Describe the bug: After executing a keyboard shortcut using the Control modifier key (e.g. Control+5 or Control+V), the Control key remains stuck in a pressed state. Subsequent clicks are treated as right-clicks. This only occurs with the new keyboard implementation — enabling "Use legacy keyboard shortcut implementation" completely fixes the issue.
Key observations:
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"Use higher level modifier key recognition" is ON but does not resolve the issue
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Does not happen every time — occurs intermittently
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Not caused by Caps Lock remapping. Also occurs when using the physical Control key directly
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Tested with Magic Keyboard A1314 and MacBook Pro built-in keyboard (via Screen Sharing) — same issue on both, so not hardware-specific
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When Keyboard Viewer is closed, Control appears stuck (shown in red) after the shortcut. When Keyboard Viewer is open, Control does NOT appear stuck in the viewer — but clicks still register as right-clicks
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The stuck state is resolved by pressing any modifier key or pressing Control again
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Only confirmed with Control-based shortcuts so far. Not yet tested with other modifier keys
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Screenshots of the stuck state cannot be captured because pressing modifier keys to take a screenshot clears the stuck state
Steps to reproduce:
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Use new keyboard implementation (legacy OFF)
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Register any shortcut using the Control modifier (e.g. Control+V → show clipboard manager)
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Execute the shortcut repeatedly
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Eventually, subsequent clicks register as right-clicks
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Pressing Control or any other modifier key resolves the stuck state
Affected input device: Magic Keyboard A1314, Magic Mouse A1296 (3Vdc), MacBook Pro built-in keyboard
Device information:
Is this a known issue with the new implementation? Any workaround short of reverting to legacy?
Thanks
I did some further troubleshooting on this issue and found two additional behaviors that might help pinpoint the cause.
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Clicking with a non-Magic Mouse clears the stuck state: When the modifier key gets stuck after executing the shortcut, if I perform a left-click using a different, standard mouse (not the Magic Mouse), the stuck state is immediately cleared. Subsequent left-clicks with the Magic Mouse then work normally. It seems the issue is specific to how BTT handles Magic Mouse events alongside the new keyboard implementation.
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Adding a Delay + "All Modifier Keys UP" prevents the bug: I tried adding the "All Modifier Keys UP" action to the end of the shortcut, but it didn't work on its own. However, when I added a Delay Next Action (0.5s) right before the All Modifier Keys UP action, the modifier stuck issue completely disappeared.
Based on this, it looks like a race condition between the physical release of the modifier key and BTT sending the synthetic key-up event, which then clashes with the Magic Mouse event engine.
Hope this helps with debugging!
mh it could be an issue with the current build (which hasnot yet been rolled out to all users, which might explain why this has not been reported yet) - could you check whether this still happens with the 6.220 alpha?
Hi Andreas,
Thanks for the quick response and for looking into this so fast!
I’ve tested it with version 6.220 alpha, but unfortunately, the issue still persists. The Control key remains stuck exactly as before.
As I noted in my previous post, the state only clears if I use the manual workaround (adding a 0.5s delay followed by "All Modifier Keys UP") or if I perform a click with a different, non-Magic Mouse.
Let me know if you’d like me to provide a debug export or if there’s anything else I can help test. Thanks again!
Can you think of any keyboard or mouse related app that might interfere? (For example Karabiner Elements, Steermouse are candidates that often caused issues with BTT). Keyboard shortcuts are used by tens of thousands of BTT users, so this must either be something very new with the latest builds or something related to a very specific setup.
Unfortunately even after trying > 100 presses of ctrl+v with the show clipboard manager example I can not get ctrl to be stuck
About the "use higher level modifier key recognition" - better leave that off if you don't have issue with other apps triggering shortcuts inside of BTT. This is only needed for very specific usecases.
I’ve tested by quitting all potentially interfering apps, and I’m now certain that the XP-Pen driver is the cause.
I conducted thorough testing with all other input-related utilities closed:
I am using the latest driver (v4.0.13) for my XP-PEN Deco LW. Since I just set up this M4 Mac mini last month, I’m confident the environment is clean and up to date.
As I need the tablet for my work, I can't keep the driver closed. Is there any way BTT could be adjusted to handle this conflict?
Best regards,
