macOS: Stuck magnifying-glass overlay on a desktop Space

macOS 26.6.2 — Stuck magnifying-glass overlay on one desktop Space

Problem: A pale magnifying-glass icon appeared permanently above application windows in one macOS desktop Space (in this instance it was space 3 with Pages, Chrome, Evernote, Notes running in that space).

Switching to other Spaces and returning did not clear it.

Solution: While in the affected Space, press Command-Tab (⌘⇥) to switch between applications running in that same Space.

The overlay disappeared immediately.

Notes: The responsible application was not identified. Using Command-Tab to switch to apps in other spaces did not clear it. The behaviour suggests a window-layering or redraw problem, but the underlying cause remains unconfirmed.

Tested on: macOS 26.6.2, 27 October 2026.

Posted on Oct 27, 2026 5:32 AM

1 reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9 (72,871 points)

Oct 27, 2026 5:55 AM in response to SBML

If your workaround ever fails to work in the future, you can also try these alternative quick fixes to force a UI refresh:

Restart the Finder: Hold Option, right-click the Finder icon in your Dock, and select Relaunch.
Kill the Dock process: Open Terminal and type killall Dock (this restarts the Dock, Mission Control, and Spaces without closing your apps).

The current version of macOS Tahoe is 26.7.1. Based on your post you are running an older version, so the first step is to update your Mac to the current version.

See: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support

Note that this is Apple Support Communities, not Apple Support. “We” are users like you and have no power to implement any suggestions. Apple employees are generally precluded from even reading these forums, with the exception of moderators who only monitor for compliance with the T&C.

Bugs can be reported to Apple here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple