How to fix Escape key not working: Expert advice

The reasons for a non-functioning Esc key can be surprisingly varied — from a flooded keyboard to Siri getting stuck in the background (which happened to me). In this article, I’ll share some fixes if your Escape key isn’t working. If the issue isn’t hardware-related, there’s a good chance you’ll find a quick fix.

What is Escape key used for and why should you fix it?

Occasionally, some keys on the Mac might stop responding. If you have trouble with a certain letter key, I won't be surprised if you ignore it for a while. Auto-correct will probably fix it, or you might need to press that key a bit longer for it to work. Unfortunately, the Escape key not working is a more serious problem because of how often this key is being used.

Esc key is responsible for most cancel/abort/close operations, which includes quitting active processes on Mac. It's part of the frequently used force-quit shortcut (Option + Command + Esc), so there's no chance you can keep ignoring the issue too long. And you shouldn't.

Why is Escape key not working?

Start with determining if it's a software or hardware issue. Here's your checklist for "Escape key is not working on Mac" issue:

Have you recently spilled any liquid onto your keyboard?
Is it possible you had dropped your Mac and the key kept misbehaving ever since?
Have you dropped any heavy objects onto your Mac or keyboard recently?

If any of these three is true, you're most likely dealing with hardware-related damage.

The next set:

Are there any macOS updates waiting for you in System Settings > General > Software Updates? macOS bugs can cause the issue with the Escape button not working on Mac.
Is your Mac slower than before, with certain apps hanging and quitting unexpectedly?
Is it true you haven't done any Mac maintenance for a long time?

A "yes" to any of the latter three could indicate there's a software issue.

The fastest way to check if your Esc button not working Mac issue has to do with hardware is to check the virtual keyboard:

Open System Settings > Accessibility.
Scroll down, choose Keyboard, and toggle on Accessibility Keyboard.
Try using Esc on the virtual keyboard. If it works, something must be wrong with your physical keyboard.

What to do if the Esc button is not working

Hardware issues are usually harder to fix than software ones. You might need to replace some hardware components, and if there's physical or water damage, you'll have to take your computer to the repair center. If, however, you've figured out the Escape button not working Mac issue is of software nature, try the following tips.

1. Restart your Mac

Cliche. But it might work! Click Restart in the Apple menu and wait a few seconds. Try using your Escape key on Mac after restarting.

2. Update macOS

As I've mentioned, outdated macOS could contain software bugs that interfere with your keyboard functioning. Make sure you weed out this issue:

Go to System Settings > General > Software Update.
Wait a few seconds while your Mac checks for updates
Click Upgrade Now if there's an update available.

You might be prompted to restart your Mac after the process is over.

3. Check Siri

Do you use Siri? If you do, it might be the reason for your Esc key not working properly. Many users reported that they noticed their Escape key malfunctioning when Siri gets stuck or shows errors — and this is exactly what happened to me. You can fix this by restarting or disabling Siri:

Open System Settings.
Choose Siri.
Turn Siri off.

Either wait a few seconds and then enable it again, or leave it disabled.

4. Run maintenance scripts

I have to be honest: it's not always possible to find the "why" behind "Escape key is not working on Mac." But some universal fixes, such as running maintenance scripts, can repair a huge number of system errors. One of them could be the villain messing with your Esc.

Whenever I need to run maintenance tasks, I use CleanMyMac, a smart and effortless Mac care app.

Open CleanMyMac.
Go to Performance > Scan.
Click Run Tasks if there is a tile saying "X Maintenance Tasks Recommended". Alternatively, click View All Tasks > Maintenance Tasks and run all of them.

4. Reboot in Safe Mode

The last thing to try is restarting your Mac in Safe Mode. While in this mode, your third-party software won't load, which could help "disable" software bugs that cause the Esc key issue.

Here's how to reboot in Safe Mode on an Intel Mac:

Turn off your Mac.
Turn on your Mac while pressing and holding the Shift key.
Release Shift once you see the login screen.
Log in and try using the Escape key on Mac.

Here's how to reboot in Safe Mode on an Apple Silicon Mac:

Turn off your Mac.
Press and hold the power button.
Release the power button once you see the startup options.
Choose your startup disk.
Click Continue in Safe Mode while holding down the Shift key.
Log in and try using the Escape key on Mac.

If the methods above didn’t work, you may need to contact a service center.

How to quit apps and processes without Esc

I’ve already mentioned this method in passing, but let’s take a closer look now.

It's understandable you can't always solve the Escape key not working on Mac issue in a snap — particularly if it requires replacing your keyboard. So, here are a few workarounds you can try until your Escape key is fixed.

In case Esc is essential to your workflow because you use it to quit active processes, try replacing it with QuitAll. The app essentially helps quit any process — even the background ones — from the menu bar. And you can quit them all at once! This is my favorite way to fix slow Mac, or any Mac misbehavior for that matter.

You can choose if you want to run a normal quit or force quit — use the single tool for each quitting operation! Well, if we're being honest, QuitAll is a perfect replacement for the macOS default quit shortcuts even if your Esc key works just fine!

What's more, QuitAll shows the percentage of CPU resources used by each process, so you can also use it to quit your biggest CPU hogs.

Escape key not working: The ultimate helper kit

Some apps that help troubleshoot Mac Escape key misbehavior are conveniently available with a single toolkit, Setapp. This includes Quit All, App Tamer, and CleanMyMac. With Setapp, you also get access to dozens and dozens of other top-rated Mac and iOS apps, all of which are free to try for 7 days, then $9.99 per month.

Once you sign up for Setapp, I recommend that the first thing you do is clean up and optimize your Mac with CleanMyMac. You won't believe how many software bugs it can fix, including issues with unresponsive keyboard.