You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

MacBook Pro Keyboard Not Working Properly

My 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) is driving me nuts. Very frequently the keyboard will simply stop working. Keystrokes will just stop being accepted, instead I get this little popping sound when I tried to type of use any key.


This will happen at random--I have the feeling that it happens most after I've made a false keystroke... it also happens regularly after I've used Dictionary to look up a word, esp. when pressing on that word to get that pop-up version of Dictionary.


It's definitely NOT a result of my actually having a different app open from the one I'm trying to type in. The problem occurs in all different kinds of apps: Notes, Pages, Preview, Mail, Safari.


The way to "fix" it, if it happens in one app, is to open another, different app, and type something there, then return to the first app (the one who's keystrokes are blocked)... at which point I can continue typing as normal. It's not a massive deal, but it's a really annoying.


I'm running Ventura, but it happened also in the OS previous to this, whatever that's called, too. I have the feeling it happens most frequently in the days and weeks following a restart... and then sort of stops happening. I appreciate the above makes me sound kinda nuts, but I swear this is a thing. Please help!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 17, 2023 4:36 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 17, 2023 4:44 AM

MKindellan13 wrote:

My 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) is driving me nuts. Very frequently the keyboard will simply stop working. Keystrokes will just stop being accepted, instead I get this little popping sound when I tried to type of use any key.

This will happen at random--I have the feeling that it happens most after I've made a false keystroke... it also happens regularly after I've used Dictionary to look up a word, esp. when pressing on that word to get that pop-up version of Dictionary.

It's definitely NOT a result of my actually having a different app open from the one I'm trying to type in. The problem occurs in all different kinds of apps: Notes, Pages, Preview, Mail, Safari.

The way to "fix" it, if it happens in one app, is to open another, different app, and type something there, then return to the first app (the one who's keystrokes are blocked)... at which point I can continue typing as normal. It's not a massive deal, but it's a really annoying.

I'm running Ventura, but it happened also in the OS previous to this, whatever that's called, too. I have the feeling it happens most frequently in the days and weeks following a restart... and then sort of stops happening. I appreciate the above makes me sound kinda nuts, but I swear this is a thing. Please help!




To trouble shoot further you can:


—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account. 



—A SafeBoot How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support will sort many anomalies


Takes a bit longer to get to the login screen, does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, font cache, etc., third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.


a reboot will put it back to normal mode.


This test will tell you if third party interference; most* extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.




You can also test using an external keyboard and compare your results.



If no insight or resolve—For hardware issue take it in


Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple


Outside the USA

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support



Similar questions

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 17, 2023 4:44 AM in response to MKindellan13

MKindellan13 wrote:

My 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021) is driving me nuts. Very frequently the keyboard will simply stop working. Keystrokes will just stop being accepted, instead I get this little popping sound when I tried to type of use any key.

This will happen at random--I have the feeling that it happens most after I've made a false keystroke... it also happens regularly after I've used Dictionary to look up a word, esp. when pressing on that word to get that pop-up version of Dictionary.

It's definitely NOT a result of my actually having a different app open from the one I'm trying to type in. The problem occurs in all different kinds of apps: Notes, Pages, Preview, Mail, Safari.

The way to "fix" it, if it happens in one app, is to open another, different app, and type something there, then return to the first app (the one who's keystrokes are blocked)... at which point I can continue typing as normal. It's not a massive deal, but it's a really annoying.

I'm running Ventura, but it happened also in the OS previous to this, whatever that's called, too. I have the feeling it happens most frequently in the days and weeks following a restart... and then sort of stops happening. I appreciate the above makes me sound kinda nuts, but I swear this is a thing. Please help!




To trouble shoot further you can:


—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account. 



—A SafeBoot How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support will sort many anomalies


Takes a bit longer to get to the login screen, does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, font cache, etc., third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.


a reboot will put it back to normal mode.


This test will tell you if third party interference; most* extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.




You can also test using an external keyboard and compare your results.



If no insight or resolve—For hardware issue take it in


Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple


Outside the USA

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support



MacBook Pro Keyboard Not Working Properly

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.