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pneumatic3142
User level: Level 1 (5 points)

Trackpad Settings Disappeared

After updating to macos 27.0.1, my trackpad stopped letting me three finger swipe left/right to change desktops, and when going into settings to try and change my trackpad settings, that whole portion of settings is missing

I have tried both restarting my computer and quitting & re-opening settings and neither fixed this. The strange thing is that this part of settings works perfectly fine on my backup administrator account, just not my main one.

Posted on Oct 8, 2026 11:44 AM

6 replies

neuroanatomist
User level: Level 9 (72,871 points)

Oct 8, 2026 11:48 AM in response to pneumatic3142

The Trackpad section missing from System Settings on your main account after updating to macOS 27.0.1 is a user profile preference corruption or plist file glitch (similar bugs have been reported). Because it works fine on your backup administrator account, your hardware is fine.


How to Fix the Missing Trackpad Settings and Gestures:


Delete Corrupted Trackpad Preference Files

Since your main user profile's preference files are likely stuck or corrupted from the update, you need to delete them and let macOS rebuild them:

  • Open Finder.
  • From the top menu bar, click Go > Go to Folder... (or press Cmd + Shift + G).
  • Type or paste the following then press return.
~/Library/Preferences
  • Locate and delete these specific files (if present):
    • com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad.plist
    • com.apple.preference.trackpad.plist
    • com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad.plist (if using an external trackpad)
  • Empty your Trash and restart your Mac


If that does not correct then issue, then boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

 

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support


neuroanatomist
User level: Level 9 (72,871 points)

Oct 8, 2026 12:35 PM in response to pneumatic3142

Did you boot in safe mode, and if so, is the Trackpad settings pane present?

pneumatic3142 Author
User level: Level 1 (5 points)

Oct 13, 2026 5:37 PM in response to Macpuppy73

nope, official apple support now has this logged as a bug that they're working on

pneumatic3142 Author
User level: Level 1 (5 points)

Oct 8, 2026 12:24 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Ok, I did both of those things, both by themselves and together and the trackpad settings still aren't there. I couldn't find com.apple.preference.trackpad.plist in my finder, so I'm assuming I don't have that, and whenever I restart, the other two .plist files show back up (as I'm assuming they're supposed to, but I'm not sure).


pneumatic3142 Author
User level: Level 1 (5 points)

Oct 8, 2026 12:42 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Yes I did, and no it is not

Macpuppy73
User level: Level 1 (12 points)

Oct 12, 2026 3:31 AM in response to pneumatic3142

Did this issue ever get resolved for you? I'm having the same trouble

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256372640