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{A1989 / EMC3214}—Released in July 2018, the 13" MacBook Pro features quad-core i5 and i7 processors and Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics.

Trackpad not working after replacing battery

TL;DR: Replaced the battery and now the trackpad doesn't work, and looking for help to understand what went wrong.

Last weekend, I was replacing the battery of my Mac based on the instructions at MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar 2018 Battery Replacement. I had read all the comments on the page and steps so I decided to try doing it without taking the trackpad out, following the instructions of https://youtu.be/GcFYJgwem1s mentioned in the comments.

I thought I was careful enough with everything while using isopropyl alcohol instead as well but somehow managed to make the trackpad non-functional: moving the pointer or clicking doesn't work. External trackpad works with both cable and Bluetooth. Resetting the SMC, PRAM, and NVRAM didn't fix it. I doubt the trackpad itself is broken.

I reopened the back panel and checked the trackpad cable, and noticed it had a crease in it (the thing in the photos pointed to by the arrows):

Block Image
Block Image

Not sure if this is the cause of my problem, and I didn't check its condition before starting.

The trackpad had some problems with clicking or moving the pointer, or both–can't remember, to be honest–for a few days maybe a year ago, and resetting the SMC, PRAM, and NVRAM may have fixed it, but I can't remember it for certain. At the time, I didn't touch the hardware in any way, yet the problem went away somehow.

Should I remove the trackpad and check the cable and how it's connected from both ends? Should I just order a new trackpad cable and change it to see if it helps? Or should I check something else first?

Happy to hear any suggestions and experience related to this.

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Hi I have this exact problem did you ever find out what it was

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Answering my own question but I actually did, just last week, and was planning to post a reply or answer for this.

I couldn't see anything visibly wrong with the old cable or its connectors apart from the crease displayed in my photo.

First, I ordered a new cable and replaced the old one with it but the trackpad still stayed dead. Then I found another laptop of the same year and model, so I took its trackpad and cable and installed them both to this one, and now the trackpad in this one works as expected.

Fortunately, I didn't have to pay too much for the new cable, so I don't feel too bad even if I now have at least one extra cable. Or, I just need to find another trackpad to fix the other laptop that I took it from to make it a working one as well :)

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