I am being driven crazy by the fact that my media keys aren't working for iTunes. Such a pain! How can I fix this? I've tried the whole Chrome Extensions thing, that being I deleted all my extensions. Still, nothing has fixed this. Thanks to all who reply!
Media keys not working for iTunes (pause/play, skip buttons)
high sierraituneskeyboard
Related Solutions
The software Beardedspice provides a user-friendly approach to prioritizing Spotify for your media keys. It runs in the background and gives you a few simple settings in the Mac menu bar. It just works.
Download and installation
It can be downloaded and installed directly from the Beardedspice homepage, or by using e.g. Homebrew:
brew install --cask beardedspice
Notes
- It is compatible with macOS Big Sur.
- Ensure the application is given sufficient privileges in Security & Privacy in the System Preferences.
- Beardedspice supports controlling a vast amount of media players. Simply disable any unwanted players, while keeping Spotify enabled.
- I am not affiliated with the developer(s), I am just a satisfied user.
Update 2021-01-16 - Use Beardedspice as the alternative app Mac Media Key Forwarder is no longer being updated
As there are reports of Mac Media Key Forwarder not working for some users, and the developer no longer updating the app, it is recommended to use Beardedspice.
Nevertheless, Mac Media Key Forwarder will still work fine for most people running on e.g. MacOS High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur so it remains an alternative.
Download and installation
It can be downloaded and installed directly from GitHub, or by using e.g. Homebrew:
brew install --cask macmediakeyforwarder
I found this to solve the problem for me, thanks to Major Hayden!
...check your keyboard shortcuts in Chrome:
- Choose Preferences in the Chrome menu in the menu bar
- Click Extensions in the left sidebar
- Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page
- Click Keyboard Shortcuts
- Look at the key bindings in the Google Play Music section
- Remove them all by by pressing the 'X' icon next to them.
Related Question
- MacBook – Middle row of keyboard (a-;) duplicating top row (q-p)
- El Capitan media keys not responding
- MacOS – Store iTunes library on network drive, keep local cache of some media for offline use, and let iTunes organize media on network drive
- Media keys behaviour with iTunes in macOS Mojave
- Media Keys Not Working for a Specific User Account
Best Answer
This is an intentional change in macOS High Sierra. Rather than the media keys always controlling iTunes, they will now control whatever media is playing at a given moment.
9To5Mac has detailed a way to change this behavior with a third-party application, macOS High Sierra Media Key Enabler for iTunes and Spotify: