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macar00n

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 6, 2021
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I just updated to 12.2 on my 14" M1 Max MacBook Pro. Besides not fixing the kernel panicking upon wake from sleep covered in Macrumors' 3-month review of the new MacBook Pro (kernel panic upon first wake from sleep with 12.2 - outstanding), an issue that has been around since February of 2021 for all M1 models, I noticed that pressing the fn key on my external keyboard to bring up the emoji menu didn't work anymore. I looked in keyboard settings, and the "press ? to show emoji and symbols" option was still enabled, which is how I turned this on before. Much handier than the Control+Command+Space shortcut for something I use relatively often.

Some troubleshooting later, I figured out that the fn/? key on my computer's built-in keyboard worked just fine - but because the fn key on my external keyboard (a first party Magic Keyboard, mind you, just one generation before the ? icon was printed on the fn key), that one doesn't work anymore. Even though it did perfectly before. I can't find any easy built-in way to map this key to a globe, as the OS won't allow a shortcut consisting entirely of the fn key. I'd appreciate any feedback the community may have about mapping keys or resolving this. My backup solution is buying a brand new keyboard and throwing this one in the landfill solely to have a globe printed on the fn key (although I guess TouchID would be neat as well). Being forced to buy a new keyboard for such a stupid reason feels much worse than upgrading by choice.

Side note/rant: I also have a Samsung Odyssey G9 monitor with a resolution of 5120x1440 which I could previously use scaled down to 3840x1080 without any loss in quality (larger interface elements, but high-res). With the update to 12.2, my resolution was reset to default and 3840x1080 was now listed as a "low resolution" option with everything crappy and pixellated. I had to pay for a third party app called SwitchResX to get it back to this resolution without a decrease in quality. I would love one update to this OS that makes my computer better and not worse. Apparently this issue affects many 1440p monitors, but I recognize that my ultrawide is not a common use case and this bothers me marginally less than breaking my emoji button.
 
I have that fancy new keyboard you speak of (with Touch ID) and 12.2 "broke" the globe key for me as well! Single clicks on it doesn't work anymore, I have to repeatedly (about 2-3 times in quick succession) click it for it to bring up the input picker.. So the problem's gotta be something else.

Created an account just to warn you from tossing that keyboard into the landfill, buying a new one, and still having the problem (like me). Yeah you're welcome ?
 
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I have that fancy new keyboard you speak of (with Touch ID) and 12.2 "broke" the globe key for me as well! Single clicks on it doesn't work anymore, I have to repeatedly (about 2-3 times in quick succession) click it for it to bring up the input picker.. So the problem's gotta be something else.

Created an account just to warn you from tossing that keyboard into the landfill, buying a new one, and still having the problem (like me). Yeah you're welcome ?
?

Oh my gosh, I was about to pull the trigger on the new keyboard just to not waste more time on this. Thank you for the info - just more Apple Monterey-era software. This operating system is seriously a debacle. It feels like I'm testing a beta that I don't want to be testing because my new machine shipped with this OS.
 
Have this too. For me fn seems to work as usual when the laptop is open but not when in clamshell mode. It's also inconsistent - it works fine for starting dictation just not the emoji keyboard
 
It has nothing to do with your keyboard. It’s not a hardware issue. In fact, I had the same problem with the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. Bought a second one and same exact issue.

It seems that macOS created a communications/Bluetooth problem which affects the globe/fn key.

Apple finally confirmed this is a known (but not widely advertised) issue. There is a temporary fix which helped with this issue. All you have to do is in the Library folder, delete the following com files:

Magic Keyboard: com.apple.HIToolbox.plist

Magic Mouse: com.apple.AppleMultitouchMouse.plist, com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse.plist

Magic Trackpad: com.apple.MultitouchTrackpad.plist
 
It has nothing to do with your keyboard. It’s not a hardware issue. In fact, I had the same problem with the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. Bought a second one and same exact issue.

It seems that macOS created a communications/Bluetooth problem which affects the globe/fn key.

Apple finally confirmed this is a known (but not widely advertised) issue. There is a temporary fix which helped with this issue. All you have to do is in the Library folder, delete the following com files:

Magic Keyboard: com.apple.HIToolbox.plist

Magic Mouse: com.apple.AppleMultitouchMouse.plist, com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse.plist

Magic Trackpad: com.apple.MultitouchTrackpad.plist
Thank you, this is great information!
 
It has nothing to do with your keyboard. It’s not a hardware issue. In fact, I had the same problem with the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. Bought a second one and same exact issue.

It seems that macOS created a communications/Bluetooth problem which affects the globe/fn key.

Apple finally confirmed this is a known (but not widely advertised) issue. There is a temporary fix which helped with this issue. All you have to do is in the Library folder, delete the following com files:

Magic Keyboard: com.apple.HIToolbox.plist

Magic Mouse: com.apple.AppleMultitouchMouse.plist, com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse.plist

Magic Trackpad: com.apple.MultitouchTrackpad.plist
Do you have the bug report/other source where you found this information?
 
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It's fixed for me on 12.3 beta 4. Shouldn't be too long before it's released to public.

Seems like the bug is when you are using an external monitor. When I open up the MacBook Pro and use it's screen the emoji button works fine. Glad to hear it's fixed in the 12.3 beta!
 
Not fixed for me (Monterey 12.3 final, M1 MacBook Pro 14). I'm also using an external screen and while the fn button works with the lid open, it's sporadic when the lid is closed. Does anybody have any other tips?
 
This may be hardware related, as it works on my M1 Mini with 12.3 release version. I assume you've checked your System Prefs to make sure that System Prefs > Keyboard still shows "Show Emoji & Symbols" in the dropdown for "Press fn key to:" Sometimes, prefs seem to be changed for no reason after updates.
 
This may be hardware related, as it works on my M1 Mini with 12.3 release version. I assume you've checked your System Prefs to make sure that System Prefs > Keyboard still shows "Show Emoji & Symbols" in the dropdown for "Press fn key to:" Sometimes, prefs seem to be changed for no reason after updates.
Yes, I checked and toggled that setting – I'm actually after the mode where the key switches the Input Source, not Emoji. I suspect your M1 Mini doesn't exhibit the problem as it doesn't have a lid closed mode (or a second keyboard) like me who uses the laptop closed. I've opened a case with Apple Support, got escalated to a call with a senior agent and I'll update this thread with any progress.
 
Yes, I checked and toggled that setting – I'm actually after the mode where the key switches the Input Source, not Emoji. I suspect your M1 Mini doesn't exhibit the problem as it doesn't have a lid closed mode (or a second keyboard) like me who uses the laptop closed. I've opened a case with Apple Support, got escalated to a call with a senior agent and I'll update this thread with any progress.
Maybe Apple has lost track of all the variations on each action with all the different machines they have. If they, at their size, can't keep track, "Apple is Doomed." LOL

Good luck -- hope they fix this for you and (probably) many others.
 
I just spent an hour on the phone with an AppleCare senior support person. They made me follow a support script:
- changing random Keyboard preferences
- rebooting in Safe Mode
- creating a new Admin account

None of these helped. The issue remains and I was able to demonstrate it via Screen Sharing.

They next wanted to have me simply reinstall Mac OS 12.3 (keeping the Data partition).
I refused because I'm concerned about everything working perfectly afterwards (such as 3rd party hardware). They couldn't fully reassure me that all would work.

At this point I was given no other choice because "Engineering won't look at an issue unless the troubleshooting steps have been carried out".

I was unhappy about this. I suggested that instead of erasing the OS, they investigate and diagnose WHY it's in the state it is.
I suggested taking logs, running remote diagnostics or deleting .plists related to Keyboard, Bluetooth, etc.

AppleCare refused all that: either I reinstall MacOS or they won't even log the bug.

I think this is insane because any evidence of the bug would also be erased too. At best, the issue would be corrected for me, but not for everyone else. At worst, the issue would persist but nothing would be gained.

So I lodged a complaint (this must be dictated on the phone), and results in no complaint ticket number and no transcript being sent out. It just goes into a black hole and Apple doesn't promise to respond...

So I left it at that – a $3000 laptop plus AppleCare, plus all the evidence in this thread, Apple Discussions plus a live reproduction of the issue is not sufficient for Apple to even acknowledge and investigate the issue.

Anyone have any ideas (apart from the .plist deletions which I haven't done yet as I have no idea where that came from)?
 
It has nothing to do with your keyboard. It’s not a hardware issue. In fact, I had the same problem with the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. Bought a second one and same exact issue.

It seems that macOS created a communications/Bluetooth problem which affects the globe/fn key.

Apple finally confirmed this is a known (but not widely advertised) issue. There is a temporary fix which helped with this issue. All you have to do is in the Library folder, delete the following com files:

Magic Keyboard: com.apple.HIToolbox.plist

Magic Mouse: com.apple.AppleMultitouchMouse.plist, com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse.plist

Magic Trackpad: com.apple.MultitouchTrackpad.plist
I'm on macOS 12.3 with the same issue for a long time. Can anyone confirm this as a workaround?
 
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Same issue on Magic Keyboard and external monitor in 12.5.1.

Can anyone confirm whether this is fixed in Ventura?
 
It seems the globe key conflicts with custom "Fn" related shortcuts. I got this problem with the unresponsive globe key when I assigned Launchpad to F4 (Fn+F4). Removing the shortcut solved the problem.
Hope it helps.
 
👉 Globe key on the keyboard with touch id does not work with Mbook Pro M1, when the display is closed.
 
Please let me know if Apple will fix this mother**ing delay when switching languages by pressing the Globe button. I understand that American developers do not use other languages than English but please tell them that there are much more countries and languages (even in America) and users want to switch layout without a hassle. I give up to convey this simple thought to them. I thought, Ventura will fix it—nope!!!
 
For me, Ventura did finally fix the issue (after 9 months of nothing helping). MBP 14", LG 27UL850-W monitor.
 
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