Slow performance from new macbook pro m1 ?

Same story here.

I´ve got the MBA with 16GB RAM, 8 core GPU and 512 GB SSD. While performance on Lightroom and Resolve was very good, overall speed was just OK (same or a little bit slower than my i7 8700k with Samsung M2 SSD). I was a little bit disappointed because all the reviewers called it super snappy even against the Mac Pro and I thought this would also be true in my case.

But I had some serious issues with network and the finder. Finder performance was very bad an every folder took some time to open up the first time. No matter if stored local on the mac´s SSD or on my Synology NAS. Yesterday I had the issue, that I couldn´t create a PDF out of a Microsoft Word File and store it on my NAS. Finder and Word had some kind of freeze for about 5 minutes and then it finished. Local on my SSD it had no issue at all. I also had issues with wired LAN connection using a USB-C Adapter (slow connection, no IP, always using WIFI instead even with changed ranking). The Adapter worked perfectly on my Windows-Machine and I´ve got a pretty decent home network with a Synology DS1817 and an Unfi Ecosystem with the Dreammachine Pro and some switches as well as the new Unfi 6 Lite access points. So I decided to erase the disk of my MBA and give it another try (I really liked the machine so far but this issues were driving me nuts and I really thought about returning it and forget about Apple once an for all - this is my first mac and I´ve always been a die-hard windows user but the m1 seems to be just the machine I´ve been waiting forever).

Long story short: After deleting the hard drive and reinstalling Big Sur 11.2.3 the macbook air is just flying. Super snappy performance. Finder works like a breeze with local files and on my NAS with wifi and cable connection. PDF creation works as it should and the LAN connection gets priority and maxes out GB-speed. Installed my apps slowely after and after just in case the weird behavior would coma back so I know where to search for the issue.

No problems at all. One thing I didn´t do was to enable FileVault. Should make no difference since it only affects boot time and the CPU is capable enough to manage decryption but you never know. Despite the soldered SSD it´s not possible to remove it and plug it into another computer like in the old days. Maybe I´ll acitvate it later but for now I´ll keep it off and watch the machines behavior when doing some real world usage again.

So I have no idea if the previous version of my MBA´s OS had some issues or the first software update caused some troubles (updated the machine just after turning it on). Maybe I did something wrong when setting it up an installing all the apps (remember apple newby and trying a lot of things) or it´s really FileVault.

I´m glad that my machine is working fine now and all of my hopes came true.

Maybe I can help someone with the same issues and bringing back the fun with this great machines.

Cheers,

Tom

As your Mac is brand new, only one thing can be done to test it, which is to reinstall macOS.

So create a bootable installer How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Restart your Mac, press and hold the Power button.

Select the installer and wait it to load.

The first load is probably straight to Big Sur installation, but we want to clean the disk first, so click Install macOS Big Sur on the Menu Bar and quit the installation, then you'll be taken to that more classic menu of Recovery Mode.

Open Disk Utility and erase Mac's internal disk, everything.

Close DU and choose reinstall macOS.

Proceed as requested by the installer.

If the problem persist after a fresh install, wait no more. Call Apple Support, tell them about your issue and take it to an Apple Store or Authorized for a proper action.

I am the same poster as Dan_0315. I wanted to write an update on my experience. I must have not done something right in my first fresh install of my base MBA, but two weeks ago, I did another fresh install and all is good now. Super snappy, everything is zoom zoom. Very very satisfied and if things stay this way (i am assuming it will), super happy with everything. Complete fresh install of the OS, as people have suggested is the key. Migration just bogs everything down. Good luck all.

Sucks and surprising at the same time to hear these issues. I was in the same frustrated camp when i first bought my base MBA in early summer. I used the backup method to transfer my data to the new mac and it was so sluggish off the bat. I was about to return it after 10 days of use but decided to wipe it and reinstall Mac OS from scratch. And perfect now. Fast as it is supposed to be. Currently, I have 10 tabs open on Chrome and 8 on Edge. No problems at all. I am just a regular run of the mill office worker, no programming, but I like to keep a ton of tabs open, use apple music or spotify in the background. When I watch Netflix HBO Max or Disney plus, i keep all my tabs open. No slow down. ONly other apps I keep open are Slack, Everynote and dropbox.

I found that erasing and setting up as new made a TREMENDOUS difference. I initially restored from Time Machine backup.

In my case the problems occure with every OS update. First with 11.2.2. and then with 11.2.3.

After a complete reinstall with the latest OS version beeing downloaded the machine works fine. But I disabled the automatic update and won´t install a new version for the next few weeks or months..

Cheers,

Tom

There are NO pervasive reports of slowness on M1 Macs attributable to slow CPU or GPU performance. There are a very small number of reports of Hardware issues.

There are lots of reports from users on all sorts of Macs who have ruined their performance by installing aftermarket software such as Virus scanners, File Sync-ers ported form Windows (not Mac-native), speeder-uppers, and "optimizers".

--------

This thread is already too long to provide personalized advice. Anyone who wants a personal assessment is invited to start a new Thread and post your Mac model, your MacOS version, How much RAM is installed and an Etrecheck report.

Using EtreCheck to Troubleshoot Potential… - Apple Community

.

There are NO pervasive reports of slowness on M1 Macs attributable to slow CPU or GPU performance. There are a very small number of reports of Hardware issues.

There are lots of reports from users on all sorts of Macs who have ruined their performance by installing aftermarket software such as Virus scanners, File Sync-ers ported form Windows (not Mac-native), speeder-uppers, and "optimizers".

--------

This thread is already too long to provide personalized advice. Anyone who wants a personal assessment is invited to start a new Thread and post your Mac model, your MacOS version, How much RAM is installed and an Etrecheck report.

Using EtreCheck to Troubleshoot Potential… - Apple Community

.

Replying to my earlier post ... After reading Grant's response, I took a careful look at my MacBook Pro and Mac Mini and realized that, out of habit, I had installed GIMP, an open-source image editor that I have used for years on my Linux boxes. I replaced it with M1-capable Pixelmator Pro and both machines took off like a Porsche leaving a stoplight.

Doing things without thinking about them has gotten me in trouble before, so it's no big surprise. Anyway, thanks for the nudge, Grant.

Big Sur '11.1' update appears to have resolved the issues :)

I now own a very fast M1 :)

Can I ask what OS you restored to?

I'm sitting at a M1 MacBook Air here. Got a custom (intel-only) video app that I saw about 70% cpu usage on. OK, I thought, not terrible, considering how unoptimised it is. Performance was smooth.

Due to some glitch in my signup that seemed to have stopped iCloud keychain from syncing, I did a complete Erase and reinstall using latest OS (Install via network) and Time Machine as source of user account.

Now I see same app use <100% CPU in Activity monitor, and drop pretty much all video frames. It makes me think there was a change or bug that has affected Rosetta performance in a major way.

macOS 11.2.1

nrsmith64 wrote:

... people have issues with the performance and would prefer assistance and correction over denial and silence.

Without any information whatsoever, neither my assertion that it could not be hardware nor your assertion that it must be inadequate hardware is likely to be completely correct.

Post your Etrecheck report, and Readers will try to understand what is happening inside your Mac.

The Trade Press thinks the M1 Mac is a very high performer, and computer-makers staying with Intel should be afraid.

Concepts of how much free storage space is required have changed dramatically. Having only 10 to 15 percent of storage free is strangling your system.

For example, MacOS requires over 9GB storage to go from cold-start to fully operational.

In my opinion, if you operate with so little storage available, you have a serious, but self-inflicted problem.

This is NOT considered a defect in MacOS or the Apple-Silicon M1. Apple will not be making changes to help you -- you have not allocated enough free storage to run properly.