Google Drive CPU usage is high after upgrading to Sequoia

I noticed the same thing on a 13'' M2 MBP running Sequoia. Whenever I connect my external monitor the CPU usage of Google Drive goes up to 40-50%. It drops to almost 0% when I disconnect the drive. This happens consistently and must be at least part of the problem. Maybe Google Drive thinks the monitor is an external disk that it tries to scan?

Yesterday I opened a case at Google Drive Support and they replied needing more information, which I did. I sent them a PDF with a lot of screenshots and an explanation about this issue.

Let's wait and see what happens...

Keep you informed.

After opening a case at the Google Drive Team 3 days ago and being in contact with them since, I got this answer from them:

Quote:

"We've been made aware of the issue you're facing with Drive for Desktop. We want to inform you that a workaround for this issue will be included in an upcoming version of the Drive for Desktop app.

We don't have a specific timeline for the release of this update at this time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience."

I have stumbled upon the same issue. The difference is, I'm running macOS Sequoia on a bit ancient Mac Book Air 2020 with Intel Dual-Core i3 processor.

So, I could confirm that this does not affect just Apple Silicon, but Intel-based Macs as well.

The symptoms are the same, as described by other users:

1. When my Mac is on battery only and no external display is connected, the Google Drive App does not consume any visible CPU cycles.
2. Once connected to my external monitor via a PD USB-C hub, immediately the Google Drive App starts consuming a lot of the processor time, without any obvious reason.
3. I've already sent a feedback to Google via the Options menu where I've included diagnostics information as well. Hopefully they'll be able to fix this soon.

For anyone interested. I'm running Intel-based (Dual-Core i3) Mac Book Air with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. So far the upgrade experience from Sonoma was very pleasant. The two hitches I've discovered:

1. The current issue with Google Drive Desktop App
2. I have issues with my USB Digital Signature - I'll have to address them with the Signature's Provider.

All in all the experience is similarly good as the upgrade from Ventura to Sonoma.

cpharvey65 wrote:

HRT3039 wrote:

I noticed the same thing on a 13'' M2 MBP running Sequoia. Whenever I connect my external monitor the CPU usage of Google Drive goes up to 40-50%. It drops to almost 0% when I disconnect the drive. This happens consistently and must be at least part of the problem. Maybe Google Drive thinks the monitor is an external disk that it tries to scan?

Confirmed here too! As soon as I unplugged my monitors the CPU drop to almost nothing.

Definitely more research needed here!

Further research. My m2 mac is using the built-in HDMI port for one monitor and a USB-C port (converted to HDMI via a dongle) for my second monitor.

I discovered that having the HDMI monitor connected has the cpu use at around 60%, where as having the USB-C monitor connected drops it to 20%. Having both, puts it back to 60% (or thereabouts).

So external monitors are clearly the issue, but HDMI being the worst.

Same. It seems related to the number of external screens currently connected. I disconnected one of my external screens (that uses HDMI) and the cpu usage went down, then connected it back in and it cpu usage went up. Screens connected through USB don't matter for some reason though.

So I opened a case with Google, that is an hour of my life that I'll never get back. I shared all details, then outlined all detail again, then shared 8 different screen shots and screen recording videos of the issue.

I stated clearly this is specifically to do with Google Drive and if an external monitor is connected. They wouldn't accept this is a bug, confirmed specifically and clearly the high CPU is by design and it isn't an issue. I'm left knowing that I won't be continuing to use (and pay for) Google services, I don't really like the business model but the feature set made up for that......however this experience has left me with the clear knowledge that Google has no interest in serving customers for what I believe is a widespread issue that impacts all users with macOS 15 who use external monitors. The big thing is that most people wouldn't notice this issue........

Google refused to accept this is a bug, after I provided the correct evidence.

Google refused to provide an escalation option and just soft closed the ticket and ignored me.

Here are some direct quotes from the transcript (I was going to post some of the screenshots, but unsure if that is a good idea):

<snip> Recommended I removed files from getting sync'd (I've basically got none sync'd only streaming)

Google Drive may consume a large amount of CPU for a number of reasons, including:

Syncing folders

Google Drive may be set to mirror files, which can take up a lot of space. To change this, you can: 

1. Open Google Drive for Desktop 

2. Click Settings and Preferences 

3. Click on your My Computer section 

4. Unselect the folders you don't want to be synced

<snip> Tried to suggest it was due to an initial sync or that I was syncing too much content

"Based here, depending on your network connection and computer preferences, Google Drive may consume a large amount of CPU to complete its initial sync. If your CPU usage becomes too high, try quitting and restarting the application. You can always customize your sync experience by choosing what syncs to your computer."

<snip> tried to get me to use a different google app

"Since the issue is repeatable and non-variable, it’s worth checking if the Google Drive File Stream (instead of the full desktop app) has a better performance. Google Drive File Stream might behave differently and use less CPU in certain situations."

<snip> tried to blame Apple and get me to ask for support from "macOS"

"Since you mentioned that the issue occurs when the system is idle but only when the external monitor is connected, this suggests that the high CPU usage could be related to how macOS handles display rendering or window management with Google Drive running. Specifically, WindowServer (which handles window management and display rendering) can consume a lot of CPU when there's a heavy graphic load from an external monitor or multiple monitors."

"In that case, you need to contact the support from MacOS."

<snip> they tried to suggest this was just normal CPU

Please note that even with backup disabled, Google Drive can still use system resources, which can lead to higher CPU usage. This is because Google Drive continuously manages the connection between your local files and the cloud, monitors changes, and ensures that files are accessible and synced when needed.

"Even if you're not actively backing up or syncing files, Google Drive is still working in the background to maintain the connection and optimize the performance of file access, which can cause periodic CPU spikes. This behavior is normal and is part of how Google Drive operates to ensure seamless file management."

<snip> Told me to use Google Drive website

"In this, i suggest to use the Google Drive website because we cannot control the higher usage of the Google Drive app"

<snip> Told me no bug, that Google Drive is working as intended

That said, this behavior isn't ideal, and I can understand why you'd expect the CPU usage to drop more significantly with syncing paused. This issue has been reported by others as well, and it could be related to how Google Drive interacts with certain system configurations, particularly on macOS.

There's no bug on Google Drive for desktop 

That is work as intended.

If you don't want to use the Drive for desktop you can switch to Google Drive web

I then asked for escalation several times, or other options. They just referenced that I could use Google Drive website and closed the call.

I replaced Google Drive with Mountain Duck. Solved the problem.

I thought I was going insane... glad to see others are having this issue:

M1 Pro, GD 99.0, same issue. 40-55% when an external display is connected. 0% when not.

I'm shocked Google let this issue continue for as long as it has.

Same here.

MacOS 15.1

Macbook air M2

Using external hdmi with monitor gets gdrive to 40-50%.

Interesting is that GOOGLE MEETS goes crazy too... system seems to get overloaded and then Google Meets get connection delays, making impossible to continue it use.

I turn off google drive and things get better, but still with connection delays.

I tested using the same network with google meets in other two devices, an android phone and a windows laptop, and both works fine.

Using other apps, as Zoom or Teams and all goes well.

Not sure what is happening, but there are some imcompatibilities within MacOS15.1 and google apps.

I provided feedback to the Google Drive team via the settings in the desktop app. I assume that the more feedback they get, the more attention the issue will get, so has everyone done this?

I have a 14" M1 MBP, same issue after upgrading to Sequoi. I often run with an external monitor, and I have noticed that when I do not run with 2 monitors (either closing the lid on the MPB, or unplugging the external monitor), google drive drops to just about zero. It seems odd that use of second monitor can impact the cpu utilization of Drive.

Seems to be the same for me too, anywhere between 49-70% cpu at all times. I uninstalled and re-installed, and it made no difference. I did note however the re-install had all the same account preferences, making me think that the uninstall didn't entirely clear out all preferences, which may be a factor.