Disappearing mouse pointer

Disappearing cursor long running problem

The disappearing mouse cursor appears in many forums often for a number of years. Many people have "found" various fixes. The reality is that it is an OS X problem that Apple doesn't take seriously. There are bugs that appear randomly and that cannot be made to appear on command. These are the most difficult to find, but they can be found and fixed if the software developers will only take them seriously.

I have a good work around. Install the app store application "pinpoint". This puts a rotating wheel around the cursor that can be adjusted to be non annoying. When the cursor disappears, the wheel shows where the invisible cursor is and you can get it back by rolling over an an application icon at the bottom of the page.

You can try contacting Apple. As you can imagine it is difficult to get anywhere with this huge company that has strong antibodies to protect it from the users. There are, after all, many unfounded complaints. I got through by scrawling a letter in crayon to the investment relations department. However I never got past the 2nd or 3rd level gatekeepers so I don't know if anybody who could do something about this will be put on fixing the problem.

It is really very sad that a long standing bug that thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of users are troubled by is never fixed. Apple should proactively monitor the user forums and identify the intractable problems. Once the hard problems are identified they can surely be fixed.

Big companies often are very bad at the customer interface. Apple is a big company that has been just the opposite, very good. However, in this case the systems are not working.

Cursor Submarines (disappears): more clues

I've had the cursor disappear during demo's in a college classroom with a projector. It's there, invisible on my computer monitor; menus work, links light up, but you are flying blind. Surprisingly, the cursor is gone on my screen (2013 iMac 21, current 10.8 and earlier updates) but it is still visible on the VGA projector's mirror image and, as with other posts, in other app's or on restart.
Does this point to the video card/software integration?

Disappearing mouse pointer [cursor] + Never go back

WizardHunt said:

Can the users who are experiencing this problem tell me exactly what you are doing when your mouse cursor disappears? Like if you are surfing Youtube videos and whether you are viewing original size or full screen or whatever you are doing. I contacted Apple about this problem and they are not aware of it, therefore there will be no fix for this until Apple has more information on what could be the cause.

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This happens frequently when I am using Safari. In my case the fix has been easy ... scroll over and click on an empty spot on the Desktop and the cursor returns when I scroll back into Safari ... but it will disappear again and again.

WizardHunt said:

Once you go Mac - You will Never go Back!

Click to expand...

Perhaps ... I purchased an iMac 2011 at my University computer store as a retirement gift to myself, so I would not have any problems. I was not offered Apple Care and did not know about it since this is my first Mac. The last PC I bought came with a 3-year parts and labour warranty from the manufacturer, included in the purchase price.

At 14 months the video card had to be replaced for close to $400.00, and now at 23 months it needed a replacement of the LCD screen for close to $700.00. [My savings for an iPhone went into the last repair!] This is on a machine that is not heavily used, is in a secure air conditioned space and is in otherwise pristine condition!

One more major premature failure and it will be back to a PC, only due to the excessive costs. Otherwise I love the iMac.

Hello Everyone,

I have the same kind of problem with my new MBA.

Sometimes the cursor doesn't change shape when over a hyperlink (i.e. it stays as a pointer). The link still works OK though.

It happens in Safari and Chrome. It seems completely random.

The other effect I've seen when the cursor is in "silly" mode is that when I open a new tab in Safari, to open one of the "Top Sites" pages I have to 1) click on the thumbnail and then 2) move the cursor - the thumbnail then becomes "active". When the cursor is behaving "properly", the thumbnail becomes active just on hovering.

I also have an iMac with the same version of OSX and the cursor behaves correctly.

Not a fix, but a good bandaid

I've been having this disappearing-cursor problem quite consistently when working in multiple windows and doing lateral swipe movements between the different desktops. I found that after the cursor disappears I can bring it back consistently by doing the four-finger push-upward movement that allows you to see all the desktops at once (equivalent of F3). The cursor reappears allowing you to pick the desktop you want to work on and then remains visible.