Do a quick Internet search for “MacBook Pro keyboard problems” and you’ll see how unreliable the keyboard has been for many users. Further, some users hate the short travel of the keys. I haven’t had any reliability issues with the keyboard, and I actually love the feel of the keyboard.
Now that I’ve jinxed myself, it’s time for me to talk about my biggest problem with the MacBook Pro – the trackpad. The trackpad on my 2017 MacBook Pro is so huge, that it constantly registers misclicks, causing my cursor to randomly jump around a document. Bottom line, for me the palm rejection on the new MacBook Pro is horrible.
My attempted fix
I type with my palms raised a bit, and my fingers dangling down, which might be what is causing the misclicks. I tried for weeks to retrain myself to keep my palms resting on the keyboard, which, oddly, is how I type on a desktop keyboard. I could never get myself to do it consistently on the MacBook, and even when I did I got misclicks. Back to the drawing board.
My final fix
My final fix was to turn off the tap-to-click option in the Trackpad settings on my MacBook. I’ve been a tap-to-click person for as long as I can remember, so I really wanted to avoid this. Ultimately, I didn’t have a choice. Worse, I made the change on my iMac, too, so I would have a consistent experience across devices.
I HATE having to forcibly click the trackpad. Often that click doesn’t even register at all, and when it does it slows me down. But at least typing on the MacBook Pro isn’t horrible.
An attempted tweak
I thought I could bring BetterTouchTool into the equation to get back to tap-to-click. I set up tap areas around the edges of the trackpad, where a tap would register as a click. That just brought back the original problem.
Resignation
It looks like I’m a click person, until Apple fixes this monstrosity of a trackpad.
Michael Carroll says:
Did you see this? https://marco.org/2017/11/24/fixing-the-macbook-pro
and this? https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever
January 30, 2018 — 10:42 am
Evan Kline says:
I have, yes. He has also talked about it frequently on the Accidental Tech Podcast. I agree with much of what he says, especially about the reliability of the keyboards (although it hasn’t bitten me yet). I’m not so sure on the port front.
January 30, 2018 — 7:21 pm
Michael Carroll says:
I went back to the 15″ MBP (2015 model) with the old keyboard. It isn’t as small as the new ones but is a real workhorse when away from my iMac at the office. The screen is incredible; the keyboard is what a computer keyboard should be. Maybe not quite as good as the old Thinkpad keyboards, but close.
February 6, 2018 — 1:40 pm
Adolfo Foronda says:
How this trackpad even got out of R&D let alone to a production “top of the line” apple laptop is baffling. I’m shocked that there isn’t more outrage from customers as I see this as the absolute biggest problem with the MBP. I’ve lost a serious amount of time trying to undo rogue code that has been introduced due to the sporadic cursor jumping.
Thanks so much for highlighting what I believe to be the worst aspect of the MBP it’s a serious problem. Having paid top dollar for a top of the line apple laptop only to have problems introduced because of this redonkulous trackpad is very discouraging.
February 6, 2018 — 10:35 am
Evan Kline says:
Glad to hear I’m not the only one, Adolfo. I hate having to click (instead of tap) so much that I went back to the drawing board since writing the post. I’ve turned on Tap to Click again, and turned up the “click” option to “Firm.” I’m going to see how that goes for a while.
February 6, 2018 — 10:40 am
guest says:
The palm rejection on the MacBook Pro trackpad simply doesn’t work. It’s a monstrous and horrible problem that there is real solution for. Widely reported on the internet (google “macbook pro palm rejection”) but there is no answer that works.
The keyboard also sucks.
August 15, 2018 — 9:09 pm
Cristian Holdunu says:
I have the same issue. I just bought the 2018 machine and the touchpad is horrible. I can get used with the keyboard, but the trackpad is killing me. Too ***** huge and palm rejection is not working. Often, my hands are touching the trackpad and tap to click seized to work. BetterTouchTool was for nothing.
October 5, 2018 — 10:43 am
Jason K says:
Agree 100%, I hate hate hate hate this ridiculous trackpad to the point where this may be my last 15 inch. If they don’t want to reduce size, they might try centering it around hand placement (which would center it based on the spacebar). The way it is currently centered makes the entire right side of the trackpad useless and a nuisance. I see articles where people like it, but I don’t get it. I spend more time aware of it, trying to avoid it, and distracted by it than anything else.
November 3, 2018 — 7:41 am
Evan Kline says:
I’m slowly getting better with the trackpad, although it requires me to contort my arms when I type so the heels of my palms don’t touch the trackpad. I guess we’re in the minority, because this issue doesn’t get much, if any, press.
November 4, 2018 — 3:16 pm
guest says:
Last I checked there were a bunch of complaint threads on Apple’s forums – but there were never any real solutions posted, just useless non-solutions like “turn off point to click” or “trackpad works flawlessly for me – you must be an idiot.” The problem persists unfixed, and it is terrible.
I googled “macbook pro palm rejection” to find your blog post. ;-/
November 27, 2018 — 6:34 pm
Michael Carroll says:
Because of all the press regarding the problems with the post 2015 MBP, I purchased the 2015 version that has the old trackpad and keyboard largely based on this review: https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever . I have to say, other than for its size/weight, it definitely lives up to that billing. It may not have the specs of the modern MBP, but for the kind of work I do, I need nothing more. Having said that, I am of the opinion that 15″ laptops are, by definition, not portable. For mobility, nothing bigger than the 13″ form makes sense. Recently I purchased the 13.5″ Surface Book 2. It is everything the current version of the MBP aspires to be and really is the souped-up version (and lighter) of my old MBP.
November 4, 2018 — 3:10 pm
Evan Kline says:
Maybe I have a high tolerance for pain/weight, because I carry my 15 inch with me every day, along with a 12.9 inch iPad Pro, and don’t really think twice about it. Granted a 13 inch would be easier, but I guess it comes down to what you’re used to. When I went from my 2013 15 inch to the 2017, the difference seemed noticeable. But before that, carrying around the old 15 inch didn’t bother me.
November 4, 2018 — 3:19 pm
Michael Carroll says:
The 15″ MBP from 2015 is a beast in every way! The 13″ SB2 is is the updated version of that machine.
November 4, 2018 — 5:32 pm
Michael Carroll says:
What do you use to carry? I carry my 13″ SBP and 10.5″ iPad Pro in https://www.venque.com/collections/briefcase/products/hamptons-carbon
When I travel though, I carry both in a backpack.
November 5, 2018 — 8:12 am
Evan Kline says:
That looks nice. Looks like lots of pocket options.
I’m carrying my stuff in separate sleeves in a Waterfield Rough Rider:
https://www.sfbags.com/products/rough-rider-messenger-bag
Within that, the MacBook Pro goes a Waterfield Dash Sleeve (the black ballistic nylon version):
https://www.sfbags.com/products/dash-macbook-ipad-sleeve
The iPad Pro goes in a ProCase sleeve:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016VZYAYO/
November 5, 2018 — 3:08 pm
lofye says:
I’m in the exact same boat. Loads of spurious inputs & misclicks. SO frustrating.
November 7, 2018 — 9:55 am
guest says:
You’re absolutely right! The palm rejection on the giant MacBook Pro trackpad simply doesn’t work!! It is a horribly frustrating abomination that Apple needs to fix but has so far shown no interest in addressing. I just got my trackpad replaced, but the problem persists: cursor jumps all over the screen randomly while you’re trying to type. It’s utterly maddening.
Lots of non-solutions have been posted to the internet like “turn off tap to click or other gestures” or “have you ever heard of System Preferences?” or “I’ve never had this problem so you are obviously an idiot” or “why don’t you learn to type properly (and uncomfortably) without touching the trackpad or even hovering anywhere near it?” or “get an external keyboard and trackpad, duh!” but they do nothing to fix the core problem which is that palm rejection used to work on the trackpad on older MacBook Pro laptops but it hasn’t worked properly on any model with the “giant” trackpad introduced in 2016 or so. None of the settings matter – try what you will, this problem persists and it seems that there is no workaround at least as of late 2018 and macOS 10.14 Mojave.
This awful MacBook Pro trackpad can burn in hell – the palm rejection simply does not work.
November 27, 2018 — 6:28 pm
Evan Kline says:
It’s a shame, but I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this won’t be fixed.
November 27, 2018 — 10:53 pm
guest says:
I wonder if having an Apple Watch makes the problem worse? It might. :(
November 27, 2018 — 6:30 pm
me says:
Man, I’ve just gone from a mid 2014 to a 2018. They keyboard I just put down to having to get used to, but the trackpad. Is there even any palm rejection on it? Doesn’t feel like it…
November 29, 2018 — 6:46 pm
[email protected] says:
Absolutely. I RETURNED a $4000 macbook pro back to the store after 3 weeks because of this problem! Won’t buy another one. So sad, such a clear problem, and Apple not listening to consumer problem, as is now the rule.
January 15, 2019 — 8:31 am
Dan Kirshner says:
At the cost of a bit of self-promotion, I created a 3D-printed “palm guard” that creates a slightly raised barrier around the trackpad. Crude, but it works! More info here: https://www.shapeways.com/product/RKDVD8XCV/quot-palms-off-quot-macbook-pro-trackpad-palm-guard
May 19, 2019 — 12:56 am
Mike Murphy says:
Let me weigh in on this issue….a huge step backward from prior Pro’s with smaller trackpads!!
December 16, 2019 — 2:52 pm