macOS Sonoma: Airpods/Media Control are not working

[Trillion6333]

Media keys and Airpod controls do not work with either the web app or the desktop app. Now Playing media does not show up in the macOS Media Widget in the menu bar either. I have already enabled Pandora in System Preferences > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, so that is not the issue. I do not have this issue with other media sources, only Pandora

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Trillion6333 

Welcome to community!

Unfortunately, Pandora does not support media keys when playing through a web browser.

However, you should be able to use the media keys (volume, play/pause, skip) on your keyboard to control playback on the Pandora Desktop app.

You can also select Controls at the top of the Mac menu bar, for the Pandora app, to review all Keyboard shortcuts available when the app is in focus.

Here's a quick list:

• Play/ Pause: Space
• Skip Forward: ⌘→
• Skip Backward: ⌘←
• Shuffle: ⌘S
• Repeat: ⌘G
• Thumb Up: ⇧⌘↑
• Thumb Down: ⇧⌘↓

Items will be greyed out when playing a source that does not support that command.

If you're not able to control playback with the above keyboard shortcuts with the desktop app I'm happy to take a closer at what may be happening. I've gone ahead and enabled a trace on your account to help investigate.

Let's begin with the following troubleshooting steps:

First, try resetting the Pandora app from the Help menu (not to worry, we'll keep track of your profile and collection for you). Select Help and then Reset App Data.

If you're still having trouble after this, then please uninstall and reinstall the Pandora app.

To do that:

1. Close the Pandora app.
2. Open a new Finder window.
3. Click on Applications.
4. Find the Pandora app and drag it to the Trash bin.
5. Right click the Trash bin and select Empty Trash.

You can then use the following steps to reinstall the app:

• Install the Pandora desktop app from our website.
• Open the downloaded file and follow the prompts to complete the installation.

Let me know if you're still having trouble.

To circle back to the AirPods, unfortunately, Pandora does not support playback control when using Bluetooth headphones, such as Airpods ,when connected to a desktop. You'll need to use the keyboard controls or media keys in order to pause or play music.

[Trillion6333]

I have tried the troubleshooting steps including deleting and reinstalling, and they do not fix the issue; media keys still do not work. The desktop app shouldn't need to support Bluetooth devices for media controls, all of that functionality is within the macOS operating system itself; if the media keys work to control an application's audio, Airpods and other Bluetooth devices will work too. Unfortunately in my case, the media keys still don't function and macOS still does not even recognize Pandora in the media widget

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Trillion6333 

Thanks for the follow up.

I just wanted to confirm that the keyboard shortcuts are also not working in addition to the media keys when listening with the Pandora Desktop App.

In the meantime, I have reached out to our engineering team to discuss and have passed along your experience for them to investigate further. At this time, I don't believe any additional troubleshooting steps would offer an immediate resolution.

Please note that the Pandora desktop app is not supported with the macOS music widget, so you won't see currently playing tracks. However, I have passed this along to our product teams to consider when making future updates.

We appreciate your patience in the meantime.