Mission Control not working? Fixes to try in order

Start with a quick test. Open the Mission Control app from your Applications folder, or press ⌃↑. If Mission Control appears, it works, and only your usual key, swipe or corner is the problem: the sections below fix each one. If nothing opens it, go straight to log out or restart. For how Mission Control normally behaves, see Mission Control on a Mac.

Check the shortcut

1. Open the Mission Control shortcuts

   Open System Settings › Keyboard, click Keyboard Shortcuts…, and choose Mission Control on the left.

2. Turn it on and check the keys

   Make sure the checkbox next to Mission Control is on, and note the keys it shows; the default is ⌃↑. Do the same for Application windows (⌃↓) and Show Desktop.

3. Fix a conflict

   A warning icon next to a shortcut means something else uses the same keys, and Apple's advice is to change one of them: double-click the keys and press new ones.

System Settings › Desktop & Dock › Shortcuts… shows the same shortcuts, and, depending on your mouse, a mouse button for each; Apple's macOS 14 guide sends you there to change them. Check that a mouse button there isn't set to something you didn't expect.

If the Mission Control key (F3 on many Apple keyboards) types F3 or does something else, check Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys under Keyboard Shortcuts… › Function Keys. When it's on, the top row acts as F1, F2 and so on, and you hold Fn (or Globe) to get the printed feature. A keyboard that isn't made by Apple may have no Mission Control key at all; use ⌃↑.

If a shortcut works everywhere except one app, that app may not support it, as Apple's guide to shortcuts that don't work notes. Keyboard shortcut conflicts on Mac goes further.

Check the trackpad or mouse gesture

• Trackpad: in System Settings › Trackpad › More Gestures, Mission Control is set to swipe up with three fingers, swipe up with four fingers, or off. Use the number of fingers it shows. A swipe down opens App Exposé instead, and only if App Exposé is turned on on the same page.
• Magic Mouse: in System Settings › Mouse › More Gestures, Mission Control is a double-tap with two fingers. Apple notes that a Magic Mouse with a USB-C port needs macOS 15.1 or later.

Trackpad and Mouse settings also show which gestures work with your Mac (Apple's list of Multi-Touch gestures). If you can't find Mouse or Trackpad settings at all, Apple notes that they appear only while a wireless mouse or trackpad is connected, or on a Mac with a built-in trackpad.

Check hot corners

Open System Settings › Desktop & Dock, scroll down, and click Hot Corners…. Check that the corner you use is set to Mission Control. A corner can also be set to need a modifier key: Apple's guide has you hold ⌃, ⌥, ⇧ or ⌘ while choosing the action. If a key symbol shows before the action, the corner works only while you hold that key. Choose the action again without holding a key to remove it, then click Done. More in hot corners on Mac.

It doesn't show all windows

Mission Control opens, but a window you expected isn't there. It's working as designed in each of these cases:

• The window is on another desktop or in full screen. Each desktop and full-screen app is a thumbnail in the Spaces bar at the top; move the pointer to the top edge and click it to go there.
• You opened it on a second display. There, Mission Control shows only the windows and spaces on that display (Apple's Mission Control guide).
• You opened App Exposé. ⌃↓ or a swipe down shows the front app's windows only.
• The window is minimized. It's in the Dock, not on the desktop.

Two settings in System Settings › Desktop & Dock also change what you see. Group windows by application organizes the windows by app; turn it off if you'd rather see them laid out one by one. Displays have separate Spaces decides whether each display has its own desktops. To list every open window by name instead, see how to see all open windows.

Stage Manager is on

With Stage Manager on, the app you're using sits in the middle of the screen and your other recent apps wait in a strip on the left, or out of sight until you move the pointer to the left edge if Show recent apps in Stage Manager is off. With Show windows from an application set to One at a Time, you see only the app's most recent window, and clicking the app on the left again brings the next one. Windows can seem to be missing when they're only set aside.

To compare, turn Stage Manager off in Control Center or in System Settings › Desktop & Dock. If it won't turn on, Apple's guides for macOS 15 and later say to turn on Displays have separate Spaces. A shortcut for it can also be set in Keyboard Shortcuts… › Mission Control (Turn Stage Manager on/off), so check that one isn't turning it on by accident. Stage Manager on Mac explains the rest.

If windows slide away whenever you click the wallpaper, that's a separate setting in the same Desktop & Stage Manager section: Click wallpaper to reveal desktop on macOS 14 and 15, and Show Desktop on macOS 26 and 27. Set it to the Stage Manager option to stop it; how to show the desktop has the details.

Log out or restart

1. Log out and back in

   Choose Apple menu › Log Out, then log in again and try ⌃↑.

2. Restart

   If that doesn't help, choose Apple menu › Restart.

3. Update macOS

   Open System Settings › General › Software Update and install what's offered (Apple's update guide).

If Mission Control still won't open with any key, gesture or corner, or from its app, you've been through every setting Apple documents for it. Contact Apple Support from there.