Apparent freezing when alt-tabbing

Ubuntu Version:
24.04.3 LTS

Desktop Environment (if applicable):
GNOME

Problem Description:
Occasionally while alt-tabbing, I’ll get an odd freeze where the list of windows to alt-tab remains, and while I’m able to alt-tab to select which windows do which, I can’t actually get rid of the list, meaning I can’t actually click on or interact with my desktop. Rebooting seems to solve this issue, but it’s happened twice this week now.
Please let me know what else I can tell you to help identify and solve the problem.

1 Like

Apart from rebooting, what have you tried doing to get rid of the list when it shows?

I’m wondering if this happens when one of the modifier keys gets “stuck on” (something that happens to me occasionally)? Try this next time it happens: Press each of the following keys, twice; the order doesn’t matter.

  • Left Ctrl
  • Right Ctrl
  • Left Shift
  • Right Shift
  • Caps Lock
  • Alt
  • Super (normally the Windows key on most keyboards)
  • AltGr
  • Menu key (if your keyboard has one)
  • Escape

Does that help?

I tried using control-alt-delete, which caused the list to disappear, but I still couldn’t actually click on or select any windows, and pressing alt-tab would just bring the list back up again. If the list gets stuck again, I’ll try what you suggested and let you know if it works.