I thought my Logitech keyboard and Zagg keyboards both had their own internal caps lock function, independent of iOS. This causes the caps lock to ingauge with a single press of the key when using it as the VO modifier, and I have to press it a second time to turn off the caps every time I used a VO key command. The thinking being, the keyboard doesn't know it's being used as the VO key. This has been the case since the function was added a while back, and makes the single-key modifier not so useful because I lose track of whether the caps are locked or not.
However, if I set caps lock to do nothing in the iOS General>Keyboard setting on my phone, the caps lock actually does nothing, including not working as the VO modifier. That would seem to suggest that iOS is the culprit.
Does your bluetooth keyboard's caps lock key with iOS, when set as the VO modifier, behave in this way? That is still lock letters into caps with a single press, instead of a double press. It's noticeable in the help function, but also makes the focus move backward threw headings or elements on web pages because the keys are shifted, and so on.
By OldBear, 20 October, 2023
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Comments
Experimental Verification
I have confirmed this is an issue with iOS software by plugging in a wired keyboard, then also swapping the control and caps lock in general>keyboard in the settings app. The issue with the Voice Over key as caps lock key shifting letters with a single press, rather than a double press, follows the caps lock key on my bluetooth keyboard when it is swapped with the control key, so it can't be the keyboard internally handling the caps lock.
In other words, iOS does not wait for a double press of the VO as caps lock to lock the shifting of letters.
I have to consider reporting this to Apple Accessibility as a bug. Is it worth reporting? It doesn't seem many people use the feature, and it's been really difficult for me to describe.
I think it is.
If you yourself use that feature, and it's supposed to work and it doesn't, it's worth reporting. Just because maybe not many people use that feature, that doesn't mean that the people who do use it should be stuck with a bug.
If it helps, I briefly attempted to use a Bluetooth keyboard (A large print Logic Keyboard) with Voiceover before I figured out it was too hard on my fingers. I have difficulty pressing keys simultaneously, so I thought using the caps lock key as the modifier would be perfect. But it was very cumbersome, because I could never tell whether it had registered or not. Usually it didn't, if I remember correctly. It might have been the problem you're describing; I thought it was the keyboard.
Rowing up ducks
Thanks for replying, Hand2Mouth. I am considering reporting it. Sounds easiest to call the accessibility help for Apple.
I did try one more thing. In the General>Keyboard settings there was a separate option to enable or disable caps lock, if I remember the setting correctly. I tried this. It made no difference that I could tell.
Not there yet
Just read a thread that this same issue is on the latest release of MacOS.
I still haven't found any way around the issue, and am still trying to work up the nerve to report it to Apple. Too complicated to explain, and too many terms to keep strait.
Kind of looks like I'm the only one who uses this feature, so I'm not hopeful about it getting fixed.
That sucks
Man, that sucks. It’s maddening reporting issues sometimes particularly because of that “majority rules” approach to addressing bugs. I understand why that’s necessary; the developers are busy and they have to sort the workload somehow, and it makes sense to concentrate on what affects the most users first. But with accessibility issues, I feel like that gets a little iffy. Disabled users are already a smaller percentage, then you have to take into account how much of that population is actually aware of the Feedback option and actually reports. I think it's particularly bad with physical accessibility bugs as well, because that population is so scattered and varied and there's not really even anything like Applevis to raise the issues for multiple users to help report.
I mean, I don't really see Apple taking any alternative to the majority approach, except for maybe Apple hiring more accessibility developer staff so the disparity isn’t as glaring, but it still sucks. Maybe I'll take a stab at reporting it myself. Might as well; I already have a voice control bug report to send this morning. Sigh.
Yet another goof
Thanks, Hand2Mouth. After reading that MacOS thread, I see now I need to add something to the title of this thread to make it clearer. That's kind of the hesitation in reporting it, I might use a wrong or incomplete term and it won't quite be understood.