How to fix macOS Mission Control not opening or failing to manage windows and spaces on your Mac

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix macOS Mission Control not opening or failing to manage windows and spaces on your Mac. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Mission Control is a macOS feature that provides a bird's-eye view of all your open windows, desktop spaces, and full-screen applications. If Mission Control is not opening, is unresponsive, or is failing to manage your windows and spaces correctly, it can significantly disrupt your workflow. This guide provides steps to resolve these issues on your Mac.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Restart your Mac to clear temporary system glitches.
2. Check your keyboard shortcuts to ensure Mission Control is assigned to a key.
3. Update macOS to the latest version via System Settings > General > Software Update.

Detailed Instructions

Verify Mission Control Settings

1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen.
2. Select System Settings.
3. In the sidebar, click Desktop & Dock.
4. Scroll down to the Mission Control section.
5. Ensure the options Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use and Displays have separate Spaces are configured according to your preference.
6. Check the Keyboard settings to confirm a shortcut is assigned to Mission Control.

Reset Mission Control Preferences

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go and select Go to Folder.
3. Enter the following path: ~/Library/Preferences/
4. Locate the file named com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist.
5. Move this file to the Trash.
6. Restart your Mac. macOS will recreate the preference file with default settings.

Moving a preference file to the Trash will not delete your personal data; it simply resets the application settings to their defaults.

Check for Third-Party Interference

1. Restart your Mac in Safe Mode to determine if a third-party application is causing the conflict.
2. On Apple Silicon Macs: Shut down the Mac, press and hold the power button until you see "Loading startup options," select your startup disk, hold Shift, and click Continue in Safe Mode.
3. On Intel-based Macs: Restart your Mac and immediately hold the Shift key until you see the login window.
4. Test Mission Control in Safe Mode. If it works, a third-party app or login item is likely the cause.

Troubleshooting

Mission Control is completely unresponsive

• Force quit any frozen applications by pressing Command + Option + Esc, selecting the app, and clicking Force Quit.
• Ensure your Mac has sufficient free disk space, as low storage can cause system services to hang.

Windows and Spaces are not displaying correctly

• Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
• Toggle Displays have separate Spaces off and then back on again.
• Log out of your user account and log back in to refresh the window server.

Resetting preference files may remove customised keyboard shortcuts. You will need to reconfigure these in System Settings after a restart.

If you have followed these steps and Mission Control is still not functioning correctly, please Open a Ticket with our support team for further assistance.

Still Having Issues?