Tahoe!?

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Level 1

36 points

Tahoe!?

Just yesterday I downloaded MacOS Tahoe 26.1 on a Mac Mini 2020 (an M!) SSD. I hate Tahoe! It is squirrely! The page up & page down keys jump the screen to no one knows where (for example, the page down key sends the screen to home). The mouse on any scroll bar does the same. And other pain in the neck things. Unless one of you experts can tell me what is wrong, can I go back to the MacOS Sonoma 14.6.1 that was working so well (or something earlier than 26.1)?

Not to mention the strange blue box that surrounds text and objects (see below).

The box will surround even menu bar items and moves to a new location using the Tab key.

Thank you.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Tahoe!?

Mac mini

Posted on Nov 26, 2025 7:53 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

55,623 points

Nov 26, 2025 8:10 PM in response to tcarder

The issues you're seeing can be stopped in System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard, turn off Full Keyboard Access.

As for going back to an older macOS, it is not simple. You need to boot into Recovery OS, erase your internal drive, then install the older macOS, then restore from a backup made prior to the Tahoe upgrade. Even then, the firmware on the Mac may have been updated, meaning potential conflicts and a possible need for DFU mode and a Configurator revive/restore, which would need to be done via another Mac connected to yours. If that sounds complicated and risky, then you're assessing the situation correctly.

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Answer 2

tcarder Author

Level 1

36 points

Nov 27, 2025 9:46 AM in response to neuroanatomist

TO: neuroanatomist

Regarding the squirrely performance issues above, THAT DID IT! Shutting off Full Keyboard Access is all that was necessary. Thank you! Everything is as it was before. Even the invading Blue Box is gone.

Regarding changing my MacOS so I could leave Tahoe, due to your warnings, I decided to stay with Tahoe. Besides, the performance issues were not caused by Tahoe after all (unless Tahoe, by default, activated Full Keyboard Access during downloading).

You fixed the problem! Thank you again!

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Answer 3

Nov 27, 2025 10:20 AM in response to tcarder

You’re welcome!

It does seem that random options were enabled for some people by the Tahoe upgrade. For me, it was one of the window tiling options.

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