Repository navigation
Stop working after a while #43
Description
Activity
Thanks for the feedback! This seems like one of those bugs very difficult to fix because they are not easy to reproduce.
What about if instead of quitting and restarting the app, you simply toggle "Enable" by disabling and re-enabling it? Does it work again?
When the computer goes to sleep, indeed, it could get disabled. That's why I included a mechanism that the app gets informed when the computer awakens, and it should resume its normal functioning (as you confirmed it).
Just tried it and weirdly it did not resume working even by toggling "enable" in the menu bar. The only way is to quit it completely and re-open it. Then it stops working again after about half an hour.
Something else I can do to help troubleshoot it?
Thanks!
Update: i was now able to reproduce it by putting the mac to sleep and wait a minute before waking it up again
Thanks, Matteo, but can we then confidently say that it is a failed "wake-up" call? Then we can narrow the debugging down a lot and come up with a solution. Is it meanwhile confirmed? If you confirm it, I will think about what we could do to debug it.
Hi Matteo, is the problem still there? Can we fully confirm it originates from a failed wake-up? Thanks!
Hi! Sorry i wasn't getting any github notifications email for some reason.
Yes, it definitely happens after a sleep - wakeup
Thanks!
Hi @alberti42, any idea how to solve it?
Hi. I'm also having this issue, although I don't think it's specifically related to sleep-wake as my computer is set to never sleep. But after some undetermined amount of time, Volume Control is no longer able to control spotify for me. I thought I saw something about this in the notes for the latest release but it did not fix it for me. Here's my diagnostics:
# Volume Control — diagnostics # Plain text. Read it and delete any line you prefer not to share before posting. ## Versions Volume Control : 2.3.2 (build 261) macOS : Version 15.7.7 (Build 24G720) Mac model : iMac20,1 ## Permissions Accessibility (intercept volume keys) : granted Automation (control music players): Apple Music : app not running Spotify : granted Doppler : app not running Swinsian : app not running ## Event tap (keyboard volume keys) # The event tap is how Volume Control sees the volume keys at all. If it is # not receiving keys, nothing below matters: the keys go straight to macOS. Volume keys enabled (menu) : yes Event tap created : yes Event tap port valid : yes Event tap receiving keys : yes ## Players targeted by the volume keys # "targeted" = ticked in the Volume Control menu. The keys act on the first # targeted player that is playing; if none is, they act on System. Apple Music : NOT targeted, not running Spotify : targeted, running, playing Doppler : NOT targeted, not running Swinsian : NOT targeted, not running System : NOT targeted ## Settings Command key inverts app/system : yes Lock system and player volume : no Volume HUD : shown Hidden from status bar : no Sound feedback : on ## Last volume key press # To check the Command key: press Command + volume up, then create this report. No volume key pressed since Volume Control started. ## Audio output devices # If a device shows "no" everywhere it exposes no software volume control; # its volume must be changed on the device itself. master = one volume; # per-channel = separate left/right controls. [DEFAULT] HISENSE master VirtualMainVolume : no master VolumeScalar : no per-channel L / R : no / no mute : no -> Volume Control can control this device: NO SMB2330HD master VirtualMainVolume : no master VolumeScalar : no per-channel L / R : no / no mute : no -> Volume Control can control this device: NOThanks for the report. Let's try to fix it.
From your report:
## Last volume key press # To check the Command key: press Command + volume up, then create this report. No volume key pressed since Volume Control started.it seems that you never pressed any volume key. Perhaps you generated the report directly after starting the app, before pressing any volume key.
Note that the line
Event tap receiving keys : yesonly means that the event tap is switched on, not that keys arrive. The section## Last volume key pressis the one that shows whether Volume Control receives the keys.You said that the app works, but after some time (perhaps minutes or hours) it stops working. When the app works, can you check that the section
## Last volume key pressreports the key you pressed?Next time the app becomes unresponsive, please generate a report after each key press, before quitting Volume Control: press volume up, generate the report and look at it; then press volume down, generate the report and look at it. Does the report show the key you pressed? Please post these reports here.
Also: when the app is unresponsive, does unticking and re-ticking "Enable" in the Volume Control menu make it work again, or does only quitting and relaunching help?
One suspicion: another app that also intercepts the volume keys (for example BetterTouchTool, Karabiner-Elements, SoundSource or eqMac) gets the keys before Volume Control does and keeps them. Do you run any app like that?
- added a commit that references this issue
on Oct 5, 2026 This report was generated after the app had been working and then stopped working and I repeatedly pressed the volume keys and command + volume keys to no effect. If I quit and restart the app to make it work again, last volume key press does correctly report the key press. Unticking and reticking enable does not fix the issue, only quitting and relaunching. I do not run any other apps that intercept key commands. Simply listening to spotify and browsing the web and eventually it stops working. I typically listen using spotify connect to my stereo receiver if that makes a difference.
Thanks, that helps a lot.
As I understand it, once the keys stopped working, the key reported under
## Last volume key pressstayed the same and no longer changed when you pressed the volume keys. If I misunderstood, please correct me.I would also like to rule out that a second copy of Volume Control is running. An old version (from before November 2024) can run next to the current one without an icon in the menu bar, and take the volume keys away from it.
Before installing the test version below, please run this in Terminal and post the output:
pgrep -fl "Volume Control" mdfind "kMDItemContentType == 'com.apple.application-bundle' && kMDItemDisplayName == '*Volume Control*'c"The first command lists the running copies of Volume Control, the second lists the copies installed on your Mac. If you find more than one installed copy, please also check whether System Settings > General > Login Items shows more than one Volume Control entry there.
I also made a test version, v2.3.4: https://github.com/alberti42/Volume-Control/releases/tag/v2.3.4
- Unticking and re-ticking "Enable" now creates a new connection to the keyboard (the "event tap") instead of re-enabling the old one. The same happens when the Mac wakes from sleep. This reproduces internally the same "changes" as they would happen after restarting the app, without actually needing a real restart.
- The report has a new line,
Last media key seen by tap, which updates on every volume key press, andEvent tap creatednow shows how long ago the tap was created.
Could you install it and, next time the volume keys stop working:
- Press volume up a few times, then generate a report.
- Untick and re-tick "Enable", and press volume up again. Does it work now?
- Generate a second report.
It would be helpful if you could post both reports in full.
A small tip, if you enclose the reports between triple ticks
```, they will appear nicely formatted in the preview.
Hi! Love the app but after a couple hours it stops working. Hitting vol + - doesn't affect the music app volume. Then it resume working by closing and reopening again
Wasn't able to pinpoint what makes it stops working. I tried putting mac to sleeps or close/open music app but that did not trigger the isuse.
I'm running 15.7.3 on macbook m2. I use external speakers connected via spdif adapter on usb-c (so system volume doesn't actually work)
Thanks!