Which remote control for MacBook Pro 13" mid-2012?

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Ok having a remote is way more convenient than I ever thought it could be, I love this thing.

No bugs on the Monterey computer so far. The Mojave one has 1 bug already: The play/pause button merely skips the song currently playing in iTunes back a few seconds. It's ok though because the center button works fine for play/pause. I have not seen your specific bug so far.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Yes, that should be good for testing it.
I'm currently on 10.14.6 (Mojave), but it's not been long since I upgraded from 10.13.6 (High Sierra) where I've had the problem for ages.

I just got this bug. It occurred on my MBP 9,2 running Monterey 12.6.8. with OCLP 0.6.8. I woke my computer up from hibernate, started some music playing with my mouse, tried to adjust the volume with the remote. It would not respond to my remote until I rebooted the computer (volume control with my keyboard did work). In contrast, I was able to adjust the volume on my 9,1 running Mojave just fine with the remote.

The problem must be on the computer side.


Question: Are you at all familiar with Hammerspoon? I've used it a little bit to set up a script to investigate some different aberrant behavior on my 9,1, and I wonder if it would be at all helpful for us to set up diagnostic scripts to collect more information about this bug. I don't know what function calls would make sense to use, though, I'm very much a novice at it.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

And again on the MBP 9,2 but not the 9,1 today. Both were hibernated. I rebooted the 9,2 and the remote still didn't work. I went into my settings, disabled remotes, and re-enabled remotes to get it to work again. I'll update as I get more data to characterize this bug.

Working hypothesis is that it might be exclusive to the MBP 9,2 for some reason

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Wow after only a couple minutes the remote stopped working on the 9,2 and I had to use the settings toggle trick to get it working again!

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

And again. This is irritating. I'll just say that I would rather find a remote that isn't so buggy, if it is the remote -- has anyone used a different remote with a MBP 9,2 and never encountered this bug with that remote?
Edit: Mysteriously after this third time fixing it with the remote security setting toggle, it kept working fine.

 

[macstatic]

Question: Are you at all familiar with Hammerspoon? I've used it a little bit to set up a script to investigate some different aberrant behavior on my 9,1, and I wonder if it would be at all helpful for us to set up diagnostic scripts to collect more information about this bug. I don't know what function calls would make sense to use, though, I'm very much a novice at it.

No, hadn't heard of it so I just looked it up and found it here. Looks useful but is unfortunately way over my head.
I've made scripts before, but not without a lot of help from others.

Thanks for reporting your findings. I haven't tried disabling/re-enabling the remote using the "Security & privacy" system preference, so that would be interesting to try out the next time the remote stops working.

Wow after only a couple minutes the remote stopped working on the 9,2 and I had to use the settings toggle trick to get it working again!

Was the computer sleeping before you did this, or were you using the remote actively and it all of a sudden stopped working?

And again. This is irritating. I'll just say that I would rather find a remote that isn't so buggy, if it is the remote -- has anyone used a different remote with a MBP 9,2 and never encountered this bug with that remote?
Edit: Mysteriously after this third time fixing it with the remote security setting toggle, it kept working fine.

I've had this problem with two Apple remotes (the older small white rectangular shaped one, and the newer aluminium remote) and in both instances I've run into this issue.
Actually, now that I think about it, I think I also programmed a "One-4-all" universal remote control with the IR-signals from the white Apple remote, got it working but believe I also had it lose contact with the Mac.
Hmmm..... maybe that's it! Maybe the remote basically gets un-paired temporarily.
The next time I'm experiencing that the remote no longer works (in my case; usually when I watch a movie and after a while want to pause or rewind at some stage) I think I might try the following:

1) try the other Apple remote, and also the universal remote to see if they work
2) try to disable, then re-enable and pair one of the remotes (using the Security system preferences)
3) try to pair one of the remotes (or several if the first one doesn't work)

What I find most frustrating is not understanding when and in which situation the remote stops working. Obviously I'm not pressing the remote all the time, so it's hard to tell if it happens after a certain time of not using it, if it's a random occurance or something else.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Was the computer sleeping before you did this, or were you using the remote actively and it all of a sudden stopped working?

It wasn't sleeping, it was actively playing audio. I had queued up some music playing on the 9,2, walked away to my work station, and adjusted the volume successfully with the remote. A couple minutes later the song got louder so I tried adjusting the volume again and it didn't work. I tested the remote on my 9,1 and it worked fine. I went to the 9,2 and tried using the remote to see if proximity had any impact; it did not.

The next time I'm experiencing that the remote no longer works (in my case; usually when I watch a movie and after a while want to pause or rewind at some stage) I think I might try the following:

1) try the other Apple remote, and also the universal remote to see if they work
2) try to disable, then re-enable and pair one of the remotes (using the Security system preferences)
3) try to pair one of the remotes (or several if the first one doesn't work)

I think this is a great testing idea, please let me know how it goes! I only have the one remote.

Does this ever happen on your Mac Pro 5,1, or does that not have an IR receiver?

 

[arw]

IIRC I pinned it on the infrared daemon that got stuck for unknown / irreproducible reasons.
At the time I found a great deal for RemoteBuddy which uses an alternate infrared driver named Candleair.
100% stable ever since (Mac mini 2011 with High Sierra).
I have not tried the (free) driver alone.
Perhaps re-launching the stock macOS daemon in fixed intervals could also solve the issue.

 

[macstatic]

It wasn't sleeping, it was actively playing audio. I had queued up some music playing on the 9,2, walked away to my work station, and adjusted the volume successfully with the remote. A couple minutes later the song got louder so I tried adjusting the volume again and it didn't work. I tested the remote on my 9,1 and it worked fine. I went to the 9,2 and tried using the remote to see if proximity had any impact; it did not.

This sounds very familiar to my experience.
I usually watch a movie in iTunes, and like you, after a while I might need to use the remote for something but it won't respond!

I think this is a great testing idea, please let me know how it goes! I only have the one remote.

I basically have two (as far as the Mac goes for recognizing them). The universal remote is recognized as being the newer Apple aluminium remote, so in case I once again run into the remote not functioning I can use the other one of those two and at least rule out if the actual remote control device is malfunctioning (i.e. bad battery etc.). If both of them stop working it's more likely that the problem lies with the computer.
The computer doesn't respond at all to the older white Apple remote now, but that's because I first need to pair it with the Mac.

Yesterday I did a little test: powering up the Macbook Pro, starting a movie and playing around with the remote (which worked fine). Then I left the computer with a paused movie, went out and came back an hour later: the computer was sleeping of course, so I tried pressing the remote which woke it up again and I could resume playing the video from the remote. Worked perfectly!
So maybe we can (for now) rule out the problem being due to waking up from sleep.

Does this ever happen on your Mac Pro 5,1, or does that not have an IR receiver?

As far as I know (and can tell by looking at the "Privacy and security" system preference by going to the "General" section and clicking on the "Advanced" button) there's no built-in IR-receiver inside it. Also, the pairing process doesn't do anything. I think someone also confirmed to me a while back that the Mac Pro 5,1 doesn't have built-in IR remote capabilities.
But.... your question gave me an idea: we also have a Mac Mini here, and I'm wondering if it has a remote... I'll try to find out.

 

[arw]

I think someone also confirmed to me a while back that the Mac Pro 5,1 doesn't have built-in IR remote capabilities.

Correct, no Mac Pro has built-in IR. That's why the solution with the IR-module from an old MacBook is so appealing.

 

[macstatic]

Correct, no Mac Pro has built-in IR. That's why the solution with the IR-module from an old MacBook is so appealing.

Yes, it would be interesting to try out some time.

 

[macstatic]

Today I was watching a movie (in iTunes) and the remote (aluminium) was working fine. Then after a while it didn't respond at all to the pause/play/rewind/ffwd buttons. I tried pressing several times without any response, but then I pressed the up/down buttons and there was some response. From then on the pause/play/rewind/ffwd buttons worked again!
Very strange, and I need to verify if this by checking to see if I can "fix" the problem the next time my remote stops working.

Another thing: I tried pairing the white Apple remote with the Mac Mini we also have, and it worked! So that means I can compare to see if the problem seems to be with the hardware of the Macbook Pro I have, or the software (I've installed MacOS 10.14.6 Mojave on both machines).

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Well, I've installed Candelair on the MBP 9,2 running Monterey and have not noticed the bug recur so far. I'll report back after I've given it more time and trials to see how it performs long term. Still haven't had any remote control issues with the MBP 9,1 running Mojave at all though.

 

[macstatic]

Interesting. From what you're saying, our MBP 9,2 seems to be buggy at the hardware/firmware level or something
And of course Apple won't ever do anything about it.
Is Candelair simply an improved replacement for the existing IR-remote support part of MacOS? I'll see if I can give it a try.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Interesting. From what you're saying, our MBP 9,2 seems to be buggy at the hardware/firmware level or something
And of course Apple won't ever do anything about it.
Is Candelair simply an improved replacement for the existing IR-remote support part of MacOS? I'll see if I can give it a try.

Apple would rather we throw away our mostly working machines and buy a new one that'll have 1/3rd the lifespan

Candelair (https://www.iospirit.com/labs/candelair/) appears to be a free alternative driver for the IR remote support. I will note that when I installed it, the play/pause button on my remote stopped working, and instead I have to play/pause with the menu button. However, that's how the remote behaves on my Mojave machine anyway so that doesn't bother me.

Link to the comment talking about Candelair above, the comment might have gotten lost in the chatter: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...macbook-pro-13-mid-2012.2332073/post-32403667

A hardware/firmware issue was my earlier suspicion, but I'd say it's too early to tell. If the bug recurs with the Candelair driver then I'll suspect a hardware/firmware problem; if it doesn't then maybe it was just the driver. Or perhaps the driver works better on a 9,1 than a 9,2 for some reason.

Give Candelair a try for a month, and let me know if you get the bug again!

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

I am considering trying out Remote Buddy 2, which the poster above recommended. However the 30 euro price tag is steep for a feature I don't even use frequently, and I don't want to make more than one change at a time in testing out this bug.

 

[macstatic]

I am considering trying out Remote Buddy 2, which the poster above recommended. However the 30 euro price tag is steep for a feature I don't even use frequently, and I don't want to make more than one change at a time in testing out this bug.

Apple would rather we throw away our mostly working machines and buy a new one that'll have 1/3rd the lifespan

Yes, it seems that way. I'm personally very happy with my 13" mid-2012 Macbook Pro (9,2) as it has everything I want in a second computer, including something as "outdated" as a DVD-drive, plus it's got USB-3, Ethernet, an SD-card slot and I've been able to upgrade the RAM as well (unlike current models). Very nice to bring on trips etc.

Candelair (https://www.iospirit.com/labs/candelair/) appears to be a free alternative driver for the IR remote support. I will note that when I installed it, the play/pause button on my remote stopped working, and instead I have to play/pause with the menu button. However, that's how the remote behaves on my Mojave machine anyway so that doesn't bother me.

Strange. I just installed Candelair myself, but hadn't thought about which buttons I've used for pause/play, so I checked (oh, I'm currently using the same remote as yours (the Apple aluminium one) with my MBP 9,2).
Here I can pause and play with either the small "play/pause" button at the bottom right or with the middle of the big round 4-way button (ffwd/rew/volume up/volume down). They both work the same way. I'm on MacOS 10.14.6.
I couldn't find any configuration options in the Candelair system preference pane.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...macbook-pro-13-mid-2012.2332073/post-32403667

Give Candelair a try for a month, and let me know if you get the bug again!

Good idea. It's now installed, so I'll see what happens.

I am considering trying out Remote Buddy 2, which the poster above recommended. However the 30 euro price tag is steep for a feature I don't even use frequently, and I don't want to make more than one change at a time in testing out this bug.

I agree. I don't use the remote that much either, but when I do it's very frustrating to find that it doesn't respond.
And you're right about troubleshooting: not to make multiple changes, which only complicates things.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Here I can pause and play with either the small "play/pause" button at the bottom right or with the middle of the big round 4-way button (ffwd/rew/volume up/volume down). They both work the same way. I'm on MacOS 10.14.6.

That's odd (or maybe my remote *not* working with the play/pause button is odd) ... And you can do this in iTunes, when playing music? What about if you're watching a video in VLC after enabling remote control in VLC's settings?

 

[andreid]

Can anybody confirm that Apple remote on MBP 2014 is working in Sonoma? I can't pair one holding Menu+Forward buttons and can't find remote menu in System Preferences - Security.

 

[arw]

Did you check if Sonoma even contains a driver for the IR module?
No officially supported Mac has IR.
Is it successfully detected under USB devices in 'System Report'?

 

[andreid]

It is detected under USB devices and /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIRController.kext exists but not loaded.
Validation Failures:
Kext has a CFBundleExecutable property but the executable can't be found: AppleIRController

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

It's working on my MBP 9,2 . I ended up installing the free Candelair driver because that was more stable than Apple's driver -- Apple's would crash occasionally.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Interesting. From what you're saying, our MBP 9,2 seems to be buggy at the hardware/firmware level or something
And of course Apple won't ever do anything about it.
Is Candelair simply an improved replacement for the existing IR-remote support part of MacOS? I'll see if I can give it a try.

How did you find Candelair? I ended up uninstalling it -- it was still somewhat buggy and I got annoyed with it.

Currently, I have this troubleshooting loop: If I'm watching something in VLC, sometimes the remote stops being able to control the volume. A quick fix is to plug in a wireless mouse adapter, scroll up or down with the mouse to adjust the volume, unplug the wireless adapter. At that point, the remote works again. I have used this troubleshooting procedure at least 10 times now and it always works. Interestingly though, it has to be with a mouse -- if I adjust the volume with the keyboard, it doesn't reset the remote driver. Nor with scrolling on the trackpad.

I don't know if this impacts playback from iTunes or not; I've only been able to test this while using VLC so far.

 

[BuzzyBumblebee]

Update: This happens occasionally with the native MacOS drivers and Candelair. I have not been using Candelair since that did not fix it.

I have a simple troubleshooting procedure to reset the driver when it hangs up: Plug in a wireless receiver from a wireless mouse, leave it a couple seconds, then I can remove it. This gets the remote working again. It has to be a wireless adapter from a wireless mouse -- a wired mouse does not work.

I tried leaving the wireless adapter in the computer to see if it would prevent the driver from crashing or at least automatically reset it when it failed. No such luck, though. The remote still stops working occasionally and I have to unplug the receiver and plug it back in to reset the driver.

[I am making some assumptions that the driver is getting reset. This is a qualitative description, not a perfect technical explanation].

This is a bit annoying of a glitch but it'll have to be good enough for me. If anyone finds this thread and has more information, observations, or suggestions, please share. Otherwise this is likely to be my last update.

 

[arw]

[I am making some assumptions that the driver is getting reset. This is a qualitative description, not a perfect technical explanation].

If this is indeed the case (sounds plausible), it should be possible to automate it.
I am a total noob but the next time the remote stops responding, could you try executing the following two commands?

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIRController.kext
sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIRController.kext

If this works, it could be automated to be executed every 30 minutes or so...