grouped objects not responding to eyedroper color change

[judesze]

when using the eyedroper while selecting a group of x amount of the same color objects, nothing happens... but if i ungroup the group; objects in the group respond, subgroups don't respond.
I havent noticed this before this month,  is there a preference box to check to continue to eyedrop groups like i have for the last twenty years?
28.4.1 in mac os 12.7.3 on an old mac trash can.  Should i go back to a previous ver of Ai until I replace the computer? is this a sign of a dying machine? or is this a problem across the board?
(-unemployed for 11 months and counting, pls avoid the upgrade your machine answer)

[Monika Gause]

Check out the appearance panel. And delete everything that might have been added.

Then, when applying color to a group with the eyedropper tool, hold down the shift key.

This is what got applied in your case

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZooJyG2UT4&list=PLVqhHu3CSohW-W_zqeuyDvHgJzchxeYH9 

[judesze]

Yes, if i delete existing fill from the groups appearance, shift click will work. 
thank you.
This is still a few more steps than i'd like for optimal time utilization, but definitely better than selecting only ungrouped objects.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

You will only need to delete the group appearance after doing it wrong.

Instead of pressing shift, you can also configure the eyedropper differently: uncheck the top boxes on both columns

[judesze]

thank you, i've never even double clicked to see the configuration before, the default had changed on me. it is working now