Keyboard modifier keys reset on startup

Question

Level 1

10 points

Keyboard modifier keys reset on startup

MacOS 10.12.3, Apple Magic Keyboard

Using the System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Keyboard -> Modifier Keys... button, I change the Caps Lock key to "No Action".

This works... until I restart, when the standard behaviour (Caps Lock is Caps Lock) returns. Any idea how I can make this change permanently using the System Preferences dialogues box?

[This forum has some reference to this issue from 2011, but I am hoping there has been some progress since then).

IMAC (RETINA 5K, 27-INCH, LATE 2015), macOS Sierra (10.12.3)

Posted on Feb 6, 2017 7:59 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Facherty1 Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 7, 2017 2:42 AM in response to tygb

tygb,

Thanks for replying.

I think I may have misled you in my post. I already knew how to change the modifier keys, and this is effective only until a restart or change of user. I wanted that change to remain in place after a restart. (The reference you posted implies this should be possible).

This thread (Modifier key settings are not retained on restart) suggests that this is a Sierra bug and asks people to report it to Apple. I wanted to make sure I had tried everything before doing that.

Regards,

Andrew

Reply

Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

685,221 points

Feb 6, 2017 8:44 PM in response to Facherty1

Might be a corrupt .plist.

Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

Quit the application.

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.

Restart the computer, open the application, and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.

If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.

Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.

Reply

Answer 3

Facherty1 Author

Level 1

10 points

Feb 7, 2017 2:34 AM in response to Eric Root

Eric - many thanks for coming back on this.

Sadly, this didn't work.

It seems rather strange. Other modifications that I make in the the System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Keyboard preference pane (eg "Delay until repeat") do hold, and the on-screen keyboard available from the Finder menu bar ("Show Keyboard Viewer") reflects the change to the preference (eg pressing the Caps Lock key when "No Action" has been set results in no action the on-screen keyboard).

I set up a new user account on the computer, with admin privileges, and it also has the same problem - not retaining the change over a restart.

Any other thoughts? Elsewhere in the web, Karibiner is suggested as both the cure to, and cause of, the problem.

Reply

Answer 4

tygb

Level 9

65,010 points

Feb 7, 2017 2:33 AM in response to Facherty1

When you restart the machine the settings will go to default , you can use the settings till you are working on the computer ,

An article : macOS Sierra: Change modifier keys

Reply