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I have an issue where all of a sudden the focus will switch away from the active window that I'm using.

For example, I can be typing a message then suddenly the currently active window will be grey and I need to click on it to keep typing.

I've used the scripts suggested in previous posts about programs stealing focus to try and find what it is.

Running the scripts, it turns out that Finder [/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app] is what keeps stealing focus.

Does anyone have any suggestions why? or how I can find out more details and fix this problem?

Thanks

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  • The fact that Finder keeps alerting you means an action is needed on your part, for some reason. Do you have Google Drive or Dropbox installed? Both rely on Fnder for windowing and connecting to a remote server. Do you have other apps such as MarcoPolo (a video chat app)? Push come to shove, navigate to your home folder, go to Preferences, quit Finder from Activity Monitor (you'll have to enter your password to terminate it), locate the com.apple.finder.plist file and cut-paste it onto your Desktop, then start Finder again via the icon in the Dock.
    – user1019780
    May 1, 2020 at 8:27

1 Answer 1

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For me this kept happening because AMPDevicesAgent, which is responsible for syncing iDevices, kept trying (and failing for some reason) to connect with my iPhone and iPad on the wifi network.

Open the console (Applications > Utilities > Console.app) and see if you get something like this every time the Finder steals focus.

error 21:07:14.188405-0700 AMPDevicesAgent device 0000XXX-000548DCXXXX002E not found, adding request to queue

This has been an ongoing problem in macOS since Mojave was released. Bug reports have been filed with Apple, though the problem still intermittently returns.

If this is indeed what's causing your problem, it can be fixed temporarily by trying any/all of the following things:

  1. Force restarting Finder (Cmd + Opt + Esc)
  2. Restarting your computer
  3. Plugging all of your iDevices into the computer with USB
  4. Disabling and re-enabling 'Sync over Wifi' for your devices

Other than that, let's just hope that a permanent fix comes out soon...

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