High Sierra and Fusion "stuck" keys

[OrsoGrigio]

Hi to all,

inside the Windows VM, sometimes when I strike Ctrl+c, some seconds after I release the key combination it results in typing repeatedly "cccccccccccccc..." or after having struck Ctrl+v it results in "vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv..." and it doesn't stop until I press another key. It happens with the delete key or the tab key, too.

This happens very frequently (an average of once every 2 - 3 minutes, but it can happen twice in a minute or more) but randomly and in combination with a "special key" (i.e. Ctrl, Delete, End, Backslash, etc.) and is VERY, VERY annoying.

Almost every time that this happens, I noticed that when I press the ESC key, it opens up the Windows Start Menu.

To "re-enable" a (temporary) correct working state of the keyboard, I have to repeatedly press ESC, then repeatedly press CTRL, then repeatedly press the Windows key, then repeatedly press the ALT key. After that, I can continue working for a couple of minutes befor it happens again

It started happening as I upgraded to High Sierra (from El Capitan) and to Fusion 10.0.0 (and it's upgrade to 10.0.1) from fusion 8.x.

I later downgraded to Fusion 8.5.8 (ev. upgraded to 8.5.9) to resolve the CAPS LOCK issue, but this one remained, unfortunately.

In the meantime I have upgraded Windows 10 on both my VMs to version 1709 (OS build 16299.64) from Version 1703 (OS build 15063.674), but the issue remains.

This is making me NUTS, I cannot work anymore and I am a bit desperate.

This issue seems only to happen inside the VMs, not in the Mac host.

I already tried switching keyboard with a Mac one (usb), but the problem stays the same.

I already tried uninstalling and reinstalling last version of vmware Tools, with no success

I already tried searching on the internet for a solution, but until now, no tweak has worked for me.

Can someone help me, please?

Info:

Mac (27-inch, Late 2013), 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 32 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Osx: 10.13.1 High Sierra

Fusion: 8.5.9 (7098239)

VM: Windows 10, Version 1709 (OS build 16299.64)

[elcamino78]

• Could anybody confirm that the situation DOES NOT happen when using internal display only?
• Could anybody confirm that the situation happens only with USB-wired keyboards?

I can confirm heeyuan's experience that changing VMWare Tools version has no effect.This is OUTSIDE of the VM guests; it is on macOS level.

I guess it would help VMware to understand if this happens as a result of external-monitor events, maybe in combination with USB-events. (Some keyboard events dropped or missing).

I can see that VMware Fusion overrides the standard keyboard handler in macOS (when using VMware guests, the macOS virtual keyboard visualization does not show any keys pressed).

[wila]

Hi,

Did any of you guys open a support request with VMware already?

If not, then that would be my next suggestion. This does not sound like something that is fixable on your end and the silence from VMware so far has been deafening.

To get official support please go to: Fusion Support and open a ticket at File a Support Request

You might want to point them to this thread, so that they get a head start.

--

Wil

[elcamino78]

I am in contact with VMware and their support. But so far we found nothing that helps.

[elcamino78]

@OrsoGrigio:

I guess your monitor connection (the "Thunderbolt->DVI" dongles) are actually MiniDisplayPort->DVI dongles. The Thunderbolt and MiniDisplayPort are on the same physical connector, but communicate differently. That would then reduce the problem on DisplayPort connections to external monitors.

By any chance, could you see if the problem remains if you use your main (integrated) monitor only, while having the external displays / dongles disconnected?

@BSAdmin95:

When you say the issue does not affect your users with Thunderbolt displays, do you mean users with single monitor, or with multiple monitors connected via thunderbolt?

[OrsoGrigio]

@elcamino78:

you're right, they are attached to the display ports, but they actually are "mini DisplayPort to DVI adapters".

I will do the "main monitor only" test soon.

[OrsoGrigio]

I have made the "main monitor only" test.

I have disconnected the two external monitors, without rebooting guests nor hosts. Unfortunately, nothing changed 😞

Maybe I shall try disconnecting the monitors and rebooting everything this afternoon.

[BSadmin95]

Those affected are working on various models Dell Ultrasharp monitors (U2410, 2408WFP, U3011). I have seen this with both Mini-display to DVI AND Mini-display to VGA.

I have a user who connects to only one external monitor with their Macbook, using the built-in keyboard who experiences this problem. This rules out the exclusivity of wire keyboards. 

I have another user with an iMac and 2 external monitors connected via USB-C; I was able to fix the issue by reinstalling VMware tools then adjusting the keyboard profile, key mappings, and repeat rate. When applying these same fixes for users on Macbooks, it does not resolve the repeating keys.

I have been unable to replicate the problem on a Macbook not connected to an external display.

As for the differentiation between thunderbolt and mini-display, the user with 2 Apple thunderbolt displays chains them together, using only one thunderbolt 2 port on his 15" macbook. He does not experience the repeating characters, granted he does not copy and paste frequently.

I have been in contact with VMware support for about a month troubleshooting, essentially trying to implement the posted fixes, with no resolution (aside from the single case of my iMac user).

OrsoGrigio

Did using the built-in display eliminate the problem?

[OrsoGrigio]

Hi to all, I repeated the test, this time shutting down everything before disconnecting the 2 monitors (2 Dell 2001FP), and then booting the Mac and the VM.

The problem is still there. It's a PITA.

[bellacoola]

I am getting the same problem, but not as often.  I happened just yesterday.  I'm in Canada with US set as my region.

Sierra 10.12.6

Fusion 9.5.8

Wired keyboard

2012 Mac Mini

Dell U2713HM and Dell 2405FPW monitors

.../j

[OrsoGrigio]

Hi to all,

any news from the vmware support?

[ArisVM]

I am experiencing the exact same issue.... At random times, the keys repeat themselves. For example, when the issue appears, when I press Ctrl-W to close one tab in my browser, all tabs are closed in succession (as if I am pressing and holding Ctrl-W even though I had released them). And when I press Esc key, the Start menu appears. As OrsoGrigio said, pressing the Command and Control and Esc keys repeatedly somehow fixes the issue, albeit temporarily (it will appear some time later).

This issue is happening after I upgraded to High Sierra and VMWare Fusion 10. I thought it would be OK since Fusion 10 supports High Sierra. But there must be something in High Sierra that somehow breaks the keyboard functionality in Fusion. I have since rolled back from Fusion 10 to Fusion 8.5.9 but the same issue persists.

I am in Indonesia, so I think this issue is not limited to certain locations only.

15" MacBook Pro 2015

2,2 GHz Intel Core i7

16GB RAM (6GB for the virtual machine)

no external keyboard

no external monitor

I really hope the VMWare team can find the cause of the problem and fix it soon.

Thanks!

[JanGils]

We are also experiencing the exact same issues. The repeating happens often and only after using the CTRL-key, when copying or pasting text.  Pressing CMD, or CTRL or ESC causes the repeat to end. The same issue appears when pressing for example "F10". This can also start repeating.

Machine info:

iMac 27" late2015

High Sierra v10.13.2

Fusion v10.1.0

No external displays

Wired keyboard

Hope to have this solved soon, because we're programming in the Virtual machine and it's a mess to see our code altered by these repeating keystrokes. We use F10 a lot to step through the code while debugging and when the F10 starts repeating itself, we cannot debug anymore.

Maybe related, but we had to disable User Consent KEXT to be able to run our virtual machines in Macos. The "VMWare Fusion.app" is not trusted in the "\Library\StagedExtensions\Applications" folder. See Fusion 10 on MacOS High Sierra won't run any VM

[AwesomePossum]

I'm running VMWare Fusion 10.1.0 on a 13" MacBook Pro 2015 on High Sierra.  I've experienced similar issue where the Control key seems stuck.

I am running an external monitor, a Dell 27"

I notice the way to quickly fix the problem is to swing my mouse pointer over to my MBP display then back over to my external and the problem would go away.  Frequency is unpredictable, but about a few times a day.

Please help.  Thanks!

[JanGils]

I just have to say, that it's driving me nuts at the moment!

We run 2 virtual machines (Windows 10 and Windows XP) under VMWare fusion 10.1 on a MacOS High Sierra 10.13.2.

On both machines we're experiencing this issue very frequent (every 10 minutes). It seems to happen to all special function keys (CTRL, F1-12, ...). The CTRL-key is most affected because people use it most to copy/paste. But we've also seen it with F10 for example during debugging in Visual Studio.

[benmurphy66]

This is a non-stop issue for me. I'm on VMWare fusion 10.1 on a MacOS High Sierra 10.13.2. Any windows guest OS fails. It's completely doing my head in right now.

[OrsoGrigio]

Hi to all,

I just upgraded to Fusion 8.5.10. Although I knew it was meant to patch against Spectre, I hoped it would do something to solve our issue.

No. The "stuck keys" issue is still there. It's a nightmare!!

[banackm]

You might try enabling or disabling the "MacOS Shortcuts" option. (I think these instructions are still accurate: VMware Fusion 7 Documentation Center  )

In some cases that option will change our keyboard handling path enough that it might perturb this, particularly for key-combinations involving Ctrl/Alt or the function keys.

[spacewrench]

I'm experiencing this problem on a 27" Retina iMac w/ High Sierra 10.13.2, VMware Fusion 8.5.10, Windows 7 & Debian-Linux guests.  I've tried the gaming / mouse / keyboard settings without effect.  I'm using an Apple Bluetooth keyboard and non-Apple wired USB mouse.  Aux display is connected via Mini Display-Port, but I don't run the guest OSs on the aux screen (Guests are used in full-screen mode on the main 27" display).

[OrsoGrigio]

bm​:

my "Mac OS Host Keyboard Shortcuts" are (already) disabled.

[brockh]

Glad I found this thread, because I was on the brink of insanity. For me, it seems like it's either the SHIFT or CTRL key that randomly sticks and it happens not only after switching to the guest, but also randomly while using the guest. For example, I was working in Visual Studio, used CTRL+C to copy a line, attempted to paste it with CTRL+V into another window, and then it acted as if the SHIFT key was stuck. I went through my standard exercise of pressing CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT individually, attempting the original operation again, and then it functioned correctly.

For reference, this is my setup:

• High Sierra (always latest version)
• Fusion 10.1.1 (always latest version)
• 2017 15" MacBook Pro
• Running in clamshell mode attached to either an Apple Thunderbolt display (at work, with USB-C to TB2 dongle) or a BenQ XL2730Z (at home, with USB-C to DisplayPort cable)
• Guest uses full screen ("Use all displays in full screen" is not selected) so I can swipe between macOS and the guest
• In Mission Control settings, "Group windows by application" and "Displays have separate Spaces" are both unchecked
• "Enable Key Mappings" is unchecked
• "Enable Language Specific Key Mappings" is ​unchecked checked (but I'm going to uncheck this for testing, just in case​ this did not fix anything)
• "Enable Mac OS Host Keyboard Shortcuts" is unchecked
• For Windows key, use: "Either Command Key"
• All of the "Fusion Shortcuts" are checked except for "Settings"