Application window keeps getting deselected even while open and active

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Level 1

39 points

Application window keeps getting deselected even while open and active

Hi, FYI, I'm running 12.4 on a 2017 Retina 27" iMac. Has anyone encountered the problem where, even when a particular application like Messages or Safari or even MS Word is open and active, the open app gets deselected so that you can't either type or click inputs into it without actually reselecting the app via mouse click? I've only noticed this problem very recently, and for all I know it could be a problem with either my keyboard or Magic Mouse, but since this appears to happen with either inputting device, I rather doubt it. I hope I'm describing the problem well! I'm curious as to whether anyone here has seen this issue before, and definitely whether there's either a workaround or any inkling that Apple is addressing this in future updates. Thanks in advance!

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 12.4

Posted on Jun 1, 2022 8:45 AM

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Answer 1

dialabrain

Level 10

136,709 points

Jun 1, 2022 9:02 AM in response to PatrickZJD1

Test while in Safe Mode.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

PatrickZJD1 Author

Level 1

39 points

Jun 1, 2022 9:00 AM in response to dialabrain

Yes, I agree, it's very strange and very intermittent, dial! I only updated to 12.4 a couple of days ago and never had this problem previously, so for me, Monterey has been very stable. I'm definitely malware-free, but I may try shutting down some other apps like Little Snitch or Adguard and see whether this helps. Right now, though, this problem reproduced itself as I was typing this response! Sigh...

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

136,709 points

Jun 2, 2022 12:10 PM in response to PatrickZJD1

FWIW, here's someone with what sounds like a similar problem…

The system keeps unselect the app I'm typ… - Apple Community

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Answer 4

PatrickZJD1 Author

Level 1

39 points

Jun 2, 2022 7:24 AM in response to dialabrain

So Safe Mode didn't appear to help -- neither did switching to using another Magic Mouse. Right now I'm trying to identify certain culprits, and it seems like it's with Messages, Outlook, and either Safari or Chrome the most, and mostly when I am trying to input text. Very, very troubling and annoying!

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Answer 5

PatrickZJD1 Author

Level 1

39 points

Jun 2, 2022 11:09 AM in response to PatrickZJD1

Just to keep anyone reading this in the loop, we tried First Aid and then reinstalling Monterey again, all to no avail. It's possible that this could be a hardware issue, sigh, but then again, this is a nearly five-year old iMac with a lot of daily use, so who knows?

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Answer 6

PatrickZJD1 Author

Level 1

39 points

Jun 2, 2022 11:53 AM in response to dialabrain

I sort of agree, my friend, but I've truly been wracking my brains with this, and when I called Apple Support, that's when we tried all the above measures. I'd've felt more comfortable saying it was app- or OS-related if anyone else reported having this issue, but I can't even find anything on the Internet about this, let alone these boards. The analyst did hear my error alerts as I was trying to type texts to my wife in Messages, so at least they had some inkling that this isn't just in my head, LOL. I really can't think, though, that Little Snitch or Adguard would be causing this now, even after the 12.4 update. Ah, well, my search continues...thanks for checking in here!

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