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I kept having failing palm rejections on my new 2018 MBP's trackpad. I've never had any issue on my 2013 MBP or my 2009 MBP trackpad. The 2018 MBP's trackpad is impractically huge, and the heel or base of my thumb would register a false click while I'm typing or changing in between typing and trackpad use.

I had to enable dragging (without drag lock) since I'm so used to tap-to-click and that exacerbate the issue bad enough that I can't even complete typing any email without repositioning the cursor, or worst, undo-ing jobs manually because the trackpad falsely double-register a tab selection and insert/delete lines as I type, especially while I'm typing or coding fast.

What makes it worst is also the trackpad is slightly off centered to the right making the right thumb base more prone to false registering as a finger.

I tried a few suggestions found on google and played with the sensitivity but none really helps. I resort to cover the side of trackpad (plastic-foil-plastic layer) to block it off. It's not a perfect solution but at least it takes care of most (~90%) of false registering. But that also means I cannot swipe from edge to bring up notification center. Plus it looks clumsy after spending that much money on a MBP.

Having been using MBP most of my life I'm sure I'm not the only person having this issues with 2018 MBP - is there a better or preferred (software) solution to improve the palm rejection?

Palm rejection on mbp

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  • My trackpad is def. centered on the computer, why do you think yours is to the right?
    – Ezekiel
    Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 0:57
  • Your trackpad is definitely centered. I had issues when switching to this model of MBP and had phantom clicks and cursor movements. You probably just need to pick your hands up more. Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 21:39
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    It's the [space] bar which is off center.
    – ericx
    Commented May 13, 2019 at 13:46
  • This is great. Would you be willing to post further details about the kind of foil and plastic you used, and what sort of vendors would have them?
    – Mars
    Commented Apr 9, 2021 at 0:57
  • @Mars just those aluminum foil you use to wrap food in the oven sandwiched between two pieces of plastic screen. And for that I just happen to have some moderately thin protective screen cover for resistive touch screen. Three layers: plastic-foil-plastic
    – KMC
    Commented Apr 17, 2021 at 13:17

2 Answers 2

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Unfortunately palm rejection has never worked properly with the larger trackpad, and there is no fix for it. Just search for "macbook pro palm rejection" and you will discover many tales of woe but no actual fixes that work properly. Turning off tap to click doesn't help - besides tape or using an external pointing device, it seems there is little we can do until Apple fixes this hideous defect.

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Having looked for a solution, including here, and not finding anything, here's what I created: a 3D-printed "palm guard" that slides on and off.

"PalmsOff" on 15" MacBook Pro

More info is available at 3D-printing service Shapeways.

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  • 1
    Kudos on the creativity. But spending thousands on Laptop to have to print your own 3D solutions? Ouch. There are so many flows in the models after 2015, that I simply cannot make myself buy one.
    – Dani
    Commented Sep 17, 2019 at 9:42

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