Chosen Solution

For some reason my macbook keyboard and trackpad are completely non-responsive. I know for a fact that the keyboard and trackpad are not the problem. Here are some other things I have tried:

  1. External keyboard and mouse work perfectly fine. I can log into OS X and everything functions normally with an external keyboard and mouse.
  2. I performed an SMC reset using the built in keyboard. As I said, I know the keyboard is good.
  3. I can not reset the PRAM using the built in keyboard. I can reset the PRAM with the external keyboard.
  4. I have tried to leave the Macbook working till the battery dies then leave it for one night without charging and afterwards restarting it with power supply plugged in and they worked but afterwards they in s random startup they return unresponsive (I have tried this for two times and worked and I trying my third time now) Please don’t fixate on replacing the keyboard and trackpad. The keyboard works before the chime (SMC reset) and does not work after the chime (can not reset PRAM). It seems like the logic board is turning off the keyboard when it chimes. Not sure what could cause this. Does anyone have any ideas?

Replace the trackpad cable. This commonly goes bad on 2015 13" models, and causes intermittent problems with both the keyboard and trackpad (trackpad needs to be recognised in order for the keyboard to work on this model). Part is £10 and takes 5 minutes to replace

I have the problem with Trackpad and Keyboard not working on a customer’s a1502.. Before I go replacing any ribbon cable(s) for a Trackpad or otherwise, can ANYONE answer this..? Why do both Keyboard and Trackpad work flawlessly outside of Sierra.? Pick ANY Linux distribution - I have 5-7 variants - and boot up to find KB and Trackpad ALWAYS working, ALL the time, without stopping or failing to work.. Thx

I had the same problem. It started when I forgot my charger at home and borrowed a MacBook Air charger. A day later the keyboard and trackpad had stopped working. I used an external keyboard and mouse until I have drained the battery. I opened the computer and tried clicking the trackpad cable in place. A day later I got back my charger and the the keyboard and trackpad worked like a charm again. So I do not know it the problem was me charging the computer with the wrong cable or if the cable had been misplaced or a combination of the both. EDIT: Since I wrote this post the keyboard and trackpad have stopped working a few more times. But now I have found the solution to my problem. I am pretty sure it is the trackpad connector that there is something wrong with. Disconnecting and reconnection the connector (see step 17 in this guide: MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display Early 2015 Trackpad Replacement) have fixed the problem. I have also bought a new cable and will install that in my computer when it arrives.

I had a similar problem and was trying to hard SMC reset by opening the Macbook pro and unplugging the battery. This did not help, but after trying this I unplugged the trackpad cable and keyboard cables then plugged them back and it worked! I suspect a loose connection with one of them.

@afalah Did replacing the flex cable for trackpad resolved your issue? Please tell

Hey I am having a similar issue. My keyboard stopped working but my trackpad is still working fine. I took it to a repair place and they said that putting in a new keyboard did not fix the issue. They now want to replace the logic part on the mother board and reprogram it. I told them that it could be the cable for the track pad and they said that when they swapped the mother board the keyboard worked fine so it has to be the mother board. When i plugged in an external keyboard, it also didn’t work. Not sure what to do. Should I still try to replace the trackpad cable?

I replaced the trackpad cable and it still isn’t responding. Any tips?

I performed SMC, PRAM, NVRAM resets. When I did a SMC reset keyboard and trackpad worked temporarily. After a while keyboard and trackpad stopped working AGAIN. After the reset still doesn’t work. Opened in safe mode. Installed windows, I tried it all and it didn’t work. My question is simple. If the cable really is broken then why did it work when I did a SMC reset? Another question is- When I was installing windows on my computer for 2-5 seconds the trackpad worked. Then it stopped again. Why did my trackpad work on windows temporarily if the cable really is broken? Another question- Why is the computer working fine on ubuntu linux 20.10 if the cable really is broken? That’s all thank you. (Trying to fix my old mac in quarantine)

It’s 2021 and ive had this issue for at least a year on my MacBook Pro 15inch 2015 model. the trackpad often keyboard as well, stops working. This can be when I’m in the middle of doing something or when I have left the Mac on standby whether this be with the lid closed or not. sometimes it fixes itself when I reset the SMC, sometimes when I just restart it and sometimes it literally takes about 15 resets including the SMC. it’s such a random issue with out anything clear about what’s causing it other than software updates. I’ve updated a few times now from high Sierra to Catalina and problem is still apparent. I never had the issue before the high Sierra update so I assume it’s this. if anybody has any ideas or heard anything from Apple or a repair shop please let me know!!!

What I don’t see mentioned here is that this problem can also be caused by a defective keyboard IC on the board. A broken/bad touchpad cable can cause this because it shorts the IC. If replacing the cable doesn’t help and there’s no kb and/or touchpad response even when booted from usb, this is your most likely cause. Replace the IC (advanced microsoldering repair) and the touchpad flex cable.