M and U keys stop responding at all

My M and U keys keep stop being useable after about 1 hour on my MacBook Pro M1 (2020) 8GB RAM running MacOS Tahoe 26.1


They regain function if I reboot, but it gets a bit tiresome having to reboot all the time just to use my keyboard properly.

Has anyone else had this problem? And if so, how did you fix it?

Posted on Nov 22, 2025 4:13 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 22, 2025 5:03 PM

re: < MacBook Pro M1 (2020) >



Hmmm....


Keys associated on the diagonal like that may indicate a hardware issue; if the J starts acting up it would be a sure sign.


A generic fault / cracked traces in the keyboard as they heat up can expand and lose connection thus can lead to failures.


You can try an external keyboard and compare your results.


In or out of warranty you can get a free over the counter 'Apple Service Diagnostics' test /assessment

Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple


Outside the USA

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support



for software issue To trouble shoot further —


unplug all non-essential peripherals when testing

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS




—A SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies


Does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled temporarily.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.


This test will tell you if third party interference; most extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

 


—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account. 




2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 22, 2025 5:03 PM in response to shutup_man

re: < MacBook Pro M1 (2020) >



Hmmm....


Keys associated on the diagonal like that may indicate a hardware issue; if the J starts acting up it would be a sure sign.


A generic fault / cracked traces in the keyboard as they heat up can expand and lose connection thus can lead to failures.


You can try an external keyboard and compare your results.


In or out of warranty you can get a free over the counter 'Apple Service Diagnostics' test /assessment

Make an appointment for a "hardware issue"

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple


Outside the USA

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support



for software issue To trouble shoot further —


unplug all non-essential peripherals when testing

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS




—A SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies


Does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled temporarily.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.


This test will tell you if third party interference; most extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

 


—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account. 




M and U keys stop responding at all

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