Mac Trackpad Gestures Not Working? How to Fix Them

Mac trackpad gestures tend to fail in a confusing way. The pointer still moves and clicks still work, but the swipe that opened Mission Control yesterday does nothing today, or the two-finger swipe back in your browser has stopped. Usually nothing is broken: a setting has changed, another app has claimed the gesture, or the process that handles it has got stuck.

This guide works through the fixes in the order worth trying them, ending with the signs that the trackpad itself needs repair. The steps are for current macOS (Sonoma, Sequoia and Tahoe); where versions differ, that is noted.

First, Narrow It Down

Before changing anything, spend thirty seconds working out exactly what has stopped. The answer points straight at the right fix:

• Only three-finger swipes stopped, but four-finger swipes work: something has moved your gestures to four fingers. Usually that is three-finger drag or a gesture app. Jump to three-finger drag and gesture apps.
• Only one gesture stopped (for example Mission Control, or swiping between desktops): check that gesture's setting, then restart the Dock.
• Gestures work in some apps but not one: that app may not support the gesture at all. Two-finger swipe back, for example, only works in apps that have a back and forward history.
• Nothing works, including scrolling, but the pointer moves: restart the Mac first, then work down from gesture apps.
• The pointer itself is jumpy or the trackpad won't click: go to Magic Trackpad checks or hardware.

One more case is worth ruling out early. If you swipe three fingers sideways in Chrome or Safari expecting to change tabs, and instead the whole window slides away or nothing happens, that is not a fault. macOS has no built-in gesture for switching browser tabs; the three-finger sideways swipe belongs to switching between full-screen apps and desktops. Our guide to switching browser tabs with a trackpad on Mac covers the options.

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Check the Gesture Settings

Every built-in gesture can be switched off or moved to a different number of fingers, and it is easy to change one by accident. Open System Settings → Trackpad. There are three tabs:

• Point & Click: Tap to click, secondary click (right-click), Look up & data detectors, and Force Click and haptic feedback.
• Scroll & Zoom: Natural scrolling, pinch to zoom, smart zoom (double-tap with two fingers) and rotate.
• More Gestures: the system-wide swipes, including Swipe between pages, Swipe between full-screen applications, Notification Center, Mission Control, App Exposé, Show Desktop and the pinch with thumb and three fingers (Launchpad on Sequoia and earlier; on Tahoe it opens the Apps view that replaced Launchpad).

Each gesture has a checkbox or switch and, for most, a pop-up menu that chooses the fingers. On the More Gestures tab, the defaults on a fresh Mac are:

• Swipe between pages: scroll left or right with two fingers.
• Swipe between full-screen applications: swipe left or right with three fingers.
• Mission Control: swipe up with three fingers.
• App Exposé: off by default; swipe down with three fingers when turned on.
• Notification Center: swipe left from the right edge with two fingers.

If a gesture is ticked but set to four fingers, a three-finger swipe does nothing, and vice versa. Hover over any option and the settings window plays a short video of the movement it expects.

Two related settings often get reported as "gestures not working": Tap to click is off on a new Mac, so tapping without pressing does nothing until you turn it on; and if scrolling feels backwards, that is Natural scrolling on the Scroll & Zoom tab.

Three-Finger Drag Moved Your Gestures to Four Fingers

This is the most common reason three-finger swipes "suddenly" stop. Three-finger drag lets you move windows and select text by sliding three fingers without clicking. Because it needs three fingers for itself, turning it on makes macOS move Mission Control, App Exposé and Swipe between full-screen applications to four fingers. The setting lives in Accessibility, not in Trackpad settings, so people often don't connect the two.

To check it:

1. Open System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control.
2. Click Trackpad Options…
3. Look at Use trackpad for dragging. If it is on and the Dragging style is set to Three-Finger Drag, that explains the four-finger gestures.

You can keep three-finger drag and simply use four fingers for the system swipes, or switch the dragging style off and set the swipes back to three fingers under Trackpad → More Gestures. Both are reasonable; it comes down to which you use more.

Two-Finger Back Swipe Not Working in Your Browser

If swiping back a page in Chrome, Safari or Finder has stopped, go to Trackpad → More Gestures → Swipe between pages and check two things: that it is ticked, and which option is chosen in the menu. There are three: scroll left or right with two fingers, swipe with three fingers, and swipe with two or three fingers. If someone picked "swipe with three fingers", two-finger back swipes no longer work.

If the setting is right and it fails in only one app, that app probably does not support it. Some web apps also take over horizontal scrolling for their own content, such as spreadsheets or image carousels, so the swipe scrolls the page sideways instead of going back. Try the same swipe on a plain article page to compare.

Desktop Swipes Go Nowhere or to the Wrong Place

The three-finger sideways swipe moves between desktops (Spaces) and full-screen apps. If you only have one desktop and nothing in full screen, there is nowhere to go, so the swipe just bounces. Open Mission Control and click the + at the top right of the Spaces bar to add a desktop, then try again.

If the swipe works but lands on a different desktop from the one you expected, macOS is reordering them. Go to System Settings → Desktop & Dock, scroll to the Mission Control section and turn off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use. Your desktops then stay in a fixed order.

Restart the Dock, Then the Mac

Mission Control, Spaces and the desktop swipes are all run by the Dock process. When it gets stuck, those gestures stop while everything else carries on working. Restarting it takes a couple of seconds and closes nothing you are working on:

1. Open Terminal (in Applications → Utilities, or search for it with Spotlight).
2. Type killall Dock and press Return.

The Dock disappears for a moment and comes straight back. Try the gesture again. If it still fails, do a full restart from the Apple menu. It sounds obvious, but a restart clears far more than the Dock, and it is worth doing before anything below.

Rule Out Gesture Apps

Apps that add or change trackpad gestures, such as BetterTouchTool, window managers and tab-switching tools including TabSwipe, sit between the trackpad and macOS. That is how they work, but it also means they can clash with each other or with system settings.

• Quit them one at a time and test the gesture after each. If it starts working, that app's settings are the place to look. Two apps assigned the same swipe will fight over it.
• Expect some gestures to move. Tools that put tab switching on a three-finger swipe, TabSwipe and a typical BetterTouchTool setup among them, need macOS's own three-finger swipes moved to four fingers. If you installed one and "Mission Control stopped working", try four fingers before anything else.
• Check permissions. Gesture apps generally need permission under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. If an app that worked has stopped, often after a macOS or app update, switch its toggle off and on again, or remove it with the minus button and add it back.
• Look for leftovers. An app you have stopped using may still launch at login. Check System Settings → General → Login Items (called Login Items & Extensions on recent versions) and remove anything you no longer use.

Magic Trackpad: Bluetooth, Battery and Cable

With an external Magic Trackpad, flaky gestures are often a connection problem rather than a settings one, especially if the pointer also stutters.

1. Check the battery. The charge level shows in System Settings → Bluetooth next to the trackpad. A low battery can cause dropouts before it stops working completely.
2. Plug it in. Connect the trackpad to your Mac with its charging cable. It keeps working over the cable, which tells you quickly whether Bluetooth is the problem.
3. Re-pair it. In Bluetooth settings, click the info button next to the trackpad and choose to forget the device. Then connect it with the cable; it pairs again automatically, and you can unplug it once it shows as connected.
4. Reduce interference. Keep the trackpad close to the Mac and away from USB 3 hubs and drives, which can interfere with Bluetooth signals.

If your MacBook's own trackpad stops responding whenever a mouse or Magic Trackpad is connected, check Accessibility → Pointer Control for Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present. When that is on, the built-in trackpad is disabled on purpose.

Reset Trackpad Preferences

If settings look right but gestures still misbehave, the saved trackpad preferences may be damaged. You can reset them to the defaults. This undoes your trackpad customizations, so note them first.

1. In Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/Preferences.
2. Find com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad.plist and, if you use a Magic Trackpad, com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad.plist.
3. Drag them to your Desktop rather than deleting them, so you can put them back if needed.
4. Restart the Mac, then set your gestures again in System Settings → Trackpad.

If that fixes it, delete the copies on your Desktop. If not, try safe mode, which starts the Mac without third-party login items. On Apple silicon, shut down, hold the power button until "Loading startup options" appears, select your startup disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On an Intel Mac, hold Shift while it starts up. If gestures work in safe mode, something you have installed is responsible. Also install any pending updates from System Settings → General → Software Update.

When It's Hardware

Some problems no setting will fix. A few signs point to the trackpad itself:

• The trackpad won't click, or clicks feel stiff or uneven across the surface, on a MacBook. One cause is a swelling battery pressing up from underneath. If the trackpad looks raised or the case doesn't sit flat, stop using the Mac and get it checked by Apple or an authorized service provider.
• The pointer jumps or ignores touches in one area even in safe mode and after a restart.
• It fails with clean, dry fingers too. Before blaming the hardware, wipe the surface with a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth. Moisture, lotion and rings can confuse the sensors.

One thing that is normal: a MacBook's Force Touch trackpad does not physically click when the Mac is shut down. The "click" you feel is a haptic motor, so it only works while the Mac is on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Got your gestures back and want to make better use of them? See our roundup of the best Mac trackpad apps.