stopping sharingd from loading / consuming 100% of CPU

Question

stopping sharingd from loading / consuming 100% of CPU

Hello,

The sharingd process generally seems to take up 90-100% of my CPU.

I am running macOS Catalina on a late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina.

To stop this process, I have already disabled file sharing in system preferences -> sharing. In fact no sharing whatsoever is allowed.

I have also pasted the following command into the terminal: defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser DisableAirDrop -bool YES

Yet this process continues to consume 90-100% of my CPU.

Can I somehow stop this process from even loading at all?

I have no interest in AirDrop file sharing, connecting to shared computers, accessing remote disks, ....

Thank you,

Lukas

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 10, 2020 12:17 PM

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Answer 1

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Apr 12, 2020 4:07 PM in response to stephan klein

Hi stephan klein,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities! I understand when viewing Activity Monitor on your Mac, that a sharing process appears to be using 90-100% CPU. I'd like to help out.

It sounds like you took steps to quit the sharing process, yet it continues to use the same CPU on your Mac: How to use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support.

Do you recall when this behavior first presented? Were there any changes, or additions to your Mac around that same time, such as new applications or software installed?

I'd like to isolate this behavior further. Let's have you boot up into safe mode. It’s a way to start up your Mac so it performs certain checks, repairs, emptying of system cache, and prevents some software from automatically loading: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support. Once in safe mode, check to see if the same behavior continues. Sometimes safe mode can successfully resolve some issues. With this being said, after testing in safe mode, restart and log in as normal to see if that helps resolve the issue.

If the issue remains, I will have you test a new user account next, to isolate if this is a user-specific issue, or a system-wide issue. Here’s how: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support.

Keep me posted on the results, if you need continued support.

Regards.

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Answer 2

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Apr 13, 2020 3:31 PM in response to stephan klein

Lukas,

Thanks for trying out those steps and reporting back with results and more information. Let's continue.

You mentioned this overheating happens with certain applications. Which applications in particular? Based on the details shared, it's assumed if you feel your Mac is overheating, the fans are running at higher speeds than normal: About fans and fan noise in your Apple product - Apple Support. Let's have you reset the SMC to help with this behavior: How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support.

Also, in regards to the mentioned virus-scanning software, it would not be recommended to install any types of additional software related to anti-virus, as macOS has built-in protection already: macOS - Security - Apple. If you are concerned about malware, learn more about protecting your Mac from malware in this article: Protect your Mac from malware - Apple Support. I would recommend fully uninstalling any additional virus-related software you may have added to your Mac, and I, instead, invite you to use Malwarebytes Cybersecurity for Home and Business | Malwarebytes to scan for any malicious software on your Mac. This is one Apple recommends when searching for and removing malicious items. Give that a go, and see if this helps the performance of your Mac.

Since you mentioned the sharingd process was not present in a new user account, let's have you test your login items, to see if any relate to this process in your existing, affected user account. This article has a different title than what you are experiencing, but it will walk you through how to test your login items: If your Mac has a blue screen or other startup problems - Apple Support.

Let us know if any of these steps help stop that process. Thank you for your time.

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Answer 3

Teddy_B

Community Specialist

Apr 16, 2020 5:22 PM in response to stephan klein

Lukas,

These details are appreciated.

The sharingd process may be related to the following: AirDrop, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and Shared computers. Please take a look over the articles below, which discuss each one of these features, and test each feature to determine if it relates to the performance concerns you are experiencing.

-Use AirDrop on your Mac - Apple Support.

-Use Handoff to continue a task on your other devices - Apple Support.

-Instant Hotspot on your Mac - Apple Support.

-Connect your Mac to shared computers and servers - Apple Support.

Thank you for your time.

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Answer 4

Apr 13, 2020 9:10 AM in response to stephan klein

Dear Brenden,

Thanks for your help!

I followed the steps you outlined :

· starting in safe mode did not resolve the issue

· starting with a new account did:

· sharingd hardly figured at all in CPU usage

· also, the PC temperature seemed much better controlled - I was able to preform some tasks which would have led to rapid overheating under my usual user account

I don't know when the problems started exactly. I first noticed a problem with the laptop overheating about 2 years ago with certain applications. I did not think much of it, and my 'solution' was to simply avoid such tasks, until it became more of an issue recently (I need to use video conferencing for my work).

One other point of note : I suspected malware, so I am now running virus-scanning software which does not show any threats.

That said, it is bizarre that I seem to show up as "Stephan" on this forum - my name is Lukas, and I am pretty sure that's how I'm registered.

How do I now proceed?

Many thanks,

Lukas

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Answer 5

Apr 16, 2020 2:04 AM in response to chris_g1

Hello Chris,

Thank you for your reply.

I have reset the SMC as you suggested.

The fan speed is usually around 2100 RPM, but they do go higher once the computer starts heating up - once CPU temperatures approach 90C (Temperature Gauge 4.1) or so they rev up to 4000 RPM or so (or higher). The behaviour post reset seems similar.

Three examples of what rises CPU temperatures:

analyse chess games using chess engine (lichess.org) in internet browser (chrome)
view internet news sites which are add / video intensive (for example UK "tabloid" newspapers)

These are things I just avoided, however, I also found that CPU temperatures rise if I use

video conferencing - both web based and application based (and I need this)

I views login items as you suggested. There are no login items.

Please note that the process sharingd appears for both my default account (admin) and the new account I created, but in the latter it does not take up any CPU, whereas it does in the former.

Even as sharingd has a high %CPU, it seems that the CPU load is nonetheless low (this was also the case previously).

I installed the free version of Malwarebytes and scanned the computer - no threats or PUPs were detected.

Again, thank you for your help!

Kind regards,

Lukas

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Answer 6

Apr 16, 2020 2:09 AM in response to stephan klein

PS - Perhaps irrelevant, but I find it odd that nothing appears in "login items" - after all 'Temperature Gauge 4.1' does appear in the menu bar automatically (as does anti virus software after I installed it).

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Answer 7

Apr 20, 2020 8:01 AM in response to Teddy_B

Hello,

Thank you for your input!

I went through the list:

Airdrop - in my default / administrator account (the one causing trouble), I do not find "Airdrop" in the "Go" menu. It does appear in the not troubled newly created account
I have now turned off handoff (it was on previously)
I have used hotspot before (accessing internet from my computer via my mobile), but none seem to be active at the moment as far as I can tell
with regards to the last article - connecting my Mac to shared computers - it does not appear as though I am connected to anything besides my Wifi router (In finder -> network I see one item, and this looks like the name of the wifi router model my internet provider sent me) - the article explains how to connect, not how to disconnect, so I am not 100% certain here

I find it odd that I cannot see Airdrop in the Go menu. I don't see it even if I hold down the option key.

Thank you,

Lukas

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Answer 8

MoonJ.

Community Specialist

Apr 20, 2020 3:36 PM in response to stephan klein

Lukas,

We thank you for your time spent diving into this issue here in the Apple Support Communities!

If you went through the steps in the last article, but did not see any computers or servers showing connected under the given Finder section, then it would be assumed you do not have any connected. Make note as to whether disabling any of the other used services mentioned, made a positive impact in your Mac performance.

In regard to AirDrop not showing up under Finder > Go, it sounds like AirDrop was removed from the Sidebar in this user account. To put it back, you would do the following: Open Finder > Preferences (from Finder menu in menu bar) > Sidebar > add a check in the box next to AirDrop > close Preferences window. That should put AirDrop back on the Finder sidebar for you.

Focusing back to the issue at hand with your Mac performance, a recommendation to reach out to Apple Support directly to continue investigating this behavior, would be the best next step. You can reach out to them using this link, please: Contact - Official Apple Support.

Thank you again for your time working with us. Take care.

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Answer 9

Apr 13, 2020 9:11 AM in response to stephan klein

Please note that login in with my usual profile leads to the same problems

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Answer 10

Apr 28, 2020 7:10 AM in response to MoonJ.

Thank you for your help.

I will contact Apple Support!

One quick last question with regards to AirDrop - it does not show up in Finder -> Preferences -> Sidebar

Thank you,

Lukas

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stopping sharingd from loading / consuming 100% of CPU

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