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Ask HN: New macOS, but I still have 2 issues
1 point by dbg31415 52 days ago | hide | past | favorite | 6 comments
This is just a plea… if anyone has found a way to solve either of these, I’d love some help.

First issue – it's driving me crazy. This isn’t my first Mac, but since switching to Mac Silicon (specifically the M1 Max), I’ve been having trouble with dual external monitors when the lid of my MacBook Pro is closed (well actually it happens even if the lid is open, but I do run it closed when I'm at my desk). The monitors work fine initially, but as soon as the machine goes to sleep, it stops sending a signal to the second monitor. Well… it’s more complicated than that. When the Mac wakes from sleep, the second monitor turns on for a second, then cuts out, turns on again (again, only for a second), and then cuts out for good. This doesn’t happen every time, just about 80% of the time. It’s totally maddening!

To fix it, I have to unplug and replug the dongle, open the MacBook, close the MacBook, and then the second monitor works again… until the computer goes to sleep again.

I’ve tried switching out the dongles, switching the monitors around, but it always happens on the "second" monitor, no matter which one it is. I even bought new monitors (Dell, if it matters), but the problem persists. For what it’s worth, this setup works perfectly with my 2020 Intel MacBook Pro. It’s worked fine for every MacBook I’ve had since 2012 when I started using them this way. Like I said, it’s driving me crazy.

Second issue – this one is more trivial. I use a gaming mouse, not just for gaming but for everyday use. I love having all the extra buttons; for example, I can map a mouse button to "8," and in a game, pressing that button triggers an action. What’s really handy is using modifier keys (Shift, Cmd, Alt, etc.) with the mouse buttons, which gives me quick access to multiple actions. For me, as a 40-something, this ability to use keys with both hands has kept gaming accessible and within my skillset. Take that away, and I just suck at gaming. I’ve played this way my whole life, and I just can’t hit the “chords” on one hand with the same accuracy when I need them. It makes me sad I can’t play games quite like I used to. (And it’s not just games.)

However, starting around macOS 2021–2022, the modifier keys stopped working with mouse buttons. I can press Shift on the keyboard, but no matter what, the mouse button only registers the default action and ignores the modifier key. For instance, on a Mac, Command + Shift + 4 takes a screenshot, and I used to easily hit two keys with one hand while using my mouse for the “4” with the other. This worked fine for 15+ years (plenty of time to ingrain that muscle memory), but it broke a few years ago.

I get that Apple doesn’t prioritize compatibility with non-Apple hardware, but I’m curious if anyone has experienced or solved these issues.




For the displays, it both depends on your Macbook model and your connection type: https://support.apple.com/en-us/101571

I also find that the quality of the dongle/docking station matters a LOT, and I've never found one that works reliably well :( You have to keep trying different ones until you find one that works... so far the best luck I've had was with OWC docking stations, but even that isn't always reliable. It sucks, coming from PC where that's all worked fine since like... 1999.

As for the modifier keys, I don't quite understand the problem. Are you saying things like shift-click or opt-clicking no longer work? Or the OS won't detect more than one mouse button held down at the same time?

I don't know if your mouse has special drivers, but one idea is to see if maybe you can use Automator as an intermediary? e.g. have the mouse send either a special key combo that Automator can pick up (or if the driver allows you to, to run a special command), and then have Automator send fake keystrokes to the target app? There are also third-party software like https://macmousefix.com/ that might help (never tried, just a random search).


I just tested macOS Sonoma 14.5, and splitting a multi-key keyboard shortcut across multiple keyboards causes the shortcut to not be recognised.


This question on StackExchange[0] has the same issue, and it looks like Karabiner-Elements[1] has an option to fix the issue (though I haven't tested this myself).

[0]: https://superuser.com/questions/707225/how-can-i-combine-the...

[1]: https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/


This works!

Mate, you have no idea how frustrating this has been for 4+ years.

It used to work fine, and then Apple did something that broke it... and this tool lets me push Shift / Option on one keyboard and have that reflected with what signal my mouse keys send. Thank you!

https://imgur.com/a/93kPg5D

I haven't got a clue why this works on every PC, or Linux computer, and it used to work on Mac, but then all of a sudden it didn't work on Mac... just strikes me as an absurd anti-accessibility Mac choice. But hey, this fixed it!

(It was a bit of a beast to install, not gonna lie, took about 8 restarts, and had some weird hang as I was installing drivers and all the keyboards stopped working... and I was a bit scared but I held down power to cycle it off... and luckily that key worked... and when it came back on it started working. Ha.)


I suspect it's so that applications and macro buttons on mice can send keyboard shortcuts without the risk of their keyboard input interfering with the user's keyboard or vice versa. It may also help in cases where there are multiple keyboards, one of which has something on it sending unwanted keystrokes, as any modifiers held down wouldn't affect input on the other keyboard. But it should be a configurable option for exactly this kind of reason. Anyway, glad this worked for you.


Probably not the place for it, but $500 bounty on either of these issues.




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