How to Fix a Frozen Mac: 12 Best Ways to Unfreeze It

Macs are great, but they can freeze too! I’ve dealt with this myself and found a few quick fixes that really helped. In this post, I’ll share the steps to get your Mac running smoothly again.

12 Ways to Fix a Frozen Mac

Now, I’ll walk you through effective steps to identify the root cause and fix a frozen Mac:

1. Force Quit Applications

Force-quitting applications can stop unresponsive apps that may be causing your Mac to freeze. Here are the steps to force quit an app on Mac:

1. Click the Apple menu located in the top-left corner of the screen.
2. Select Force Quit from the dropdown menu.

3. A window will appear with a list of open applications. Select the application you want to force quit.
4. Click the Force Quit button in the window’s lower-right corner.

5. A confirmation dialog box will appear, asking you to confirm that you want to force quit the application. Click the Force Quit button again to confirm.

2. Reboot Your Mac

Restarting your Mac is a simple fix that often resolves freezing caused by temporary glitches. Here’s how to restart your Mac:

1. Before restarting, save any open documents or projects to prevent data loss.
2. Click the Apple logo located in the top-left corner of your screen.
3. From the dropdown menu, choose Restart.

4. Allow your Mac to shut down and restart fully.
5. Once your Mac has rebooted, it shouldn’t freeze anymore.

3. Stop Demanding Background Processes

Terminating resource-heavy background tasks can free up system resources and stop your Mac from freezing. Here’s how to use Activity Monitor to kill background processes on your Mac:

1. Open Activity Monitor by going to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.

2. Once Activity Monitor is open, you’ll see a list of active processes displayed in the main window, sorted by their usage of system resources such as CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk, Network, or Cache.
3. Identify the background process you want to terminate by browsing the list or using the search box at the top-right corner.

4. Select the process you want to terminate to highlight it and click the X button in the top toolbar.

5. A confirmation window will appear, asking if you want to Quit or Force Quit the process.
6. Click the Quit button in the confirmation window to terminate the selected process.

4. Disconnect Peripheral Devices

Unplugging malfunctioning or incompatible external devices may solve freezing issues. Follow these steps to check your peripherals:

1. List all connected devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, external drives).
2. Disconnect one device at a time.
3. Restart your Mac after each disconnection.
4. Check if the freezing issue continues.
5. If the problem stops, replace or repair the faulty device.

5. Update Your Apps

Keeping apps updated helps prevent bugs and compatibility issues that can lead to freezing. Here’s how to update apps on macOS via the App Store:

1. Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and select App Store.

2. Click the Updates tab in the App Store window.

3. If updates are available, you will see a list of apps that can be updated.

4. Click the Update button next to each app that has an update available.

5. And just like that, you’ve updated an app on your Mac. Now, follow the same steps for all apps to get them up to speed.

6. Free Up Disk Space

Ensuring sufficient free disk space can improve performance and prevent freezing. Here is how:

1. Empty the trash: Right-click the Bin icon and choose Empty Bin to permanently delete files you’ve moved there.
2. Clear cache files: Cache files from system and apps take up space. Navigate to ~/Library/Caches in Finder to delete them, but make sure you know what you’re deleting to avoid removing essential files.
3. Uninstall unused apps: Go to the Applications folder, drag unused apps to the Bin, and then empty the Bin.
4. Clean downloads and temporary files: Go to the Downloads folder and delete unnecessary files, especially those ending in .tmp.
5. Remove duplicate files: Use Finder’s built-in search or third-party software to find and delete duplicate documents, photos, or media files.
6. Move files: Transfer large, rarely-used files like videos and photos to an external hard drive or cloud storage (iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive), and remove them from local storage after uploading.

7. Declutter Your Desktop

Organizing or removing excess files from your desktop can help speed up your Mac and reduce freezing. Here’s how to declutter your Mac:

1. 📂 Organize files into folders: Group related files into folders, like Work, Photos, or Documents.
2. 🚚 Move unused files: Transfer files you don’t need often to other locations, like the Documents folder or an external drive.
3. 🔗 Use shortcuts: Instead of keeping actual files on your desktop, create shortcuts for quick access.
4. 🗑️ Delete unnecessary files: Go through your desktop and remove files you no longer need.
5. 📦 Use Stacks: On macOS, enable Stacks by right-clicking the desktop and choosing Use Stacks. This feature automatically organizes files into groups based on file type.

8. Force Shut Down Your Mac

A forced shutdown can be used as a last resort when your Mac is completely unresponsive. To force shut down your MacBook and restart it, follow these steps:

1. Locate the power button (or Touch ID).
2. Press and hold the power button for about 10 seconds until the screen goes black.
3. Release the power button and wait for the Mac to shut down completely.
4. Press the power button again to restart your Mac.

9. Uninstall Problematic Apps

Removing faulty or incompatible apps can resolve freezing caused by software issues. Here’s a step-by-step guide to using Finder to uninstall apps on your Mac:

1. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.

2. Open the Applications folder from the left sidebar.

3. Scroll through the list of apps in the Applications folder until you find the app you want to uninstall. Click the app icon and drag it to the Bin icon in the Dock. Alternatively, right-click the app icon and select Move to Bin from the context menu.

4. After dragging the app to the Bin, right-click the Bin icon in the Dock and select Empty Bin.

5. Restart your Mac to ensure that all changes are applied.

You can also use MacKeeper to uninstall apps on your Mac. Follow these steps to remove unwanted apps in no time:

1. Download and install MacKeeper on your Mac.
2. After installation, launch MacKeeper and click the Smart Uninstaller in the left-hand menu.

3. Click Start Scan.

4. Select the applications you want to delete from the list and click Remove Selected.

5. Tap the Remove button on the pop-up to confirm the deletion.

6. MacKeeper will uninstall the apps and remove associated files and folders. You will get a Removal Completed notification. If you want to scan your Mac again, click Rescan.

10. Repair Your Disk Health With Disk Utility

Running Disk Utility can fix hard drive errors that may be causing your Mac to freeze. Follow these steps to use Disk Utility to repair disk permissions on Mac:

1. Launch Disk Utility by going to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Alternatively, you can search for it in Spotlight (Command ⌘ + Space) by typing Disk Utility.

2. Select the disk you suspect has permission issues from the list on the left side of the Disk Utility window.

3. Click the First Aid button in the top toolbar.

4. Click the Run button to initiate the permission verification and repair process.

5. Tap Continue to confirm your decision.

6. Disk Utility will scan your disk for errors and repair any permissions it finds.

11. Reset Your Mac’s SMC

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on Intel-based Macs can fix issues like freezing, fan problems, or charging issues. To reset it, shut down your Mac and follow different steps based on whether your Mac has a removable or non-removable battery. For detailed instructions, here is my detailed step-by-step guide to reset SMC on Mac.

12. Update Your macOS

Keeping your macOS updated is essential to avoid bugs and compatibility issues that can cause freezing. Regular updates from Apple improve performance and fix these problems. To update, go to the Apple menu, select System Settings, and check for software updates. If available, download and install them.

Check out my detailed guide on how to update your macOS.

Unfreeze Your Mac Quickly

Dealing with a frozen or sluggish Mac can be frustrating, but thankfully, you can employ several strategies to get things running smoothly again. Here are a few more tips to help you get the most out of your Mac:

• Is your Mac running slow? close unused apps, update your software, and scan for malware.
• To speed up a slow Mac, consider clearing cache files, uninstalling unused apps, and running disk cleanup utilities.
• If you’ve tried all methods, but your Mac still runs slow, you may need to defrag your Mac.

Frequently Asked Questions