Hot corners not working on your Mac? Why, and how to fix them

When a hot corner stops responding it is usually the Dock, a modifier key, or a corner set to nothing. Each cause, and how to check it on current macOS.

Guide · Updated 16 October 2026

Why are my hot corners not working on Mac?

  1. The Dock is stuck. Hot corners run inside the Dock. Restart it with killall Dock in Terminal; nothing else closes.
  2. The corner is set to nothing. Open System Settings, Desktop & Dock, Hot Corners, and check the corner is not a dash.
  3. It needs a key held. A corner set while holding ⌘, ⌥, ⌃ or ⇧ only fires with that key held. The menu shows the key before the action.
  4. A full screen app is in front. Some corners do nothing over full screen apps and games.
  5. The action changed. On current macOS, the Launchpad corner is called Apps, and there are corners for Quick Note and Lock Screen.

How do I set up hot corners on Mac?

Desktop & Dock, Hot Corners, pick an action for each corner from its menu. Our Mac had App Windows top left, Quick Note top right, Desktop bottom left and Mission Control bottom right. See hot corners for which actions are worth a corner.

How do I stop hot corners firing by accident?

Hold a modifier key, such as ⌘, while you choose the corner's action. It then only fires with that key held.

Checked on 16 October 2026 on a MacBook Air (M1) running macOS 27.0.1, by reading its settings and the labels in System Settings. Nothing was changed.

Questions

Why did my hot corners stop working on Mac?

Most often the Dock is stuck: restart it with killall Dock. Otherwise the corner may be set to nothing, or need a modifier key held.

How do I add a modifier key to a hot corner on Mac?

Hold the key while choosing the corner's action in Desktop & Dock, Hot Corners.

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