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Model A1502 / 2.6 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz) or 2.8 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz) dual-core Intel Core i7 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache.

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Trackpad and Keyboard fail randomly, MacBook not usable

Hi,

The Trackpad and Keyboard of my MacBook Pro 13" Mid 2014 (A1502) just stopped working properly. Everything was fine but when I started it yesterday, the Trackpad would just respond every 20 - 30 seconds or so and then just for a few seconds. The Keyboard responds about 50% of the time but some (random) Keys won't work. Additionally, sometimes the letters appear a little later compared to when I pressed the key.

The mouse pointer works with an external USB connected mouse but this one hangs sometimes as well, but just for half a second every now and then.

I tried resetting NVRAM and PRAM and also erased the hard drive and installed Sierra completely new, but without any success. I can't imagine, it's a faulty Trackpad AND Keyboard.

I didn't spill any water over it and I didn't move it at all before the issue occurred first.

The codes given by Apple Diagnostics are:

  • NDK001
  • NDK003
  • NDR001

I'm grateful for any help. Cheers!

Update (05/21/2017)

Putting it in the fridge for 2 hours didn't help at all :-(

I connected a Magic Trackpad via Bluetooth that worked perfectly a few days ago but now has the same issues like the external mouse and lags every 10s for half a sec.

That's why I think the issue is probably not hardware-related but has something todo with the drivers of the periphery. What do you think?

I already installed the OS completely new without success, is there a more thorough way of putting the macbook back to factory-setup?

Thank you

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Here's the Diagnostic codes: Apple Diagnostics: Reference codes

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What likely has happened here is the battery has swelled pressing from the bottom onto the Trackpad and the keyboard ribbon cable.

Taking the battery out in this system is a bit tricky! If you've never worked on a MacBook I would let either Apple or an Apple authorized service center repair your system. To give you an idea whats involved review this: MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Mid 2014 Battery Replacement

Update (05/21/2017)

@iefes - Yves The diagnostic codes are clear here you have a hardware level issue! Sorry there is no magic software fix here. You can see for your self in the link I provided below. You stated you didn't spill any liquids into your system. Did you spray any kind of cleaner onto the keyboard or trackpad? You could have inadvertently damaged things here.

  • NDK001, NDK003 & NDK004 There may be an issue with the keyboard.
  • NDR001, NDR003 & NDR004 There may be an issue with the trackpad.

Contact Apple or take your computer to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store to determine which service and support options are available.

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I'm pretty sure we'd find liquid in it. Or it needs replacing of the trackpad cable. It goes bad a lot on these models iirc.

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I didn't spill any liquid over it and I didn't use liquid cleaner or something similar. I just wiped it with a dry microfibre cloth sometimes. I bought the computer used a few months ago (in Jan), maybe the former owner spilled some fluid over it. But it would have taken a lot of time to cause any harm.

@rany Do you think a bad trackpad would also cause the keyboard to malfunction?

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@iefes - Yves I think you'll need to pop the bottom cover off to inspect the logic board as well as check the battery. At this point we're just guessing.

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I had a look on the inside of the Macbook but didn't find anything that looked suspicious. Just the magsafe DC-in board had two grey stains that looked as if they aren't supposed to be there. I disconnected and reconnected both the keyboard- and trackpad-connectors. No success so far.

The Keyboard ist working a little better since yesterday (I'm currently writing on it. It's slower, but it works), the Trackpad is still almost never usable. Just every 20 seconds for about 4 seconds (roughly).

How can I check if the battery is swollen? I had it in the fridge for around 2 hours but this didn't help. Just from looking at it I couldn't tell anything suspicious.

Is there a controller where both the keyboard and trackpad connect to before they are connected to the logic board? I'm just still trying to figure out how both parts could fail at the same time.

Thanks a lot for your help.

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Apple has danced a bit between the different series. The older 2013 series connected the keyboard via the trackpad so there was only one ribbon cable connection on the logic board. In the 2014 series the keyboard & trackpad connect to the logic board through independent connections. But don't let that distract you!

Both are using USB connections so what can happen here is a noisy keyboard or trackpad due to liquid damage often effect both as they share the logic boards hub connection.

At this point I would carefully disconnect each (one at a time) and use your external device. Does it appear to be better with one or both disconnected?

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I had this exact same issue. Basically just replace the entire trackpad assembly! Not the ribbon. Posted here about it! (MacBook Pro 13 (Mid 2014) - Erratic Keyboard and Trackpad)

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I had the same issue but i managed to fix it. For me the problem was not in the cable but in the trackpad itself. I’ve read that there is a certain chip on that trackpad that controls the trackpad and keyboard. So to fix the problem just replace the whole trackpad and it should work like normal. (My battery was not swollen)

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Can confirm, I didn't chime in sooner but did the same thing. Don't waste your time ordering the ribbon ($7-12) when you can get the full trackpad for $~50 on amazon. It's likely that the trackpad had some liquid in it. It doesn't even take a full spill to happen, one drop that gets pulled into the gap can cause this I think.

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Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I’m having the same problem with my 2014 13.3” 2014 i5. I did spill liquids in the trackpad, but I don’t think any got into the keyboard (all keys seems to work fine), but I can’t say for sure. Fan is running at full speed and the performance is quite poor. I disconnected the keyboard, keyboard backlight and trackpad ribbon cables, without any change to neither the fan speed nor the performance. I would believe if the trackpad and/or keyboard was faulty, disconnecting it would temporary correct the issues? I also disconnected everything to eliminate other hardware (IO board, speakers, webcam, etc, all connectors). I ran it on only the charger (with mag-safe board connected and battery disconnected), then disconnected the mag-safe board and ran it from battery only. No change. I tried both SMC and PRAM reset, fresh installed Catalina. Nothing helps.

Any tips? I’ve also inspected the logic board under the microscope and can’t see any damage. Could the liquid damage to the trackpad fry something on the logic board? And where do I start to trace the error?

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Turned out to be two burned out components. I suspect they were resistors. One from pin 1 (PP3V3_TPAD_CONN) to a capacitor, the other from pin 5 (SMBUS_SMD_2_S3_SDA) to pin 6 of an unknown chip (perhaps a power on reset chip or voltage regulator, smd code SBO). I don't have any trackpad schematics/boardview, so I don't know their values. Shorting both got rid of the full-fan and extremely sluggish CPU problem. But trackpad is still not responding.

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Yves will be eternally grateful.
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