Single-key Quick Nav and arrow-key Quick Nav spontaneously stop working

Category
VoiceOver Commanders
Severity
Moderate

Description

A frustrating new bug has been introduced in macOS Sonoma 14.5 that impacts VoiceOver's Quick Nav functionality - single-key Quick Nav and arrow-key Quick Nav will randomly and frequently stop working if you have the "Always allow typing in text fields while using single-key Quick Nav" setting enabled in the Quick Nav section of the VoiceOver Utility.

In the case of web browsers such as Safari, when the "Allow typing" setting is on, the issue can spontaneously occur when navigating a web page, after following a link to a new page, or switching between tabs. Sometimes the problem presents itself shortly after enabling Quick Nav, while other times it may work normally for some time before the keys stop performing expected Quick Nav behaviors.

Toggling Quick Nav off and back on provides a temporary workaround, but the problem will recur as long as the "Allow typing" setting is enabled.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Enable VoiceOver
  2. Open VoiceOver Utility > Commanderes> Quick Nav and enable "Always allow typing in text fields while using single-key Quick Nav"
  3. Open Safari and navigate to a website
  4. Enable single-key Quick Nav (VO-Q) or arrow-key Quick Nav (VO-Shift-Q)
  5. Use keys to browse page with Quick Nav
  6. Eventually, the keys will stop performing expected Quick Nav behaviors

Expected Result

Keys should continue to function for Quick Navigation indefinitely after enabling modes.

Actual Result

Keys spontaneously stop performing Quick Nav behaviors after some period.

Bug First Encountered

macOS Sonoma 14.5

How often the bug occurs

Sometimes

Workaround

Disabling the "Always allow typing in text fields while using single-key Quick Nav" setting prevents this issue.

Apple feedback #
FB13794776

Status

Active

Options