MacBook auto delete typing

lazer22 · May 22, 2011

Hi all,
I am having a problem that I hope someone can help me solve. Lately, my macbook has been auto-deleting typing. I have noticed it especially on social networking sites (namely Facebook), but also when typing in word documents. I will be entering in text then it will select the text randomly and backspace, without me actually touching those keys. Sometimes it also changes the cursor so that it shows up in the middle of the word. It is getting really annoying because it is taking me ages to type anything. It isn't key specific and seems to happen randomly. At first I thought that I may have a virus, so I did a scan and that isn't the case...any other suggestions?

GGJstudios · May 22, 2011

lazer22 said:
At first I thought that I may have a virus, so I did a scan and that isn't the case...any other suggestions?

There has never been a virus in the wild that affects Mac OS X since it was released 10 years ago. The handful of trojans that exist can be easily avoided with some education and common sense and care in what software you install:

Mac Virus/Malware Info

Have you checked to make sure you're not inadvertently touching the trackpad while you're typing? That can cause the cursor to jump to another position. Also, you don't say if you're using a mouse or not, but as the batteries die in some mice, erratic behavior occurs.

horsemedic · Jul 21, 2011

I've been having this glitch for months, and a bit of Google searching revealed that many others have too, for years, with no known solution and no help from Apple.

The glitch occurs randomly and in several different text applications (TextEdit, Devonthink, Journler). It may to happen more often when the CPU is being used heavily, though that isn't a necessary condition. It can also happen when there's no real load on the CPU.

During the glitch, my cursor behaves almost as if the shift key is stuck down. If I click anywhere in my document, the text will highlight to that point, as if I had shift-clicked. When I click again the highlight disappears, but when I click a third time it re-highlights to the new point and the cycle begins again. This process will repeat indefinitely, until I break the glitch (described below).

The weird highlight-clicking is harmless by itself, if annoying. But as soon as I type anything, my new character will replace a random chunk of text. The typing also lags, with new letters taking a second or so to appear, and sometimes appearing where I don't expect them.

The end result is that if I don't notice the glitch right away and keep typing, I'll end up deleting half my document with a single keystroke. If I do notice the glitch, it's pretty easy to break: simply click into another window in the SAME program, then click back into the original window. Everything is normal now. This is the only way I know to break the glitch; switching to another application and then back is not effective.

I write for a living, so this is a fairly hazardous bug. Sadly, I've gotten so used to it that now I usually recognize the glitch instantly, break it through the method described above, and get on with my work. But on at least one occasion I lost several pages of work. It really is a terribly destructive bug and I'm surprised it's persisted across several major OSX updates.

Question to others with the problem: do you enable "tap to click" on your trackpad options? I do and have a suspicion that might be related to the glitch, though I've never turned it off to test. Probably should.

horsemedic · Aug 18, 2011

Solved?

I mostly solved the issue by turning off Tap To Click in the Trackpad preferences. I used to have the problem several times a day. I've had it once in the month since I changed the preferences. Sucks that I had to lose Tap To Click, which was useful. Hopefully Apple one day will recognize this is a major issue and fix it.

Lmurguia7 · Apr 8, 2012

MacBook auto-delete typing

I have the same problem with the 2012 Air with Lion -- in addition to:

- not being able to hold down shift and automatically repeat letters (instead, a menu of the letter appears and typing stops);

- letters often don't type at all -- or invert themselves within a word;

- entire phrases may revert themselves within a paragraph

yeolddavid · Jun 3, 2012

Possible Fix

I experienced the exact same symptoms on my 2007 Macbook, and I may have fixed it. The solution may surprise you . . . it's not a software issue, it's an issue with the hardware.

[UPDATE: I am coming to you FROM THE FUTURE. The steps below lessened the symptoms of the glitch, but did not completely cure the issue. I have now learned NOT to apply pressure to the plastic area to the right of the trackpad. By bumping my palm there, I can reliably replicate the symptoms of the glitch.]

1. Click your trackpad button. Take note of what it feels like (mine was not clicking like it used to. The best way I could describe it is that it felt "puffy").
2. Remove your battery.
3. Click your trackpad button again. Does it feel different? Mine started to click like the good old days.
4. Do whatever you have to do to make the battery sit correctly in its receptacle. The point is to make the trackpad button "click" the same whether the battery is in or out of the computer. In my case, I had to remove the metal bracket that closes off the access to the RAM sticks. I then had to firmly push on the RAM sticks to make sure they were all the way in (they previously were NOT, to my surprise). I then re-installed the metal bracket and re-inserted the battery.

I found this solution on a MetaFilter board, here: http://ask.metafilter.com/145408/The-cursor-on-my-MacBook-jumps-around-like-crazy

The comment reads like this:

I have a MacBook from early 2007 which has suffered from similar symptoms. In my case, the problem is the crappy design of the trackpad button. The button will sometimes make intermittent contact without being pressed, usually as a result of applying pressure to nearby parts of the laptop case. The problem is worse when the laptop is warm.

I have mostly fixed this problem by using a wad of paper to create more space between the button housing and the battery. This may point you in the right direction.

I didn't even need a wad of paper, I just had to make sure the battery was seated correctly. Perhaps this is why we think Apple hasn't "fixed" the problem . . . they actually have fixed it! The new unibody MacBooks don't warp and you don't mess with the batteries. And here we thought it was a software issue!

They don't make 'em like they used to . . . for a reason!

Good luck, everyone!

susannaramah · Nov 30, 2012

Unsolved Auto-Delete on 2012 MacBook Pro

"I am having a problem that I hope someone can help me solve. Lately, my macbook has been auto-deleting typing. I have noticed it especially on social networking sites (namely Facebook), but also when typing in word documents. I will be entering in text then it will select the text randomly and backspace, without me actually touching those keys. Sometimes it also changes the cursor so that it shows up in the middle of the word. It is getting really annoying because it is taking me ages to type anything. It isn't key specific and seems to happen randomly. At first I thought that I may have a virus, so I did a scan and that isn't the case...any other suggestions?"

Reading this FINALLY explains my computer issue. I've called Apple Care twice about this and both times no one has heard of this delete issue. I am a writer too, and as a result of my 2012 MacBook Pro randomly deciding to delete text (sometimes when I am online, other times when I'm just using Word) I've lost whole projects. It almost just happened again but I managed to click off airport which stopped the cursor. I was on Facebook this time but the other times I wasn't even online.

I also thought I had a virus and so did Apple Care. We spent over an hour on the phone a couple weeks ago checking every inch of my computer and came up with nothing. I still don't know what to do. It def. isn't an issue with my trackpad. And now I have unnecessary virus protection software.

Thanks for reading, help appreciated.

davjan101 · Dec 6, 2013

Same problem.

I have a Macbook Pro 13" Mid 2009.

I have the same problem. Have tried to find anything else on Google but this thread is the only one I found that has raised this issue. My problem is that I actually spilled juice on my upper part of the keyboard. Tried to clean the keyboard by removing the keyboard letters and use electronics cleaning but it didn't help.

After reading this thread regarding the battery problem I just start to think that this might be the problem. My battery is old and takes forever to charge. If I have the charger connected to my the computer and the battery is 100 % charged it will not auto-delete what I am typing. Will try to remove and check the battery or buy a new one. If this helps, I will post my results in this thread.

WildCard^ · Dec 6, 2013

I don't know, if your problem started when you got a sugary drink spilled on the keyboard, I would stick with that being the problem.

Why would you think the issue would be your old battery? Do you have a model you can pop the battery off? Is it deformed at all? How does the system behave with the battery completely off and just working off AC?

kwahamot · May 20, 2014

Wow! I would have never thought to look at the battery! This problem started for me after I closed the lid of my '08 MacBook Pro last night. This morning when I started typing the problem was there. I read a bunch of similar threads but nothing helped (Tap to Click...). Then I saw this and looked at my battery. One side is slightly bulging and is putting pressure on the trackpad bar. I can avoid the problem by typing with my hands off the surface of the Mac, but the battery needs replacing I guess.
Must have overheated when I closed the lid last night, though it should have slept properly. I usually just 'sleep' it from the menu without closing the lid.

THANKS YEOLDDAVID !!!

Side note:
I just had the whole Mac refurbished by Apple for $300 a year or so ago, but they didn't change the battery then. Still a great deal...new display, logic board, display board, ram... I added a larger hard disk (750GB) from iFixit.

yeolddavid said:
I experienced the exact same symptoms on my 2007 Macbook, and I may have fixed it. The solution may surprise you . . . it's not a software issue, it's an issue with the hardware.

[UPDATE: I am coming to you FROM THE FUTURE. The steps below lessened the symptoms of the glitch, but did not completely cure the issue. I have now learned NOT to apply pressure to the plastic area to the right of the trackpad. By bumping my palm there, I can reliably replicate the symptoms of the glitch.]

1. Click your trackpad button. Take note of what it feels like (mine was not clicking like it used to. The best way I could describe it is that it felt "puffy").
2. Remove your battery.
3. Click your trackpad button again. Does it feel different? Mine started to click like the good old days.
4. Do whatever you have to do to make the battery sit correctly in its receptacle. The point is to make the trackpad button "click" the same whether the battery is in or out of the computer. In my case, I had to remove the metal bracket that closes off the access to the RAM sticks. I then had to firmly push on the RAM sticks to make sure they were all the way in (they previously were NOT, to my surprise). I then re-installed the metal bracket and re-inserted the battery.

I found this solution on a MetaFilter board, here: http://ask.metafilter.com/145408/The-cursor-on-my-MacBook-jumps-around-like-crazy

The comment reads like this:

I didn't even need a wad of paper, I just had to make sure the battery was seated correctly. Perhaps this is why we think Apple hasn't "fixed" the problem . . . they actually have fixed it! The new unibody MacBooks don't warp and you don't mess with the batteries. And here we thought it was a software issue!

They don't make 'em like they used to . . . for a reason!

Good luck, everyone!

Nirvanes · Nov 10, 2014

I have a rMBP 13'' and since the update to Yosemite, I'm having this problem. It's unbearable...

greysparrow · Jan 19, 2015

Same problem in Mavericks persisting after update to Yosemite

I've had the same problem for over a year on my late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina (therefore can't even try the battery related fix). It happens if I select a portion of text using the trackpad and then press Delete. After the text is deleted the next portion of the same size is automatically selected, so if I keep typing it gets replaced by the new input. That doesn't happen if I press Fn+Delete. This happens in browser windows, Notes, Evernote, etc. So annoying. Can anyone help please?

LSDodgersxxx · Feb 26, 2015

I am having a similar issue

Hi everybody,

I've been having a similar issue. Today I turned on my Imac, as soon as the home screen where we put the password in appears, it starts to make a loud noise and typing in keys into the password area automatically, without me touching the keyboard at all. Any debbrie is free of my keyboard, so nothing is touching it, yet it types by itself, weird right?

Then, I grab my mouse and move the cursor over to the :apple:

in the upper left corner, When I click on it the cursor goes crazy going up and down the drop down menu.

Any suggestions on a fix? Thanks to everyone in advance. Below are the specs of my Imac..

Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9.5
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
RAM 4GB

I believe that's all. And, does anyone the maximum ram it takes?

Thanks again.... Have a great day.

DeltaMac · Feb 26, 2015

Test your keyboard for sticking or hanging keys.
Do this from System Preferences/Keyboard.
Click the box "Show Character and Keyboard Viewers" which will add a new icon to the right area of the menubar. Click on that and Choose Show Keyboard.
You will see your keyboard on the screen. Press a random key, release, and you will see the on-screen keyboard mirror what you press. Try out all the keys, one at a time. You will likely see one or more keys are stuck, or at least very slow to release.
That will mean that the keyboard has failed - repairs are not too likely - so just replace the keyboard to fix your "auto-typing" problem.

LSDodgersxxx · Mar 1, 2015

Thank you for your help.....

DeltaMac said:
Test your keyboard for sticking or hanging keys.
Do this from System Preferences/Keyboard.
Click the box "Show Character and Keyboard Viewers" which will add a new icon to the right area of the menubar. Click on that and Choose Show Keyboard.
You will see your keyboard on the screen. Press a random key, release, and you will see the on-screen keyboard mirror what you press. Try out all the keys, one at a time. You will likely see one or more keys are stuck, or at least very slow to release.
That will mean that the keyboard has failed - repairs are not too likely - so just replace the keyboard to fix your "auto-typing" problem.

I replaced the keyboard, and the problem is solved. I must say, I have never had a problem like this one, and particularly never had any issue with any of my apple products I own until now.

jFold · Nov 13, 2015

This suddenly just started happening to me. I just brought my 2013 Macbook Pro Retina home from being repaired. The Trackpad started behaving erratically, which seemed to be caused by the battery. Replacing that involved replacing the keyboard, battery, and the shell around the keyboard. Now, when I type in Facebook, it seems to delete text at random.

DeltaMac · Nov 13, 2015

Does that happen ONLY on Facebook?
Have you tried disabling tap-to-click in your Trackpad pref pane?

jFold · Nov 14, 2015

Yes, it seems to be only happening on FB. I've since typed a few more posts and for no apparent reason, the problem does not seem to be happening now, but then again text seemed to disappear for no apparent reason as I was typing. Who knows; maybe it resolved on its own.

DeltaMac · Nov 14, 2015

So, did you try disabling tap-to-click. (?)
My reasoning on this is that if the trackpad can't accept a tap for clicking, other than the actual click area, that can help eliminate that as a possible problem.
(caveat - I have a personal dislike for tap-to-click, even on Windows, and always turn it off on either OS X or Windows

)
I don't get a lot of nuance from my fat fingers, either.

Have you tried a mouse, to see if that helps, too?

christii59 · Feb 17, 2016

This happened to me too! Then I noticed I had a Grammar APP downloaded which was highlighting things such has "hahaha" and detecting them because the "grammar" was not correct. When I would continue to write it would delete the previous words that were highlighted.

lazer22 said:
Hi all,
I am having a problem that I hope someone can help me solve. Lately, my macbook has been auto-deleting typing. I have noticed it especially on social networking sites (namely Facebook), but also when typing in word documents. I will be entering in text then it will select the text randomly and backspace, without me actually touching those keys. Sometimes it also changes the cursor so that it shows up in the middle of the word. It is getting really annoying because it is taking me ages to type anything. It isn't key specific and seems to happen randomly. At first I thought that I may have a virus, so I did a scan and that isn't the case...any other suggestions?

Brenh · Mar 17, 2016

horsemedic said:
I've been having this glitch for months, and a bit of Google searching revealed that many others have too, for years, with no known solution and no help from Apple.

The glitch occurs randomly and in several different text applications (TextEdit, Devonthink, Journler). It may to happen more often when the CPU is being used heavily, though that isn't a necessary condition. It can also happen when there's no real load on the CPU.

During the glitch, my cursor behaves almost as if the shift key is stuck down. If I click anywhere in my document, the text will highlight to that point, as if I had shift-clicked. When I click again the highlight disappears, but when I click a third time it re-highlights to the new point and the cycle begins again. This process will repeat indefinitely, until I break the glitch (described below).

The weird highlight-clicking is harmless by itself, if annoying. But as soon as I type anything, my new character will replace a random chunk of text. The typing also lags, with new letters taking a second or so to appear, and sometimes appearing where I don't expect them.

The end result is that if I don't notice the glitch right away and keep typing, I'll end up deleting half my document with a single keystroke. If I do notice the glitch, it's pretty easy to break: simply click into another window in the SAME program, then click back into the original window. Everything is normal now. This is the only way I know to break the glitch; switching to another application and then back is not effective.

I write for a living, so this is a fairly hazardous bug. Sadly, I've gotten so used to it that now I usually recognize the glitch instantly, break it through the method described above, and get on with my work. But on at least one occasion I lost several pages of work. It really is a terribly destructive bug and I'm surprised it's persisted across several major OSX updates.

Question to others with the problem: do you enable "tap to click" on your trackpad options? I do and have a suspicion that might be related to the glitch, though I've never turned it off to test. Probably should.

[doublepost=1458283751][/doublepost]Over the last 2 days I have watched my Macbook Pro start deleting emails from my in box on Outlook one by one and the only way I could stop it was to force it to shutdown by holding down the power button .
Then after i rebooted it it started deleting text faster than i could type when I was searching for a reason in Google
It has done it sporadically for the past few days. I appear to have lost all the mails that disappeared from my in box although i can still see them on my iphone .
it is absolutely maddening and I am never sure when it is going to happen
Is there anyone who has had this problem and if you have could you please share with me how you fixed it

RoniSue · Apr 23, 2016

I've been having the same problem for a while now, intermittently. It's not happening right now as I type. As a couple of others have said, it seems to happen mostly on Facebook. Weird. The problem seems to happen when I press the shift key...it will then highlight the previous few words of text, which get deleted as I continue to type! Drives me nuts! I'm sure it's not related to a battery, as I am in a Mac Mini and using a bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. I'm not even touching the trackpad as I type. I was wondering if it had something to do with Grammerly (an app installed to check grammar), but then why does it only happen on Facebook (that I've noticed)?

Ed S · Apr 25, 2016

lazer22 said:
Hi all,
I am having a problem that I hope someone can help me solve. Lately, my macbook has been auto-deleting typing. I have noticed it especially on social networking sites (namely Facebook), but also when typing in word documents. I will be entering in text then it will select the text randomly and backspace, without me actually touching those keys. Sometimes it also changes the cursor so that it shows up in the middle of the word. It is getting really annoying because it is taking me ages to type anything. It isn't key specific and seems to happen randomly. At first I thought that I may have a virus, so I did a scan and that isn't the case...any other suggestions?

The problem is that the newer trackpads are ultra sensitive. Just a whisper of touch from your thumb or your palm while you are typing will cause the cursor to jump. The older trackpads did not have this problem. There are NO setting changes or software patches that will fix the problem. Using a bluetooth trackpad in not acceptable because I purchased a laptop to be used without a lot of other equipment. APPLE is refusing to accept responsibility for a bad design flaw. A very ($2500) expensive one.

GGJstudios · Apr 25, 2016

Ed S said:
The problem is that the newer trackpads are ultra sensitive. Just a whisper of touch from your thumb or your palm while you are typing will cause the cursor to jump. The older trackpads did not have this problem.

What do you consider "newer" or "older"? The post you quoted is from 5 years ago. Like many others, I use a newer (Early 2015) MBP and have no issues of the kind reported by the OP.

Ed S · Apr 25, 2016

My first one purchased December 2015, Replaced late February 2016. Problem still persists. Does not happen with my 3 year old Mac Air and that track pad was the same one used on the Mac Book Pro's back then. This newer trackpad is ultra, overly sensitive. just the slightest touch sets off a cursor move.
You may not have the problem because you don't type in the same manner as I do.
NOTE: The Mac Book Pro changed to this more sensitive track pad in mid 2015 and if you got yours in early 2015, you got the older design.

MacBook auto delete typing

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