keyboard media keys not working

Question

Level 1

8 points

keyboard media keys not working

Lately when I am watching a video on Apple TV on my iMac, the pause button does not work... instead it launches the Music app and starts playing songs. Any solutions?

iMac Pro

Posted on Feb 16, 2020 10:02 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,610 points

Feb 17, 2020 9:46 AM in response to Can7438

Well I see part of the problem already, you have installed a third party antivirus app. Mac OS is extremely secure and does not require nor does it benefit from having any antivirus, cleaning or ANY other "maintenance" apps installed. If simply kept up-to-date and otherwise left alone Mac OS will remain stable and secure. Installing antivirus apps have the exact opposite effects that users want, they make Mac OS slow and unstable and also cause Mac OS to exhibit issues such as what you are experiencing.

Please locate the developers uninstall directions then uninstall and then restart in Safe Mode per the directions in Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support.

In addition I see some old stuff that should be uninstalled including:

Blackberry software, really do you still use a Blackberry?
Paragon NTFS software, this is a hack and like many hacks can cause issues.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,610 points

Feb 17, 2020 9:19 AM in response to Can7438

Please navigate to the Mac App Store or navigate to www.Etrecheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you have you downloaded the app and installed it, please run the report and save it. This report will help us get a good idea what has been installed on your system and help us be able to diagnose what may be wrong.

When you have your report, you can attach it when you reply to this message and we can then review it and help you determine what is needed to get your system running well again.

For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

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Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,610 points

Feb 17, 2020 9:39 AM in response to Can7438

Please post the entire report as instructed in the link I provided. You have posted a truncated report that is not useful, we need to see the entire report.

Well I see part of the problem already, you have installed a third party antivirus app. Mac OS is extremely secure and does not require nor does it benefit from having any antivirus, cleaning or ANY other "maintenance" apps installed. If simply kept up-to-date and otherwise left alone Mac OS will remain stable and secure. Installing antivirus apps have the exact opposite effects that users want, they make Mac OS slow and unstable and also cause Mac OS to exhibit issues such as what you are experiencing.

Please locate the developers uninstall directions then uninstall and then restart in Safe Mode per the directions in Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support.

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,610 points

Feb 17, 2020 11:00 AM in response to Can7438

To uninstall apps please do:

Check the developers site to see if they have uninstall instructions or look in the app itself if it has uninstall instructions
If that does not help, then use Appcleaner (Google it or check the Mac App Store) and also use the FindAnyFile.app to look for anything on the system with the apps name.

Also (and I should have mentioned this) after restarting in Safe Mode, then restart normally and test.

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Answer 5

Can7438 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 17, 2020 9:33 AM in response to rkaufmann87

EtreCheck version: 5.4.8 (5091)

Report generated: 2020-02-17 12:30:21

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 3:06

Performance: Excellent

Sandbox: Enabled

Full drive access: Disabled

Problem: Other problem

Description:

1. Media keys on keyboard not working on any app other than MUSIC. Wh

en trying to pause a TV video, it launches the Music app;

2. I am constantly being prompted to re-authorize my Mac to play purch

ased shows/movies; to re-login to iTunes/Apple whatever

3. Apple support says Unavailable

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed that could be adware and should be reviewed.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.

Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.

System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.

32-bit Apps - This machine has 32-bits apps will not work on macOS 10.15 “Catalina”.

Limited drive access - More information may be available with Full Drive Access.

Hardware Information:

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)

iMac Model: iMac18,3

1 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-7500) CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM - Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 2400

BANK 0/DIMM1 - Empty

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 2400

BANK 1/DIMM1 - Empty

Video Information:

Radeon Pro 570 - VRAM: 4 GB

iMac (built-in) 3200 x 1800

hp L2335 1920 x 1080

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE SSD SM0032L 28.00 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

Internal PCI-Express 8.0 GT/s x2 NVM Express

disk0s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB

disk0s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 27.69 GB

disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.03 TB (Shared by 5 volumes)

disk2s1 - M************ Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 319.48 GB used)

disk2s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared)

disk2s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared)

disk2s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

disk2s5 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 10.99 GB used)

disk1 - APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk1s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk1s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 1000.00 GB

disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.03 TB (Shared by 5 volumes)

disk2s1 - M************ Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 319.48 GB used)

disk2s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared)

disk2s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared)

disk2s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

disk2s5 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 10.99 GB used)

disk3 - Seagate BUP Slim BK 2.00 TB

External USB 5 Gbit/s USB

disk3s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk3s2 - S***********************e (Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)) 2.00 TB (623.41 GB used)

disk4 - G-DRIVE mobile USB 2.00 TB

External USB 5 Gbit/s USB

disk4s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk4s2 - G*********S (Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)) 2.00 TB (1.83 TB used)

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Answer 6

Can7438 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 17, 2020 9:34 AM in response to Can7438

Mounted Volumes:

disk2s1 - M************ Data [APFS Virtual drive]

1.03 TB (Shared - 319.48 GB used, 733.42 GB available, 689.93 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data

disk2s4 - VM [APFS VM]

1.03 TB (Shared - 2.15 GB used, 689.93 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /private/var/vm

disk2s5 - Macintosh HD

1.03 TB (Shared - 10.99 GB used, 733.42 GB available, 689.93 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /

Read-only: Yes

disk3s2 - S***********************e

2.00 TB (623.41 GB used, 1.38 TB free)

Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)

Mount point: /Volumes/S***********************e

disk4s2 - G*********S

2.00 TB (1.83 TB used, 169.56 GB available, 169.42 GB free)

Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)

Mount point: /Volumes/G*********S

Network:

Interface Bluetooth-Modem: Bluetooth DUN

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en7: iPad

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Interface en5: iPhone

Interface en4: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge 2

System Software:

macOS Catalina 10.15.3 (19D76)

Time since boot: Less than an hour

Notifications:

Notifications not available without Full Drive Access.

Security:

Gatekeeper: Enabled

System Integrity Protection: Enabled

Antivirus software: Apple and Avira

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Answer 7

Can7438 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 17, 2020 9:59 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I unistalled Avira, I am in safe mode, apple TV doesn't work at all now, my mirrored monitor is not working. I cannot find the BlackBerry app (i've tried to uninstall it before). I feel like I'm going backwards here.

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Answer 8

Allan Jones

Level 9

72,008 points

Feb 17, 2020 10:04 AM in response to Can7438

DivX is older than the computer and there is some evidence that outdated versions of DivX can cause performance issues on newer macOS versions. It is a media player and could be conflicting with what the Apple media systems you are trying to invoke. If you use DivX, update it; if not, evict it.

I've seen several reports where ZipCloud was causing overall performance issues.

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Answer 9

Can7438 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 17, 2020 10:09 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks rkaufmann87.

Back out of safe mode and the initial issue (media keys) is solved. I will have to figure out how to uninstall an app that the Mac can't find... maybe when Apple gets's it's support act in gear as I've before never seen the error message I have linked below.