Fix Chrome Hijacking Media Keys. In this article, you will read why are keyboard media keys not working and how to stop Chrome from hijacking media keys from other apps. Chrome can hijack the media keys of your keyboard. Due to this, the media keys do not work for various apps like Spotify or iTunes.
Why Are Keyboard Media Keys Not Working?
The media keys of the keyboard are essential. It enhances the user experience, but many users only acknowledge them when they stop working. After the release of Chrome 73, Chrome started to support the media keys. But, after this update media keys have stopped working for other apps.
How To Stop Chrome Hijacking Media Keys?
Here, I have mentioned some of the easiest methods to fix keyboard media keys not working. Have a look!
Method 1 – Close All Chrome Background Processes:
Closing Chrome and all its background processes will let you use media keys on the other apps. But, sometime in some cases, the processes may still work in the background. You should manually use all the processes by using the Task Manager. Follow the steps to do so:
1.Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on your keyboard to open the Task Manager.
2.In the Processes tab, right-click on all the processes of Chrome.
3.Then, select the End Task option.
Use Chrome’s settings to close all background running apps of Chrome after it is closed. To do so:
1.Open Chrome.
2.Click on the menu button ( 3 dots) on the upper right part of the screen.
3.Next, select the Settings option.
4.Scroll down and click on the Advanced option.
5.This will unlock the advanced features for you to edit.
6.Keep scrolling down until you reach the System section.
7.Turn off the ‘Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed’ toggle.
Method 2 – Disable Hardware Media Key Handling From Flags:
Flags are experimental features of Chrome. You can disable the Hardware Media Key Handling feature in flags. It is very well known to solve the keyboard media keys not working issue. To disable the Hardware Media Key Handling feature:
1.Open Chrome again.
2.Type ” chrome://flags/#hardware-media-key-handling ” in the address bar.
3.Press Enter.
4.Change the settings of Hardware Media Key Handling to Disable.
5.Finally, restart Chrome.
6.Now keyboard media keys should work in other apps even if Chrome is open.