Enabling Mac Mouse Fix

[noah-nuebling]

If you ran into a problem with enabling Mac Mouse Fix, this guide will help you solve it.

Note

Read this guide if you're on macOS 13 Ventura or above
The issues and solutions steps discussed in this guide don't apply to macOS versions before macOS 13 Ventura.
If you're on macOS 12 Monterey or below, please leave a comment below, so I can help you out and update this guide. Thanks!

Why doesn't enabling Mac Mouse Fix work?

With macOS 13 Ventura, Apple introduced a new way for apps to run in the background called 'SMAppService'. Issues with this new system can cause problems with enabling Mac Mouse Fix. Especially if you have more than one copy of Mac Mouse Fix installed.

Additional Info

Overall, I think the the new SMAppService system is a great improvement. It is much easier to use for developers and it gives users a way to see and control which apps run in the background at System Settings > General > Login Items.

However, the new SMAppService system unfortunately has some bugs at the moment. Under certain circumstances, such as when you have two different copies of Mac Mouse Fix on your computer, the SMAppService system can get really confused. And then enabling Mac Mouse Fix won't work anymore.

Mac Mouse Fix 3 and later try to automatically detect these issues and provide solution steps right in the app. However, sometimes this is not possible. For those cases, or if you're using Mac Mouse Fix 2, this guide provides steps to solve the issue.

The Solution

Below, you will find two solutions. You might have to use one or both of the solutions to solve the issue.

The 1. Solution is simpler and should work in most circumstances. So I recommend starting with that. However, the 1. Solution will enable all "Allow in the Background" items under System Settings > General > Login Items. If you'd like to avoid that, you might want to start with the 2. Solution.

1. Solution: Reset the Background-App Database

This solution resets a specific part of your computer's system that manages background apps. For most users this will fix the issue with Mac Mouse Fix.

1. Open the Terminal app.
2. Enter the following command and press Return:

   sudo sfltool resetbtm
   

3. When prompted, enter your password.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Try enabling Mac Mouse Fix again.

Additional Info

• In case this approach doesn't work, try the 2. Solution.
• The sfltool resetbtm command will enable all "Allow in the Background" items under System Settings > General > Login Items. If you'd like to avoid that, you might want to try the 2. Solution first.
• Apple recommends using the sfltool resetbtm command in this support document, so you can be sure it is safe to use.

2. Solution: Remove Duplicate Copies of Mac Mouse Fix

macOS might be trying to enable a different copy of Mac Mouse Fix than the one you intend to use. To fix this issue, you can delete all duplicate copies of Mac Mouse Fix and restart your computer:

1. Find duplicate copies of Mac Mouse Fix.
   • You can search for "Mac Mouse Fix" using Spotlight or use the Finder to find duplicate copies of Mac Mouse Fix.
   • To find the copy of Mac Mouse Fix that macOS is attempting to enable (and which might be causing these issues), enter the following command in the Terminal app and press Return:

   sudo sfltool dumpbtm | perl -ne 'print if /Mac%20Mouse%20Fix(?!%20Helper)[^\/]*\.app/' | sed 's/URL: //' | xargs open -R
   

   • This command should open a Finder window showing the copy of Mac Mouse Fix that macOS is trying to enable. If this command doesn't reveal anything in the Finder, you might have to restart your computer first for the command to work.
2. Move any duplicate copies of Mac Mouse Fix which you found to the Trash.
3. Empty the Trash.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Try to enable Mac Mouse Fix again.

Additional Info

• In case this approach doesn't work, try the 1. Solution instead.

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I hope this helps! If you have any further questions or suggestions, let me know in a comment below.

This guide was written with the help of ChatGPT.