Mouse pointer on my MacBook moves by itself

Starting today, my mouse cursor is moving by itself.

I use a MacBook Pro with an external display and a magic mouse. The laptop is closed, and even when bluetooth is deactivated, the cursor moves.

Fribu - Smart Solutions

Posted 2012-01-29T13:45:51.437

Reputation: 209

– kenorb – 2017-09-12T15:08:29.950

1You forgot about a connected, wireless pointing device lying around somewhere under a stack of paper (mouse, Tragic Macpad, drawing tablet). Alternatively, stuff is lying on your Macbook's trackpad which you don't use. – Daniel Beck – 2012-01-29T13:50:00.153

ok, its a macbook pro, but it is closed (external monitor) i use the magic mouse – Fribu - Smart Solutions – 2012-01-29T14:50:21.643

@DanielBeck i have only my mouse, and even if I deactivate bluetouth it moves anyway – Fribu - Smart Solutions – 2012-01-29T14:56:10.277

2@slhck done, yes it is like a magic :) – Fribu - Smart Solutions – 2012-01-29T15:23:02.417

Which OS are you using? – Bibhas – 2012-01-29T16:32:34.317

Answers

I stumbled upon a thread in Apple Snow Leopard discussion forum. a bit old thread, but the problem is same. And it seems a lot of people have been facing the same problem. more than 120+ comments and yet no one found a good solution. They have tried various solutions like replacing the mouse with wired one, updating the browser(!) and someone even related it to more than one monitor being connected. But only those who ended up replacing the trackpad, seemed to have gotten rid of it. and it also makes sense I think. If no mouse is connected, bluetooth is turned off, and yet the pointer is moving, then it has to be some problem with the trackpad. You're welcome to wait for any further solutions, replacing the trackpad can be the last resort.

Bibhas

Posted 2012-01-29T13:45:51.437

Reputation: 2 490

If you have a touch screen, turn it off. I noticed the ripple effect of the cursor that should only happen when you touch the screen, not when using the touch pad or mouse. Fixed the problem right away. After a week I turned the touch screen back on, calibrated it and it was fine again. Appears you need to do that about every eight weeks.

Adrien

Posted 2012-01-29T13:45:51.437

Reputation: 11

2Touchscreen on a Mac? – Canadian Luke – 2012-07-28T11:14:12.863

Here are suggestions to try:

Make sure your trackpad is clean and dry.
Try to slap or put some pressure on your trackpad as per this answer.

Got so frustrated I literally slapped the trackpad with my open palm. And what do you know -- that fixed it!
Try to restart your Dock service by typing in Terminal: killall Dock command (be aware, it'll restart/re-open all your windows). Here is another similar command to restart it:
```
launchctl stop com.apple.Dock.agent && launchctl start com.apple.Dock.agent
```
Quit/restart any mouse related software (like BetterTouchTool).
In System Preferences, Trackpad, slow down your Tracking speed and re-enable all options.
Try to reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
If the problem still continues even after restart, it could be a hardware problem.

kenorb

Posted 2012-01-29T13:45:51.437

Reputation: 16 795