Spacebar not working for playback/preview

Hello,

After launching After Effects 2026, pressing the Spacebar does not start preview playback.

While holding down the Spacebar, the Hand Tool becomes active temporarily. When I release the Spacebar, it switches back to the Selection Tool. However, playback never starts.

What I checked

• Verified Keyboard Shortcuts settings

• Checked the Preview panel configuration

• Confirmed no custom key remapping

• Searched for similar cases online

All settings appear to be configured correctly.

From what I found, this issue does not seem to affect many users and may be specific to my system.

I have attached a sample video demonstrating the issue.

I would appreciate any guidance or a fix in an upcoming update.

Thank you.