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We've got a few reasons and fixes.

How to speed up a slow Mac

All Macs begin to slow down with age — MacBook Pro, iMac, it doesn’t matter. Performing several heavy tasks at a time, your Mac may get slower, and it’s okay. Although, when you’re facing unresponsive windows and slow load time more often these days, your Mac definitely needs a boost.
We’ve found the best ways on how to make your Mac faster. Some work better than others (depending on your Mac) but we’ll show you all of them and you can decide for yourself how to make your slow Mac faster.

1. Your hard drive is getting full

Nothing slows down a Mac more than having too much on your hard drive. If you can lighten the load on your Mac, you’re sure to see an increase in speed.

How to fix it: Clean up your hard drive

Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Cleaning up old movie files, organizing your Desktop, and searching your Mac for old files you don’t need is the easy part. However, the hard part is cleaning up your system, and figuring out all the stuff that can be safely removed for more space. The best option is to use a Mac cleanup tool, like CleanMyMac X. It cleans up your entire Mac, the easy stuff and the hard stuff. It knows what to clean and where to clean, and is incredibly safe to use. It removes caches, logs, language packs, and more to help you speed up your Mac — Click here to download it free!

2. Your storage is not optimized

Apple developers have already anticipated the problem with slow running Macs. You can easily find their helpful recommendations on managing and optimizing your Mac’s storage. Here’s how you can reveal some useful advice:

1. Click the Apple menu and select About This Mac.
2. Here choose the Storage tab and select Manage.
3. In the new window that opens, you will see some suggestions for faster performance of your Mac.

How to fix it: Manage your files and data

You can transfer your files and data to iCloud to save up some space on your Mac. Just click Store in iCloud and choose files you want to save to iCloud storage. Another useful tip is to optimize storage on your Mac by removing large files such as Apple TV films and TV shows. To make sure your Bin is not cluttered with old junk, you can set up Empty Bin Automatically. You could also give a swift look at your documents and remove the items that are piling up. You can do this by clicking Reduce Clutter.

3. Outdated macOS

Your Mac’s OS is extremely important to how it performs. An older OS typically runs slower — that’s why Apple releases new macOS every year or so.

How to fix it: Update your macOS

Having the latest version of macOS is good practice (the latest version right now is macOS Catalina 10.15). Don’t think of it as adding more junk to your already slow Mac — think of it as new software that makes your Mac run more smoothly. So, update your macOS and speed up your Mac, go to the Apple menu and click About This Mac. Then click Software Update. If a new version is available, update software and you’re good to go!

If for some reason your Mac is running slow after macOS Catalina update, don’t panic. It could happen that disk permissions are broken. You can repair them with CleanMyMac X. Download the app and go to Maintenance tab, click “Repair Disk Permissions”.

4. Startup is slowing you down

When you start your Mac, a lot of things load up in the background. Not only do they slow down your startup, but they continue to do so the whole time you’re on your Mac.

How to fix it: Manage your startup items

Give your Mac a clean start and make macOS run faster. When you don’t manage your startup Items, it’s like making your Mac run a sprint with a gigantic, book-filled backpack — it’s going to take a bit longer for it to get moving, right? Lighten the load on your Mac.

You can do all routine action we'll discuss below yourself or just download CleanMyMac X and get faster Mac in a couple of minutes.

Get a fast Mac startup by removing unnecessary apps. To turn off Login Items go to your System Preferences > Users & Groups, and then click on your username. Now, click on Login Items, click on the name of an application you don't need to launch during startup, and then click the '-' symbol located below the list to the left; this will remove the application from the list — the fewer applications on the list, the better. This should help out a ton with speeding up your slow Mac.

5. Too much running in the background

When you’ve got too much running in the background, your Mac can’t even handle simple tasks.

How to fix it: End processes with Activity Monitor

Activity Monitor will show you what processes are using up your system resources. Quitting an app that’s taking up a lot of processing power could make a huge difference in speeding up your slow Mac. Open up your Applications folder and then your Utilities folder. Here you’ll find the Activity Monitor, open it. Check out the list of apps and processes that happening on your Mac in real-time. Pretty complex, eh?

From here you can see what’s causing trouble with your Mac. Click on the Memory tab at the top, then the Memory filter at the top of the list; this sorts the programs by the amount of space they’re taking up on your Mac RAM. The higher the number, the more power they need. Stop an app from operating by clicking on the app in the list and then clicking the gray “x” icon located at the top-left corner of the window. Don’t remove anything you don’t know!

6. You’ve got old hardware

Sadly, your Mac may just be too old to fix. When your Mac hardware gets too old, your speed drops drastically and you can do little to fix it without taking some serious measures.

How to fix it: Upgrade your hardware

You’ve done all the stuff above and your Mac is still running slowly. It’s time to look into upgrading your hardware. Unfortunately, this can be a bit pricey and some Macs are beyond help (kidding… some just can’t be upgraded).

The most straightforward way is to replace your current hard drive with an SSD disk. You should shoot for at least 240-256 GB of storage space. You will need to open the bottom case of your MacBook and replace it with the newly-bought SSD drive.

Additionally, look into buying more RAM. Something around 4 GB is no longer enough by 2020 standards. You can buy China-produced 8 GB RAM card for around $30. If your MacBook originally had 4 GB of RAM, this should make it 12 GB in total, which is a pretty solid amount nowadays.

7. You have too many unused apps

As your Mac may be behaving slowly due to storage issues, it’s good to check whether you have some free space left. Unused apps are the biggest space-wasters. All of us download applications that seem helpful and exciting at first, but turn to clutter up our disk instead of being used frequently.

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How to fix it: Uninstall unused apps

So, it’s time to get rid of those or at least honestly tell yourself which ones you don’t use anymore.

1. Open Finder and navigate to the Go menu.
2. From the drop-down list, select Applications.
3. You will see all applications installed on your Mac. Organize the list by size to reveal the largest apps.
4. Right-click on the app and select Move to Bin.

Mind the fact that if you delete the apps, the chances are that some leftover files will remain on your Mac. That’s why it’s a good idea to clean your machine of such remnants with dedicated tools like CleanMyMac X. Its Uninstaller module shows how many apps you have and gathers all leftovers in one tab – so you can quickly delete them.

If you don’t want to delete apps, you can quit them and therefore stop your CPU from wasting the resources on this app.

1. Open Activity Monitor (Finder > Applications > Utilities).
2. Click %CPU to sort processes in descending order.
3. Select the app you don’t use.
4. To quit the apps or processes, press the “X” sign in the top left corner of the window.
5. Click Force Quit.

Now, these apps won't be using your Mac's power in the background.

8. Cluttered desktop

If you use your desktop as a file dump, it’s high time for a cleanup. Not many people know this, but every desktop icon is, in fact, a little active window that your macOS has to render and process. If there are myriads of icons, no wonder your Mac is slow.

How to fix it: Plow through your desktop items

To make your Mac run faster, organize files on your desktop into separate folders. Right-click on your desktop and select Use Stacks. Then, you can move them to another location. Never hesitate to send to Trash things you rarely use, like apps you had downloaded months ago. Cleaning the desktop isn’t the funniest job in the world, but it does pay off in terms of adding speed to your Mac.

9. Browser is full of junk

Most of us use our Macs online 90% of the time. In other words, if your browser is slow, your Mac will be slow too. Even the fastest machine can be dragged down by hundreds of opened tabs and extensions.

How to fix it: Remove extensions to make your Mac run faster

Hidden add-ons, plug-ins, and extensions often come disguised as free software. You download something and the next moment see weird search bars, pop-ups, and torrents of advertisements on your screen. Of course, there are perfectly legit extensions that extend what your browser can do, but every extension weighs on your Mac’s speed. And lastly, such tools may stealthily collect your data.

How to remove Chrome extensions manually

1. Launch Chrome.
2. Click a three-dot icon in the top-right corner.
3. Click More tools > Extensions.

Then you’ll have a nice overview of all Chrome add-ons you have installed. You can either disable extensions or delete them completely, which is preferable especially when you don’t recognize what it is.

How to remove Safari extensions manually

1. Launch Safari.
2. Click Safari > Preferences in the upper menu.
3. Choose the Extensions tab.
4. Remove the extensions you don’t need.

The rule of 9 tabs
To make your Mac run faster while in the browser, minimize the number of opened tabs. Many IT consultants recommend to always have no more than 9 opened tabs at a time. This way you don’t overload the browser and the title for each tab is perfectly visible.

10. Lots of outdated cache files

Cache files come in many flavors: system cache, user cache, app-generated caches and more. User caches (tied to your user account) make up for about 70% of junk on your Mac. The manual deletion method involves a bit of clicking and typing. So here you are.

How to fix it: Trim down caches on your slow Mac

1. Open Finder and click “Go to Folder” in the Go menu.
2. Type in ~/Library/Caches and press Enter
3. Locate a cache folder tree
4. Go into each folder and delete its contents
5. Empty the Trash bin

Note: It’s not recommended to remove the folders themselves, but only their insides.

Now it is time to delete System caches. The path is the same but this time you should type in:

/Library/Caches (without a ~ tilde sign)

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Once again, the method is the same: you locate the main cache folder and drill down into its sub-folders removing all the content stored there. Before you start, you can preemptively back up the Caches folder as meddling with cache folders can be risky. For a bulletproof solution, you can clean out caches with CleanMyMac X - it was made just for this purpose, though it has lots of other uses. Download CleanMyMac X for free, install it and click Smart Scan. From there, you will be able to delete cache and temporary files.

The lesser-known trick to fix Mac running slow

If you followed the tip from the previous section and downloaded CleanMyMac X, you should be able to perform another trick which proved quite effective on most Macs. From our experience, it does boost up the performance of many applications.

1. Launch CleanMyMac X.
2. Click Maintenance tab.
3. Tick “Run Maintenance Scripts”

Running this command helps to “polish up” the performance of the deep-level system services. What it does is rebuilds system logs and reorganizes select databases on your Mac. Try it and see how your Mac is doing.
In the same app, there are also controls for your “Hung Applications” and “Heavy Memory Consumers” — use them to disable your biggest memory hoggers.

11. Your user profile grew out of proportion

All your user files and applications may over time become a heavy burden for your macOS. This is tied to your user account. It simply contains too many caches, cross-links, user logs — more than your Mac can chew.

How to fix it: Give yourself a “profile refresh”

Though it sounds a bit radical, you can activate a new user profile. It is absolutely safe and is a bit like starting a new life. You will have to copy all the needed app files such as Preferences to the new user. As a result, your Mac may become much snappier.

To create a new user:

• Click on the Apple logo
• Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups
• Click the Unlock icon
• Now, click “+” to add another user

To transfer your important files from one account to another, you need to drop them into the Shared folder which is found on your hard drive. To find it, click on a Finder window, then navigate to Go > Computer > Macintosh HD > Users. Voila, you’ve found the Shared folder!

12. Visual overload

Animations and rich graphics are extremely resource-hungry. We are not suggesting you should switch your Mac back to 1984-style simplicity. But in case of a slow Mac, the less is sometimes more.

How to fix it: Cut down on animations

Open System Preferences > Dock

Disable the following items by unticking:

• Magnification
• Animate opening applications
• Automatically hide and show the Dock

Click 'Minimize windows into application icon' and change Genie effect to Scale. The scale is a much simpler zoom and less taxing on memory.

13. SMC-settings are corrupted

SMC stands for System Management Controller and manages a whole range of low-level functions of your Mac: fans, lights, power, system volume, and other parameters. Quite often SMC preferences get broken and your Mac gets slow.

How to fix it: Reset SMC to factory settings

If your Mac’s battery is removable:

1. Turn off your Mac.
2. Take out the battery.
3. Press and hold the Power button for a few seconds.
4. Reinstall the battery.
5. Press the Power button and start your Mac in a normal fashion.

For non-removable batteries:

1. Shut down the Mac.
2. Press Shift + Control + Option keys and the Power button simultaneously.
3. Hold down these keys for 10 seconds.
4. Let go of the keys.
5. Press the Power button to start your Mac.

My Mac Is Suddenly Slower With An App Download

How to reset SMC on iMac, Mac Pro and Mac Mini

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Unplug a power cord.
3. Wait for about 15 seconds.
4. Plug the power cord back in.
5. Wait a few seconds and turn on your Mac using the Power button.

14. You are out of free RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. This memory is like a fuel for all your apps. That is the reason you often get “Your system is out application memory” message. One solution is to physically upgrade your RAM — a good idea if you have no more than 4 GB of RAM. But that is a time-consuming operation that will chip off a few bucks off your wallet. Luckily, there is a shortcut.

How to fix it: Flush your RAM using Terminal

You can perform this operation if your system urgently needs a fresh memory. This is often the case with media converters and video editors that consume all the RAM they can get. A native macOS tool, Terminal has a special command to release your available RAM.

1. Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
2. Now copy-paste the following command into the Terminal window: sudo purge
3. Enter your user password to confirm.
4. Hopefully, you’ll immediately see the results.
   

Tip

A safer option is to free up RAM using CleanMyMac X’s Menu App. This service app shows you how heavily is your RAM loaded and helps you free it up with just one button click.

15. Slow keyboard response

An often-reported lag that could seriously alter your productivity. Sometimes, when you type, your keyboard would freeze for a fraction of a second. This lag usually affects the Notes app as well as Chrome. The issue is reportedly caused by outdated system caches that are responsible for keyboard performance.

How to fix it: Start your Mac in the Safe mode

1. Shut down your computer
2. Restart your Mac
3. Hold down the Shift key
4. Let go of the key when the login window appears
5. You’re in the Safe mode — take a note of your keyboard’s response
6. Restart your Mac in a normal way

Entering the Safe mode erases lots of unneeded caches and repairs some software paths inside your macOS. Your Mac should perform better if you’ve followed the steps correctly.

16. Your Mac wakes up slowly

If you don’t use your Mac for a while, it will eventually succumb into a standby mode to save some energy. Just as with humans, some Macs are more difficult to wake up than others — no matter what keys you are pressing your screen is still black.

How to fix it: Try a special Terminal hack

Normally, the standby mode activates after 3 hours of no operation. You can prolong this time by using a command in the Terminal. What it does is change the standby threshold to 24 hours so your Mac takes a quick nap rather falls into a deep sleep.

1. Open the Terminal application.
2. Paste in the following command: sudo pmset -a standbydelay 86400
3. Enter your system password.

In order to reverse it, you will need to change the number in the above command to 10800. Bookmark this article so you don’t forget!

17. Broken or conflicting permissions

Files on your Mac have permissions that determine which applications and services are allowed to access these files. Over time, permission problems occur, causing your macOS to lag, freeze and even crash.

How to fix it: Repair disk permissions

macOS is able to address broken and conflicting permissions via the Disk Utility application (Applications/Utilities). Once in Disk Utility, you need to highlight your startup disk and click on the First Aid tab. Now click on the Run button, then press Continue and your Mac will scour your drive, finding and fixing permissions so that next time an application needs that file, your Mac can find it immediately.

Note: Users with El Capitan OS X will notice that this option is not available anymore. This is because Apple have added SIP (System Integrity Protection), which automatically repairs disk permissions. However, not all apps receive these automatic repairs.

CleanMyMac X is able to repair all disk permissions thanks to its Maintenance Module. With CleanMyMac X you also gain the ability to run other powerful scripts that will optimize your Mac in a number of other areas as well.

To fix broken and conflicting permissions with CleanMyMac X:

• Download CleanMyMac X — a link to a free edition of the app
• Click Maintenance tab > Choose Repair Disk Permissions

The utility will automatically take care of the rest. Fixing conflicting and broken permissions doesn’t get any easier than with CleanMyMac X.

18. Piles of large and old files

There are two places that usually become “data dumps” on anybody’s Mac. That’s Downloads and Trash folders. As an outcome, your drive space shrinks and performance drops.

How to fix it: Clean up Downloads and Trash folders

Right-click on Trash bin and choose Empty the Trash. Now, go to your Downloads and sort files by size. There you’ll probably encounter things you hardly remember downloading, like old movies or photo albums.

• Search for .DMG files in Downloads

• Move your media files to iCloud
• Transfer data to an external drive
• Remove duplicate files and folders

The good solution to remove duplicate content is an app called Gemini 2. It can tell copies from originals and even locate look-alike files (not exactly identical). Give it a spin — the download is free.

19. Too many open windows

If you didn’t know, the Finder is very memory-demanding. Unlike Windows, windows in Finder often overlap and go into the background. This is true for Preview, Mail, and many other apps. So you’re faced with dozens of open windows without even knowing where they are located.

How to fix it: Click “Merge All Windows”

This lesser-known trick has been hiding in plain sight and will soon become your best weapon against windows overload. “Merge All Windows” works for Finder as well as Preview. You can find it inside the Window menu in the upper bar.

• Click Finder
• Click Window
• Click “Merge All Windows”

See what happened? All your scattered windows now joined together in one. From there you can close them one by one thus saving your precious memory resources.

20. Your photo library is too heavy

How many gigabytes of photos are there on your drive? 5 GB, 10 GB, have any idea? That’s exactly the point. We seldom bother to check how many photos we have collected over the years. In any case, there will be more than you expect. This results in a lagging computer because your hard drive space is quickly vanishing.

How to fix it: Move your pics to an external drive

Not only does this get you a few gigabytes of extra space, but it also motivates you to put your photo library in order. Better late than never. You may transfer your photo library to Google Drive or DropBox, or move it to separate storage. How to do it:

1. Quit Photos
2. Go the external drive in the Finder to choose a new storage place.
3. In a new Finder window, locate your current Photos library. It is usually located in Users > [username] > Pictures.
4. Drag and drop your library to its new destination.

After your library is copied and you’ve checked that it opens from the new destination you may delete your current library to save disk space.

Final thoughts on how to fix Mac running slow

So we have run over the main methods to speed up a slow Mac. They all boil down to one simple idea: give your Mac some space to breathe. Eventually, any Mac is going to fill up with all kinds of garbage that's consuming resources, memory and disk space. You can speed up your Mac either manually or use an app like CleanMyMac X (which does 80% of things we’ve described in this article). More realistically, you will devise your own mix of automatic and manual solutions that will bring your Mac back to speed again.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my Mac running slow

Your Mac may behave laggy due to resources-heavy apps. Another reason is the lack of free space on your hard drive. If you’re running an old macOS or outdated software version, it can slow down the performance of your Mac as well.

How to optimize storage on Mac

To optimize your storage, go to the Apple menu and click About This Mac. Here, choose the Storage tab and click Manage. In the window that appears, you will see the recommendations on saving some space on your Mac.

How to speed up my browser

The reason why your browser is slow and unresponsive may be trivial: too many tabs opened. Make sure you don’t have more than nine tabs opened simultaneously. You can also try removing browser extensions and deleting cache and cookies in order to make your browser run faster.

These might also interest you:

Does this sound familiar to you? You were sitting in front of your Macbook Pro surfing the Internet or working on a project. All of a sudden, you saw the spinning beach ball.

One second, two seconds…finally you started to cry out: “Why is my Mac laptop so slow?”

Though Mac machines are generally considered to be faster than Windows PCs, it’s not uncommon for a Mac to start acting up with symptoms like taking forever to boot, freezing while opening an app, or mouse cursor becoming unresponsive, etc.

You are not alone!

As Apple advocates for more than a decade, we’ve probably encountered more performance issues than you. Fortunately, we were able to fix most of them, and today we still use our old MacBooks from time to time.

Here we are going to share the fixes we’ve discovered along the way, and you are going to learn:

• The four main reasons why a Mac can run slow.
• Solutions to fix your slow Macbook and make it fast again.
• Bonus tips to mitigate the risk of future slow-downs.

The tips below should also apply to other types of Macs such as iMac, MacBook Air, Mac Pro/Mini, etc. Use the Table of Contents below for better navigation.

Why is My Macbook Pro so Slow?

Whether you own an old 2012 MacBook Pro, or a shiny new 15-inch 2017 MacBook Pro with 512GB flash storage, over time it can run slowly. There could be so many causes, but in general, they all fall into the following four categories.

1. Personal Habits. If you keep your Mac running all the time, let too many apps join the fun on startup, or multitask with loads of heavy applications open — more often than not, your Mac will hang.

2. macOS System. A newer macOS usually performs better than an old one, but no system is perfect. You may experience firmware or permission issues that impede performance as well.

3. Software Issues. Apps, whether pre-installed or third-party ones downloaded elsewhere, can consume lots of system resources when used improperly, which eventually will slow down a Mac.

4. Outdated Hardware. Every piece of hardware has a lifespan; your Macbook is no exception. An outdated hard drive or lack of RAM can be the bottleneck of your machine.

These are just the high-level reasons. Check out this infographic that outlines 26 specific reasons why a Mac might run slowly. You may find what’s hanging up your machine.

Note: If your MacBook Pro is slow only after updating to the latest macOS version (i.e. macOS 10.15 Catalina), the best fix would be restarting your machine several times since the new macOS needs time to re-index or update data saved in the disk drive. For example, Photos can take a while to update the entire picture library; Spotlight re-indexing tends to be time-consuming as well.

Moving on… The Solutions!

Now that I’ve learned the reasons behind a slow mac, what should I do to fix it? We break down the solutions into two categories:

• The Manual Methods: best for those who are tech-savvy and don’t mind taking the time to do so. We list a number of things you can do manually to fix your slow Mac.
• The Quick Technique: best for beginners or those of you don’t have time to implement manual fixes. We recommend using CleanMyMac X to scan your Mac and fix all issues the app finds.

Note though, the solutions we suggest below only work when your Mac can boot up normally. If it cannot, or you hear strange sounds coming from the machine (particularly from the internal Mac hard drive), contact Apple support or schedule an appointment with a Genius Bar in your area.

How to Fix a Slow Macbook Pro: The Manual Methods (4-6 hours)

The methods introduced below are the best manual fixes we have explored. The order is based on a combination of estimated time required and expected effectiveness after implementation. They are, however, by no means the only solutions, and you don’t have to complete all the methods as it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to. Meanwhile, read this checklist on how to speed up Macbook Pro.

Method 1: Manage login items to tune startup times

• Time: 5-10 minutes
• Effectiveness: Low-Moderate

When to use: your Macbook Pro runs extremely slow on startup.

Why it helps: disabling login items (auto-run applications or services) you rarely use helps your Mac better allocate system resources to load the processes you do use, you’ll reach the login or desktop screen more quickly.

Can you install software in safe mode mac. Windows Safe Mode can be entered by pressing the F8 key before Windows boots up.In order to uninstall a program in Windows, the Windows Installer Service has to be running. In such an environment it is much easier to get rid of an application that has gone mad.

How to do: follow the steps in this YouTube video.

Method 2: Clear off cluttered Desktop items & Dashboard widgets

• Time: 20-30 minutes
• Effectiveness: Moderate

When to use: your Macbook Pro takes a bit longer to load the first screen after startup.

Why it helps: because macOS treats each desktop item (be it a file, a Dock application, or a Dashboard widget) as a small task, it uses resources to load it when starting up. Reducing the number of such items can make the first screen show up quicker.

How to do:

• Keep fewer files on Mac desktop. Try to group those files you saved directly on desktop, put them into few folders, and if possible move them folders like Documents or Pictures.
• ​Remove unnecessary apps from the Dock. Move your mouse cursor to an app, right-click, select Options and click Remove from Dock.
• Clear unused Dashboard widgets. Go to Dashboard, press option button and move your cursor the widget you don’t want to show, click “x” on the upper left corner.

Method 3: Clean up hard drive to free up more disk space

• Time: 1-2 hours
• Effectiveness: High

When to use: your Macbook Pro is running out of space, and it slows down or freezes more frequently.

Why it helps: macOS utilizes free hard disk space as “virtual memory” in addition to RAM (Random Access Memory). If your MacBook Pro is running out of storage, that means little virtual memory can be used by the system if needed. This may cause your Mac to freeze more frequently — even when you just launch a few apps. In general, having at least 10% of free disk space can often prevent the problem from happening.

How to do: try the tricks below.

Note: if you want to save time, CleanMyMac is a nice tool for this purpose. It automatically detects and cleans extra junks that can take up gigabytes of disk space.

• Empty Mac Trash bin.
• Clear web browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.) files such as caches, history, plugins, etc.
• Uninstall unused applications.
• Remove unused language packs on your Mac.
• Go to the “Movies” and “Pictures” folders, delete large or duplicate items you’ve already backed up. You can use Gemini 2 to find them more quickly.
• Go to the “Download” folder and get rid of items you don’t need.
• Transfer big files or folders to your external hard drive or another computer.
• And other ways you can think of to lighten your Mac hard drive.

Method 4: Verify and repair disk permissions with Disk Utility

• Time: 15 minutes
• Effectiveness: Moderate

Update: beginning with OS X El Capitan (including macOS Sierra), it’s no longer necessary to verify or repair permissions as Apple has made system file permissions to be automatically protected.

When to use: your Macbook has issues launching some applications, and doing so slows down your Mac.

Why it helps: corrupted or damaged file permissions can cause certain applications to run abnormally or unable to run at all, thus affecting the overall Mac performance. Matt from CNET brought his sluggish Mac back to health using this method. Note: it’s harmless to repair file permissions.

How to do: check out this Apple support article or this YouTube video for a step by step guide.

Method 5: Lighten web browsers to improve Internet surfing

• Time: 20 minutes
• Effectiveness: Low-Moderate

When to use: your web browser (Safari, Chrome, or Firefox, etc.) just seems stubborn to load pages or becomes unresponsive.

Why it helps: web browsers are notorious for dragging down computer performance after extended use. By implementing the things below, you can expect a much smoother net surfing experience.

How to do:

• Have fewer tabs open at once, especially when you read online magazine sites which tend to have heavy pages (ads, flash queries, etc.)
• Remove those browser extensions you rarely use — (Safari here, Chrome here, Firefox here).
• Clear browser cache, cookies, plug-ins, and history. This can also free up much hard disk space. See this guide for how.
• Get rid of Adware (flash ads), this article from the Boyce Blog is worth a glance.
• Safari tends to eat up more RAM as time goes by, but a simple quit and restart will help it get back to “normal.”
• Reinstall your web browser if necessary.

Method 6: Identify and knock out heavy apps/processes with Activity Monitor

• Time: 15 minutes
• Effectiveness: Moderate

When to use: your Macbook starts to run slower after opening several applications, but you have no idea which application is the culprit.

Why it helps: Activity Monitor is a task manager on Mac that shows you both running applications and inactive processes. The list allows you to have a clear understanding of which one is devouring too many system resources (CPU, memory, disk, network, etc). Once you find the culprit, you can also use Activity Monitor to quit or force quit the app/process easily.

How to do: see this video from MacWorld.

Method 7: Reset SMC and NVRAM to fix odd hardware errors

• Time: 30 minutes
• Effectiveness: Moderate-High

When to use: your Macbook Pro acts oddly (it takes forever to figure out which disk to boot from, it’s slow to shut down, the fan is running non-stop, screenshots are not adjusting correctly, battery indicator lights are behaving incorrectly, etc.), and overall your Mac performs poorly.

Why it helps: NVRAM (or PRAM in older Macs) stores certain settings in a location that macOS can access quickly. SMC has roles in controlling thermal and power management on Mac. Resetting NVRAM and SMC helps resolve the issues mentioned above, and it’s a safe thing to do.

How to do: check out this video for how to properly reset NVRAM and this video for SMC.

Method 8: Update your Macbook Pro to latest macOS version

• Time: 1-2 hours
• Effectiveness: Moderate

When to use: your Mac is still running an older macOS version (e.g. High Sierra or Mojave), and you meet the basic requirements of the new upgrade — latest macOS 10.15 Catalina, you need at least 2 GB of RAM and 15 GB of free space on the drive.

Why it helps: a newer macOS version typically runs faster than an older one, though it depends on the model of your Mac machine.

How to do: there are a few things you need to check before getting ready to update your MacBook to macOS Catalina. For example, check whether your model is compatible, whether you have enough storage space, and most importantly backup your data, etc.

Method 9: Disable fancy features in exchange for performance

• Time: 15 minutes
• Effectiveness: Low-Moderate

When to use: best for those who are using an older Mac with limited hardware configuration, and don’t particularly favor fancy interfaces and visual effects.

Jun 22, 2020  GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is the best free photo editor around. It's packed with the kind of image-enhancing tools you'd find in premium software. Best photo editing apps for mac.

Why it helps: by disabling or turning off features like Notifications, Transparency, and Animations, Magnification, File Vault, etc., you can boost Mac performance since fewer system resources will be used.

How to do:

• Reduce Transparency and Animations.
• Minimize windows using and change the Genie Effect to Scale Effect.
• Optimize Notification center and turn off real-time notifications you don’t need.
• Disable Launchpad effects.
• Get rid of preference panes. Go to System Preferences, locate a pane you want to remove, right-click (or Control-click), then remove it from the pop-up menu. It may ask you to type the admin password.
• Disable FileVault Disk Encryption option.

Method 10: Upgrade hardware (RAM, SSD) to have a real boost

• Time: it depends (at least 2 hours)
• Effectiveness: High

When to use: you are using an old Macbook Pro, and you’ve tried every method you can to fix your slow Mac but it’s still slow.

Why it helps: adding more memory (RAM) or replacing your HDD (hard disk drive) with a new SSD (solid-state drive) will give your Mac a real boost in performance. The only con is the upgrades can be pricey.

How to do:

Note: whether you choose to upgrade RAM or SSD, you’ll need to open the bottom case of your MacBook, a screwdriver may worth adding to your shopping cart as it will help you remove the screws much faster.

Add extra RAM: depending on your MacBook model, the RAM that best fits may be different. Learn more from our review here. It’s best to also check out this page to see memory specifications for your Macbook Pro model. It comes with an illustrated guide on how to replace the memory. This video from CNET is also worth checking out.

​Upgrade to an SSD: If you still want to use your old MacBook Pro for professional work (video/graphic editing, 3D modeling, etc.), the best option is to replace the hard drive with a speedy SSD, see our picks here. Once you purchase your desired SSD, watch this video for how to install it step by step.

How to Fix a Slow Macbook Pro: The Quick Technique (5-10 minutes)

The manual methods can be quite time-consuming to implement and may require you to have a certain level of technical skills. Fortunately, we’ve got two awesome Mac optimization apps that can save you time fixing your slow Mac.

Option 1: Using CleanMyMac X to scan & clean up your MacBook Pro

CleanMyMac X – an app developed by MacPaw and rated as the winner in this Mac cleaner software review. As its name indicates, this app aims to help you clean your Mac and free up more storage space. It does this by locating junks and unnecessary files via analyzing your macOS system: Photos, Mail attachments, large and old files, etc. In addition, you can use the app to batch uninstall unwanted programs, and permanently erase files that are private to you. CleanMyMac is super sleek and intuitive, just hit Scan to get started and then Clean to fix issues.

Option 2: Using MacBooster to improve your Mac’s overall performance

My Mac Is Suddenly Slower With An App Free

MacBooster – an app developed by the IObit team. This app stands out for its all-in-one concept. It includes a handful of useful utilities that can monitor the overall status of your Mac system. The Virus & Malware Scan module, for example, helps identify possible security threats and removes malware. To get started, simply run a quick System Status scan and it will find and suggest fixes. You can also move on to the Tools sections for further optimization.

Tips to Avoid Mac Running Slow

• Shut down your Mac when you are away. Restart regularly.
• Do not save everything to the desktop or the main drive (where your system files are stored). A full boot volume can lead to a slow startup and other performance issues.
• Try not to install third-party apps that you don’t need. They can take a lot of precious disk space as well as system resources while running. Also, outdated apps can have problems running due to macOS incompatibility. Learn how to uninstall Mac apps the right way.
• Use a lightweight browser like Safari or Chrome, Firefox tends to slow down over time (Safari or Chrome acts up too, sometimes). Avoid opening too many tabs at once while you are browsing the web, try not install too many extensions/plugins.
• Clean up the hard drive (especially when the startup disk is almost full) on a regular basis, e.g. once a month. You can do this manually, or use a tool (like the ones we recommend above).
• Always keep your software up-to-date if possible, ideally you should always install apps from App Store or the software provider’s official website, instead of third-party download sites which may bundle Adware or malware.
• If you regularly use your MacBook Pro for work at an office, consider elevating it with a laptop stand or a cooling pad as this helps avoid overheating issues.
• Don’t immediately update your Mac to the latest macOS version (to date, it is macOS 10.15 Catalina). Let the early birds test out first, then choose to update when you feel it’s the right time.
• Don’t blame your Mac when it’s slow. Figure out the reason first and fix it right away. You never know when a small issue can evolve into a serious one.

Any Questions?

Do you find the information and techniques we’ve shared above helpful? Did you manage to tune up your MacBook even a little bit? We’d like to hear from you, contact us and let us know.

Fair disclosure: we are just normal loyal Mac fans like you. We don’t claim ourselves to be Mac experts, nor have we ever worked for Apple. All the information shared here is merely a walk-through of the knowledge and experience we’ve used to resolve our own Macbook Pro performance issues. Due to complexities of the subject matter, your results may vary. Also, some of the recommendations contain third-party affiliate links. If you decide to purchase one of them, we will receive a commission for the sale, part (if not all) of the earnings will be used to maintain this site, for example, paying for the domain and hosting services. Nonetheless, we recommend them because we use the tools with our Mac machines and find them truly great. Make sure you only use what works for your issue, and don’t over-spend on things you don’t need.

My Mac Is Slow All Of A Sudden

This page was last updated on March 15, 2020.