Fix Stubborn Apple Magic Trackpad Connection

Overview

If your Apple Magic Trackpad refuses to pair with your Mac, it’s likely because it remembers a previous computer connection. I’ll show you a quick timing trick that forces the trackpad to pair with your new computer instead of searching for the old one. The key is speed: click “Setup Bluetooth Trackpad” in System Preferences, then immediately power on the trackpad. This simple technique can save you frustration when your trackpad stubbornly won’t connect.

Key Moments

• Understanding why trackpads fail to pair (remembering previous connections)
• Fully powering off the trackpad by holding the power button until LED turns off
• The timing trick: clicking setup and immediately powering on the trackpad
• Forcing the trackpad to connect to the new computer first
• Successfully pairing in 5-10 seconds with the fast approach

Full Transcript (Edited)

In this video I’m going to show you how you can pair a trackpad that doesn’t want to pair up with your laptop. This sometimes happens when the trackpad has been used with another computer and it remembers the connection to the other computer, and your new computer refuses to pair.

I first start with the trackpad completely off. So make sure that this LED light here is not blinking. If it’s blinking or if you want to make sure that it’s fully off, you can power it up by pressing the power button and then holding the power button until the light completely goes off.

With the trackpad fully off, what you need to do is go to the System Preferences and find Trackpad, right here. And this is the part where you need to be fast. We’re gonna start by clicking on “Setup Bluetooth Trackpad,” and immediately after you press this button you need to come to the trackpad and press the power button.

So this will cause the trackpad to first try to connect with whatever laptop is trying to connect with it, instead of trying to connect to the old computer that it remembers.

So let’s do that. So I’m going to first click here and then I’m going to quickly turn it on. And you see how it says it found it and it connected? Sometimes in this case, my trackpad was previously connected to this one so it immediately connects to it. But if you’re… as soon as you click “Setup Bluetooth Trackpad” and you press the power button, when it says “Found Trackpad” (whatever name it is), you press Continue right after it finds it and wait a few seconds. May take 5-10 seconds and the trackpad should now be connected to your laptop.

Okay, so give that a try and let me know.