How to Stop Double-Letter Autocorrect on a Mac

Every time I go to type a word with two letters side-by-side, like the word "letters", or "button", or "kitten", or "kiss", or "whipping", the Mac pauses in the first of the two letters and then refuses input for 1 second. I don't know if it's some kind of accidental-double-key-prevention feature or what, but it makes typing the English language an exercise in frustration.

Please, please, please, please, for the love of God, please tell me how I can turn this off. I already know how to turn off spelling auto-correct in both OSX and individual app, and it's not having an effect.

Not happening here. What Mac, what OS, what application, how fast are you typing?

Macbook, on Mavericks. I type pretty fast, it more or less looks and sounds like I'm just fussing my fingers all over the keyboard all crazy-like. At least 100 WPM (I haven't tested in years). A little bit faster than this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq1fQG32OQ4

I'm typing this on my Windows machine right now. If I were on my Macbook I would have typed "fus" and then S another 5 or 6 times before it would register. And it does this on every single word with two letters side by side. It would have forced me to pause at "Macbook", "pretty", "looks", "all", "fussing", "little", and "letters". As you can see, this really cuts into my concentration when I'm trying to go full-steam in my manuscript.

Oh, and application: it happens in all of them.

Just keep typing it will correct and my typing has slipped to 80 wpm (old age).

I've tried to duplicate it and cannot. Fast or slow, double letters show up as double letters immediately. Are you using any keyboard "enhancer" software?

Try shutting down your Mac and wait a minute or two, and then start it up and see if things improve.

BTW, I'm sure not a fast typist but I've noticed a similar thing when using Mavericks, but usually only if I pause when typing a word and not adding a space, almost like the OS is wondering if it should do something, and the best solutions is as suggested, just keep typing and ignore it. It usually figures out what to do.

Mid-late 2011 27" 2.7GHz iMac 20GB RAM. No such hesitation ever when I was using OS X SL 10.6.8.


EDIT: If no change with a shutdown/Startup, maybe try using an external keyboard - just to test if nothing else.

The only thing I can suggest is to play with the System Preferences/Keyboard repeat setting for Key Repeat and Delay Until Repeat.

Ahhh yes, that reminds me of the old children's riddle:

Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence, Pete fell off - who was left....???

Sorry, and time for my bedtime. Goodnight. Aren't you lucky??