How can I fix my iPad Magic Keyboard when everything works except the trackpad?

apple.stackexchange https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/392392

Question

I’ve got the Magic Keyboard (the one with the hinge that holds the iPad Pro suspended in air above the number keys) and everything works except the trackpad. I can go into the settings app General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard and the brightness reacts when I slide the control.

Hardware Keyboard settings showing brightness control

What can be done to fix this so the trackpad works?

Was it helpful?

Solution 2

Apple sent a replacement trackpad and while that was in transit, iOS / iPadOS 13.5.1 (17F80) was released. Since the update, I have had no crashes of the pointeruid process, and also had the hardware exchanged.

I also was able to attach a Bluetooth mouse and it fails to work when my magic device wasn’t working so I’m pretty sure the crashing process is the direct reason the pointer doesn’t draw on screen.

Due to the timing, I believe it was software and not hardware, but I can't be sure. I would recommend contacting Apple Support if you can't check for crashes or still have issues with your device. I'll leave the rest of the initial troubleshooting below in case it helps others find their cursor on iPadOS.

In Xcode I see the process pointeruid crashing quite often. My working theory is that this crashes and if it doesn't restart, I lack a pointer and when I restarted the iPad, it was crashing before I could see the pointer ever draw.

Hardware Model:      iPad8,9
Process:             pointeruid [283]
Path:                /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PointerUIServices.framework/Support/pointeruid
Identifier:          pointeruid
Version:             ???
Code Type:           ARM-64 (Native)
Role:                Unspecified
Parent Process:      launchd [1]
Coalition:           com.apple.PointerUI.pointeruid [300]


Date/Time:           2020-05-28 11:17:52.8551 -0500
Launch Time:         2020-05-28 11:17:52.5865 -0500
OS Version:          iPhone OS 13.5 (17F75)
Release Type:        User
Baseband Version:    n/a
Report Version:      104

Exception Type:  EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Subtype: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000068
VM Region Info: 0x68 is not in any region.  Bytes before following region: 4334665624
      REGION TYPE                      START - END             [ VSIZE] PRT/MAX SHRMOD  REGION DETAIL
      UNUSED SPACE AT START
--->  
      __TEXT                 00000001025dc000-0000000102610000 [  208K] r-x/r-x SM=COW  ...rt/pointeruid

Termination Signal: Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process: exc handler [283]
Triggered by Thread:  0

Before calling Apple for support, here are the triage steps to self-rescue.

  1. Power off the iPad while connected.
  2. Disconnect power to the keyboard connector (left side on the bottom hinge)
  3. Plug in USB C power - see the iPad power on - so I know the connection is solid
  4. Update the iPad to iPadOS 13.5
  5. Contact AppleCare. I’m received an engineering call back and they will ship a new keyboard to me so they can have this back. Not sure they will scrap it or analyze it, but for me I’ll wait for a second keyboard to test.

The triage steps I didn’t think of are as follows:

  • open Accessability in general settings

When the keyboard is connected, you should see pointer control. Remove the iPad from the keyboard and the pointer option should vanish instantly. Reconnect and then make sure you turn off all the items: Automatically Hide, etc... and make the color / size large to be sure it’s not on screen and not visible.

Pointer Control settings on iPadOS 13.5

If your connectors are dirty, you won’t get the immediate change in pointer control. Also, inspect your keyboard closely under a brigh light for any hairline cracks or physical damage. If it got wet, that could cause the trackpad to fail.

OTHER TIPS

Apparently you are not alone. It appears to be a widely experienced issue. Here's an extended discussion on the MacRumors forums:

Going through the discussion you'd see that there's no uniform approach that has resolved the issue. A variety of things have worked from cleaning the connectors, hard and soft restarting the iPad, reinstalling the iPadOS etc. People appear to have experienced the issue with iPadOS 13.4.1 as well, so it could very well not just be a software issue.

It's not clear from the discussions if it's a hardware bug or a software bug. Also, the folks at Apple Support are apparently unprepared too with responses like "never heard before".

I guess contacting Apple support may still be a good idea, hoping they have heard enough to call for an investigation and come up with an appropriate.

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