Speed Up Mac App Store Downloads

Macbook Pro Is Very Slow
Slow Internet Speed Macbook Air
Macbook Pro Download Speed Slow
Speed Up Mac App Store Downloads Free
Speed Up Mac App Store Downloads Stored

Downloads via App Store takes a lot of time on Mac, how to fix?

The App Store application offers access to all available apps for Apple macOS or iOS operating systems. To find any type of program, simply use the search field to deliver all associated results. When the store works properly it is very useful, but since the storage is vast and contains countless apps, various issues are unavoidable.

Ensure Apple's service servers are working properly. Crashes and maintenance works are often. If Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, then macOS and all of the apps it installs are up to date, including Safari, Messages, Mail, Music, Photos, FaceTime, Calendar, and Books. If you want to update apps downloaded from the App Store, use the App Store to get updates. Open the App Store app on your Mac. Click Updates in the App Store toolbar. Use the Update buttons to download and install any updates listed. When the App Store shows no more updates, the installed version of macOS and all of its apps are up to date. That includes Safari, iTunes, iBooks, Messages, Mail, Calendar, Photos, and FaceTime. AVG TuneUp speeds up your Mac by addressing one of the main causes of a slow computer: it’s simply too full. Hard disk drives and SSDs will both significantly slow down if they reach 100% storage capacity. AVG TuneUp clears out old, unused, and wasted data to ensure that you have plenty of room for the files you do want.

One issue is very poor downloading performance, resulting in a wait of several minutes when downloading even a small application of just a few MB. Some people report that this issue appears even when they try to update their operating systems. There are a number of causes of this problem, such as wrong DNS server, router or Internet service provider issues, Apple server crashes, and others. Below we describe the most common issues and possible solutions - how to improve App Store downloading speed.

Table of Contents:

It is recommended to run a free scan with Combo Cleaner - a tool to detect malware and fix computer errors. You will need to purchase the full version to remove infections and eliminate computer errors. Free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Ensure Apple's service servers are working properly

Crashes and maintenance works are often unavoidable when dealing with electronic systems, and might be reasons for low downloading speeds. Apple has created a status web page for users to check if their preferred servers are working properly. To ensure that the server that you are trying to connect to is working properly, visit Apple's System Status web page and see if a green indicator is displayed bedside it. If you find a yellow or red indicator, there is not much you can do, since this is Apple's issue.

Reboot the device

Restarting the device is often a solution for many issues, including low downloading speeds. For example, minor crashes within the operating system can result in decreased performance. Rebooting is useful for Mac computers and any mobile iOS device. Restart the Mac by clicking the Apple logo in the menu bar at the top of the screen and select Restart. Restart the iOS device by holding the lock button until the slider appears - slide it to turn it off and then hold again to boot up the mobile device.

Try downloading a different application

There are cases when download speed is related to particular applications - a decrease in speed is a result of miscommunication between the developers and App store. So, if a developer removes a product, but the App Store has not updated its storage area, you may receive various error messages and an inactive progress bar. To check if this is the case, try downloading any free app from the store.

Apple ID related problems

Issues can sometimes be related specifically to the Apple ID account. In this case, there is a very simple solution: simply sign out of your account, wait a few seconds, sign back in to the App Store application, and try to download the app again. Open App Store and click on Store in the menu bar at the top of the screen. In the list, select Sign out. Repeat the steps to Sign in.

Troubleshoot your network connection

First, ensure downloading speed issues are not caused by your Internet Service Provider or particular wireless network. Begin with checking the download speed by visiting speedtest website. Minimum speed requirements for smooth downloading are above 10Mb/s.
Next, switch between cellular and wi-fi networks on mobile devices. Or, switch between Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections on Mac computers. If possible, test all three networks.
If speed is low when using a Wi-Fi network only, reboot the router. Turn it off, wait about 60 seconds, and then turn it back on. Check the download speed after rebooting.
If resetting the router does not solve the issue, try to connect to a different Wi-Fi network (if available). Some routers, especially schools and institutions' networks, block unnecessary ports or App Store servers to keep download bandwidth accessible to anyone.
If you encounter issues while connected to cellular network or Ethernet, contact the Internet Service Provider (ISP) for possible solutions.

Change the DNS settings

Low downloading speed can be caused by a poor DNS server, since all internet requests must travel through that particular server. Low DNS server performance affects all Internet tasks, including downloads via App Store. To check whether the DNS server is causing problems, replace the existing server with Google's or any other OpenDNS server. We recommend that you try several different servers and use the one that produces the highest download speeds. To change DNS servers on iOS devices, open Settings and tap on Wi-Fi. In a new window, tap the information icon (a blue 'i' in the circle) of your current network, and then tap the DNS field and change the address. To change the DNS server on a Mac computer, open System Preferences and choose Network. In the new window, click the current connection, and then click Advanced. In the new window, choose the DNS tab and click the add (+) under the list of DNS servers.

If you notice problems when connected to the Wi-Fi occur on several devices, there may be an issue in the router's DNS settings. In this case, changing settings for a particular device might improve the situation, so read the router manufacturer guide to change DNS settings.

Turn off VPN, firewall, and security software

VPN, firewall, and anti-virus software can affect Internet performance. Incoming and outgoing connections might be cited as possible threats, thus resulting in blocked or restricted connections to associated servers. Disable and re-enable each software package to see if this affects downloading performance. To disable the firewall on Mac computers, go to System Preferences and choose Security & Privacy. Then select the Firewall tab. Click on lock and enter your administrator account password for permission to make changes. To check that you are not connected to a VPN server, choose Network under System Preferences and inspect the list on left side. iOS devices do not have firewall or anti-virus software by default, so if you have not downloaded any, you only need to check VPN settings. Open the device's Settings and choose General. Scroll down until you see VPN options. Disconnect from any connected VPN and check if download speeds improves.

Video Showing how to fix low downloading speed via App Store on Mac:

May 02, 2016 If you have slow internet to begin with, then there’s no question about why it’s taking so long for your App Store downloads to complete. Those with high-speed broadband and fiber optic connections, on the other hand, should really never experience that slow of App Store downloads unless there’s an underlying problem. Aug 31, 2019 RELATED: 10 Quick Ways to Speed Up a Slow Mac. App Crashes: How Software Can Slow Down Your Mac. When software isn’t working correctly, it can make your machine seem unresponsive. Sometimes, just the app that’s crashed exhibits this behavior; other times, misbehaving software might attempt to take your whole machine down with it.

Jun 04, 2020 If your Mac's Mail app is having problems, you'll be pleased to know that this guide is full of troubleshooting tips and ways to fix most Mail issues. Mail knows most of the settings an iCloud mail account needs, so you don't need to search for server names to get iCloud mail up and running.
Feb 07, 2016 Why is the Windows 10 Mail app so slow? When I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10, I started using the built-in Windows 10 Mail app. It's got a nice user interface. However, I'm finding that it takes FOREVER to sync. Around 10 minutes.

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:

Click the Apple menu and select About This Mac.
Here choose the Storage tab and select Manage.
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.

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.

Macbook Pro Is Very Slow

Open Finder and navigate to the Go menu.
From the drop-down list, select Applications.
You will see all applications installed on your Mac. Organize the list by size to reveal the largest apps.
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.

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

Launch Chrome.
Click a three-dot icon in the top-right corner.
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

Launch Safari.
Click Safari > Preferences in the upper menu.
Choose the Extensions tab.
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

Open Finder and click “Go to Folder” in the Go menu.
Type in ~/Library/Caches and press Enter
Locate a cache folder tree
Go into each folder and delete its contents
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)

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.

Launch CleanMyMac X.
Click Maintenance tab.
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:

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

For non-removable batteries:

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

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

Shut down your Mac.
Unplug a power cord.
Wait for about 15 seconds.
Plug the power cord back in.
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.

Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
Now copy-paste the following command into the Terminal window: sudo purge
Enter your user password to confirm.
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

Shut down your computer
Restart your Mac
Hold down the Shift key
Let go of the key when the login window appears
You’re in the Safe mode — take a note of your keyboard’s response
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.

Open the Terminal application.
Paste in the following command: sudo pmset -a standbydelay 86400
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:

Quit Photos
Go the external drive in the Finder to choose a new storage place.
In a new Finder window, locate your current Photos library. It is usually located in Users > [username] > Pictures.
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.

Why Is My Mac Running Slow

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:

Slow computers are a 21st Century human’s nightmare. When your Mac gets slow your work slows down and let’s just face it, it’s outright irritating. Don’t worry though. If you feel like your Mac is getting too slow, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we will be covering the factors that lead to your Mac becoming slow and look at some good and feasible solutions to boost up your Mac performance.

Slow Internet Speed Macbook Air

After all, nobody likes their Macs getting slow, do they?

Contents

1 Why Mac is So Slow? (And Solutions)

Why Mac is So Slow? (And Solutions)

There can be a lot of reasons for your Mac getting slow. Generally, though, MacOS do tend to slow down with the duration of time. Even if there is no reason for your Mac getting slow, you can try your hands on the methods given below and speed up your Mac’s performance.

Let’s get Started!

1. Hard Drive is Fat and Overweight

Not that we’re fat-shaming your hard drive, but a full hard drive can be the reason your Mac is so Slow. For the best performance, it’s always advisable to keep a part of your Mac Hard Drive empty.

If your Hard Drive is the reason, try cleaning it up. Get rid of large files you don’t need anymore, or get third-party cleanup tools like CleanMyMac:CleanMyMac

Watch this video and see how CleanMyMac can speed up your Mac.

These tools are super easy to use, they clean up your hard drive and make your Mac fast. Try using them, and see if it works!

2. The Startup is a Sloth

When your Mac starts up, a bunch of programs also start up with it and are continuously running in the background, thus slowing down your Mac.

To fix this, you need to manage and select which programs are allowed to run at startup. Programs that you don’t require or are unnecessary should not run at Startup. This will reduce the load on your Mac.

This can be fixed by CleanMyMac, as mentioned before. CleanMyMac takes care of your startup programs too. However, if you wish to do it yourself, here are the steps below:
Open System Preferences
Open Users& Groups
Find and Click on Your username
Select login items

Check any application that you don’t require running at startup, and simply remove it with the ‘-‘ symbol button
Try to reduce the items on the list as much as possible for a faster Mac

That’s it, this method will help greatly with speeding up your Macbook.

Also Read: A Guide to Remove Startup Programs

Why Is My Computer So Slow Mac

3. Hardware’s getting Rusty

Old is gold, but not when it comes to hardware in a computer. When it comes to Mac, old hardware can be a big reason for the slowing down of your PC. If your Mac is too old, its parts outdated, there is not much you can do to speed it up.

You can always, of course, refer to Apple and get your hardware upgraded. That can help in boosting your Mac’s performance, although upgrading your system can cost you more than a new Mac would, depending upon your Mac version.

But if you are okay with paying the required amount, you can upgrade your Mac for a solid price, and fix your Slow Mac.

4. MacOS Not Up to Date

MacOSX should be updated as soon as there is an update, trust us. Not updating your Mac can lead to a whole buffet of issues, like security issues, and yes, your Mac slowing down. Sometimes, a new OS can optimize your PC and in fact, make it faster. So it is always advisable to update your MacOS X version.

To update your MacOS or check for updates:

The latest MacOS version, as of this article, is Mac OS Mojave which you can get in the App Store or go here.
Download and update your Mac to the latest MacOS

If, after updating your Mac is still slow, try Repairing Your Disk Permissions
Go to CleanMyMac, and click on Repair Disk Permissions

New Computer Is So Slow

Your Mac’s speed should now increase and you can use it with better performance.

5. Running Apps Clogging Memory in the Background

It can become hard for the best of Mac computers to handle more than a certain amount of tasks and apps in the background. Thus, it is advisable you check and clear that from time to time. It can have a huge impact on your Mac’s performance and your Mac won’t be so slow.

Activity Monitor is an easy tool that will show you the processes that are taking more space than others: it is like an equivalent to Task Manager for Windows.
Open Applications
Go to Utilities
Find Activity Monitor and open it
Tap the Memory Tab
At the top of the list, click on Memory to arrange the list according to which processes take up most space

My Mac Runs Slow

To stop an app/process, select it and click on the ‘x‘ symbol

In this way, you can get rid of processes that take up too much of your Mac’s memory and speed up the Mac.

Why Is My Mail App So Slow On Mac Windows 10

6. Outdated Cache Files: Not good

The cache files linked to your user account contain, like, a lot of junk data which you can get rid of to speed up your Mac. It’s easy, follow the steps below:

Open Finder
Go to ~/Library/Caches
Find a cache folder tree
You will have to go into everyfolder and empty it

That’s it! Once you clear a lot of the junk cache files present, your Mac should run faster. If you feel like it is too much manual work, though, you can also use CleanMyMac to clean up your cache files.

Final Take!

These were some of the most common reasons why your Mac is so slow, along with easy solutions.

Macbook Pro Download Speed Slow

We hope that by reading this article you were able to figure out why your Mac was so slow and was able to make it faster. There can be other reasons for your Mac getting slow too, such as too many temporary files, corrupted SMC settings, or Visual overload. If after applying all these methods, there isn’t any significant change, you might want to consider showing your Mac to a professional.