Mac Typing Indicator Jumps to left?!

[phil1093]

Please help me, its been happening for a while, I haven't found a cause. but randomly when I'm typing (anywhere e.g. Facebook, here, word, notes,) the indicator will jump about 10/12 spaces to the left and cause my writing to go hay wire and ill have to delete it all and retype it, it will jump in the middle of words and sometimes it will keep doing it 5 or 6 times or more, before then carrying on as normal please help I thought it would go after a while (me being naive and all) but it hasn't and I've scoured the internet and found nothing, other than people saying my hand must be touching the trackpad, which trust me its not, I've typed with 1 finger, granny style before and its still happened. Please help, ill be grateful for ever! (also sorry I hcapitals) used avent (<-i thought I would show you what I mean )

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Three questions,

1)What is your Mac model
2)How old is it
3)Do you have bluetooth turned on

 

[phil1093]

hi, thanks,
mac 13'' 2.4ghz, late 2011,
a year old,
nope

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

As a test go to system preference > trackpad and turn off all the swipes.

 

[Kaveman]

Its likely to be you are brushing the trackpad with the ball of your thumb/palm while typing. I did it all the time, until I realised. It just takes the slightest brush.

 

[phil1093]

trust me its definitely not that, I think it could be when I press the space bar.. altho when I type on here it also jumps to the top of the page sometimes :S

 

[Kaveman]

Then it must be a hardware fault take it to an AppleCare Service Centre near you.

 

[phil1093]

thanks, I was planning on doing so when I had the time

 

[oldscribe]

I agree with Kaveman, but did you try the trackpad test ideally you would need to plug a USB mouse.

 

[phil1093]

no its not that… Ive figured more specifically what its doing now..

Sometimes when I type, and press the space bar, the indicator will jump back to after the first letter of the previous word… Ahhhh its so frustrating!! I take for ever to type and its going to be ages till I get to an apple to for some help

 

[Kaveman]

Check that Space hasn't accidentally been set at the keyboard short cut for move-back one word as this is normally Option-Back Arrow.

System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts

You might also want to check that your Keyboard is the right one for your Input Sources.

 

[phil1093]

Nope they're all okay

 

[Kaveman]

So does Option - Back Arrow do exactly the same thing?

And it happens in every App?

 

[phil1093]

no know it doesnt. its really similar. except my problem jumps to after the first letter of the previous word, rather than just the beginning of the word.. hmm

and yeah every app :S

 

[Kaveman]

I've just talked to our tech, she says to try these.

1. If you can locate another USB keyboard swap the keyboards and see if the problem persists. If not then its a fault in the keyboard, replace it.

if it does then
2. Create a new User Account. DON'T use Space in the name or password. Log into that account, see if the problem travels into the new account.

 

[phil1093]

Great thanks! ill try that tomorrow (its late here)

But can the keyboard be replaced on a notebook (macbook pro) ? or am I being an idiot…

 

[Kaveman]

Yes, they replace the whole top case.

 

[Kaveman]

Another thought, when you bring up the Keyboard Viewer, what keys are highlighted when you press space. The fact that it moves in a predictable manners, hints that its not a hardware fault. they tend to jump all over the place.

 

[phil1093]

what happened was I used screen record so I could check in slo motion, and basically I pressed space let go, then it jumped back, without any other keys being pressed.. And the same happened when I was typing here and it jumped to the top of the screen. Which is also weird because on here it also jumps back a word, but sometimes jumps to the top of the screen as well. I still need to find a usb keyboard.

 

[phil1093]

Hi, so I tried what you suggested, and both worked, as I am fairly sure it is just safari on this account that it happens, as skype and word seem to be fine, However I really cba to move everything over to a new account to solve the problem, have you any advice? youve been an amazing help so far! thank you