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Level 1

29 points

Slow Mac after upgrading to Sonoma 14.0 OS

My Mac has 8 GB 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM and has 3.7 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5 processor and 839.27 GB HDD space is available of 2.12 TB total storage capacity.

Ever since I upgraded my Mac OS to Sonoma 14.0, I am very much frustrated. It takes about 3-5 minutes to show up the desktop icons and there after a minute or two to make the computer usable. Once I start using it, there is lot of intollerable latency in indexing and the search results to appear.

I tried following basic things but proved to be useless:

Finder-Go-Press option key + open Library - delete contents of the folders

Cashes, Cookies, Safari, saved application state - Then log out of mac then login to empty the trash bin.

What is the solution to it? Do I have to wait for the further upgrade or live with it for ever?

iMac 27″, macOS 14.0

Posted on Oct 5, 2023 12:48 AM

Best reply

Parkersmithe121

Level 1

8 points

Posted on Mar 20, 2024 3:28 AM

I also faced this issue, I have read in this guide ( Why is Mac so Slow After MacOS Sonoma 14.0 Update: Solved in 6 steps ) that if you were on the old macOS version, everything might run smoother but since you know that macOS 14.0 Sonoma update will have the latest features and will consume more space too, so you do these things:

Close too many apps or processes running in the background, consuming CPU and memory resources. You can use Activity Monitor to check and quit the ones you don't need.
Close Startup Apps that launch automatically because this can be the main culprit of slow mac after the update.
Empty your Trash bin
Close too many browser tabs and extensions open, they can affect the performance and speed of your Mac. You can close the tabs that you are not using or switch to a lighter browser like Safari or Firefox.
Update outdated apps that cause conflicts or errors with Sonoma. You can check the compatibility of your apps from the Software Update menu and uninstall the ones that are not working properly.

If you follow these steps, your Mac will run faster and smoother after the Sonoma update ( now my macbook is running smoothly after these steps ). If you are not sure how to do them, you can refer to the guide I mentioned and follow the instructions. I hope this will help you improve your Mac performance and avoid lagging.

[Edited by Moderator]

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153 replies

kenpud

Level 1

20 points

Feb 4, 2024 4:32 PM in response to milind37

I spoke to Apple a while and the techie acknowledged the problem and said they were working on it They've since done another reissue but the problem continues. No coincidence that Apple is now using its own chip, so have they moved away from supporting the old Macs? Planned obsolescence?

brthauer

Level 1

9 points

Feb 15, 2024 11:50 AM in response to milind37

I fixed it by reformatting my Intel 2019 Mac and then reinstalling Sonoma. Everything is much faster and no more slow start up which was taking about 10 minutes. I have been very careful with what apps I’m re-downloading and keeping it basic.

Feb 15, 2024 12:25 PM in response to brthauer

That’s an interesting idea; perhaps the IPU doesn’t stage correct drivers or otherwise has metadata woes; that’s plausible.

I was seeing a ton of CPU time, go to the kernel, though, in additional cloud sync processes. That would potentially explain the ladder, though.

varuna22

Level 1

8 points

Mar 2, 2024 8:54 PM in response to milind37

Well I have a Mac with the new M1 chip purchased in October 2023 and unfortunately I can confirm that Mac OS Sonoma is also sluggish for me. This is with barely anything running on it - eg: with no programs open at all, there is a lag if you move something to the bin. Everything standard takes a few seconds longer than it used to which sounds small but it all adds up. You cannot disable apparently now compulsory features like the menu clock and despite following all recommendations from support and having nothing running aside from Pages and Numbers, it's frustratingly slow. Also, when you cut and paste paragraphs, there is something wrong with the memory so often it will paste the second to last thing you cut or copied which makes working with long documents a nightmare. There are many other glitches with Mac OS Sonoma but essentially the slowness of it is core - my Mac from 2012 was much zippier.

May 28, 2024 7:03 PM in response to milind37

Using Word Version 16.85 (24051214), Sonoma 14.5, and another computer Monterey 12.7.5

I have been trying to solve this one, but have found two key things.

1: This is not just about SONOMA for me. My 2015 Macbook air running on Monterey did exactly the same thing.

2: The problem happens both when I am using Word locally on my Macbook Air, or on my 2022 imac, as well as writing to cloud.

To investigate more, I used activity monitor. When working %CPU reading is about 20%, then after about 5 minutes, jumps to 95 - 98% and goes very slow, and never recovers.

I have tried all things I can in this thread, and nothing seems to work. This information of mine may help...

May 28, 2024 7:15 PM in response to Billy Cougar

That’s different. Check your available memory, also, check your network; are you using DNS filtering? Consider setting your DNS temporarily to cloudflare, Google or quad9, see if that alleviates. You may have a cloud sync process gone haywire.

May 30, 2024 9:35 PM in response to milind37

2019 imac 3.6ghz Quad core intel.

I have had all these issues since Sonoma upgrade !!!!! .

My conculsion ????

Its not designed to operate with older processors like my quad core intel ....

I had a vist to an Apple shop the new imac Sonoma has an Apple M3 processor , it was fast apps just snapped opened !!!! , the mail worked.

So --- we are stuck with the spinning wheel of death , apps crashing , slow start ups ...

Until we buy a new i mac.

Im sure Apple dont really care .

Mirmidon

Level 1

5 points

Jun 15, 2024 11:56 PM in response to milind37

Similar problem here. Mac M2 Pro + Sonoma 14.5

The mac is extremely slow to reboot (minutes instead of the usual 8-10 seconds), even if I close all open applications before restarting.

I also have a problem with Safari (latest update) not loading some web pages.

The system on the Mac M2 Pro is a clone (by Migration Assistant) of my Mac M1 with which I have no such problem.

chamois

Level 1

5 points

Jun 16, 2024 2:43 PM in response to kenpud

I noticed someone's system report mentioned Sound Siphon. You may want to run their uninstaller

It worked on my brother's Mac that was exhibiting the same sound and freezing issues.

[Edited by Moderator]

kenpud

Level 1

20 points

Oct 17, 2023 4:56 PM in response to milind37

Have 21.5 3.6 GHz 16GB 2400 MHz DDR4 and Having the SAME problem. VERY FRUSTRATING to have to sit and watch my iMac go through its initialization which I did not have before installing SONOMA!