Language switching doesn't work at all in Big Sur

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Level 1

13 points

Language switching doesn't work at all in Big Sur

I produce dual language keyboards and keycap stickers for both Windows and MacOS. I just got off the phone with a customer that couldn't get her Mac to switch to a different language. After doing a remote control session with her to check that everything was set up correctly, I did a Google search and discovered that this has been a known issue with Big Sur since release. There is no way to change languages and no work-around. Keyboard shortcuts (both the old way and the new way) don't work, nor does manually changing the language using the mouse in the language bar.

Does Apple have any intention of fixing this, or do I need to suggest that my customers give up on Apple and purchase Windows machines?

Posted on Nov 2, 2021 5:28 PM

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Answer 1

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,080 points

Nov 3, 2021 7:55 AM in response to RadicalDad

Thanks for the additional info.

You are right, of course, that the new Fn/Globe key feature Apple introduced a year ago with Big Sur has been flakey for lots of users. But normally they have not had a problem reverting to the traditional Control Space/Control Option Space shortcuts to change keyboards. If your customer has these turned on but they don't work in Apple apps like Mail, Safari, Notes, Message, Pages, it should be fixable. I can probably make some suggestions.

It would be useful to know which keyboards are involved, because for some of them (non-latin ones), there is yet another option, to use Caps Lock.

Can you also verify that the machine in question is updated to MacOS 11.6? And that the shortcut for Siri has been set to OFF?

Also potentially important is whether some kind of non-Apple antivirus app has been installed

Regarding Word, it has some confusing bugs regarding keyboards and "language" (e.g. this one) which don't involve Apple, so it's best to look at its problems separately.

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Answer 2

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,080 points

Nov 2, 2021 6:47 PM in response to RadicalDad

RadicalDad wrote: , There is no way to change languages and no work-around. Keyboard shortcuts (both the old way and the new way) don't work, nor does manually changing the language using the mouse in the language bar.

I answer keyboard language questions here all the time, and I'm not aware of anyone with problems like that which were not local to their machine and fixable. Could you have your customer post here or provide more details about exactly which keyboards and apps are involved.

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Answer 3

RadicalDad Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 2, 2021 10:23 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

It's not just my customer. At least 1,340 others (and counting) have this problem. See this link: Language switching stops working using gl… - Apple Community

Or see here: Language switch key mysteriously not working? | MacRumors Forums

Or just use Google. The problem is endemic. I encountered all of the problems outlined in the above posts while trying to get her Mac to work. Finally, after trying several different things, including completely disabling keyboard shortcuts for language switching, nothing would work at all, even after several restarts. I couldn't even get the input menu on the menu bar to work. I could change to the second language, but as soon as I (or she) started to type, the language would flip back to English. After that, the second language couldn't be selected at all. Sometimes keyboard input stopped altogether until the app she was typing in was closed using the mouse. Failures happened in both Office (Word) 365 and Pages, after which I gave up and started Googling, discovering that the problem was widespread.

Let's be clear: The problem isn't language specific nor is it app specific. Let's also be clear that just because you consider yourself an expert in such things and you've never seen it before doesn't mean it isn't a widespread problem that Apple, in typical Apple fashion, isn't copping to. If you have real suggestions, I'd love to hear them - without the condescension.

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Answer 4

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,080 points

Nov 3, 2021 9:51 AM in response to RadicalDad

RadicalDad wrote: I produce dual language keyboards and keycap stickers for ... MacOS.

PS. I often run into people who are looking for this. Do you have a website and a list of languages/scripts you can provide?

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Language switching doesn't work at all in Big Sur

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