# Why Your Hotkey Isn't Responding

Causes and fixes when your klarvoice hotkey does not work.

## Common Causes

- **Missing Accessibility permission (macOS):** Without this permission, klarvoice cannot register global hotkeys.
- **Conflict with another app:** Another app has claimed the same key combination.
- **klarvoice is not running in the background:** The app icon is not visible in the menu bar / taskbar.
- **Admin rights (Windows):** Apps running as Administrator can block global hotkeys from non-admin processes.

## macOS: Accessibility Permission

1. Open **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility**.
2. Check whether **klarvoice** is in the list and the toggle is enabled.
3. If not: click **+**, navigate to your Applications folder and add klarvoice.
4. Restart klarvoice.

> After a macOS update or reinstalling klarvoice, this permission sometimes needs to be granted again.

## Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

1. Is klarvoice open and active in the menu bar / taskbar?
2. macOS: Is the Accessibility permission granted?
3. Windows: Is another app running as Administrator?
4. Open **Settings → Hotkey** and check whether klarvoice shows a conflict warning.
5. Temporarily change the hotkey to an unusual combination (e.g., `F8`) and test whether that works.
6. Restart klarvoice.
7. Restart your device.

## Choosing a Conflict-Free Hotkey

Combination | Platform | Why it is safe
--- | --- | ---

`Fn` (double-tap) | macOS | Almost never used by other apps

`F7` or `F8` | Both | Ignored by most apps

`⌥ Space` | macOS | Default — rarely taken

`Ctrl + Shift + D` | Windows | No known system shortcut

> **Tip:** On macOS, klarvoice shows a warning directly when setting up the hotkey if the chosen combination is already taken by another app.