Ever wondered how to force quit apps using the Touch Bar Macs? While there are many different ways to force quit Mac apps that aren’t responding, perhaps the most commonly used force quit method involves the Option + Command + Escape key sequence. But that Touch Bar Escape key is software… see the potential for a problem?
If an app isn’t responding, the software Escape key on the Mac Touch Bar is often inaccessible and unusable as well, so that deeply engrained keystroke isn’t always going to work to force quit stuck apps on Touch Bar Macs.
Not to worry, if you have a Touch Bar Mac without a hardware Escape key you can use other methods to force quit Mac apps, as we’ll discuss here.
First things first, you might want to try to forcibly refresh the Touch Bar on a Mac by targeting the related processes. That might revive the Touch Bar and allow you to use the virtual Escape key on the Touch Bar to force quit the Mac the usual way.
Force Quitting on Touch Bar Macs
An app is stuck, frozen, or crashing and the Touch Bar not working so you can’t access the Escape key? Uh oh, but don’t worry, here’s another easy way to force quit without the virtual escape key:
- From the app that needs to be force quit, pull down the Apple menu
- Choose “Force Quit” from the Apple menu options
- Choose the app from the task list to force quit and then choose “Force Quit” and confirm
You can also short-cut the Apple menu approach to Force Quit by holding down the SHIFT key and then going to the Apple menu and chosen “Force Quit Application Name” to instantly force that app to close.
Additional Mac Touch Bar Force Quit Options
Mac OS actually offers at least 6 different methods to force quit Mac applications, and while the keystroke combination is by far the most convenient and likely a firm habit for many Pro users, it’s not always going to work as discussed here. The Apple menu option is perhaps the next best choice, followed by Activity Monitor, and relying on the Terminal.
You could also connect an external USB keyboard or Bluetooth keyboard to the Mac which has a physical escape key, then trigger the familiar keystroke to force quit the problematic app. Admittedly, another keyboard is a little silly and not quite convenient.
Another option would be to switch over into System Preferences and remap a hardware escape key to regain a physical Escape key to accommodate the innovative design of a virtualized escape key on the Touch Bar.
Interestingly enough, Apple even mentions in their very own support document that the Escape key on a Touch Bar can cease to function thereby disallowing the ability to force quit a problematic app, and instead they recommend to either trying an alternate force quit approach or even rebooting your Mac computer.
Know of another way to force quit with the touch bar Mac when the app is causing the touch bar to not work either? Let us know in the comments!
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