coreaudiod Process Problem

Question

coreaudiod Process Problem

This has been going on at least as long as I've been using macOS Monterey. I can't remember if it was going on with the previous OS. This seems to start when I am using the tv app on macOS and then go to the store tab and click on a film there to purchase and it will be playing a movie preview in the window. Then coreaudiod process will spike the CPU at 200% or more and cause the temp to rise so high.

I will quit the app but it will continue, I will even force quit the process but it comes right back still at 170% or higher. I'm using the current Mac OS Monterey 12.3.1 on a 2018 Mac mini i3 with 32GB or RAM. Sometimes I will walk away from my Mac with that store tab still on the screen, only to come back and see my Mac has been cooking away so hot ever since I left. I use iStat Menus which thankfully has saved me many times to let me know my temp is so high.

Seems like a bad bug in the OS or TV app but wish I knew how to fix it. I tried looking for answers online but seems that process comes up for a lot of things. All was quiet now then I just went to the store tab on the TV app again and clicked on a film to view the price where it shows a preview, and now my CPU is spiked again with that coreaudiod using 170% and my CPU nearing 70C again.

I quit the TV app and it starts to fall in CPU usage a bit but still using 80% CPU and temps are still hot. I don't understand why this is necessary causing so much CPU usage and heat just when using the store in the TV app. A few minutes later now and CPU is back to normal after quitting the TV app.

I feel like I have to always be watching this app and process since my Mac mini will run away into a heat soaked process for so long, one time it was going on for 3 hours. Sorry if this isn't so much a question. I'm only asking to see if someone else has this issue or can let me understand why this process is doing this when I use the store tab in the TV app.

Mac mini, macOS 12.3

Posted on Apr 29, 2022 8:38 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Lissy_12

Community Specialist

Apr 30, 2022 12:19 PM in response to forever_adrift

Hi forever_adrift,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities! Quitting the app was good step. Have you also restarted your Mac since this issue began? If not, we would also recommend that step along with a reset of the SMC that may help. As noted in the following article "The system management controller (SMC) controls how your Mac manages power. Resetting the SMC can resolve certain issues related to power, battery, fans, and other features.":

How to reset the SMC of your Mac

Hope this helps!

Have a great day.

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Answer 2

May 1, 2022 9:33 AM in response to PRP_53

Oh dear... I suspected something since I unplugged my headphones from the Mac so I could hear the start up tone on the Mac mini when using safe mode. So I just plugged in my headphones now, did nothing else, nothing to do with the TV app and right away coreaudiod peaked and is doing it again constant 170% of CPU use on 4 cores. I unplugged the headphones and now its 70% use on cores. Even though I have the headphones unplugged the process is still peaked on two cores using 70% CPU. Then I quit the tv app just to see and then and only then did the coreaudiod process stop its hogging of resources.

I'm using a simple pair of stereo headphones just the Grado Labs SR60i's. Nothing fancy. Sad just seeing them plug into my Mac mini is now what causes this issue. I just plugged them in again to see if it repeats and yes right away not even with the tv app running its peaked the CPU on all 4 cores again 140%. I unplug them and goes back to two cores 70% then quits the process. This is annoying but at least I see the cause now or what kicks off this issue.

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Answer 3

May 1, 2022 11:37 AM in response to Lissy_12

Sorry to reply again Lissy_12,

I tried all kinds of things today but found just plugging in my headphones to the Mac mini caused coreaudiod to spike and not come down. So I did another SMC reset today and now its acting normal. When I plug them in coreaudiod shows up just for a second or two then drops away, unlike before where it would cause the process to use all cores and hold the CPU at 170-200% causing a lot of heat. Thank you so much for telling me to try resetting the SMC.

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Answer 4

PRP_53

Level 10

85,525 points

May 1, 2022 7:33 AM in response to forever_adrift

1 - Suggest restarting in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.

2 - Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.

3 - Does the issue present in this mode ?

4 - If not - there could be something in the main User Account playing up. To further isolate this - Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac. Then log out of the Main User account and log into the dummy account and test again if the issue persists.

5 - If the issue is present in the dummy account - then, this appears to be a System Wide issue on the computer.

6 - If after performing each of the above steps is the order that have been presents and still have issues - please advise for possible further assistance.

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Answer 5

karina184

Community Specialist

May 1, 2022 7:42 AM in response to forever_adrift

Hi forever_adrift,

Thanks for that additional information. If you do decide you want to look into this a little deeper with us, one step that would help in isolating the issue would be to create a new user account and see if you receive the same results. Here's how to set up a new account on the Mac: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.

Cheers!

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Answer 6

May 1, 2022 7:30 AM in response to Lissy_12

Thank you for your reply. I feel a bit bad for posting this here since I know its more a issue that needs fixed in the OS or app. I have restarted since this problem has been going on for months for me. I think most people don't notice unless they use an app like iStat Menus where I can see the CPU and temperature in my menu bar. Most people wouldn't notice the temperature so high for so long.

I did previously try to SMC reset but still I have this issue when viewing movies or tv shows to buy in the TV App Store on MacOS. Wish I had another Mac so I could run the public beta's and use that way or reporting this trouble instead. I did replace the thermal paste on my Mac mini with Arctic MX-5 though and it helped reduce temps by almost 20C. So at least now my Mac mini isn't as hot when that coreaudiod process is running away causing so much heat. I just try to be aware of it and close out the app after looking for a show or movie to buy. Then it slowly calms down. If I leave the app open though it can continue to work away for no reason it seems even if I'm not at the computer anymore.

I will mark this as solved though since I know its hard to fix this issue here. Thank you once again for your reply. I will try to solve this on my own by trying other things but in the end maybe its something not related to me.

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Answer 7

May 1, 2022 8:03 AM in response to karina184

Thank you Karina,

I actually run 3 users on this mini already but I will look into if this happens on all users. Just waiting for a video file to export now so have to wait a bit. I did do a complete wipe of the mini and new install of the current macOS only a few weeks ago also. Since I had a previous issue then with the tv app. Must be hard now with two different CPU's in use with Intel and M1. I will try what you said once this export is done. I like to buy a lot of shows from apple iTunes so this has made the experience more stressful lately. Seems when you go to a movie to buy and its showing the previous of it in the background in the app, that's when the coreaudiod thing kicks in but should just drop when I go back to view more movies to buy. But it will stays using so much of my CPU.

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Answer 8

May 1, 2022 8:06 AM in response to PRP_53

Thank you P. Phillips,

I will try this in a bit. I think you helped me last time I was having trouble with the tv app and the home videos area. I did a complete wipe and fresh install then of the current macOS 12.3.1 and that fixed the problem. I just have to wait for a video I am exporting now which will take about a hour then will try what you said. I have a couple other users also so will check them and if this happens also. This issue isn't new to me though with the fresh install, its been a thing since Monterey came out. I will report back in a hour or so. Thanks again.

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Answer 9

May 1, 2022 9:08 AM in response to PRP_53

Thank you P. Phillips,

Interesting results. I did restart in safe mode like you said. Unfortunately iStat Menus doesn't run then so used Activity Monitor to see if coreaudiod was running or CPU activity. I ran the TV app then went to the Store tab then a movie but preview videos didn't seem to play. Not all films have a preview but tried a few. Not sure if it was due to being in safe mode. I restarted after that though and then started the TV app and went to Store then a movie and when it played a video preview there coreaudiod did start up in process but using very little resources like less than 4% and when I went back to the previous Store page the process went down to no use at all.

I also logged into another user and tried the TV app there, same result. The coreaudiod process isn't running away taking up resources now. I forget who replied here saying even restarting to safe mode can help fix things. Seems better now.

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