MacBook Pro Touch Bar Not Working: Here’s How to Fix

Are you experiencing Macbook pro touch bar not working issue? No worries, here I have explained some possible reasons and workarounds that might help you to get rid of it.

The touch bar of the MacBook Pro is an OLED multi-touch strip that helps the user access system-level apps and app-specific functions quickly. It is a mini OLED display — sitting above the keyboard on the new generation MacBook Pros. It is a unique feature available on MacBook Pro models that permits one to utilize signals like swipe, slide or tap to access Siri, change settings, and offers an assortment of alternate ways for each app. The touch bar is a very convenient and helpful addition.

However, sometimes, you find that the MacBook Pro touch bar is not working properly; it can behave unexpectedly and refrain you from using those essential shortcuts. The problem is primarily due to temporary software issues, and thankfully these problems can be fixed quickly within minutes.

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Why the Touch Bar is Not Working on Macbook Pro?

Before we get into fixing the problem, we should know what might be the reasons because of which the MacBook Pro touch bar is not working in the first place.

There might be several reasons why it doesn’t work as expected, freezes haphazardly, or doesn’t show application-specific buttons on your MacBook Pro.

We’ve recorded the most customary reasons beneath –

• Increased usage of memory, CPU, disk space
• Programming errors
• Faulty applications
• Running old versions of macOS
• Hardware issue
• Water damage

Now that we are done with the reasons, we will discuss the solutions.

How to fix “MacBook Pro Touch Bar is Not Working”?

Before evaluating any strategy to fix the Touch Bar on your MacBook, ensure your machine is running on the most recent form of macOS. Now and then, outdated versions of macOS can create some issues in the ordinary working of the gadget.

Likewise, some applications and cycles may not work with the older adaptations. If your MacBook is up to date and you are still facing the TouchBar issue, here are some effective methods to help you with the same.

1. Force Stop Apps

If your MacBook fails to respond or display dynamic controls when you open a specific app, you need to force stop the app and relaunch it.

An application can often be responsible if the Touch Bar is not working on your MacBook Pro, including the Apple Silicon Macs. Some minor bugs or crashed hidden processes might be meddling with the ordinary working of the Touch Bar. To fix those issues, you want to eliminate the difficulty causing applications.

To force quit the application, you need to follow these steps –

1. Open the Apple Menu, which may be found in the upper-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
2. Tap on Force Quit
3. Now, tap on the app that is causing the Touch Bar faliure.
4. Click on Force Quit.

 Further, you can Force Stop App on Mac using Activity Monitor –

1. To access the macOS Utilities folder, use Command + Shift + U and double-tap on the Activity Monitor. Alternatively, press Command + Space to open Spotlight Search and put the activity monitor into the search box. In the search results, double-click on Activity Monitor.
2. Now, launch the casual app and hit the x symbol in the activity monitor window’s top-left corner.
3. Finally, select Force Quit to exit the programme.

After you have quit the trouble-causing apps, check if Touch Bar is working properly on your MacBook Pro. If it is still not working, there might be a chance of some bugs in that application. So, go to the app’s setting menu and check for any updates available for that particular app.

 2. Refresh Control Strip

The Control Strip is the extensible part of your MacBook’s Touch Bar that can be seen in the top right corner. It controls system-level functions like as the Siri button, volume control button, and mute button, among others.

Refresh the control strip via activity monitor –

1. Press Command + Shift + U and double-tap on Activity Monitor to open the macOS Utilities folder.
2. In the search bar, type the control strip.
3. In the results, choose Control Strip and click the x symbol in the top-left corner.
4. To end the procedure, press Force Quit.

Using the Terminal, refresh the Control Strip.

1. Open the macOS Utilities folder with Command + Shift + U and double-click on Terminal.
2. After putting the command kill all into the Terminal prompt, press Return. ControlStrip

The Touch Bar’s Control Strip will switch off and then on again. Continue to the next process to refresh the Touch Bar as a whole if the Control Strip is still not functional.

3. Refresh Touch Bar

Refreshing should fix the problem if the Touch Bar is blank, unresponsive, or not working for all applications. When you reload your MacBook, you’re just clearing the RAM used by the Touch Bar. This is similar to deleting temporary files from a smartphone app.

Touch Bar Refresh How to Use the Activity Monitor:

1. Press Command + Shift + U to access the macOS Utilities folder, then double-click on Activity Monitor.
2. In the search bar, type the touch bar.
3. Select TouchBarServer from the list of options, then click the x in the top-left corner.
4. Click Force Quit to terminate the TouchBarServer process.

The Touch Bar will be closed, and the process will be resumed with new resources assigned to the TouchServer. Before returning, the Touch Bar will switch off for a brief moment.

4. Check the Display Options for the Touch Bar

The Touch Bar’s controls, buttons, and shortcuts may all be customized in macOS. If you don’t see any buttons or controls on your Touch Bar, double-check that your Touch Bar’s display configurations are right.

1. Tap the Touch Bar reveals drop-down button in System Preferences > Keyboard.
2. The App Controls are displayed by default on the Touch Bar, but you may alter this to Quick Actions, Spaces, Function Keys, or Expanded Control Strips.

5. Restart Your MacBook

If the Touch Bar still doesn’t function after attempting all of the previous alternatives, restart your MacBook. Restart by tapping the Apple emblem in the navigation bar.

6. Repair Your Mac’s Drive

If there’s a problem with your Mac’s disc, the Touch Bar may stop working. To use the macOS Disk Utility application to scan your disc for probable faults and damaged data, follow the instructions below:

1. The Disk Utility application may be found in the Utilities folder (Finder > Application > Utilities or Command + Shift + U shortcut).
2. Launch the tool and click the First Aid icon
3. Tap on Run to proceed

This will begin a verification process that might take several minutes or hours to complete. If Disk Utility identifies a problem, click the First Aid option to repair the disc once more.

Conclusion

We’re certain that at least one of these troubleshooting steps will fix your MacBook’s Touch Bar if it’s not working due to a software issue.

If the Touch Bar continues to fail, the issue might be due to the hardware. To get your device evaluated for hardware damage, contact Apple Support or go to an authorized Apple Service Provider near you.

This brings us to the end of our article on how to solve Touch Bar not working issues on MacBook Pro. We hope that these six viable workarounds have assisted you in resolving those vexing issues.