[A11y] macOS desktop app: VoiceOver stops announcing typed characters after switching to another app and back
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
This is a report about the Claude desktop app for macOS (com.anthropic.claudefordesktop), filed here because this tracker takes desktop app reports (see #87977). I am blind and rely entirely on VoiceOver.
Since the Claude desktop app updated on 11 September 2026 (to version 1.52386.3), VoiceOver no longer echoes typed characters in the prompt box after I switch to any other app and return to Claude. The rest of VoiceOver keeps working inside the app: I can navigate with the VO keys, read headings and controls, and hear Claude's replies and the "finished responding" announcement. Only the typing echo is lost, so I cannot hear what I am typing and make many mistakes. Quitting and reopening Claude restores typing echo until the next time I switch apps. This never happened before this update.
Typing echo still works normally in every other app on the same Mac, including Chrome, Terminal and other Electron-based apps, so it appears specific to this version of the Claude desktop app. It affects both regular chat and Cowork sessions.
Workarounds tried, none of which restored typing echo:
- Interacting with the text box again (VO Shift Down Arrow) and stopping interaction (VO Shift Up Arrow)
- Turning VoiceOver off and on (Command F5 twice)
- Leaving the text box with Escape and re-entering it with VO Space
The only thing that works is quitting Claude and reopening it, and the fault returns on the next app switch.
What Should Happen?
VoiceOver should announce each typed character in the prompt box every time, including after switching to another app and back, exactly as it did before the 11 September update and as it does in every other app on the Mac. A blind user cannot compose a prompt without hearing what they type, and having to quit and relaunch Claude after every app switch makes the desktop app very hard to use with VoiceOver.
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
- Turn on VoiceOver (Command F5) and open the Claude desktop app for macOS.
- Focus the prompt box and type a few letters. VoiceOver announces each character as expected.
- Switch to any other app with Command Tab (for example Google Chrome, or an installed Chrome web app) and do anything there.
- Switch back to Claude with Command Tab and focus the prompt box again.
- Type a few letters.
Actual: nothing is announced while typing. VoiceOver navigation, reading of controls and the response-finished announcement still work, so VoiceOver is not frozen; only the typing echo in the prompt box is lost, and it stays lost until the app is quit and reopened.
Claude Model
None
Is this a regression?
Yes, this worked in a previous version
Last Working Version
The desktop app version in use before the 11 September 2026 update (exact number not recorded); typing echo worked correctly then.
Claude Code Version
Claude desktop app for macOS 1.52386.3 (Electron framework 44.2.0), installed 11 September 2026. This is a desktop app issue, not the Claude Code CLI.
Platform
Other
Operating System
macOS
Terminal/Shell
Terminal.app (macOS)
Additional Information
Environment: macOS 26.5.2 (build 25F84), Claude desktop app 1.52386.3, Electron 44.2.0, VoiceOver built into macOS. The Platform and Terminal fields below are required by this form but do not apply: the app is used with a Claude Max subscription, and no terminal is involved.
The symptom resembles the long-standing Chromium/Electron fault where VoiceOver stops echoing typed characters in input fields (electron/electron#13203), but here it is newly triggered by an app switch and only appeared with this app version, which suggests something in the 11 September update (possibly the bundled Electron/Chromium) changed how accessibility focus is restored when the window regains focus. Related VoiceOver report for the same app: #87977.