ToothFairy use case: Sharing a (first-generation) Magic Trackpad between multiple Macs

[Michael_Tsai]

@sgraff

I just tried to use ToothFairy to be able to switch using my Apple Magic Trackpad (USB-C) Model A3120 with my MBP M4 and a Mac mini M4. Despite achieving some initial success, it’s not a usable option.

The bottom line is the that the trackpad hardware does not support multi-device use. ToothFairy’s shortcut is for connecting devices that are already paired. Apple’s documentation states that to switch the trackpad between different Macs, you need to first remove the pairing on one and then add the pairing on the other.

[Arndt]

@Michael_Tsai

Apple’s documentation states that to switch the trackpad between different Macs, you need to first remove the pairing on one and then add the pairing on the other.

With “removing the pairing on one” not likely being a true prerequisite; making sure it’s not connected should suffice to allow it to be paired anew. (My theory, because Apple would otherwise be risking a lot of complaints about defunct trackpads from users who e.g. lost or gave away their Mac without removing all Bluetooth pairings first.)

[Michael_Tsai]

@Arndt

With “removing the pairing on one” not likely being a true prerequisite; making sure it’s not connected should suffice to allow it to be paired anew.

Yes, in practice it should work to just pair it with the new device. My point in referencing that was to show that Apple itself is very clear that the hardware only supports one pairing at a time. You have to do the pairing manually because Apple doesn’t allow use of the pairing API in the App Store.