[Bug]: Carousel dots lose focus after keyboard activation with VoiceOver

[deepakpra]

Describe the bug

When a carousel pagination dot is focused and activated using keyboard interaction with VoiceOver enabled, focus does not remain on the activated dot. Instead, the

Screen.Recording.2026-04-23.at.4.32.15.PM.mov

focus moves away from the dots, which makes it difficult to continue navigating the pagination controls.

Expected behavior

Focus should remain on the activated pagination dot after the slide changes.

Actual behavior

Focus is lost after activating a pagination dot with keyboard interaction while VoiceOver is enabled.

Steps to reproduce

1. Add a carousel with pagination dots.
2. Open the frontend page.
3. Enable VoiceOver.
4. Navigate to a carousel dot using keyboard navigation.
5. Activate the focused dot using Control + Option + Space.
6. Notice that focus does not remain on the activated dot.

Environment information

• OS: macOS
• Browser: Chrome
• Screen reader: VoiceOver

WordPress Environment

• WordPress version: 6.9.4
• Plugin version: rtCarousel
• Theme: Twenty Twenty-Five (twentytwentyfive)

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