Why Do Apps Freeze or Quit Unexpectedly?

If an application on your Mac freezes, it could be due to a number of bottlenecks, such as thermal throttling due to prolonged use of the CPU and GPU, lack of available RAM, or a bug present in the program itself. Keeping a close eye on your Mac’s active applications using the “Activity Monitor” app will help you better understand your system’s activity threshold. Quitting or force-quitting problematic apps before relaunching them is an effective way to remedy app freezing and app unresponsiveness. If your whole system freezes, it may be a good idea to restart your Mac, among other things.

1. Monitor Active Apps

If your Mac feels slow or freezes without warning, try activating the Launchpad.

Understanding Memory Pressure Indicators

When the amount of memory required to run assigned tasks on your Mac exceeds the available system memory, your Mac will begin to compress inactive RAM stored from closed apps to free up space for active processes. If there is no longer enough inactive RAM to compress, a feature called virtual memory swap activates, allowing your Mac to temporarily access system storage as if it were RAM, which can dramatically reduce performance.

Green: no memory compression. Fast performance. Yellow: memory compression is occurring. Normal performance. Red: memory compression has maxed out, and your Mac will begin using virtual memory. Slowed performance.

2. Restart Your Mac

If your Mac is not responding as expected, or performance feels slow, restart it by following these steps.

3. Quit Apps

4. Force Quit Apps

5. Update Your Mac

6. Update Apps from the App Store

Updating apps that you have downloaded from the Mac App Store reduces the chance of apps freezing, running slow, or performing unexpectedly by ensuring that your apps are more optimized for newer versions of macOS.

7. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)

The System Management Controller – or SMC – functions as your Mac’s subsystem by managing tasks, such as video mode switching, battery, thermals, sleep/wake, system hibernation, and LED charging indicators. Additionally, the SMC enforces the macOS End User License, allowing the system to recognize machines that may be running on non-Apple hardware. Resetting the SMC may resolve unexpected behavior on your Mac.

Resetting the SMC on Mac Portables With User-Serviceable Batteries

Resetting the SMC on Mac Portables With Non-User-Serviceable Batteries

Resetting the SMC on Macs Equipped With the T2 Chip

8. Reset PRAM/NVRAM

PRAM – or Parameter Random Access Memory – retains vital information, such as display settings, startup disk designation, and more for your Mac while it is powered off. NVRAM or Non-Volatile RAM maintains certain settings for your Mac that do not change while it is powered off or disconnected from power. Resetting the PRAM and NVRAM might resolve a number of common issues on Mac, so you can give it a try. Featured image credit: Unsplash All screenshots taken by Brahm Shank