MacBook Pro 2017 Touchbar F4 key non responsive

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Level 1

9 points

MacBook Pro 2017 Touchbar F4 key non responsive

For some reason the F4 key on the touch bar does not work, it works when I first reboot my machine, but stops working very quickly after, this seems to be an issue that has been occurring for a long time, but I cannot find a solution and for some reason Apple hasn't fixed it yet.

Opening iTunes seems to cause this issue sometimes, but closing it does not resolve it, and other times it occurs even when iTunes has not been launced since system startup

MacBook Pro TouchBar and Touch ID, macOS High Sierra (10.13)

Posted on Oct 26, 2017 5:31 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 18, 2018 6:06 AM in response to Liammaggs_

I use a MacBook Pro 15" 2017 Touch Bar, I never use F4 but today I needed it and I noticed it was not working, neither with a Magic Keyboard. Not sure if iTunes or YouTube was the cause, anyway my iTunes was open. Closing it did not solve the issue. After opening the on-screen keyboard, pressing the fn key from the real keyboard (to make the F1, F2, ... keys appear on the on-screen keyboard) and clicking on F4, my physical F4 key started working again.

Hope this will help

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Answer 2

Liammaggs_ Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 28, 2017 4:26 PM in response to Liammaggs_

Update: this issue can be repeatedly recreated by loading a YouTube video inside of Safari. The key stops responding the instant the video starts playing. The issue isn't isolated to the Touch Bar either, the same occurs on my Magic Keyboard. The key does work however when combined with function keys. If I load the Keyboard Viewer then I can see when macOS registers a key input, when pressing the F4 on it's own, nothing happens, but if I press Cmd, Ctrl, Option or Shift with it then the F4 key is registered.

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Answer 3

Dec 22, 2017 3:43 AM in response to Liammaggs_

Exactly the same problem here. Play a YouTube video in Safari and F4 stops working, close the tab and eventually it works again. Playing YouTube videos in Opera browser doesn't have the same behaviour.

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