Pressing media buttons (play/pause/next) does not work

Describe the bug
I have just downloaded BTT and the Goldenchaos' preset and I really enjoy it. While most everything seems to work, I am unable to get the media controls (play/pause/next/previous) to work on either Spotify or Google Chrome.

  • The Now Playing feature works as expected and shows current media.

  • If I pause Spotify/Youtube with the mouse, the button on my touch bar changes from "Pause" to "Play" and Now Playing shows "Paused".

  • If I disable BTT, the Mac innate touch bar 'Now playing' feature is able to control the media without issues.

  • Other buttons work as expected, e.g. switching apps, back/forward in Chrome, and full-screen.

  • Only the play/pause/next/previous buttons simply do not have any effect. There is a feedback sound so I know I pressed them.

I have restarted the computer, did a full re-install of Goldenchaos preset, checked if I have any Chrome extensions that might interfere (see https://community.folivora.ai/t/play-pause-not-working-w-goldenchaos-btt/5252/2), disabled the Now Playing status in the Mac menu bar (System Preferences > Dock and Menu Bar > Now Playing) and tested that the issue also occurs with Apple Music.

I have no idea what else to try. Thanks in advance if you have ideas on what else I could check!

Affected input device (e.g. MacBook Trackpad, Magic Mouse/Trackpad, Touch Bar, etc.):
Touch Bar

Device information:

  • Type of Mac: Macbook Pro 2019
  • macOS version: macOS Monterrey v 12.4
  • BetterTouchTool version: (please post the exact version - not just "the latest one") 3.951
  • GoldenChaos preset: 3.56

Do the media keys on your keyboard work correctly? (BTT should do the same thing as pressing these)

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for getting back to me. I don't have any media keys on my keyboard. Is there a shortcut I should be testing instead?

Cheers,
Annique

Short update: it turns out that when I add media keys within the touch bar "Control Strip" section (BTT disabled), they do not work in any app either, so that probably also explains why it does not work with BTT enabled.

The app-specific media controls that pop up when I open Spotify (BTT disabled), do work as expected, I suspect that they are linked to the app-specific keyboard shortcuts.

For now I've just removed the media controls from BTT, and blocked BTT whenever Spotify is open, so I can at least use the controls when the app is open.

I would greatly appreciate it if you have an idea as to why the regular media keys do not work.

For future users who might end up here. Try the below command in a terminal:

launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.rcd.plist

2 Likes

That works, thanks so much!