My trackpad is very hard to click (force touch) at the center-top, near the spacebar. It seems the nearer it is to this “blind spot”, the more force it needs to click. It works fine on the borders and bottom.

It feels like there’s something stuck INSIDE the trackpad. Does that even make sense? I’ve searched the web and a lot of people talk about expanded batteries, but that’s for older models and it's unlikely the case as this Macbook is relatively new.

Is there something I could do about it?

If there's really a possibility of dirt stuck inside it, opening the Macbook and blow compressed air inside the trackpad could help?

I’ve tried SMC and PRAM reset to no avail.

Thanks!

⟐ Commented October 18, 2023 at 15:53 MST

As for some weird reason I could not get the base cover to unhinge as easily as my MacBook Pro 2015-2016 retina model

Have been worried of breaking a chord or something if I could get some guidance…

You can even upgrade the RAM firstly? And if so a step by step guide would be amazing…

YouTube has no videos about it as yet BTW so you could be the first to break it!

⟐ Commented January 08, 2022 at 17:21 MST

Any suggestions on designing a custom 3d-printed back panel with more space and ventilation option would help? I do not mind additional thickness, say 2mm.

I don't want to use a cooling pad. And I'm worried about the lifespan of ~$4000 computer due to thermal condition.

What would you suggest?

⟐ Commented January 31, 2021 at 11:26 MST

⟐ Answered January 28, 2019 at 16:25 MST

I was wondering if it’s possible to change the keyboard layout from QWERTZ to QWERTY myself, I only have to move the Z and the Y keys. And if I’m correct I can just change the layout in the Macbook’s settings? This small operation would save me €200, so I guess it’s worth a try. Or is there a high risk of breaking stuff? I’m pretty handy with these kind of things, also doing motherboard repairs and stuff so that shouldn’t be a problem.

⟐ Commented February 03, 2024 at 2:20 MST

⟐ Answer accepted April 20, 2023 at 7:41 MST

⟐ Commented January 19, 2023 at 11:27 MST

⟐ Answer edited August 23, 2020 at 17:33 MST

My Mac suddenly stopped turning on after I came from holidays.

I expected it was faulty battery because for the last few months there was a warning in MacOs saying about recommended battery replacement. Also the laptop had huge issues with overheating, the funs were often running with full speed.

For this reasons I decided to replace the battery with the iFixit one, but the Mac still does not turn on. I visually inspected the motherboard for any issues but there is nothing worrying. There was no liquid damage for sure. Laptop was just sitting for the last 5 days not being used which is even more mysterious.

However I noticed when I check the voltage for the new battery with multimeter using the two gold connectors I get 0.1 V. I would like to understand if it's normal ? For comparison I did check the old battery and it was showing similar value so I assume that might be a normal thing?

Secondly do you have any recommendations what else could be tested? I'm happy to take risk as the laptop is dead anyways and I did recently a backup.

I did try

• Run Mac without battery
• Reset SMC
• Tried different chargers
• Connect to charger for a day
• Reassemble everything 2 times checking the cables and connectors

Thanks!

New iFixit battery

Old battery ( removed from laptop)

⟐ Commented September 17, 2024 at 9:35 MST

I have a MacBook Pro 15 2018 (model A1990) that recently had a motherboard failure that was fixed by a third party motherboard technician (apple was charging 1000+ € for the repair) that swapped a capacitor which failed on the motherboard.

Everything is working except the camera and all the features connected to the ambient light sensor such as keyboard backlight, True Tone and display plus Touch Bar automatic brightness. In particular:

• camera is not detected and Photo Booth says "There is no connected camera"; also, camera appears not to be detected in System Info too, while at the same time its serial on system info is set to "?"
• True Tone, automatic brightness and keyboard backlight settings/toggles have completely disappeared from system preferences and are not working, moreover in System Info the "Automatically Adjust Brightness" feature is set to "No"

I can still set manually the display brightness though and before going to standby, it still dimmers automatically. However, all these features are not working in any condition, not even before/after login or in recovery/safe mode.

From a behavioral point of view, it seems like the entire camera & ambient light module is disconnected.

Here's the software and hardware procedures and checks that I did that were unuseful:

• PRAM and SMC reset
• macOS update
• macOS clean reinstall
• reboot in Safe Mode
• system diagnostic at boot (by pressing key D), which gave no errors found
• checked display flex cable and connectors, they seem to be fine
• checked display backlight and camera flex cables and connectors, again they seem to be fine

The only thing that I haven't tested is T2 reset using DFU mode and another Mac, since I don't have one.

Can T2 be involved in the problem? In System Info, the camera appears under Apple T2 bus, so it does the keyboard and Touch Bar.

I can confirm however that, apart from disconnecting the display flex cable for mother board repair, the other two cables were not touched and that the display is the same as before the repair since it had a pressure mark on the panel that it still has.

I'm attaching some pictures for reference.

Do you guys have ever had a similar problem or have any idea of what could be the problem? Thanks in advance to anyone that is willing to help :)

⟐ Commented January 19, 2024 at 5:03 MST

⟐ Answered December 13, 2019 at 11:08 MST

My woes are far from over. The new laptop comes with a new key repeat issues, where certain keys act as they were pressed repeatedly, giving you 2 or 3 inputs. I have found a thread with more users experiencing the same problem: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/853...

This issue is random, and ranges between impossible to type to a few typos every few sentences. I have beeen trying to corelate the issue with working conditions, such as laptop temperature, dust or debris, but haven’t found anything so far. Most users seem to experience the issue in the same part of the keyboard though: The E, R, T, D keys, and the P & Enter keys.

At it’s worst, your senttencees will ofttten look like tthis.

The issue persists even when you turn key repeat off in settings. Sometimes, the repeated inputs happen after a small delay. Tailor might be often printed as Tatilor or Taitlor, with the second random T input after a few character inputs, which makes me wonder if it’s a software bug?

Anyway, would love a fix here, since a trip to the apple repair center would mean no work machine for 7 - 10 days in my locality and country.

⟐ Answered February 02, 2019 at 9:32 MST

I am gonna buy this MacBook Pro. Apparently, it is not as easy because when buying it asks for a possible upgrade.

I wonder what can be added later and what is worth adding extra money during purchase and will not be possible to be added later?

RAM - 16GB -> 32GB

SSD - 512GB -> 1TB

Is it the same true with the newest iMac 27 (not pro)?

Thanks for any advice,

BTW - When is the new release of MacBook Pro is expected, still this or next year?

I heard that many complain about the keyboard. Are they planning on releasing a new one with a new keyboard solution?

Andy

⟐ Edited September 06, 2018 at 3:55 MST

⟐ Commented July 23, 2023 at 23:43 MST

Unfortunately, I ripped the tiny battery connector from the logic board, while trying to take out the battery (picture attached). Is there any way to repair that or do I need to replace the logic board?

Here’s another picture attached. The object (plug?) in the green circle would needed to be placed where the red arrow is pointing to. While trying to take off the cable i ripped it of the logic board.

⟐ Commented November 15, 2025 at 5:39 MST

I also tried in clamshell mode with Power, External Display and Keyboard connected. nothing shows up.

PS: Replacing the screen is not an option for me right now.

⟐ Answered January 28, 2021 at 8:40 MST

I am an amateur so bear with me. I started trying to repair this Macbook Pro some time ago. Its my own.

Today I disconnected and connected the motherboard due to some work in the power button / touch id (There is another post related to this.

So, that is a short summary and what happened now is that when I reassembled the computer and turned it on I notices that the touch bar was not showing anything so I turned off the computer and looked inside to have a look at a connector on a cable that I messed up a year ago (Sadly I was not as careful back..). While examining the cable and connector and touching it I noticed some smoke(?).. I thought that I imagined it.. Then I see sparks and a tiny fire! I rush to disconnect the cable from the connector and disconnect the battery..

Here I am now, with two questions:

1. Where does the touch bar get its power from? I cant figure it out by myself.
2. What is this connector that I messed up used for and did I burn a fuse on the MB? How should I proceed?

⟐ Commented May 18, 2026 at 14:19 MST

''There may be an issue with the System Management Controller (SMC). Reference Code: PFM006''

''There may be an issue with the power management system. Reference Code: PPN001''

I tried resetting SMC but no luck.

I read on this website that some people had that issue after a liquid damage, that reminded me I had a few drops of a liquid on the trackpad last week (literally a few drops).

So I decided to open the computer (first time it is opened, I had never touched anything inside) to look for any liquid damage on the computer. I followed a tutorial on this website to remove the trackpad, and I didn’t find any corrosion on the trackpad nor on the cable between the trackpad and the board. I checked the mother board for any corrosion too but I didn’t find anything either (I really doubt the liquid would have gone to the motherboard anyway, since it was literally a few drops on the bottom left side of the trackpad. Also, I haven’t unscrew the mother board and check on the other side for any liquid damage yet.

So here I am. The computer turns on and load etc, it’s just super slow, fans are running at max speed and the kernel_task is always above 700% cpu…

Has anyone had this issue? Do you think I should unscrew the mother board and check under it even though I doubt the water would have gone so far? Should I replace the trackpad even if it seems to work properly? Are there other sensors I should check? (I believe this issue is due to some sensor not working properly)

Here is a screenshot of TG Pro:

Here is a screenshot of Macs Fan Control:

Here is a screenshot of iStats from the terminal:

I see some sensors with weird values with iStats but I’m not sure if they are really relevant since it shows negative values for cpu core 7 and 8 but I only have a 6-core cpu… Plus, TG Pro and Macs Fan Control seem to show normal temperatures.

Thank you for your help!

⟐ Commented November 02, 2023 at 21:40 MST

Could there be an issue with the Battery Board Data Cable if it isn't seated properly ? Wanted to ask for some advice before taking the computer apart again

⟐ Answered January 28, 2026 at 12:46 MST

When I turn it on, no matter if press “Command” + “R”, “D" or “Option” key, it always go to “Internet Recovery Mode” with the “Global” rotating, but most of the time it won’t finish loading, instead it returns error like "support.apple.com/imac/startup - 2100F”.

Is this due to Activation locked?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

⟐ Commented October 13, 2025 at 13:46 MST