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PC Mode help

PC Mode not responding?

Work through these steps in order and stop as soon as your shortcuts work again. Most problems are fixed by step 3 or step 6.

Just updated PC Mode? Go straight to step 6. After an update, macOS can stop trusting PC Mode even though it still looks turned on in System Settings.

  1. Open PC Mode and check the status

    Open Applications and double-click PC Mode. The Settings window opens. Under Permissions, look for a green check and Ready.

    If you see a red mark, skip to step 6. If it says Ready but shortcuts still don't work, continue with step 2.

  2. Check that the feature is on, and where you're using it

    • Make sure the checkbox for the feature is ticked in PC Mode Settings.
    • Delete key and cut and move (⌘X / ⌘V) work only when a Finder window is in front, not on the desktop or in other apps.
    • ⌘Tab switches individual windows across all apps.

  3. Quit PC Mode and open it again

    Click Quit PC Mode at the bottom of Settings, then open it again from Applications. This clears most temporary problems.

  4. Look for apps that grab the keyboard

    • Other shortcut or window-switching apps (for example AltTab, Karabiner-Elements, Raycast or BetterTouchTool) can take the same keys first. Quit them and try again.
    • Secure Input: while a password field is active, or when a password manager or Terminal's Secure Keyboard Entry is on, macOS hides keystrokes from all helper apps, including PC Mode. Close the password window, or in Terminal turn off Terminal → Secure Keyboard Entry.

    Not sure whether Secure Input is on? Run this in Terminal. If it prints a line with kCGSSessionSecureInputPID, an app is holding Secure Input:

    ioreg -l -w 0 | grep SecureInput

  5. Keep only one copy of PC Mode

    macOS gives permission to one specific copy of the app. If there's also a copy in Downloads, on the desktop or still on the installer disk image, permission may be attached to the wrong one.

    Search Spotlight for PC Mode, delete every copy that isn't in Applications, and eject the PC Mode installer if it's still mounted.

  6. The main fix

    Remove and re-add PC Mode's permissions

    1. Open PC Mode and click Manage under Permissions. System Settings opens to Privacy & Security.
    2. Open Accessibility (on macOS 27 and later it's called Device Control and Data Access). Select PC Mode and click the – button to remove it.
    3. Click +, choose PC Mode from Applications and turn it on.
    4. Go back, open Input Monitoring and do the same: remove PC Mode with –, add it again with + and turn it on.
    5. Return to PC Mode and click Quit PC Mode.
    6. Open PC Mode again from Applications. Permissions should now show Ready.

    Both lists matter. Fixing only the first list leaves PC Mode unable to see your keystrokes.

  7. Restart your Mac

    If permissions show Ready but nothing works, a restart clears permission changes that macOS hasn't applied yet.

  8. Fully reset PC Mode's permissions

    If step 6 didn't help, quit PC Mode and run these two commands in Terminal. They remove every permission entry macOS has stored for PC Mode:

    tccutil reset Accessibility com.andre.pcmode
    tccutil reset ListenEvent com.andre.pcmode

    Then open PC Mode, click Manage and turn PC Mode on in both Accessibility (Device Control and Data Access on macOS 27) and Input Monitoring. Quit PC Mode and open it again.

  9. Reinstall PC Mode

    Quit PC Mode, move it from Applications to the Trash, then download the latest version and repeat step 6.

Still stuck?

Email hello@guruhat.com or open an issue on GitHub. Please include: