Touch Bar is a wide strip display on the top of the keyboard that can give you quick access to MacBook Pro functions. Although it is an ultimate feature, the Mac touch bar not working is a considerable difficulty. Simply by swiping or sliding over the touch bar, you can approach features like Hey Siri, and all the other applications on MacBook Pro.
In some instances, when the touch bar refuses to work or hang on for a long time, you are going to be bothered about it . Especially, if the touch bar display turns off and is unresponsive, it clearly shows the Mac touch bar not working. Most MacBook Pro users face the issue after every system update.
Are you experiencing a Mac touch bar not working? Let us help you through this article. It is crucial to diagnose the issue with MacBook Pro touch bar not working before trying the fixes in this article.
Why Is My Mac Touch Bar Not Working?
Several reasons are involved in the Mac Pro touch bar not working. Some issues need less effort to be fixed while others are not. For issues like liquid damage & hardware deterioration, you should get the technical support. Have a quick view on the common reasons listed here
- Apps causing errors
- CPU overloading
- Technical glitch
- Using old MacOS
- Spillage of liquids
- Hardware issues
Now, it’s time to know the solutions for respective causes. Below are the quality ideas and hacks to resolve the Mac touch bar not working. Your MacBook Pro touch bar issues like an unresponsive or freezing display, or an irregular functioning could be efficiently solved by this guide.
How To Troubleshoot Mac Pro Touch Bar Not Working?
Always ensure that your MacBook Pro is working on the updated MacOS. When you’re having an older version of MacOS running on your MacBook Pro, it leads to the Mac touch bar not working. Newly installed apps and softwares are not supported on your Mac running on an outdated OS. Here are the 10 dead-cert ideas to fix Mac Pro touch bar not working.
1) Force Quit Trouble – Causing Apps
Touchpad has the ability to change its options accordingly for any app on your MacBook. It is not right to blame the touch bar, as there might be other chances of problematic apps in your device. Touch bar is a sensitive feature that even a small bug or error in the processor may prevent touch bar from working. Force quitting the app causing the Mac touch bar not working is an effective way to fix it.
In case you may forget to notice that the Mac touch bar not working while opening some apps; you should force quit those apps to rectify the touch bar on MacBook Pro. Below are the steps to force quit the apps which causing Mac touch bar not working
- Go to Apple menu by clicking Apple icon on the top of MacBook Pro display
- Click Force quit
- From the list of running apps, quit the defective apps
This results in quitting such apps causing the Mac touch bar not working. Recheck whether the touch bar is back to function on your MacBook Pro.
2) Update MacOS
Updating the MacOS to the latest version is mandatory to resolve the Mac touch bar not working. Is your Mac running outdated MacOS? Start updating the version to get yourself out of stress. Owning a MacBook Pro running on the latest version might lower the chances for the Mac touch bar not working issue. To clear all the technical glitches and software errors that slows down the Mac performance, initiate MacOS update. MacBook Pro utilises the software update, which effectively refreshes all bugs allied with the apps on your Mac. You can find the latest updates on Apple’s software updates anytime. Apple never settles in releasing new updates for their users in the Apple ecosystem.
Update OS On Macbook Pro
- Open Apple menu
- Go to System Preferences
- Click Software update
- Tap on Update to install
Now, restart the device to activate the update on your device. Always have an eye on looking for new updates from the Apple iPhone.
3) Restart Your MacBook
Surprisingly, restarting your MacBook could fix the Mac touch bar not working. In many cases, even a small bug could prevent the touch bar from working on your Mac. So, you should try this method along with the other fixes for the mac touch bar not working. For safety reboot your device, make use of the steps below
- Visit Apple Menu > Restart
- Tap & hold on Cmd + Power buttons to force Restart (If your MacBook Pro suddenly halts)
Attention: Force restarting your MacBook may fail to save changes in the running tasks. Before restarting, make sure to complete all the tasks and close it.
4) Restart Touch Bar
Restarting the touch bar would have a significant impact on the touch bar not working MacBook Pro. If you initiate restart, it will end up closing all the memory and tasks assigned to the Mac touch bar. After completing the restart, check if the Mac touch bar not working is resolved.
Do you want to know how your Mac touch bar not working? Use the terminal or activity monitor to restart, as it is a wise solution for the touch bar issue.
#Type1:
The Activity monitor on the MacBook Pro shows the current running tasks. Also,it helps you to analyse the app performance and preferences. Through insights from activity monitor, you can take actions like deleting or force quitting the apps causing trouble with the macbook pro touch bar not working. Keep tracking it to save your MacBook from apps leaving the bugs or errors.
- Go to Apple menu
- Open Application
- Click on the Utilities option
- Launch Activity monitor
- From the list of current processes, find Touch bar
- Enable Force Quit
#Type2:
Type the commands related to your issue in the terminal box to make actions on your MacBook Pro. Once you enter the command, it readily responds to your command. Execute the launch terminal by the following steps
- Refer previous steps to open Utilities
- Open terminal from the list
- In the terminal box, type “pKill touch bar agent” command
- The password text column prompts now
- Type in your Admin password
- Click return to complete the command
Once your command is successful, check if the Mac touch bar not working is resolved.
5) Refresh Control Strip
Control strip is the vital part of the touch bar that has a set of buttons to control the features on Mac. At the right end of the Mac touch bar, you can see the control strip. From this strip, you can access Siri, and also adjust the sound or brightness. Focus on refreshing your control strip which repairs the Mac touch bar not working. Use the following steps to refresh it,
- From the Apple menu, open Applications
- Then, click Utilities
- Launch terminal
- In the terminal command box, type “killall controlstrip”
- Enter your Admin password and press Return
6) Reset Touch Bar Cache Files
In simple terms, caches are temporary storage files where mac can quickly store and use data later for any processes. However, cache files would get dumped into the Mac & slow down the performance of your MacBook Pro. It is a healthy practice to reset your Mac’s touch bar apps and clear caches from those apps. An organic way to reset touch bar apps & its cache files is given below
- Go to Finder
- Use cmd + shift + G to open app location
- Locate the path by going to Preferences after library
- Delete the file name “apple.touchbar.agent.plist”
- Open caches from library
- Delete all files on the folder and let the folder empty.
- Enter the Restart Mac
Does Your MacBook Pro Touch Bar Freeze Randomly?
How often does your touch bar not working MacBook Pro?. Without a touch bar you can lose shortcuts to access your favourite apps or features. If this would be the condition of your Mac touch bar, force quit the “touchbarserver” process. Force quitting deletes the current “touchbarserver” process which is the reason for MacBook Pro touch bar not working. Follow the steps below to delete “touchbarserver” process:
- Open Applications
- Click Utilities option
- Start Activity monitor
- Open CPU part
- Search for touchbarserver
- Select and tap on the “X” button on the top of the activity monitor
- Enable Force Quit
Is Your Touch Bar Not Working While Charging?
When there is no response from the touch bar on your MacBook Pro while charging, the problem might be with the electrical fluctuations. You can more easily diagnose it, than any other causes in this article. Simply plug your MacBook pro into the charger and check whether the touch bar is working. If not, there might be low power supply from the plug socket and you should wait for the proper current flow. Sometimes, several issues causing mac touch bar not working issues are allied to the inadequate current supply. To overcome these instances, plug out the MacBook Pro from the faulty power socket and switch to a consistent power supply.
Conclusion
To conclude, this article might guide you sincerely in fixing the Mac Pro touch bar not working. Unfortunately, if any of the techniques did not rectify your Mac touch bar, try getting technical support. When the problem is due to the hardware or liquid damage on your Mac, then the above techniques are no longer helpful for Mac touch bar not working. In this case, reach out for the expert help to resolve the problematic touch bar on MacBook Pro.