Arch Linux

bertez

Member

Registered: 2016-10-12

Posts: 9

[SOLVED] Thinkpad T480 trackpoint strange issue

Hello, I recently purchased an old T480 and decided to replace the keyboard (different layout + backlight). The trackpoint has major troubles following the replacement: it works OK when I first start moving, but after a few seconds, the cursor bounces all over the screen and starts to emit random clicks and eventually is disconnected.

Weirdly the trackpoint is recognized as "PS/2 Mouse" rather than the standard "TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint." I understand the trackpoint connects via PS/2 but still strange.

relevant dmesg output:

...
[    4.807782] input: PS/2 Generic Mouse as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.4/i2c-0/0-002c/rmi4-00/rmi4-00.fn03/serio2/input/input20
...

xinput output:

⎡ Virtual core pointer                    	id=2	[master pointer  (3)]
⎜   ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer              	id=4	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Synaptics TM3276-022                    	id=11	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ Logitech MX Master 3 for Mac            	id=15	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ PS/2 Generic Mouse                      	id=14	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ G2Touch Multi-Touch by G2TSP            	id=9	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎣ Virtual core keyboard                   	id=3	[master keyboard (2)]
    ↳ Virtual core XTEST keyboard             	id=5	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Power Button                            	id=6	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                               	id=7	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Sleep Button                            	id=8	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ AT Translated Set 2 keyboard            	id=12	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ ThinkPad Extra Buttons                  	id=13	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Integrated Camera: Integrated C         	id=10	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Logitech MX Master 3 for Mac            	id=16	[slave  keyboard (3)]

xinput device props:

Device 'PS/2 Generic Mouse':
	Device Enabled (187):	0
	Coordinate Transformation Matrix (189):	1.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 1.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 1.000000
	libinput Natural Scrolling Enabled (368):	1
	libinput Natural Scrolling Enabled Default (369):	0
	libinput Scroll Methods Available (370):	0, 0, 1
	libinput Scroll Method Enabled (371):	0, 0, 1
	libinput Scroll Method Enabled Default (372):	0, 0, 1
	libinput Button Scrolling Button (373):	2
	libinput Button Scrolling Button Default (374):	2
	libinput Button Scrolling Button Lock Enabled (375):	0
	libinput Button Scrolling Button Lock Enabled Default (376):	0
	libinput Middle Emulation Enabled (377):	0
	libinput Middle Emulation Enabled Default (378):	0
	libinput Accel Speed (379):	0.000000
	libinput Accel Speed Default (380):	0.000000
	libinput Accel Profiles Available (381):	1, 1
	libinput Accel Profile Enabled (382):	1, 0
	libinput Accel Profile Enabled Default (383):	1, 0
	libinput Left Handed Enabled (384):	0
	libinput Left Handed Enabled Default (385):	0
	libinput Send Events Modes Available (310):	1, 0
	libinput Send Events Mode Enabled (311):	0, 0
	libinput Send Events Mode Enabled Default (312):	0, 0
	Device Node (313):	"/dev/input/event17"
	Device Product ID (314):	2, 1
	libinput Drag Lock Buttons (386):	<no items>
	libinput Horizontal Scroll Enabled (387):	1
	libinput Scrolling Pixel Distance (388):	15
	libinput Scrolling Pixel Distance Default (389):	15
	libinput High Resolution Wheel Scroll Enabled (390):	1

relevant libinput list-devices:

Device:           PS/2 Generic Mouse
Kernel:           /dev/input/event17
Group:            8
Seat:             seat0, default
Capabilities:     pointer 
Tap-to-click:     n/a
Tap-and-drag:     n/a
Tap drag lock:    n/a
Left-handed:      disabled
Nat.scrolling:    disabled
Middle emulation: disabled
Calibration:      n/a
Scroll methods:   *button
Click methods:    none
Disable-w-typing: n/a
Accel profiles:   flat *adaptive
Rotation:         n/a

I purchased the keyboard from a Lenovo authorized reseller, and the trackpoint works perfectly in Windows and older Linux editions (I tried an ubuntu 16 live image), but not in latest Linux releases (Arch or any other recent)

Any idea? Thanks!

Last edited by bertez (2023-06-20 10:28:44)

dogknowsnx

Guest

Re: [SOLVED] Thinkpad T480 trackpoint strange issue

Did you try

synaptics_intertouch=1

?
Source

bertez

Member

Registered: 2016-10-12

Posts: 9

Re: [SOLVED] Thinkpad T480 trackpoint strange issue

yes, I did... no luck

dedline

Member

Registered: 2023-06-19

Posts: 1

Re: [SOLVED] Thinkpad T480 trackpoint strange issue

@bertez did you ever get a fix for this?

Experiencing the exact same error on my ThinkPad Carbon X1 (5th Gen) with a replaced keyboard. Trackpointer is not usable.

bertez

Member

Registered: 2016-10-12

Posts: 9

Re: [SOLVED] Thinkpad T480 trackpoint strange issue

@dedline

Yes, it turned out to be a hardware issue. I replaced the keyboard with a different model, and it worked perfectly fine. I apologize for not updating this post earlier with the solution.