How to fix common problems with macOS

While Apple offers a rock-solid macOS experience for Mac, it's not entirely void of issues. After all, every operating system can cause issues from time to time, and moving to a new platform could mean dealing with a fresh set of bugs. Fortunately, you can easily solve many common Mac problems through simple fixes. Before you head to the nearest Apple store, use the tricks below to troubleshoot common Mac glitches in no time.

Unresponsive apps

Apps can stop working at any time, and macOS is not an exception to this. The best solution at your disposal, in this case, is to quit the app and then relaunch it. To quit an unresponsive app:

1. Right-click the app's icon in the Dock.
2. Hit on Quit.
   

   Quitting the Photos app from the Mac dock© Provided by XDA Developers

If the app doesn't quit, you can check our guide containing five ways to quit an unresponsive app on macOS.

Common startup problems on Mac

Your Mac might show a dark or gray screen when loading in and may not start as intended. In that case, try to boot the Mac in Safe Mode. When the Mac boots in Safe Mode, it should self-diagnose and rectify any minor errors due to drivers, bad directories on the hard drive, or any other issue with the startup disk.

If the issue persists, reset the NVRAM on your Mac (steps below). If that doesn't help, reset the SMC (also below) and check for any errors using the Disk Utility. If these solutions sound confusing to you, don't worry, we will break each one down into steps.

Spinning blue cursor

A spinning blue cursor often signifies that your Mac is slowing or burdened due to apps. This is most likely due to excessive utilization of system resources, including RAM and CPU. You can go to the Activity Monitor either through the Launchpad or Spotlight search to fix this. In this app, you can determine which app is consuming most of the resources and terminate that app to prevent your Mac from freezing or crashing.

Internet or Bluetooth doesn't work

An unresponsive internet or Bluetooth can usually be fixed by just restarting your Mac. If that doesn't resolve the issue:

1. Clear all apps and connect to the network if you can.
2. Press and hold Option, then click on the Wi-Fi icon.
3. Click on Open Wireless Diagnostics and let the test run.
   

   common-macOS-problems-1© Provided by XDA Developers
4. On the screen that follows, select Monitor my Wi-Fi connection if the issue is intermittent. If there's no internet whatsoever, select Continue to summary and then Continue.
   

   Wireless diagnostics tool on macOS with buttons to continue or start again© Provided by XDA Developers

The summary will provide information about the networks, including the performance, quality, and strength of the current network and any other Wi-Fi networks nearby. It will also use a tool called Sniffer to detect the congestion on your existing network and also the available bandwidth.

If you still cannot identify the issue, then reset the SMC and restart the Mac in Safe Mode to see if the issue persists. If that's the case, the problem might not be very common, and you might need to get the Mac serviced.

There's no audio

If a restart doesn't fix issues related to audio, reset the NVRAM, reset the SMC, and try again by booting in Safe Mode. If your Mac still has problems with audio even in Safe Mode, take the Mac in for service.

Battery doesn't charge, or other power-related problems on Mac

Issues with the battery can usually be fixed by resetting the SMC. Once you do that, make sure that you have the original charging or power accessories, and you will also want to verify they are functional of course. If you're using a MacBook with a built-in battery, you can check the battery health from System Settings.

1. Press the Apple icon in the menu bar and open System Settings.
2. Scroll to Battery. Select the i button beside Battery Health.
   

   common-macOS-problems-2© Provided by XDA Developers
3. You may see a message if your Mac battery needs to be replaced.
   

   common-macOS-problems-3© Provided by XDA Developers

Another way to cross-check battery health is by installing the Battery Health — Monitor Stats app on your MacBook. This will give you detailed stats, including the total number of charging cycles, the existing battery capacity, and the percentage deterioration in battery health.

MacBook Pro Touch Bar not working or not responding

If you own a MacBook Pro model with a Touch Bar, you might encounter a situation when it freezes or disappears (goes dark). This can be one of the most challenging yet common Mac problems, as the Touch Bar has vital controls such as volume and brightness, and even the Escape key on some models.

To restart an unresponsive or masked Touch Bar:

1. Open Terminal using Spotlight or Launchpad.
2. Type sudo pkill TouchBarServer and press Return.
3. Then type sudo killall "ControlStrip" and press Return.
4. Enter your password if prompted by Terminal. Do note that the password will not show (not even with asterisks) when you type it.
5. Press Return after you enter the password for authorization.
   

   Terminal window on macOS displaying commands to reset Touch Bar© Provided by XDA Developers

Hopefully, these steps should fix the Touch Bar, but if they don't, then reset the NVRAM, reset the SMC, and restart the Mac to see if that helps.

How to restart your Mac

Restarting your Mac can fix a lot of temporary issues or malfunctions in macOS. To restart your Mac:

1. Click on the Apple Logo at the top left of the screen.
2. Tap on Restart.
   

   common-macOS-problems-4© Provided by XDA Developers
3. Hit the Restart button again to confirm.

If your Mac is still unresponsive or has frozen, long-press the Power button for about 10 seconds, and that should restart the Mac. Before restarting your Mac, though, make sure you've saved any open files and ejected external drives and media.

How to reset NVRAM

NVRAM, short for non-volatile random-access memory, is a small portion of Mac's memory used to store the information required while booting. NVRAM on Mac stores information such as the preferred startup disk, speaker volume, display resolution, time zone, etc. The non-volatility of the memory ensures that the data it stores stays even when you power off the Mac.

NVRAM on Mac seldom malfunctions, but you might come across signs such as a question mark while macOS is booting or issues like an incorrect startup disk, incorrect display resolution, no volume, etc. In those cases, you would need to reset the NVRAM.

To reset the NVRAM:

1. First, shut down your Mac.
2. Press Option + Command + P + R and keep holding them until you hear the boot chime on your Mac.
3. On new MacBook models or other Mac computers that feature Apple's T2 security chip, keep the keys pressed until the Apple logo appears and disappears twice.

Once the Mac boots up, go to System Settings and fix any previously affected setting. These steps should be able to fix some common and widespread problems with audio, startup disk, display resolution, etc. on your Mac.

How to reset SMC

System Management Controller, abbreviated as SMC, manages aspects related to the power, the power button, any accessories connected via USB ports, batteries, fans, thermal performance on Mac, and other features such as ambient sensors and automatic keyboard lighting on MacBook devices. Resetting the SMC is a good way to purge your Mac of bugs or issues related to the elements mentioned above.

To reset the SMC on an older Mac:

1. Power off your Mac.
2. Press the Left Shift + Left Option + Left Control on the keyboard and hold down.
3. Press the Power button and hold down.
4. Keep holding all four keys for 10-15 seconds. In this duration, the Mac is likely to remain switched off. If the Mac turns on when pressing the three keys, it will turn off when you press the Power button.
5. After 15 seconds, release all the buttons and press the power key again to start the Mac.

On Mac computers with the T2 security chip, the key combination is slightly different. For these models:

1. Press Right Shift + Left Option (Alt) + Left Control and hold down.
2. Press the Power button and hold down.
3. Keep holding all the keys for seven to 10 seconds, then release them.
4. Press the Power button to restart the Mac.

Hopefully, resetting the SMC will fix some common problems you were facing on your Mac.

How to boot your Mac in Safe Mode

Booting your Mac in Safe Mode can come in handy for checking if the issue you're facing is due to a software fault or a hardware failure. If the problems on your Mac vanish in Safe mode, it's probably a software issue and can be fixed by reinstalling macOS or other solution. However, if the issue persists in Safe Mode, it's an indication of hardware failure, and your only resort would be to take the device to an Apple service center. If you have recently had a liquid spill or drop, that may explain the hardware issue.

To boot your Mac in Safe Mode, first ensure it's shut down. Then proceed to press either of the Shift keys and then the power button.

On Macs with Apple silicon (M series):

1. Wait for 10 seconds after shutting it down.
2. Press and hold the Power button until Startup options, including the option to choose the Startup disk, appear on the screen.
3. Select your preferred Startup disk and then press and hold the Shift key.
4. When you see the option to Continue in Safe Mode, click on it and release the Shift key.
5. Log in with your credentials when the login screen appears.

How to repair a disk

If you witness any significant issues on your Mac that don't go away after multiple restarts or resetting the NVRAM and SMC, your current startup disk might have some errors, which can be the root of many disturbing but common Mac related problems. Or, if any other disk malfunctions while copying or opening files, these disks might be corrupted. To find and fix errors on a disk, you can use Disk Utility.

If that method doesn't work for you, there's another you can follow. To start with the process:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. If you own an Apple Silicon (M series) Mac:
   1. Press and hold the Power button until Startup options become visible.
   2. Click the gear-shaped icon called Options.
   3. Click Continue.
3. If you own an Intel Mac:
   1. Press Command + R to boot into recovery.
4. In this menu, click on Disk Utility.
5. In Disk Utility, click on the View button on top and then click on Show All Devices. This will list all partitions in the Sidebar.
6. Choose the disk you wish to repair and click on First Aid near the top of the window.
7. This will run a diagnostics test on the selected disk.
8. Run the same test for all disks you think could be causing the issue. If you don't know how to proceed, use this order: start with volumes, then containers, and then individual disks.

How to clear the cache on macOS

Your Mac can slow down as it ages because of a full data cache. In addition to keeping the RAM clogged, the cache can also take up considerable space in the storage. This is one of the most common Mac problems, especially if you use an old MacBook model. So to clear out the cache on your Mac:

1. Make sure you are either on the desktop or in Finder.
2. Click on Go in the Menu bar up top, then select Go to folder.
3. In the dialog box that appears, you will see an empty text field. Enter "~/Library/Caches/" in this text field and click on Go.
   

   Entering the cache folder's path in Finder© Provided by XDA Developers
4. This will open up the folder where all of your Mac's cache is stored. Select all files by pressing Command + A on the keyboard and then delete them by pressing Command + Delete or dragging all of these files into the bin.
   

   Cache folder in Finder© Provided by XDA Developers

If you want to take the automatic route while deleting an application, here is how to completely uninstall an app on Mac and delete all junk files.

Enjoy a smooth macOS experience

We hope this article gives you a good head start on your first experience troubleshooting a Mac computer. Remember, while most of the features listed in the first part of the article are identical across the eras, you might need to proceed differently while troubleshooting common Mac problems if you own an Intel Mac versus if you own an Apple Silicon Mac.