Infrared receiver no longer disabled in High Sierra

[Rob9874]

Noticed last night as I used my Logitech Harmony remote to navigate the guide on my TV, the volume on my MBP went up and down. And when I hit Select on the remote, it opens iTunes and starts playing the first song in my library (ABBA - Dancing Queen).

I went to Settings, Security, General, Advanced, and "Disable Infrared Receiver" was checked. I unchecked and rechecked it, but my remote still controls the MBP.

I posted about it on the Apple community, and someone suggested I try unloading the ktext in Terminal with:
sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIRController.kext

I tried that and got:
(kernel) Can't unload kext com.apple.driver.AppleIRController; classes have instances:
(kernel) Kext com.apple.driver.AppleIRController class AppleIRController has 1 instance.
Failed to unload com.apple.driver.AppleIRController - (libkern/kext) kext is in use or retained (cannot unload).

Is there something else I should try? Maybe reboot, and try the Terminal text again?

 

[Rob9874]

I should have tested after trying the Terminal command. Despite the message saying it couldn't unload, the remote no longer controls my MBP. Guess it worked.

 

[Fortygig]

I should have tested after trying the Terminal command. Despite the message saying it couldn't unload, the remote no longer controls my MBP. Guess it worked.

I had the same issue! I was going nuts for the last two days. I had the same error with the command but it also fixed my issue. Mine was just on my Mid 2011 IMac. Thanks!

 

[William Payne]

Does anyone else find this as funny as I do. I just picture that happening.

 

[wvayens]

Trust me...not funny....but this solution seems to do the trick.

 

[daninreallife86]

Looks as if you reset the NVRAM https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063 this fixes the issue at least it did fix it for me.

 

[stewy]

Thanks! The unload kext worked for me too... mid 2010 MBP.

 

[Rob9874]

My issue came back. I tried reseting the NVRAM, and when the MBP booted up, I got the error "Cannot install OS at this time, please reboot". Not sure why it was trying to install OS. After 3 reboots getting the same error, I restored to Time Machine. The unload kext seems to have worked again. Guess I'll keep that text documented for when it returns.

 

[wvayens]

I have had the same problem, tried all of these solutions and it keeps coming back after a while. Trust me, it's annoying!

 

[heyriddle]

Noticed last night as I used my Logitech Harmony remote to navigate the guide on my TV, the volume on my MBP went up and down. And when I hit Select on the remote, it opens iTunes and starts playing the first song in my library (ABBA - Dancing Queen).

I went to Settings, Security, General, Advanced, and "Disable Infrared Receiver" was checked. I unchecked and rechecked it, but my remote still controls the MBP.

I posted about it on the Apple community, and someone suggested I try unloading the ktext in Terminal with:
sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIRController.kext

I tried that and got:
(kernel) Can't unload kext com.apple.driver.AppleIRController; classes have instances:
(kernel) Kext com.apple.driver.AppleIRController class AppleIRController has 1 instance.
Failed to unload com.apple.driver.AppleIRController - (libkern/kext) kext is in use or retained (cannot unload).

Is there something else I should try? Maybe reboot, and try the Terminal text again?

The NVRAM did not work for me. I even covered the IR port with duct tape and the remote still controlled it.
The terminal command did work for me for now. Do I need to type this in after each restart?

 

[dynaflash]

The NVRAM did not work for me. I even covered the IR port with duct tape and the remote still controlled it.
The terminal command did work for me for now. Do I need to type this in after each restart?

Yeah, and it sucks. NVRAM didn't work. gotta use that terminal command every time you restart. I am thinking about taking my mbp apart and disconnect the ir receiver. Could use a cleaning anyway.

 

[bazaarsoft]

You can't move the kernel extension while booted, but if you boot into recovery mode then you can open a terminal window and move the kernel extension somewhere else. Then reboot and it will no longer work.