macOS “Phantom Focus” Bug – Window Focus Switches to Nothing, Keyboard Input Stops Working

So it's been over 2 months that I removed Logitech GHub from my Macbook Pro and I have NOT encountered this issue ever since. Still on Sequoia 15.7.3. Somebody would need to validate on more recent OS versions, but for me, it looks like it's DEFINITELY caused by Logitech GHub either directly or indirectly. Removing it (moving on on-device profiles for my mouse) has worked out.

Hope this helps.

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

RastaSoulJah wrote:

I have this same issue and I have LogiTech Ghub installed could this be the cause of the issue ?

Very likely.

Try uninstalling and see if the problem goes away, as it seems to have for others.

I completely removed LogiTech GHub from my device ( Macbook Pro Mac OS - Tahoe 26.3.1) 2 days ago and the issue has not presented itself since then. I used the Ghub only for updating my Astro A50 X and I can do that from my mobile device, so no love lost. Hopefully this helps! Thanks @Luis Sequeira1!

Thanks to Gemini, I have found a solution for myself because I didn't have Logitech Ghub installed.

Check for "Crashing" Loops

If a process is crashing every few seconds, it often steals focus for a millisecond as it tries to launch a window. You can check the "Diagnostic Reports" to see if something is flooding the system:

1. Open Console.app (via Spotlight).
2. Click on Crash Reports in the sidebar.
3. Sort by Date Modified.
4. If you see a process name appearing repeatedly with timestamps seconds apart, that's it.

I found the app that keeps crashing, uninstalled it and managed to fix the issue.

For me, desabling the stage manager ( System Settings -> Desktop and Dock -> Stage Manager ) fixe the issue for now.

FutureX wrote:

Affected Systems

I have reproduced this across multiple macOS versions and hardware systems, including:

• macOS Sonoma

• macOS Sequoia

• macOS Tahoe 26.2

• Mac Studio and MacBook Pro

• With and without external displays

• With and without third-party software running

This rules out:

• A single app

• A single OS release

• A single hardware platform

What you have not ruled out is something in your configuration or something installed that is common to all your Macs running those various MacOS. In other words, what you had in Sonoma was migrated to Sequoia and subsequently to Tahoe, how do you know it is not something you have configured on your Macs? As HWTech points out, usually these sorts of things stem from user configured or installed items.

My employer has thousands of Macs. Were running Sonoma, then Sequoia, now Tahoe. I have never seen the issue you describe. It may exist among those thousands of Macs, but if it does, no one has reported it in our Slack channels utilized for reporting anomalies, so it must be unusual or rare.

You have provided an admirably detailed accounting of symptoms, but you have not provided evidence of root cause. I see nothing in your post that convincingly proves root cause is the MacOS as opposed to something installed. Even if no third party software is "running," background process can cause these freeze ups as can attached peripherals.

Posting the Etrecheck report as suggested by HWTech may enable a diagnosis via "crowd sourcing" in Apple Discussions of the root or proximate cause of the anomaly. If this were intrinsic to all those versions of the MacOS, these Discussions would be burning up with scores of reports like yours. But let's see what the Etrecheck reveals before jumping to conclusions.

Anecdotally, we have Macs in this household on Sonoma, Sequoia, and Tahoe (and older Macs on Big Sur, Monterey, even one on High Sierra dating from 2010). Never seen the anomaly that you describe. But it's real for you and I second HWTech's suggestion to post your (complete) Etrecheck report.

RastaSoulJah wrote:

I have this same issue and I have LogiTech Ghub installed could this be the cause of the issue ?

Very likely.

Try uninstalling and see if the problem goes away, as it seems to have for others.

You realize your excellent report will not get to the necessary Apple personnel. Make a copy of your post and go to Feedback - macOS - Apple  and tell Apple the problem and include your post.

A quick way I've found to restore the Focus to an app is to click on the Finder icon in the Dock, close the resulting Finder windoe and then the app your current in. That restores the Focus for all apps.

Same issue, you try to click to regain focus and is lost in one second, you can only type letter by letter trying everytime to gain focus clicking. I check top command and nothing seems stuck with high CPU rate, the only solution was to restart computer, as I could not use paste before losing the focus again for the kill command.

Most issues are caused by third party installed software. If you wish the community to assist you in trying to find the cause, then run the third party app EtreCheck and post the complete report here so we can examine it for possible clues.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community

AlexSonne81 wrote:

I'm in 26.4.1 (25E253) and this is still happening. I have no Logitech stuff.

There can be multiple causes, which is why starting your own new thread is useful. Noting that others had the Logitech hardware AND software installed and when those were removed, for at least some people the problem went away. Since you don't have Logitech, something else may be playing up here. Download Etrecheck and post its report here following https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211 so people reading here can inspect for a potential diagnosis.

Gabriel (Andreaux) wrote:

Out of curiosity, do you have Logitech GHub running?

Sure looks like it.

Of course the symptoms you describe are serious, but I doubt that they are prevalent - otherwise we'd have heard about this, and loudly, too...

I don't think you mentioned the most relevant item in the list - which input device(s) are you using?

Most problems of similar sort that I've heard about on these fora seem to end up being related to mouse drivers (Logitech devices, perhaps due to their abundance, seem to be the most affected).

FutureX wrote:

Previous Reporting

I have previously submitted this issue through Feedback Assistant with:

• Screen recordings showing focus switching to nothing

• sysdiagnose logs captured during the failure

• Detailed reproduction notes

Get started with Feedback Assistant on Mac

To use Feedback Assistant, you must sign in using an Apple Account that’s registered as an Apple Developer, or currently enrolled in an Apple Beta Software Program or AppleSeed for IT.

So to which category do you belong to >> Apple Developer, >> Apple Beta Software Program or >> AppleSeed for IT ?

Final Note to Apple Engineers

This bug is real, reproducible, and has persisted across multiple macOS generations, including Tahoe 26.2. It disproportionately affects:

• Power users

• Multi-display setups

• Accessibility users

• Long-running work sessions

This is not an edge case. It is a core UI reliability issue that needs engineering-level attention.

These are User to User Forums.

Most answers come from fellow users just like you and me - Not from Apple

Posting in these forums ,expecting Apple Software Engineers to offer up an acknowledgement for some software issue is Fruitless

The only Apple Personal who may read this posting would be the Apple Moderation Team

This must be the most annoying bug I ever encountered in Mac OS history. I sure hope someone resolves this. It really affects productivity and renders the whole machine literally UNUSABLE after a while and the only option is to drop everything and restart. The fact that we're dragging this issue across major releases is unacceptable.