macOS Tahoe 26.3.1: Review buttons show ! instead of text

Anki Help
1

I am using:

  • macOS Tahoe 26.3.1

  • Anki Version 25.09.2 (3890e12c)

  • freshly downloaded from the official Anki website

Problem:
During review, the answer buttons do not display their normal labels. Instead, they show strings of exclamation marks like:

!!!
!!!
!!!

The rest of the interface and card content appears mostly normal.

What I already tried:

  • restarting Anki

  • restarting macOS

  • switching video drivers:

    • Software

    • OpenGL

    • Metal

  • removing the preferences file:
    ~/Library/Preferences/net.ankiweb.dtop.plist

  • testing with the latest available Anki version

The issue only happens in Anki. Other applications work normally.

Screenshot attached.

This looks like a Qt/macOS rendering or localization issue related to Tahoe 26.3.1.

2

Anki-Problem
Anki-Problem1958Ă—1472 139 KB

3

You might want to try restoring the Mac OS system fonts installed on your computer. Sometimes these fonts get corrupted, and restoring them fixes the issue:

  1. Open the Font Book app. (It comes pre-installed on Macs.)
  2. Font Bar menu > Settings… > Advanced > Reset Fonts
4

Thank you for your answer. The standard fonts work in other programs I use. Therefore, I have two questions: 1. Why should I do this? 2. If I do this, will all my custom fonts be removed?

5

Restoring fonts is just something to try because doing so has fixed similar issues in the past: 1, 2.

Yes, all your custom fonts will be uninstalled and moved into a separate folder. You would have to re-install them. Please see the Font Book User Guide page I previously linked for more information about this.

Edit: Added:

You might also want to try updating the OS to see if that might help. (If the problem is a corrupted system font, updating the OS might also update the font files, fixing the issue as a side effect.) I note that there have been a few OS updates released since Tahoe 26.3.1.