Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Keyboard shortcuts do not work in Firefox when they do work in all other apps

more options

Hi all,

(Firefox 56.0 64-bit, MacOS 10.11.6)

Keyboard shortcuts do not work in Firefox on my Mac, whereas they do in all other apps.

For instance, I can copy with command-c then paste with command-v in every app... except Firefox, which makes me use the mouse instead.

This is incredibly annoying, and is the same on my work machine and the one at home (both the same versions of FF and MacOS).

Any idea what's happening, and how I can make shortcuts work in FF?

Thanks,

Miche

Hi all, (Firefox 56.0 64-bit, MacOS 10.11.6) Keyboard shortcuts do not work in Firefox on my Mac, whereas they do in all other apps. For instance, I can copy with command-c then paste with command-v in every app... except Firefox, which makes me use the mouse instead. This is incredibly annoying, and is the same on my work machine and the one at home (both the same versions of FF and MacOS). Any idea what's happening, and how I can make shortcuts work in FF? Thanks, Miche

Chosen solution

Have now got a new laptop for work, and the problem has disappeared.

Thanks to all who gave their time and knowledge to help me.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (16)

more options

Those keyboard shortcuts should work in Firefox. See: Keyboard shortcuts - Perform common Firefox tasks quickly.

Do you have this problem on every website or do some sites work and others fail?

more options

What Firefox locale (user interface language) do you use?

more options

jscher2000 said

Those keyboard shortcuts should work in Firefox. See: Keyboard shortcuts - Perform common Firefox tasks quickly. Do you have this problem on every website or do some sites work and others fail?

They should, but they don't.

I have the same problem on all websites.

more options

cor-el said

What Firefox locale (user interface language) do you use?

[en-gb]

more options

That got me thinking it may have been a conflict between my Firefox setting [en-gb] and my Mac keyboard, which was set to Maori.

Setting the Mac's keyboard to British English made no difference.

Everything's set to unicode.

more options

Did this work properly in previous Firefox versions?

Try to uninstall and reinstall Firefox (drag Firefox to the trash).

You can find the full version of the current Firefox release (56.0) in all languages and all operating systems here:


You can create a new profile to test if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.

more options

I deleted the copy of Firefox from the work computer and installed a new one from the download website. No dice.

So I created a new profile. Still no dice.

Pretty sure I had the same issue with previous version.

Thanks.

more options

hi,

-Use Windows Key + Shift shortcut Dell laptop owners reported that their keyboard isn’t working in Firefox, and according to them, the problem was caused by pressing Windows Key + Fn buttons. According to them, you can easily fix this problem by using Windows Key + Left Shift shortcut. After using that shortcut your keyboard should start working in Firefox again. Users reported that another keyboard shortcut can be used to fix this problem, and according to them, pressing Windows Key + F9 few times can fix the problems with your keyboard in Firefox. We don’t know if this keyboard shortcut works, but you’re free to try it.

- Remove the add-ons

Many web browsers support add-ons that extend their core functionality, but sometimes add-ons can cause certain problems. Users reported that they had problems with their keyboard in Firefox, but they managed to fix them by disabling the add-ons. To do that, follow these steps: 1. Open Firefox and click the Menu button in the top right corner. Choose Add-ons from the menu 2. Go to Extensions tab, locate the extension you want to disable and click the Disable button next to it. Repeat this step for all installed extensions. 3. After disabling all extensions, restart Firefox and check if the problem was resolved

more options

Hi, I'm a Mac user and have said so from the beginning.

My keyboard works, but keyboard shortcuts do not.

more options

I've narrowed it down to shortcuts that use the Command key not working.

For instance, to get an en dash the shortcut is alt+hypen and that works.

However, copy (cmd+c), paste (cmd+v) etc do not work.

more options

MadamBackslash said

I've narrowed it down to shortcuts that use the Command key not working.

While it is unlikely, I suppose there is a possibility that key was switched. Could you check:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste ui.key and pause while the list is filtered

(3) If the ui.key.accelKey preference is bolded and "modified" or "user set" to some value other than 224, right-click (or Ctrl+click) and choose Reset to restore that default value (or you can double-click and edit)

  • 224 = Cmd
  • 18 = Opt
  • 17 = Ctrl
  • 0 = none
more options

jscher2000 said

MadamBackslash said
I've narrowed it down to shortcuts that use the Command key not working.

While it is unlikely, I suppose there is a possibility that key was switched. Could you check:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste ui.key and pause while the list is filtered

(3) If the ui.key.accelKey preference is bolded and "modified" or "user set" to some value other than 224, right-click (or Ctrl+click) and choose Reset to restore that default value (or you can double-click and edit)

  • 224 = Cmd
  • 18 = Opt
  • 17 = Ctrl
  • 0 = none

Hi,

Thanks -- I just checked and all the ui.key settings are set to their default.

more options
more options

cor-el said

Do other keyboard shortcuts that use the Command key work?

The shortcuts using the command key and the mouse work.

The shortcuts using the command key plus other keys do not work.

more options

Have just upgraded to Firefox Quantum, and the problem persists.

more options

Chosen Solution

Have now got a new laptop for work, and the problem has disappeared.

Thanks to all who gave their time and knowledge to help me.