is the way to go. It will fit on that tray table with room to spare, and it will give you 5 hours of battery, more than enough for most flights from this city to that. I, myself, had a 13" pro and I found that on such flights even the 13" was too big and didn't work, especially when the person in the seat in front of me leaned back. But the 11" will. Good for using those few hours to edit or polish whatever you've been working on. As for the screen size...go into a store take a look at one. You may find it's crispness and clarity more than make-up for it's smallness, though, of course, it is going to be a bit of a switch after the roominess of a 15".
And if we're talking very frequent, short flights, just an hour's jump here to there on a small plane...get an iPad. Seriously. Even smaller, no lid, and very easy to switch it to whatever you want it to be for that hour in the air: your magazine, newspaper, book, game, movie, or file holder. If the flights you're on barely give you time to bring out the computer let alone type, you might as well go for the iPad

Using iPhone on long plane flight

I'll be flying across country Friday. Don't know if there's any way to charge iPhone on plane. Really want to be able to listen to music/watch videos and don't know if battery will last long enough. Have original iPhone with 2.0 upgrade.

If you use Airplane Mode you should be ok on a cross country flight (although you didn't say which country!), especially if you turn down the screen brightness. Music will last you longer than video, which taxes the processors.
As far as charging - it all depends on the airline you are using, your class of service (First Class will have the best chance of being able to charge), and the type of airplane you are flying on.
For example, Virgin America has USB connections in every seat. They are probably the most-friendly in the US in this regard.
You'll have to check with your airline, but assuming you're flying a US airline I'd say unless you're in First Class your chances are slim to none that you'll be able to charge. Keep it fully charged at the airport right up until you're ready to board.

Rounded Out the Comenity Lineup....

Well, I figured since Comenity was so willing to help me on my credit rebuilding journey, I'd try to round out the lineup yesterday. Landed the following: Orbitz VISA $7000FRN MC $5000Virgin America VISA $3500 All were done with the pop up and all auto approved except my last one, Virgin America, that I had to call on and the nice woman put it through for me. In the last 2 days I've added $27,500 from Commenity in the way of VISA/MC and $16150 with two retail cards. Time to garden.

rrr66 wrote:
Well, I figured since Comenity was so willing to help me on my credit rebuilding journey, I'd try to round out the lineup yesterday. Landed the following: Orbitz VISA $7000FRN MC $5000Virgin America VISA $3500 All were done with the pop up and all auto approved except my last one, Virgin America, that I had to call on and the nice woman put it through for me. In the last 2 days I've added $27,500 from Commenity in the way of VISA/MC and $16150 with two retail cards. Time to garden. Congrats on the approvals.

Remove water spot on lens in Post Production

I've looked around but haven't seen this question yet.
Can I remove a spot that was on my your lens while I was shooting and remove it in post production?
I have CS4 and FCS 2 to work with.

Yes, very nice. Thank you.
But, do I have to go get footage of a grey card? Reason I ask, is because I only rent cameras and don't own a nice one to begin with. Plus, this is only for the board of directors over at Virgin America. Is there a way to add a gray matte instead? Nob questions, sorry.
It was a raining day on the 14th in the early morning. My camera had a bag but water still got in.
Ughh, its also in too many shots to fix it.
I'll post it here when I'm done.
Oh Les, I was gonna add you on Facebook but couldn't find your profile. Do you have Facebook or LinkedIn by chance?
Thanks for you help.
Jesse Dean (facebook)

Comenity Emv cards?

What Comenity Bank Credit Cards have EMV chips in them? I want to start a relationship with Comenity, But I only will have EMV cards in my wallet.

ddemari wrote:
Meijer mastercard has a chip in it. Virgin america visa's also have chip.My Virgin America doesn't. Is this a brand new feature they've implemented (mine was issued March)?

Way to remotely wake Mac from sleep?

I'm posting this from 33,967 feet aboard Virgin America. I was remotely accessing my computer via VNC for iPhone and using the inflight Wi-Fi, when my iMac overheated and automatically put itself to sleep. I'm pretty sure that's what happened, it's done it before. I had iCam running so I could monitor my living room while I am traveling and keep am eye on my cat. It was all working great until I stupidly started using safari remotely and made my processor heat up and over heat the machine (it's a G5 iMac and my apartment gets pretty hot AND there is a heatwave today). I'm kind of stressed out right now because I can't connect to use iCam and watch my cat. Wondering if there is a remote comand or something I can send via a terminal app to wake the machine? Otherwise I'm hoping my cat gets bored and hops up on the desk and steps on the keyboard or something. I'm thinking this is a long shot hoping somebody knows something I don't. Thanks in advance.
~McToast
P.S. If it's a power failure, I do have the machine set to automatically restart after a power interruption, and automatically log back in..

This requires sending it a magic packet and is only possible if it is set to wake for administrator access from the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences, you know it's current public IP, the interface it's connected through is supported(many Macs can't do this over a wireless connection), and if you're using a router, port forwarding for that type of packet is enabled.
(58723)

My macbook pro is running very slow with some strange mouse and window movements. The trackpad is very unresponsive and when responding the cursor moves on its own and/or very erratically. When on safari the window suddenly zooms in or highlights words.

My macbook pro is running very slow with some strange mouse and window movements. The trackpad is very unresponsive and when responding the cursor moves on its own and/or very erratically. When on safari the window suddenly zooms in or highlights words and looks them up via dictionary. I currently have a wireless mouse connected and I am still having the same problems.
I fee like I may have a virus or my laptop is perhaps being accessed remotely. All of the sharing options are unchecked.
HELP PLEASE
Very worried!!

Try these in order testing your system after each to see if it's back to normal:
1. a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
    b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
     Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the
     COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and
     after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears.
     Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
     Reinstall the 10.9.2 update: OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Update (Combo).
4. Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks from the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
Reinstall the 10.9.2 update: OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Update (Combo).

Trackpad erratic on Virgin America flight

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for