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Tap-to-click issues on B9 and 10 (and now Monterey release)

gr8tfly said:
Oh I'm so glad I'm not crazy!

2018 15" i9 MBP, running a completely clean install of 12.0.1.

I've used tap-to-click virtually exclusively since its introduction (it's gotta be way over 15 years ago). It's engrained in my interaction with the Mac at such a low level that its almost startling when it misses a tap. Especially on items that normally delay with no feedback (some financial "submit" buttons for example). I'm constantly checking the URL bar in Safari to see whether a new page is trying to load.

This issue really slows down user interaction everywhere in the system. I've tried and tried to find some combination of window switching, button tapping, double-taping, etc. to reproduce the issue to no avail. I was even wondering if it's hardware, but I distinctly noticed this upon updating to Monterey. Since the initial upgrade, I've since done a complete wipe, clean install, and Time Machine migration. It is possible something in my user could be responsible; I just haven't spent enough time on a separate Monterey boot drive (new user; no migration).

Based on what I've read in this thread, it sounds like people are still seeing the missing TTC even on fresh installs (and upgrades to 12.1).

I will add my own Feedback Report regarding the missing tap-to-clicks. Unbelievable regression bug! Breaking core, [what should be] low-level stuff, is sad. At least I now know it is common enough to fill a few pages here at MR, and not a hardware problem (me being just past the end of my APP for my 2018 15" Core-i9).

On a side note, I had previously updated to 12.1, but it killed FaceTime, which I depend on (any attempt answering or calling resulted in coreaudio getting stuck at 100% CPU and the call failing. Before that, I did use FaceTime a few times but noted there is no GUI whatsoever for a cell call – no keypad, no nothing. Only way to hangup is quitting FaceTime. A FaceTime call does get a green thing in the Menu Bar, but it has no active feedback for ongoing audio. After trying to fix FaceTime (reinstalls, log out/in, etc.), I gave up and went back to 12.0.1 clean + migrate. I still need to write feedback on this one.
Click to expand...
Yes, this is very frustrating. However not all users are having this issue, maybe some do not rely on tap to click while others are not having it altogether. This makes matters more confusing.

As others have done, I downgraded to Big Sur and have no issues. With this experience I believe I won't be back to Monterey anytime soon. Although I read reports of better performance on Monterey in Intel machines, in reality it may be more related to updated firmware (my 2015 MacBook Pro got a firmware update with Monterey, go figure!) than the OS itself.

It's really a pity since the new machines seem very promising and are tied to the new OS. Well, every year is the same thing new machines are launched with half baked software, it will get better with time. Honestly paying 3000 quid for a machine that can have serious input device glitches I would not be an happy camper by all means.

Gonna keep an eye on this tread. Thanks all for sharing your experiences! Kudos!
 
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In my case its not a bluetooth issue because I just turned BT completely off and used my trackpad 2 wired and still have the same unresponsness issues. I also have the disconnected trackpad issue after exiting sleep mode and have to turn off and on the trackpad again to work.

Can't believe the problem isn't fixed 2 weeks later. Apple clearly have a problem with quality control nowadays.
 
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Beavix said:
Anybody having tap-to-click issues on Monterey: could you try something? Go to System Preferences/Sharing, disable the Airplay Receiver option. Please report back if it helps fixing the trackpad issues.

there is a thread on Reddit where people say it fixed various Bluetooth connectivity issues:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/qjgqjx

I’d try it myself but I’ve downgraded to Big Sur.
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The workaround does not work for my Magic Trackpad 2.
 
I think I may found the solution.

Some caching issues may delay API events like keeping track of the Trackpad.
Using Onyx, you can cleanup your system (including system caches). I enabled all options in the Maintenance tab and executed the cleanup.
I also deleted the Spotlight index (but I don't think you need to do this).

After rebooting the trackpad was back to it's old habits (read: working as expected).

EDIT: nope .. it doesn't fix it. Probably a placebo effect. =)
 
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Atarikid said:
I think I may found the solution.

Some caching issues may delay API events like keeping track of the Trackpad.
Using Onyx, you can cleanup your system (including system caches). I enabled all options in the Maintenance tab and executed the cleanup.
I also deleted the Spotlight index (but I don't think you need to do this).

After rebooting the trackpad was back to it's old habits (read: working as expected).
Click to expand...
I also ran Onyx and the only thing I got was that Finder lost file thumbnails for PDFs and other files. No problem on docs and spreadsheets tough. ?‍♂️

Do you have a BT mouse or trackpad at hand and can test the "Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present" functionality?

Thanks for sharing.
 
I'm having it since day 1 and it's f*ing annoying. I'm too lazy to downgrade so I ended up disabling tap to click and turns out clicking the trackpad is not as bad as I thought would be. Still I want it fixed ASAP.
Also the Onyx thing didn't work.
 
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Having the same issues since upgrade to Monterey - intermittent dead-clicks / non-clicks / phantom-clicks. Have been on the line with senior tech support at Apple several times who have taken/captured data with time stamps indicating when non-clicks occurred, so waiting to hear back from engineers on this. If enough of us do likewise, will surely help.
 
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CitySchool1984 said:
Having the same issues since upgrade to Monterey - intermittent dead-clicks / non-clicks / phantom-clicks. Have been on the line with senior tech support at Apple several times who have taken/captured data with time stamps indicating when non-clicks occurred, so waiting to hear back from engineers on this. If enough of us do likewise, will surely help.
Click to expand...
Thank you for doing that. I've been submitting a bug report every day. I'm thinking I should contact Apple tech support too.
 
So I went to the Apple store today to return my 14". While I was there, I played around with their store model 14" and 16"s, and none of them exhibited the tap-to-click failures, especially the Cmd+Tap inside Safari. They were all running Monterey 12.0.1. But right before I returned my computer at the store (while waiting at the Genius bar), I upgraded it to 12.0.1 as well, and it still failed on my machine.

(On an unrelated note, their 14" kept crashing System Preferences whenever I tried to open it, lol). I have no idea what is going on with this OS and these computers.
 
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scatopie said:
So I went to the Apple store today to return my 14". While I was there, I played around with their store model 14" and 16"s, and none of them exhibited the tap-to-click failures, especially the Cmd+Tap inside Safari. They were all running Monterey 12.0.1. But right before I returned my computer at the store (while waiting at the Genius bar), I upgraded it to 12.0.1 as well, and it still failed on my machine.

(On an unrelated note, their 14" kept crashing System Preferences whenever I tried to open it, lol). I have no idea what is going on with this OS and these computers.
Click to expand...
I take it you returned it for a refund?
 
Same here.
For what it is worth, a normal behaviour would be:
Let's say you want to select multiple files in Finder, you would:

Click on files 1;
Press shift (and keep pressed);
Click on file 5;
==>you would have 5 files selected

Right now, it doesn't work, right!? (except if you triple click)
It does work if you do this:

Click on files 1 AND LESS THAN 1/2 SECONDS (IS IT LESS THAN 0,4!??);
Press shift (needs to be done RIGHT after you clicked);
Click on file 5;
==> The 5 files will be selected

Basically, the time between the click and the shift (or command) matters.

I know, this doesn't solve our problem for the failing 70% of single clicks...?

I sent feedback to Apple too.
 
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Kafka said:
I take it you returned it for a refund?
Click to expand...
Yup. The return itself was pretty quick and easy. Nobody there, the Genius, or the guy accepting the return, had heard of the tap-to-click issue on Monterey or the new machines.
 
mmandi069 said:
Same here.
For what it is worth, a normal behaviour would be:
Let's say you want to select multiple files in Finder, you would:

Click on files 1;
Press shift (and keep pressed);
Click on file 5;
==>you would have 5 files selected

Right now, it doesn't work, right!? (except if you triple click)
It does work if you do this:

Click on files 1 AND LESS THAN 1/2 SECONDS (IS IT LESS THAN 0,4!??);
Press shift (needs to be done RIGHT after you clicked);
Click on file 5;
==> The 5 files will be selected

Basically, the time between the click and the shift (or command) matters.

I know, this doesn't solve our problem for the failing 70% of single clicks...?

I sent feedback to Apple too.
Click to expand...
Whoa this is really interesting.
 
scatopie said:
Yup. The return itself was pretty quick and easy. Nobody there, the Genius, or the guy accepting the return, had heard of the tap-to-click issue on Monterey or the new machines.
Click to expand...
Seems like this is an issue that many people are not realizing because it happens after X amount of clicks. Even for myself I didn't look into the issue until after a few days of wondering if I wasn't tapping properly.
 
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I'm thinking this bug will be never fixed :( maybe on macOS 13...

Alternatives? Change my habits?
 
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A few observations I've had on my MBP 16" M1 Pro that may be useful for anyone following this:
  • I have occasional cursor issues outside of tap to click. Scrolling will feel sluggish and require a few tries, or the cursor will hitch or jump, especially when opening or closing an app, connecting to headphones, etc. That may or may not be related to the clicking issues, but it makes the whole computer feel kinda slow even if it isn't, which sucks.
  • I've had tap to click turned off for a while, and it's annoying to have to physically press down all the time. But I turned it back on to test the Finder stuff @mmandi069 mentioned above.
  • I couldn't reproduce the issue with Finder ... I could shift-click or command-click to select any files, regardless of timing. But I also noticed that tap to click in general was working fine again. (Selecting multiple files is a good way to test this ... command-click 20 files, only clicking each once, and you get a precise percentage that don't get highlighted)
  • So I'm wondering if it only happens after having tap to click on for a while, like a memory leak type of thing, or if some runaway background process kicks into gear. However, I've had tap to click back on for a few hours, and I'm still tapping away, so I have no idea what's going on or how to replicate the issues I was having before.
 
In my case it happens in Finder just the same. I will go and ask for a replacement, otherwise I'll just return the machine. It seems we are a small minority so picking another machine could be the solution.
 
Phronk said:
I have occasional cursor issues outside of tap to click. Scrolling will feel sluggish and require a few tries, or the cursor will hitch or jump, especially when opening or closing an app, connecting to headphones, etc. That may or may not be related to the clicking issues, but it makes the whole computer feel kinda slow even if it isn't, which sucks.
Click to expand...

I can confirm this.
 
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Kafka said:
In my case it happens in Finder just the same. I will go and ask for a replacement, otherwise I'll just return the machine. It seems we are a small minority so picking another machine could be the solution.
Click to expand...
When I was returning mine, the Genius (who was looking at an issue for another product) asked if I was returning my pro for refund or replacement. He was relieved to hear it was for a refund, because he said they were all sold out of the new macbooks. Hope you have a better fortune!
 
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