OSX Mavericks keyboard volume buttons not working on MacBook. Help.

I finally found the answer! Go the System Preferences. Select Keyboard. Select "Keyboard" again (from the menu across the top of the open Keyboard window). Uncheck the second option, "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.

No need to boot in safe mode, or any of the other instructions given.

Startup your Mac in Safe Mode

A Safe Mode boot takes much longer than a normal boot so be patient.

Once you are in Safe Mode, click Restart from the Apple () menu.

Then try the volume.

Safe Mode deletes system caches that may help.

Thank you, Carolyn! That solved the problem immediately!

Go to system preferences -> keyboard then under the keyboard tab, unclick the first check box that says "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys."

Or if you want to keep it that way, you have to hold the function key while pressing th F key.

Here's a fix that i found out:

sudo killall coreaudiod

Works ok after that.

Solved my problem too - Thanks, Caroline - using Mountain Lion

Excelent answer Ivor! tks ...this work for me

Thanks to OldeRi for the quick and easy fix.

This suggestion doesn't work for me because when I go to Keyboard in sys pref there is no check box that says "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys."There are Key Repeat and Delay Until Repeat slide buttons and only one checkbox that say, "Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in menu bar". There are also buttons for changing keyboard type, Bluetooth keyboard setup and modifier key. None of the other sys pref menu options (Text, Shortcuts, Input Sources) address the function keys.

Any help with this problem would be greatly appreciated. When I press my F11 and F12 keys the screen changes to a gray grid pattern with a clock and weather widgets on the screen. Help.

See OldeRi's response above. Follow these steps:

1- Make sure you have admin priviledges on your Mac.

2- Open the Terminal app (in the Applications->Utilities folder).

3- Paste sudo killall coreaudiod into the Terminal window. Press return.

4- Enter the admin password and press return. Your audio control buttons should now work.

The only thing I'm not sure about is if this has to be done with each restart. . .

Thanks for the help. I tried it. When the Termnal window opens, it displays the name of my iMac. I input killall coreaudiod and hit return. It then returns the name of my iMac again. I thne tried to input my admin pw and the name of my iMac appears again. Did it several times and the F11 and F12 are still not working.

Hello macmeister, did you put 'sudo ' (without the quotes) in front of the killall command? That is important because it basically tells the system you want to enter the command as root or sysadmin. Otherwise, it won't execute the command. So try again with the all the following:

sudo killall coreaudiod

When you enter the entire command on one line, the system should ask for your admin password. Then you will know the command will be executed as root. You may even get a warning about using the 'sudo' command.

Good luck!

David Carlsen's recommedation works for me!

Thanks!

David, I appreciate the help. Here is where I'm enountering a problem. I open the Terminal window and see this:

Last login: Thu May 22 19:12:44 on ttys000
maxpowrssimac3:~ masgpwwers$ sudo killall coreaudiod
Password:
Sorry, try again.
Password:

I pasted sudo killall coreaudiod after masgpwwers$ and then Password: prompt appears. It won't let me type in my password. I key the password and no letters appear. I then opened a Word doc, typed my password, copied it but couldn't paste in. Obviously, I then hit Return which is why it responded Sorry, try again.

What am I doing wrong? Thank you.

I used the option in the Keyboard preferences that ssvacak mentions. But it seems to me that the logic is inverted and the description given is the wrong way round. Disable the option rather than enable it.