Resolved 2012 Unibody MBP Trackpad Issue

[defjam]

I just received a 2012 MBP that I purchased off of Ebay. It was listed as having liquid damaged, does not power on. When I received it the system powered up just fine and appears to be fully operational. I performed an Internet Recovery which installed macOS El Capitan and then proceeded to upgrade it to macOS Catalina. So far so good.

I then attempted to go to the System Preferences to change the behavior of the track pad (I want to configure it for tap to click). However the system reports it's unable to locate one and continues to search Blue Tooth for a trackpad. In the past the internal trackpad has always shown up under the trackpad control panel. My question is has the location of configuring the trackpad changed in Catalina? Is there a trick to changing the trackpad behavior? As for the operation of the trackpad it appears to be working perfectly. Mouse movements are smooth and physically clicking the trackpad works fine (the liquid damage was at the back of the system, no where near the trackpad itself).

Am I missing something when it comes to configuring the internal trackpad? To my knowledge this system is supported by macOS Catalina. I've heard Catalina is buggy (I don't have i

 

[barbu]

Catalina Trackpad Prefs are the same or similar to previous versions.
By the sound of it, the trackpad works but is not recognized by the system. Can you get the default gestures to work? Swiping, etc?

 

[Zen_Arcade]

You might be experiencing the liquid damage described in the listing, even if it was nowhere near the trackpad.

Alternatively, the battery may be swollen in the wrong area - right where a connector/sensor recognizes that a trackpad is present.

 

[defjam]

Thanks for the responses.

barbu: Yes, the trackpad works but apparently is not recognized by the OS. I haven't tried the default gestures...I'll give them a try later on and report back to you.

zen: There is no battery installed, it wasn't included in the sale. The liquid damage was that the system wouldn't power on (I took a risk that it would, eventually, power on). Of course that doesn't mean there aren't other issues such as the trackpad issue. Just seems odd the OS doesn't recognize it but it appears to be functional.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Thanks for the responses.


zen: There is no battery installed, it wasn't included in the sale. The liquid damage was that the system wouldn't power on (I took a risk that it would, eventually, power on). Of course that doesn't mean there aren't other issues such as the trackpad issue. Just seems odd the OS doesn't recognize it but it appears to be functional.

Sorry if I missed the "no battery" info in your original post.

I agree it is odd that the OS lets it work but doesn't recognize it in System Preferences. Liquid damage is the only possibility I can think of from what you've shared - I hope you get it sorted!

 

[defjam]

Sorry if I missed the "no battery" info in your original post.

No worries as I didn't mention it

I agree it is odd that the OS lets it work but doesn't recognize it in System Preferences. Liquid damage is the only possibility I can think of from what you've shared - I hope you get it sorted!

I'm thinking of ordering a battery for it. Thinking maybe it might be a little wonky without one (though I wouldn't be able to explain why). Of course it could just be that it's wonky because of the liquid damage. If this is the worst issue with it I can live with it (it only cost me $70)

 

[s66]

Unibody: a swollen battery can cause the trackpad not to function properly anymore pretty easily. I've seen it myself in a few of them over the years. The trackpad misbehaving is often the first sign the battery is gone for many users of unibody MPBs.

When it gets worse, the battery can physically damage the trackpad and even bend the bottom lid up to tearing the lid where it's screwed in the top.

If it's not the battery: you might have found some water damage after all.

 

[defjam]

Unibody: a swollen battery can cause the trackpad not to function properly anymore pretty easily. I've seen it myself in a few of them over the years. The trackpad misbehaving is often the first sign the battery is gone for many users of unibody MPBs.

When it gets worse, the battery can physically damage the trackpad and even bend the bottom lid up to tearing the lid where it's screwed in the top.

If it's not the battery: you might have found some water damage after all.

It's definitely not the battery as there isn't one The only other odd behavior is the system powers on every time I plug it in. I wonder who oddities may exist when it's being operated without a battery. I've looked into buying a new, OEM battery which, at $36.00, seems reasonable. Even if there are little oddities due to the liquid damage it appears fully operational.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

 

[vince22]

It's definitely not the battery as there isn't one The only other odd behavior is the system powers on every time I plug it in. I wonder who oddities may exist when it's being operated without a battery. I've looked into buying a new, OEM battery which, at $36.00, seems reasonable. Even if there are little oddities due to the liquid damage it appears fully operational.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

i remember 2yrs ago when my son spilled soda in his MacBook pro, i end up replacing the logic board (used from eBay), DC in board as well, its running great with no issues so far.

 

[s66]

It's definitely not the battery as there isn't one The only other odd behavior is the system powers on every time I plug it in. I wonder who oddities may exist when it's being operated without a battery. I've looked into buying a new, OEM battery which, at $36.00, seems reasonable. Even if there are little oddities due to the liquid damage it appears fully operational.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

swollen batterijes can do permanent physical damage to the trackpad and even the chassis itself

 

[defjam]

swollen batterijes can do permanent physical damage to the trackpad and even the chassis itself

Both look as if there is no physical damage. I can't speak conclusively for the trackpad as there may be damage I'm unable to see but the case is fine. I've order a new, OEM battery and I'm waiting for it to arrive. Once installed I'll perform further testing.

 

[defjam]

UPDATE: I just finished installing the new battery and that may have resolved the issue. I can't say for certain as I did not check for the existence of this issue prior to doing so. However it is the only thing I've done to this system since I started this thread and this post. So either a battery is a requirement or the problem disappeared for some other reason.