Karabiner-elements: It all stops working after a while on Catalina

Created on 8 Dec 2019 · 40Comments · Source: pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements

Hi.

I'm using Karabiner Elements on Catalina (10.15.1 (19B88)) on an iMac (Installed with brew cask and then updated to the beta version.) with Microsoft's Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard Surface Edition.

This has happened twice, where after the first time, I had to uninstall Karabiner, remove all of its files, and then reinstall and re-configure it:
I set up the app, and configure all my modifications to both the keyboard and the mouse.
Then, after a while (first time took about a month or two and the second time took a week or two.) suddenly my mouse and keyboard stop working.
Then, I have to detach and re-attach the USB dongle and then they work and the new keyboard setup screen comes up, and none of the modifications are working.

Please help for I really love this keyboard+mouse but can't use them on mac without some mods!

P.s. pointing me in the direction of a whole other solution to do these mods would also be appreciated.

stale

Source

AKarbas

👍10

Most helpful comment

Steps to reproduce:

Install Catalina on your Mac (mine is MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018), with touchbar and French AZERTY keyboard)
Install Karabiner Elements (I upgraded to 12.9.0 during my tests campaign)
Keep mashing the Caps Lock key until keyboard freezes.
All other human input devices remain fully functional (trackpad, touchbar, fingerprint sensor). Since this is an internal keyboard, I am left with no choice but to reboot (quitting and/or restarting Karabiner has no effect). Sometimes a key is stuck in the down position and causes autorepeat typing to wherever the mouse focus goes. Clicking on that key in the OS' Keyboard Visualizer makes no difference; neither does pressing it physically.

Other interesting facts:

It takes anywhere from a few seconds to 5 minutes for step 3 to happen on my system.
Mashing other keys at the same time as Caps Lock, in particular dead accent keys, appears to speed up the crash.
It is not necessary to hit any key that is being modified by Karabiner.
The setting of Devices → Basic configuration → Manipulate LED appears to make no difference.
Finally, the crash doesn't happen if I first quit Karabiner immediately after boot, no matter how long I keep mashing all the keys.

domq on 13 Feb 2020

👍16 🚀2

All 40 comments

Also, I don't see much in the logs, there are a bunch of device terminated/matching in there which are from when I was de/re-attaching the dongle a bunch of times.

Logs

[2019-12-03 20:53:54.511] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.512] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14600000
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer] grabber_client is connected.
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294968111
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.513] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14600000
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.514] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.514] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.514] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.514] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294968104) is observed.
[2019-12-03 20:53:54.514] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294968111) is observed.
[2019-12-03 20:54:03.015] [info] [kextd] KextManagerLoadKextWithURL: kOSReturnSuccess
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.475] [info] [session_monitor] version 12.8.0
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.480] [info] [console_user_server] version 12.8.0
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.539] [info] [session_monitor] receiver is initialized
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.539] [info] [session_monitor] session_monitor_receiver_client is started.
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.541] [info] [grabber] current_console_user_id: 501
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.541] [info] [session_monitor] on_console_changed: true
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.541] [info] [session_monitor] receiver: bound
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.541] [info] [session_monitor] session_monitor_receiver_client is connected.
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.542] [info] [grabber] receiver is terminated
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.542] [info] [grabber] receiver is initialized
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.542] [info] [grabber] receiver: bound
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.542] [info] [grabber] receiver: chown socket: 501
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.909] [info] [console_user_server] receiver is initialized
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.910] [info] [console_user_server] receiver: bound
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.910] [info] [console_user_server] grabber_client is started.
[2019-12-03 20:54:31.910] [info] [console_user_server] grabber_client is connected.
[2019-12-03 20:54:32.730] [error] [observer] grabber_client error: Connection reset by peer
[2019-12-03 20:54:32.731] [info] [observer] grabber_client is closed.
[2019-12-03 20:54:33.733] [info] [observer] grabber_client is connected.
[2019-12-03 20:54:33.733] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.701] [info] [grabber] karabiner_console_user_server is connected.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.702] [info] [grabber] console_user_server_client is connected. (uid:501)
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.702] [info] [grabber] device_grabber is started.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.710] [info] [grabber] event_tap_monitor initialized
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.711] [info] [grabber] virtual_hid_device_client is started.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.711] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.712] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.714] [info] [grabber] virtual_hid_device_client is opened.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.715] [info] [grabber] virtual_hid_device_client_ is connected
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.715] [info] [grabber] initialize_virtual_hid_keyboard
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.715] [info] [grabber]   country_code:0
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294969021
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: pqrs.org
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   product: Karabiner VirtualHIDKeyboard
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 5824
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   product_id: 10203
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x0
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.763] [info] [observer]   serial_number: pqrs.org:org_pqrs_driver_Karabiner_VirtualHIDDevice_VirtualHIDKeyboard_v061000
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.785] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.786] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.787] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.792] [info] [observer] Karabiner VirtualHIDKeyboard (device_id:4294969021) is observed.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.792] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.793] [info] [grabber] `system_preferences` is updated.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.793] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-03 20:54:50.809] [info] [console_user_server] Check for updates...
[2019-12-03 20:54:51.728] [info] [grabber] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294968104) is grabbed.
[2019-12-04 16:12:15.008] [info] [grabber] Re-enable event_tap_ by kCGEventTapDisabledByTimeout
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.072] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.082] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.098] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.119] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.137] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294971412
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: pqrs.org
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   product: Karabiner VirtualHIDPointing
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 5824
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   product_id: 10202
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x0
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.142] [info] [observer]   serial_number: pqrs.org:org_pqrs_driver_Karabiner_VirtualHIDDevice_VirtualHIDPointing_v061000
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.143] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.143] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.159] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-04 16:30:32.160] [info] [observer] Karabiner VirtualHIDPointing (device_id:4294971412) is observed.
[2019-12-04 16:30:44.759] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:30:44.759] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:30:44.760] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:44.760] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:44.761] [info] [observer] device_id:4294971412 is terminated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:44.786] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.336] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.336] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.337] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.337] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.340] [info] [grabber] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294968111) is grabbed.
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294971421
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: pqrs.org
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   product: Karabiner VirtualHIDPointing
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 5824
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   product_id: 10202
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x0
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.341] [info] [observer]   serial_number: pqrs.org:org_pqrs_driver_Karabiner_VirtualHIDDevice_VirtualHIDPointing_v061000
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.342] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.342] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.343] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-04 16:30:51.343] [info] [observer] Karabiner VirtualHIDPointing (device_id:4294971421) is observed.
[2019-12-04 16:31:00.053] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:31:00.054] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:31:00.054] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:31:00.055] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:31:10.590] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:31:10.590] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:31:10.591] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:31:10.591] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:31:19.542] [info] [grabber] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:31:19.542] [info] [console_user_server] Load /Users/mohammadamink/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json...
[2019-12-04 16:31:19.543] [info] [grabber] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-04 16:31:19.543] [info] [console_user_server] core_configuration is updated.
[2019-12-08 14:03:44.279] [info] [observer] device_id:4294968111 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:03:44.281] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:03:44.281] [info] [observer] device_id:4294968104 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:03:44.281] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.547] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.547] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980322
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.558] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.558] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.558] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.558] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.558] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14100000
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980316
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14100000
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.818] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.819] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.819] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980322) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.819] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:04:13.819] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980316) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.940] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.940] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980375
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.940] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: MOSART Semi.
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.940] [info] [observer]   product: 2.4G Keyboard Mouse
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.940] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1578
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.940] [info] [observer]   product_id: 16770
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.941] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14200000
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.941] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.941] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.942] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.942] [info] [observer] 2.4G Keyboard Mouse (device_id:4294980375) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.952] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.952] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980379
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.952] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: MOSART Semi.
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.953] [info] [observer]   product: 2.4G Keyboard Mouse
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.953] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1578
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.953] [info] [observer]   product_id: 16770
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.953] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14200000
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.954] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.954] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.954] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:04:14.957] [info] [observer] 2.4G Keyboard Mouse (device_id:4294980379) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:04:38.338] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980375 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:04:38.338] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980379 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:04:38.339] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:04:38.339] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:27.879] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980316 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:13:27.882] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980322 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:13:27.888] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:27.888] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980524
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.233] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14200000
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.234] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.234] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.234] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.235] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980524) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.253] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.253] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980530
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.254] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.254] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.254] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.254] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.254] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14200000
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.254] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.255] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.255] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:31.257] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980530) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:13:41.482] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980524 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:13:41.485] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:41.485] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980530 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:13:41.487] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980590
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14600000
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.994] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.995] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.995] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:46.996] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980590) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980594
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14600000
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.007] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:47.008] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980594) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:13:51.740] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980590 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:13:51.750] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:13:51.750] [info] [observer] device_id:4294980594 is terminated.
[2019-12-08 14:13:51.751] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980659
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14100000
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: true
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.513] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: false
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.516] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.521] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980659) is observed.
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer] matching device:
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   registry_entry_id: 4294980663
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   manufacturer: Microsoft
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   product: MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   vendor_id: 1118
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   product_id: 1957
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   location_id: 0x14100000
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   is_keyboard: false
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer]   is_pointing_device: true
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.523] [info] [observer] rescan devices...
[2019-12-08 14:14:07.524] [info] [observer] MicrosoftÆ 2.4GHz Transceiver v9.0 (device_id:4294980663) is observed.

~/.config/karabiner.json

{
    "global": {
        "check_for_updates_on_startup": true,
        "show_in_menu_bar": false,
        "show_profile_name_in_menu_bar": false
    },
    "profiles": [
        {
            "complex_modifications": {
                "parameters": {
                    "basic.simultaneous_threshold_milliseconds": 50,
                    "basic.to_delayed_action_delay_milliseconds": 500,
                    "basic.to_if_alone_timeout_milliseconds": 1000,
                    "basic.to_if_held_down_threshold_milliseconds": 500,
                    "mouse_motion_to_scroll.speed": 100
                },
                "rules": []
            },
            "devices": [
                {
                    "disable_built_in_keyboard_if_exists": false,
                    "fn_function_keys": [],
                    "identifiers": {
                        "is_keyboard": false,
                        "is_pointing_device": true,
                        "product_id": 1957,
                        "vendor_id": 1118
                    },
                    "ignore": false,
                    "manipulate_caps_lock_led": false,
                    "simple_modifications": []
                }
            ],
            "fn_function_keys": [
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f1"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "display_brightness_decrement"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f2"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "display_brightness_increment"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f3"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "mission_control"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f4"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "launchpad"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f5"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "illumination_decrement"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f6"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "illumination_increment"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f7"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "rewind"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f8"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "play_or_pause"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f9"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "fastforward"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f10"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "mute"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f11"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "volume_decrement"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "f12"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "volume_increment"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "name": "Default profile",
            "parameters": {
                "delay_milliseconds_before_open_device": 1000
            },
            "selected": true,
            "simple_modifications": [
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "application"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "right_command"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "insert"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "return_or_enter"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "print_screen"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "consumer_key_code": "fastforward"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "key_code": "right_gui"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "mission_control"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "from": {
                        "pointing_button": "button4"
                    },
                    "to": {
                        "key_code": "return_or_enter"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "virtual_hid_keyboard": {
                "country_code": 0,
                "mouse_key_xy_scale": 100
            }
        }
    ]
}

AKarbas on 8 Dec 2019

I have the same issue (same keyboard, same problem)

kurtguenther on 12 Dec 2019

I have this issue too.

SLED-5 on 14 Dec 2019

I have the same issue, for several days now, and it happened twice this morning. Very annoying and only fixed with a full restart of my Laptop

lavandongen on 16 Dec 2019

For me on Catalina, Karabiner no longer applies complex modifications for Terminal.app and it also stops turning off the internal keyboard when my BT keyboard is connected.

So it seems like Karabiner just stops working, perhaps due to a bug in Catalina with keyboard grabbing?

wmertens on 18 Dec 2019

I had quit karabiner and started it a bit later and it's now all working again, so that looks like a workaround.

wmertens on 18 Dec 2019

I have the same issue. Force-closing works, but hotkeys do not work after restarting application. Reboot restores functionality.

sgsayson on 18 Dec 2019

I have been having this issue the past week or so, and it seems to be related to hitting CAPS LOCK too quickly next to other keypresses. It will halt all keyboard input until I unplug and replug the external keyboard. But then my mappings are inactive seemingly unless I reboot.

GhostToast on 20 Dec 2019

👍2

I have the same behaviour as @GhostToast above, except in my case it's an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. The only thing I have mapped at the moment is the Caps Lock to C+C+O+S if pressed with other keys complex modification. When it stops working, the caps lock light will be on.

Power cycling the keyboard brings the keyboard back to life but the mapping no longer works.

Reboot does seem to work, but restarting KE, or removing and re-enabling the mapping, does not.

iay on 22 Dec 2019

with

How do you power cycle the keyboard ? Does it require a reboot ?

siddharthalodha on 26 Dec 2019

I have the Apple "Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad". It has a little power switch on the back, so you can just turn it off and turn it back on again independently of the computer. As I say, that seems to fix the "stuck caps lock" issue but at the cost of KE no longer work after that.

iay on 27 Dec 2019

I had the same issue twice today. My Magic keyboard needed to be turned off and on again and then KE stopped working.

lavandongen on 6 Jan 2020

I have been having this issue the past week or so, and it seems to be related to hitting CAPS LOCK too quickly next to other keypresses. It will halt all keyboard input until I unplug and replug the external keyboard. But then my mappings are inactive seemingly unless I reboot.

me too.

flyinguard on 13 Jan 2020

👍2

Even after quitting karabiner-elements, there are a bunch of processes still active, and I can't kill them, they keep respawning. I also can't unload the kext, presumably because of the running processes.

Running launchctl disable system/org.pqrs.karabiner.karabiner_kextd doesn't do anything 😕

wmertens on 9 Feb 2020

❤2

Steps to reproduce:

Install Catalina on your Mac (mine is MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018), with touchbar and French AZERTY keyboard)
Install Karabiner Elements (I upgraded to 12.9.0 during my tests campaign)
Keep mashing the Caps Lock key until keyboard freezes.
All other human input devices remain fully functional (trackpad, touchbar, fingerprint sensor). Since this is an internal keyboard, I am left with no choice but to reboot (quitting and/or restarting Karabiner has no effect). Sometimes a key is stuck in the down position and causes autorepeat typing to wherever the mouse focus goes. Clicking on that key in the OS' Keyboard Visualizer makes no difference; neither does pressing it physically.

Other interesting facts:

It takes anywhere from a few seconds to 5 minutes for step 3 to happen on my system.
Mashing other keys at the same time as Caps Lock, in particular dead accent keys, appears to speed up the crash.
It is not necessary to hit any key that is being modified by Karabiner.
The setting of Devices → Basic configuration → Manipulate LED appears to make no difference.
Finally, the crash doesn't happen if I first quit Karabiner immediately after boot, no matter how long I keep mashing all the keys.

domq on 13 Feb 2020

👍16 🚀2

does this happen to all people using catalina? or is it just a bug that only happens in catalina? i was about to upgrade..

genesy on 15 Feb 2020

Now it has gotten to the stage where I can't get keyboard-off nor complex modifications to work at all, even after rebooting multiple times :(

However! I just reinstalled karabiner 12.9.0 without restarting and everything works again… So hopefully that's a consistent workaround

wmertens on 19 Feb 2020

❤1

I realized that stupidly enough this can happen even if the screen is locked.
I locked the screen to clean my keyboard and then had to de/re-attach the dongle to just log in.

AKarbas on 24 Feb 2020

Some other thing:

This last time it happened I uninstalled the app (brew cask uninstall karabiner-elements), and then instead of the usual reboot-install-configure steps, I did a ps to see what's up and I got this:

❯ ps -ax | grep karabiner
  120 ??         0:00.00 (karabiner_grabbe)
99101 ttys000    0:00.00 grep --color=auto --exclude-dir=.bzr --exclude-dir=CVS --exclude-dir=.git --exclude-dir=.hg --exclude-dir=.svn karabiner

I got the same sort of output after killing everything before the uninstall:

❯ ps -ax | grep karabiner
  118 ??        15:43.28 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_observer
  120 ??        22:15.51 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_grabber
  596 ??         2:48.41 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_console_user_server
  602 ??         0:01.45 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_grabber
  603 ??         0:01.45 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_observer
  606 ??         1:40.04 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_session_monitor
97523 ??         0:00.01 /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/bin/karabiner_kextd
97645 ttys000    0:00.00 grep --color=auto --exclude-dir=.bzr --exclude-dir=CVS --exclude-dir=.git --exclude-dir=.hg --exclude-dir=.svn karabiner

~
❯ ps -ax | grep karabiner | gawk '{print $1}' | xargs sudo kill -9
kill: 97986: No such process # grep

~
❯ ps -ax | grep karabiner | gawk '{print $1}'
120
97991
97993
97994
97996
97997
97998
98087

It appears that everything is successfully killed, except for the grabber. I also tried force-quitting it through Activity Monitor but that didn't help either.

I would appreciate any solution that doesn't include a reboot. :)

EDIT: Maybe this helps:

❯ launchctl list | grep -i kara
-   78  org.pqrs.karabiner.agent.karabiner_grabber
-   78  org.pqrs.karabiner.karabiner_console_user_server
-   78  org.pqrs.karabiner.karabiner_session_monitor
-   78  org.pqrs.karabiner.agent.karabiner_observer

AKarbas on 24 Feb 2020

Whoa! I thought it was just me having this issue. Glad to know it's karabiner. Anything we can do to help track the big down?
Also running 10.15 on a 2018 MBP. I use an external keyboard which triggers the issue as well. Guess I need to avoid caps lock.

bnash2501 on 1 Apr 2020

This is happening to me as well. I'm on a 13-inch MacBook Pro 2017 model.

A solution that fixed the problem when it occurs for me, without restarting was:
sudo pkill -f karabiner

If you can either attach an external keyboard to type this, or use the "Emoji & Symbols" menu to enter the characters one by one (ugh).

Jyosua on 6 Apr 2020

👍2

Same issue here:

Karabiner-Elements: 12.9.0
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
macOS: 10.15.4

Randomly pressing the caps lock will trigger the built-in keyboard to completely stop responding (touch bar still works though). Rebooting the systems resolves the issue until I accidentally hit caps lock again. For now I have disabled my caps lock key under System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys.

type:key_down        code:24         name:u               misc:
type:key_up          code:24         name:u               misc:
type:key_down        code:8          name:e               misc:
type:key_up          code:8          name:e               misc:
type:key_down        code:40         name:return_or_enter misc:
type:key_up          code:40         name:return_or_enter misc: 
type:key_down        code:57         name:caps_lock       misc:   <-- start mashing caps lock here
type:key_up          code:57         name:caps_lock       misc:
type:key_down        code:57         name:caps_lock       misc:
type:key_up          code:57         name:caps_lock       misc:
type:key_down        code:57         name:caps_lock       misc:
< keyboard frozen now >

Let me know if any other logs are needed.

pqvst on 8 Apr 2020

👍1

+1, same symptoms, started to randomly happen a few days ago.

rabbbit on 21 Apr 2020

I'd been having this issue since around October last year. It happened about twice a day for months and I thought it was a hardware issue until I saw this thread a few weeks ago (I thought I'd have one final search before I ripped the capslock key off).

The fix for me came from doing a PRAM/SMC reset.

I'm wondering if it was fixed in 12.9.0 and the reset removed whatever leftover setting that was still triggering it?

piemasters on 21 Apr 2020

My situation (MacBook Pro 13-inch, Early 2015):

From macOS 10.15.3, updated Karabiner to latest version, everything is ok
Updated macOS to 10.15.4, the problem occured, internal keyboard & trackpad didn't work after waking from sleep
Uninstalled Karabiner, the problem remained
Erased disk & reinstalled macOS, without Karabiner, the problem remained
RESET NVRAM, internal keyboard & trackpad work again. But still doesn't work after waking from sleep

goncha on 23 Apr 2020

I have a same problem.

Karabiner-Elements: 12.9.0
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017)
macOS: 10.15.4

I use only ONE modification in Karabiner. After last update (to 10.15.4) locked keyboard occurs more often.
Solution of @Jyosua works :)

Thenio on 24 Apr 2020

I possibly have the same problem, though this only happened when I got a new keyboard.
From a Ducky to a Varmilo - no amount of uninstalling, reconfiguring, restarting will bring my complex modifications back to working.

Mac OS: 10.15.4
Karabiner-Elements: 12.9.0
Machine: iMac Pro
Keyboard: Varmilo VA87M Mac

I've since learned this is not related to Catalina, as the same thing happened on a 2010 iMac on High Sierra - using a similar Varmilo branded keyboard

PandaWood on 4 May 2020

I've had this issue several times since upgrading to Catalina, but with a different keyboard than mentioned by others. I'm using Logitech MXKeys. I've come to the conclusion that if not initially loaded last, karabiner will not work with complex modifications. To get things working, here is what I have been doing:

Disable any autorun or autostart settings if you have karabiner loading at startup.
Reboot the computer and choose not to reopen running apps.
Once rebooted, wait until everything has had a chance to start up and then launch karabiner.

Hopefully, these steps will help others. As soon as I do this, all my complex modifications work again.

nirvanadev on 4 May 2020

👀1

I've had this issue several times since upgrading to Catalina, but with a different keyboard than mentioned by others. I'm using Logitech MXKeys. I've come to the conclusion that if not initially loaded last, karabiner will not work with complex modifications. To get things working, here is what I have been doing:

Thanks a lot for sharing.

Did you have the problem of the keyboard not functioning after certain CapsLock keystrokes and having to restart too? Or was it just with complex mods?

AKarbas on 4 May 2020

This is happening to me as well. I'm on a 13-inch MacBook Pro 2017 model.

A solution that fixed the problem when it occurs for me, without restarting was:
sudo pkill -f karabiner

If you can either attach an external keyboard to type this, or use the "Emoji & Symbols" menu to enter the characters one by one (ugh).

"Show Keyboard Viewer" is better than "Emoji & Symbols".

But the command does not work for me, I'm editing this with Keyboard Viewer 🤪

iwill on 15 May 2020

I have the same problem, this seems to occur more frequently when using an accent key. I have a US Keyboard layout and use OPTION & U + U,O,A to print the German special characters.

If i mistype the A and hit caps instead the keyboard dies some times, sudo pkill does not work on my machine. I always have to restart.

Console32 on 27 May 2020

Same issue... MacBook keyboard stops working altogether even after stopping Karabiner. Reboot is the only cure. Seems associated to caps lock. Also, I have no complex modifiers... just transposing a handful of function keys on my external keyboard.

Also, making text selection behaves like I am dragging from a previous point in the text and I cannot change the starting point. I do this so I can save the text I have typed to continue after a reboot.

Finally, looking at the Karabiner logs, the error that repeats is about “No buffer: No buffer space available” but I cannot even copy the whole thing because I can’t select the Copy in time.

Even trying to use the Virtual Keyboard from the System settings I simply am unable to type anything but capital letters no matter how I click the shift button. It’s a mess!

hinder90 on 22 Jul 2020

Same issue, only a reboot fixes it.

Mac OS: 10.15.6
Karabiner-Elements: 12.10.0
Machine: Mid 2015 MBP 15
Keyboard: Microsoft Sculpt

suleimanakbar on 24 Jul 2020

I use caps-lock constantly, after 2-3 hours keyboard stops working.

MacBook Pro 18 (i5 2.3 GHz, 16 GB ram)
MacOS: 10.15.6
Internal keyboard

hejkerooo on 24 Aug 2020

This is happening to me as well. I'm on a 13-inch MacBook Pro 2017 model.
A solution that fixed the problem when it occurs for me, without restarting was:
sudo pkill -f karabiner
If you can either attach an external keyboard to type this, or use the "Emoji & Symbols" menu to enter the characters one by one (ugh).

"Show Keyboard Viewer" is better than "Emoji & Symbols".

But the command does not work for me, I'm editing this with Keyboard Viewer 🤪

Remapping Caps Lock to Control works for me:

System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard > Modifier Keys... > Caps Lock Key: Control

iwill on 25 Aug 2020

Same issue, on MacOS 10.15.6, Karabiner elements 12.10.0 with internal and external keyboard connected (both hang on CAPS LOCK).

Glad I found this thread, was worried it had to do with a battery replacement.

sudo pkill -f karabiner (via the keyboard viewer) only brings back the external keyboard.

After the crash the logs are filling up with these messages every second:

[...] [error] [observer] grabber_client error: No buffer space available
[...] [error] [console_user_server] grabber_client error: No buffer space available

philipmarnef on 24 Sep 2020

Got the same issue on MacOS 10.15.6 Catalina. After my computer went into lock screen, when I relogin, Karabiner stop working. I'm using Karabiner Element 12.10.0

Perform all the sudo pkill and sudo killall on all the processes, the 3 processes namely karabiner_grabber, karabiner_observer and karabiner_session_monitor always came back running by itself after stopping.

After restarting Karabiner Element, I got the logs filling with the following messages:-

[2020-09-24] [error] [session_monitor] session_monitor_receiver_client error: No buffer space available
[2020-09-24] [error] [observer] grabber_client error: No buffer space available

josephlim75 on 24 Sep 2020

There is a beta version available which may solve your problem.

https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/docs/macos-big-sur/

MuhammedZakir on 24 Sep 2020

👀1

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.