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camhabib

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 29, 2008
142
56
I'm fairly certain this has been discussed before but I can't seem to find the relevant thread. My 15" tMBP seems to not display buttons from time to time. For example, at this moment, I can't see the Esc key, nor any of the "system" buttons (brightness, etc). If I tap where they're supposed to be, they show up and function normally, but by default, they're not displaying.

Has anyone found a solution or cause for this? Doing something like activating the screensaver seems to fix it, but only for a short period of time. Thanks!
 
I've had my 13" MacBook Pro TB for almost two months and noticed the same thing exactly as you described for the first time a few days ago. A reboot seemed to fix the problem and I have not seen it since. It had been a long time since I had rebooted and I just chalked it up a strange random bug, but now not so sure. To confirm what you said, I could get the buttons to come back, either by tapping the touch bar where they are supposed to be, or closing the lid and reopening, but it didn't go away until I did a complete reboot.
 
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I've had my 13" MacBook Pro TB for almost two months and noticed the same thing exactly as you described for the first time a few days ago. A reboot seemed to fix the problem and I have not seen it since. It had been a long time since I had rebooted and I just chalked it up a strange random bug, but now not so sure. To confirm what you said, I could get the buttons to come back, either by tapping the touch bar where they are supposed to be, or closing the lid and reopening, but it didn't go away until I did a complete reboot.
I just performed a restart per your advice, which I don't remember having previously done since I got the computer. It'll be interesting to see if this fixes the problem.
 
I just performed a restart per your advice, which I don't remember having previously done since I got the computer. It'll be interesting to see if this fixes the problem.

It does not, press the fn key, brings them back all the time. It is a recurring issue. Should be fixed eventually.
 
It does not, press the fn key, brings them back all the time. It is a recurring issue. Should be fixed eventually.

Well it fixed it for me, for what it's worth. I have not seen the problem reoccur now several days after my last restart. Didn't think about pressing the fn key though, good tip. I'll try that if it happens again.
 
Well it fixed it for me, for what it's worth. I have not seen the problem reoccur now several days after my last restart. Didn't think about pressing the fn key though, good tip. I'll try that if it happens again.
Sorry I didn't mean to be so blunt, I've restarted and it works again for a while, yes, but sometimes after using certain apps or after the touch bar goes to sleep it doesn't come back.
 
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