Google Drive CPU usage is high after upgrading to Sequoia

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.lewis.au wrote:

Yes, interesting indeed. I have two external monitors connected via USB to a USB-C dock, which then obviously connects to my MBP via USB-C. I tried removing power from the monitors and Google Drive CPU went from 67% to 44%. I then disconnected the monitor USBs and the CPU went close to zero. The same happens when disconnecting the dock from the MBP. It seems that even though the monitors are powered down, the dock still sees that something is connected. Some monitors have inbuilt docks and can have connected storage - is this what Google Drive is perhaps looking for to give the option of backing up attached storage?

I was actually curious about this as well, so I tested it. 😉

My displays both have built-in Ethernet and USB3 and USB-C ports (although no actual "storage" on them). One of them is connected directly to my dock via a standard DisplayPort cable, and the other one was using a USB-C connection into a Thunderbolt port on the dock. This obviously exposes the monitor's USB3 hub and ethernet to the Mac through the dock.

As a test, I used a DisplayPort to USB-C adapter, and changed the monitor that had been using a direct USB-C link, over to using its standalone DisplayPort input. I did not notice any appreciable change in behavior in Google Drive when doing this, so I don't think the monitor's "extra accessories" had anything to do with the CPU usage in GDrive. It seems like it's simply the act of having "extra displays" attached is causing the problem, although I don't understand why.

Also, unlike your experience, with my system simply powering off the external displays makes a big difference in CPU usage by GDrive. I didn't have to disconnect their signal cables from the dock. It is definitely easier to see the change by simply unplugging the dock's TB4 cable though.

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

That's an interesting solution and you've got me looking into it... only concerns I have is that apparently it uses a different API to access Drive and so it may get rate limited? Additionally, I think in a Google Workspace environment, a Workspace Admin has to approve its use somehow? My main use case is (unfortunately) Workspace...

Can you still right click in Finder to get a GDrive "sharing link" when you're using Mountain Duck?

Unrelated to Mountain Duck - I upgraded to Sequoia 15.1 (just released yesterday), and the problem still persists there.

Oh my gosh! On my 2021, 16" MBPRO, I just unplugged my second monitor and BOOM! 52.2% to 0.2%! What the heck?!

It seems that version 100 finally fixes this: https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1getq07/comment/lx5712u/

!!!

The 100.0.2.0 update has fixed the issue on my system as well. The reality though, is that I've moved most things off Google Drive and no longer need to run sync automatically now, so it likely won't be running by default anyway.

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.

Yes, uninstalling the app by dragging to the bin or whatever doesn't clean out the data stored in ~/Library etc. In general, having that data still there is useful for re-installation, however in this case maybe not so much. The Google Drive data seems to be in '/Users/<user>/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS', but there might be others I haven't come across.

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.lewis.au wrote:

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?

This is the only real way to get any company's, including Apple, attention. Excellent advice.

On my Macbook Pro M3, I only see the problem if I have two or more displays active. If I unplug my external display, the problem goes away. If I plug in my external display and close the lid on the laptop (leaving only the external display active), the problem also goes away.

Try grabbing the installer from this URL instead:

This is still hosted by Google, I suspect the "5-percent" in the URL is used to help them stagger rollouts of new code somehow. When I grabbed and installed that copy I got v100.0.2.0, and the bug seems to be resolved for me. I just took this from the Reddit post earlier, this is the URL that homebrew uses to download the newest copy of the google drive client.

[Edited by Moderator]

I can confirm that upgrading the Google Drive app to version 100.0.2 has fixed the cpu usage problem for me. I was able to download it via a download link another user provided in a discussion forum, but that link has since been removed.

As bizarre as it sounds, I'm seeing the same since the upgrade. Disconnecting my external monitor drops the Google Drive CPU from around 25% to 0. Apple - are you listening?

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.