Sudden Dock disappearance in macOS Sonoma and Sequoia

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Level 1

15 points

Sudden Dock disappearance in macOS Sonoma and Sequoia

Since switching to Sonoma (and continuing with Sequoia) my dock (that is not set to be hidden) suddenly is hidden. When I check preferences I find that this has been changed. No one else uses my computer. The setting just suddenly changes. It's been happening for over a year now and I've not been able to figure out what triggers it. I spoke with someone in AppleCare when it first started, and he couldn't figure it out either. Has anyone been able to find a fix for this? Thanks.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Dock suddenly disappears

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Aug 7, 2025 05:25 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Owl-53

Level 10

100,219 points

Aug 7, 2025 07:12 AM in response to rhirsch

Give it some time and see if this comes back

If Yes

It is possible the .plist file for the Dock has become corrupted

This can happen but not too often

in Finder >> Go , hold the Option key which will reveal your Library

Maneuver to " Preferences " folder

Look for the file com.apple.dock.plist

Drag the file to a Safe Place like your Desktop

Do Not Delete the file

Restart the computer in normal mode

This should cause the computer to make a Brand New " com.apple.dock.plist " file

If all goes to plan 🤞

The issue will be resolved

If Yes, you can deleted the Desktop Stored " com.apple.dock.plist " file

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Answer 2

rhirsch Author

Level 1

15 points

Aug 7, 2025 06:42 AM in response to Owl-53

Thank you. Just did as you suggested. The dock disappeared for an instant and then came right back. Will wait to see if this fixes it. It's quite odd in that sometimes this happens a number of times in one day and other times it doesn't happen for weeks.

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Answer 3

rhirsch Author

Level 1

15 points

Aug 16, 2025 09:34 AM in response to Owl-53

Update- The first suggestion didn't work so I went ahead and found and removed the com.apple.dock.plist file. A day or two later it happened again. I checked, and there is now a new com.apple.dock.plist file under preferences and the old one is still on my desktop. I'm guessing it's ok to delete the old one? Any other suggestions? :)

PS This all happened several days ago but for some reason I never did figure out I wasn't able to sign into this community. I waited several days and got in fine just now.

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