4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

sitwano · 2017-08-23 06:19:39

Hi all,

This is an extension of https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=228673 because the topic was mistakenly marked as solved, when in fact its not.

It appears that the 4.12.x kernel series causes an issue whereby making a 3 finger gesture and then resting two fingers results in multiple pasting and middle-click events in the browser or wherever (most prominent in the browser though). This and other erroneous behaviour does not occur in the LTS 4.9.x series kernel.

Bug reports have been filed for LIBINPUT in the following places by me and someone else:
1.)https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=101979
2.)https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=102270

Although these have been reported for the thinkpad x250 series laptops, I am assuming these bugs exist for others as well. If anyone is willing to contribute feedback, please attach the evemu-recording of the event in the bug report. The maintainer insists on it to progress further. I am currently unable to provide this because I am on the LTS kernel and cannot risk switching to the latest 4.12.x kernel for stability reasons.

I've also reported the bug on bugzilla for the linux kernel.org website. Please see https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=196735.

Please provide feedback on this issue if you have any helpful information. Thanks!

Last edited by sitwano (2017-08-23 06:36:53)

fritziphantom · 2017-08-23 20:06:53

I also noticed issues after upgrading to 4.12.x on my X1 Carbon 2nd. Sometimes after resuming from sleep, and sometimes when I disconnect from the dockingstation. I'll post the logs the next time it happens.
For now i just remove and reload the kernel module:
sudo rmmod psmouse
sudo modprobe psmouse

halocaridina · 2017-08-24 00:14:46

@sitwano

Could you please try the following two commands (sudo or root needed) and report back? Note that the first command will result in the touchpad and trackpoint being disabled.

rmmod psmouse
modprobe psmouse synaptics_intertouch=0

sitwano · 2017-08-27 08:31:02

Thanks for the information! I will try it when I install the latest kernel again and post the results.

update: This seems to temporarily fix it. However, the problem comes back after a restart. I've already filed a bug at kernel.org but no one is looking into it. Is it possible that this is only affecting thinkpads?

Last edited by sitwano (2017-09-05 10:54:07)

halocaridina · 2017-08-27 12:16:48

@sitwano,

Yes, those changes would not survive a restart. To load the module with this option on every boot, add the following to /etc/modprobe.d/psmouse_serio2_setup.conf:

options psmouse synaptics_intertouch=0

Kernel 4.12 apparently defaults to RMI4 over SMBus (Google for details) for the trackpoint and trackpad and loading the kernel module with the above option reverts it back to the pre-4.12 PS/2 emulation.

A noticable difference with/without turning on the option is how the trackpad is identified following boot-up with tools like xinput:

SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad <--- w/ psmouse synaptics_intertouch=0
Synaptics TM3075-002 <--- w/ psmouse synaptics_intertouch=1

This difference could lead to the issues you are describing especially if you have set trackpad options in file(s) under

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/

with a specific Identifier.

If the above helps, please add that information to your bug report at kernel.org. I think the change to RMI4 over SMBus has some bugs that need to be worked out (and I'm gathering evidence for one that I'm seeing).

sitwano · 2017-09-04 06:09:27

Ok thanks, I appreciate your helpful input although I don't understand what all that means @_@.

I see that kernel 4.12.10 on kernel.org has been released and it seems to have a commit that fixes two-finger scrolling on touchpads. I havn't tried this yet as I'm waiting for the kernel to hit arch repos. I'll report back once I've tried it. In the meanwhile, I will try what you suggested. I have one more question: is it only necessary to load the module with your option once for every boot? I mean is there a possibility that the touchpad starts acting up again a few hours later? I don't want to keep reloading the module once every hour

halocaridina · 2017-09-04 12:22:43

Loading the psmouse module with that parameter as described above at boot should be sufficient until the next reboot (where it should be automatically loaded again).

However, if the trackpad begins to act up again after using this parameter, then there is some other issue that is leading to the described behavior besides how the trackpad is being identified by the system.

sitwano · 2017-09-05 10:18:46

halocaridina wrote:

Loading the psmouse module with that parameter as described above at boot should be sufficient until the next reboot (where it should be automatically loaded again).
However, if the trackpad begins to act up again after using this parameter, then there is some other issue that is leading to the described behavior besides how the trackpad is being identified by the system.

Thank you so much for this fix! I have no idea how you even came up with it lol but I'm happy that I can use the latest kernels again! So far the touchpad isn't acting up even after the three-finger press. This is a good sign, and I'll update this thread in the future if it stays this way!

sitwano · 2017-09-16 19:55:03

Just an update, could this patch https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … c8701ef4ad fix this issue?

Last edited by sitwano (2017-09-16 20:00:47)

Arch Linux

#1 2017-08-23 06:19:39

4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#2 2017-08-23 20:06:53

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#3 2017-08-24 00:14:46

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#4 2017-08-27 08:31:02

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#5 2017-08-27 12:16:48

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#6 2017-09-04 06:09:27

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#7 2017-09-04 12:22:43

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#8 2017-09-05 10:18:46

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

#9 2017-09-16 19:55:03

Re: 4.12.x kernel causing touchpad issues on Thinkpad X-250 series

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