Last July I finally decided to buy my first MacBook, and I opted for the 2024 Air, with an M3 chip and 16 GB of RAM. I wanted a powerful device that would not leave me stranded at any time, and I have achieved it, but there is one thing that I do not like at all and I cannot change.
This problem has to do with the MacBook’s mouse and trackpad scroll settings, which do not allow them to be configured independently, posing a problem for many users like me.
Mac scrolling problem
The problem is this: Apple devices, in this case Macs, have an option that allows you to adjust the keyboard scroll and set it to “Natural scroll.” This way, if you slide your fingers up on the laptop’s trackpad, the web page or content you are viewing on the screen scrolls up, just the opposite of the standard use of Windows computers.
So, you might think: “Well, disable that option and problem solved.” But this is where the real problem arises. By deactivating the natural displacementthe scroll wheel on my wireless mouse, which is not an Apple Magic Mouse, behaves in reverse, becoming completely unnatural and unwieldy.
The only solution I have found so far is keep disabled natural scrolling so that the mouse works correctly and does not follow the natural movement of the fingers. However, this creates a new problem: the trackpad, with this setting disabled, becomes inverted, forcing me to use it in a way contrary to what I have been used to since I started using my first laptop back in 2010. It’s like reconfiguring by I complete a deeply ingrained habit, which is frustrating and unintuitive.
Natural scrolling of the Mac causes errors
The only alternative we have left would be to activate and deactivate this function from settings every time we want to use one option or another, depending on whether we are going to use the Trackpad or a wireless mouse. In short, none of the solutions convince me, it seems to me that both options are a waste of time and that Apple should allow the trackpad and mouse to be configured independently. Currently, if we activate the option on the trackpad, it is also activated on the mouse, and vice versa.
Searching for information on social networks and internet forums, I have been able to verify that the user community has a large number of complaints regarding this problem, as absurd as it is innocent. At the moment, it does not seem that Apple plans to put an end to this “bug”, but on a personal level, I hope that they allow the movement of each of the accessories to be independently adjusted without any problem.
That’s why finding a balance between using a trackpad and a wireless mouse that isn’t official from Apple can be an unexpected challenge. It is impossible to adjust a scroll setting so that both devices work comfortably. I will be forced to purchase a Magic Mouse from Apple or adapt to this setting.
