Here's the thing almost nobody tells you: every MacBook since 2015 has a Force Touch trackpad that doesn't physically move. The click you feel is a tiny haptic vibration generated by software. That changes the whole diagnosis — a "dead click" is very often a settings or software problem, not a broken part. Work down this list in order, and if you do land on hardware at the bottom, I'll give you the honest repair-vs-sell math instead of pretending every Mac is worth fixing.
First: the symptom that's actually normal
Because the click is haptic, the trackpad will not click at all when the Mac is off or asleep. People discover this on a dead Mac, assume the trackpad broke too, and panic. A solid, motionless trackpad on a powered-down MacBook is working exactly as designed.
- Mac is on, cursor moves, but no click feel → start with the software fixes below. Most of these resolve in minutes.
- Cursor doesn't move either → trackpad input is dead, not just the click. Check the mouse-ignore setting (fix 4), then Safe Mode — if neither helps, it's hardware: ribbon cable, trackpad, or liquid damage.
- Trackpad is raised, bulging, or suddenly stiff → stop. Skip straight to the swollen-battery section. That's a safety issue.
The 8 fixes, fastest first
| Fix | Time | What it fixes | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Restart the Mac | 1 min | Haptic-engine glitches, hung input processes | Apple menu → Restart. The Force Touch trackpad's click is software-generated, so a restart genuinely resets the click itself. |
| 2. Check the click-pressure setting | 1 min | Clicks that feel weak, mushy, or need too much force | System Settings → Trackpad → Point & Click → Click: Light / Medium / Firm. Someone (or a migration) sets this to Firm more often than you'd think. |
| 3. Turn on Tap to Click | 1 min | Gets you working instantly even if the physical click is dead | System Settings → Trackpad → Tap to click. Not a fix, but it makes the Mac fully usable while you sort out the rest. |
| 4. Disconnect mice & toggle the ignore setting | 1 min | Trackpad deliberately disabled by macOS | System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → turn OFF “Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse is present.” Then unplug/unpair every mouse and test. |
| 5. Update macOS | 15 min | Trackpad firmware/driver bugs after OS updates | System Settings → General → Software Update. Trackpad firmware ships inside macOS updates. |
| 6. Test in Safe Mode | 5 min | Third-party conflicts (gesture apps, BetterTouchTool, security tools) | Apple Silicon: shut down, hold the power button, pick the disk, hold Shift. Clicks fine in Safe Mode = software, not hardware. |
| 7. Delete trackpad preference files | 3 min | Corrupted per-user trackpad settings | In ~/Library/Preferences, remove com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad.plist and com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad.plist, then restart. |
| 8. Reset SMC (Intel Macs only) | 2 min | Power-related trackpad failures on pre-2020 Macs | Shut down, hold Shift+Control+Option (left side) + power for 10 seconds. Apple Silicon has no SMC — a restart does the equivalent. |
The two that catch the most people: "Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse is present" (fix 4) silently kills the trackpad whenever macOS thinks a mouse is connected — including a Bluetooth mouse switched on in a drawer across the room. And the click-pressure setting (fix 2) set to Firm makes a perfectly healthy trackpad feel broken, especially after migrating settings from someone else's Mac.
The swollen-battery warning sign — do not ignore this
The battery sits directly under the trackpad. When a lithium battery starts to swell, the trackpad is the first thing it pushes on — so a trackpad that's raised above the chassis, sits unevenly, suddenly takes real force to click, or stopped clicking entirely is the classic early symptom of a swollen battery. Other tells: the bottom case bulges, the Mac wobbles flat on a table, or the lid no longer closes flush.
This is a safety issue, not a quirk. Stop charging it, don't press the trackpad to "test" it, and don't fly with it. A swollen pack can vent or ignite if punctured. The fix is a battery replacement — roughly $130–$250 at Apple depending on model — and the trackpad usually clicks normally again the moment the pressure is gone.
On an older Mac, run the math before paying: if the battery job costs more than half what the machine sells for working, sell it with the bad battery instead — we buy swollen-battery Macs and handle the pack safely.
What the failure pattern tells you
- Click feels weak or mushy: click-pressure setting, or the haptic engine starting to fail. Settings first.
- Cursor moves, click dead: software most of the time — restart, Safe Mode, preference files.
- Trackpad + keyboard dead together: they share a ribbon cable on most models — that's a repair-shop diagnosis. See our keyboard guide for the same triage from the other side.
- Raised, stiff, or bulging trackpad: swollen battery until proven otherwise. Stop charging.
- Visible crack in the glass: the sensor may keep working for a while, but cracks spread and the click degrades. Here's what a cracked-trackpad Mac is worth as-is.
- Died after a spill: liquid damage — stop charging for 48 hours, and read the water-damage walkthrough before paying for any repair.
Confirmed hardware failure: repair or sell?
Real-world out-of-warranty pricing for trackpad-related repairs:
- Trackpad replacement (independent shop): roughly $100–$250, parts and labor
- Trackpad via Apple: often bundled into a top-case repair — $300–$600 depending on model
- Battery replacement (if swelling is the cause): roughly $130–$250 at Apple
The decision rule is one line: if the repair quote is more than half what your Mac sells for working, sell it broken instead. A dead or cracked trackpad barely touches the parts that carry a MacBook's value — display, logic board, chassis — so these machines trade for far more than people expect.
We buy them directly: Macs with cracked or dead trackpads, swollen-battery Macs, and broken MacBooks of any kind. Photos and the model number get you a same-day number — that credit plus the repair money you didn't spend usually covers a refurbished replacement with a perfect trackpad and a fresh 1-year warranty.
Honest take: a restart, the click-pressure setting, and the mouse-ignore toggle fix most "dead" trackpads in under five minutes — and Tap to Click keeps you working in the meantime. But if the trackpad is raised or stiff, that's a battery problem wearing a trackpad costume. Don't press on it, don't charge it, and don't sink a $400 repair into a $350 laptop — sell it and upgrade.
Trackpad's done? Get a number before you pay for a repair
We buy MacBooks with cracked or dead trackpads — same-day quote, free shipping label, paid when it arrives.
Related guides
Broken-Mac trade-ins: Cracked trackpad · Bad battery · Water damage · Won't turn on
More guides: Keyboard not working · Battery health guide · Trade-in walkthrough