6-month MacBook Pro freezing and beachballing frequently

Question

6-month MacBook Pro freezing and beachballing frequently

6 month old Macbook Pro keeps freezing and beachballing - every few minutes, for 20-30 seconds each time. It started suddenly after no issues at all for the first 6 months. Here is my EtreCheck report....I am not super tech savvy but I can navigate. Please help!

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.14 (68088)

Report generated: 2026-07-09 16:27:02

Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 5:16

Performance: Poor

Problem: Beachballing

Description:

MacBook is freezing or beach balling frequently for 20-30 seconds at a

time. It happens every few minutes, at least.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Heavy CPU usage - Some processes are using an unusually high amount of CPU.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.

SSD too slow - SSD is showing poor performance.

No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.

Heavy RAM usage - Apps are using a large amount of RAM.

Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes.

Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed.

Runaway user process - A user process is using a large percentage of your CPU.

Heavy I/O usage - Your system is under heavy I/O use. This will reduce your performance.

Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024)

Status: Supported

MacBook Pro Model: Mac16,7

Apple M4 Pro (m4 pro) CPU: 14-core

48 GB RAM - Not upgradeable

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 41

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.5

Posted on Jul 9, 2026 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 9, 2026 1:56 PM in response to scarletknight05

We would need the full report using the Additional Text option when posting. Since it has been identified that there are unsigned files installed, the full report would show those locations for removal. There is no reason to have unsigned files installed on your Mac.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

With the limited information provided, the poor SSD performance may be due to multiple syncing apps installed, such as OneDrive, Google Drive, and Adobe Sync, that are walking all over each other syncing files from changes marked by one of the other services in a never ending loop.

Some other common problems are apps such as Clean My Mac or an Antivirus scanner, but without the full report all we could do is guess. The full report also includes processes the crash or hang that can be a clue for the problem you are experiencing.

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Answer 2

Jul 9, 2026 4:04 PM in response to scarletknight05

OK, the issue is related to the spotlight indexing and here are a couple of tips:

If you use Pages, make sure you are updated to version 15.3.
Then open a Finder Window, choose the Go menu item, then Go to Folder. Enter ~/Library/Metadata/CoreSpotlight into that field and delete all files there. Don't forget the "~" character at the start of that path. If you have any Pages documents open, make sure they are all closed first so they are not currently indexing, which will prevent deleting those files.

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Answer 3

Jul 9, 2026 2:06 PM in response to scarletknight05

Full report

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Answer 4

Jul 9, 2026 2:06 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

Hi - thank you! I just posted the full report after I ran it again, and now it's different. I don't know what unsigned files are.

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