Mac keeps freezing or showing the spinning wheel? 8 fixes

howtosimply.com/guides/mac-keeps-freezing-or-showing-the-spinning-wheel-8-fixes/ · Checked 4 October 2026 · MacBook Pro · macOS Tahoe 26

4 of 8 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS Tahoe 26 (MacBook Pro)

App

System Settings

Real screenshots

4 of 8 steps

Checked

4 October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. Wait a moment

   Give the app up to a minute. It may be finishing a large task.

   Done

2. Force quit the app

   Press Option + Command + Esc, select the app marked "not responding" and click Force Quit.

   Done

3. 

   Restart the Mac

   Click the Apple menu and choose Restart. If nothing responds, hold the power button for ten seconds.

   Done

4. 

   Check memory

   Open Activity Monitor and click Memory. A yellow or red Memory Pressure graph means too much is open. Close apps and browser tabs.

   Done

5. Free up storage

   macOS needs free disk space to work. Keep at least 10% free: how to check and free up storage on a Mac.

   Done

6. 

   Update the app and macOS

   Old versions of apps often freeze on a newer macOS.

   Done

7. Disconnect accessories

   A failing external drive can make the whole Mac wait. Eject and unplug it to test.

   Done

8. 

   Test in safe mode

   Start in safe mode, which loads only essential software. If the Mac is stable there, a login item or extension is the cause. Remove recent additions under System Settings, General, Login Items & Extensions.

   Done

What we saw on our device

• Force quit the app: On our MacBook Neo the window says: If an app doesn't respond for a while, select its name and click Relaunch.
• Check memory: On our MacBook Neo, with 8 GB and Chrome, Xcode and Claude open, the graph was yellow, Memory Used showed 6,97 GB and Swap Used 2,75 GB.
• Test in safe mode, then check Login Items: On our MacBook Neo that page lists Claude under Open at Login and four apps under Background App Activity.

About this guide

The spinning coloured wheel means an app is busy and not responding. Occasionally is normal. If it happens often, the Mac is short of memory or disk space, or one app is faulty.

Good to know

If the wheel appears mainly in one app, reinstall that app.

Run First Aid on the disk: open Disk Utility, select the startup volume and click First Aid.

More causes of a slow Mac: Mac running slow.

In short: Force quit, restart, check memory and storage, update.