It is quite common for the MacBook to slow down with time. You might be seeing continuous spinning circles on the screen, or the tasks don’t go as smoothly as they used to. The latest MacBooks are integrated with well-performing SSD and high capacity of RAM. Lately, these two components have been soldered to the motherboard that makes user upgrade next to impossible. Replacing an HDD could do wonders, but now, this method is the matter of the past as an external drive does not fit the latest models.

There could be many reasons why your device is giving you a hard time, but there is nothing that cannot be resolved. Here are some of the foolproof methods that will surely boost the speed of your MacBook:

Update your software

This is the foremost and basic necessity for your device. Apple, regularly, comes up with the latest updates for all of your devices. These updates have proven to be a blessing for the Mac as they resolve the security issues and introduce performance enhancements, making them run smoothly. This ensures an overall best performance and smooth run on the device. To get the latest updates automatically on your MacBook, follow these steps:

Go to System Preferences from the Apple menu.
Click Software Update and check to mark the box for Automatically Keep My Mac Up to Date.
You will find an Update Now button if you do not use the latest software on the Software Update window. Click on it to install.
Use the Advanced button to check for latest updates, install macOS updates and app updates from the App Store, and update system data files and security updates.
Reduce Storage Space Consumption

Clearing out all the unnecessary data and files can help you save a lot of space. Too much clutter on the storage space will eventually slow down your MacBook. To check how much space your files are consuming, follow these steps:

Click on the Apple logo on the left side of the screen and select About This Mac.
Click on the Storage tab and hit the Manage button to free up some storage space.
The new window will show you four options, i.e., Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter, for reclaiming some drive space. Using the iCloud, you can transfer the file from drive to iCloud. You can also save your photos and videos there on the iCloud photo library. Every user gets 5GB of storage, but you can purchase extra storage space of 50GB for less than a dollar. You can extend the iCloud storage to up to 200GB for $2.99/month or 2TB for $9.99/month.

Using the Optimize Storage option, you can free up some space from the TV app. Empty Trash Automatically will help you remove all the items from the trash can that’s been residing there for more than 30 days. And, the Reduce Clutter option will help you review and manually delete any unnecessary files that you may have.

Recovery Mode

Every time you install an app on your MacBook, it comes along with a package of files, details, and permissions used on that app. This package informs Mac about the things the user can do on the app. However, the permissions used on the app automatically keep changing over time, which may result in lagging, freezing, and crashing of your MacBook. If you manage to tweak the permissions, it will enhance the speed of your Mac. To solve this issue, you will have to use the MacBook’s built-in tool called Disk Utility. It will help you in running First Aid on your Mac’s disk and will restore the disk partition and start-up procedure.

Your first step should be to start your device in Recovery mode, then follow the instructions given on Apple’s support page for repairing the disk under the Disk Utility tool.

Remove resource hogs

Sometimes, apps consume a lot of your device’s resources, which can, again, lead to crash, freeze, or lag on your Mac. To check the leading culprits in this issue, open the Activity Monitor by pressing and holding the command and spacebar key together. You will find a lot of fluctuating numbers. But you only have to keep a tab on the CPU and Memory resources tab for each app. The app that uses the most resources will float at the top. Switch to an alternative app to prevent those apps from hogging onto the resources on your device.


These tips will come handy every time you find your device lagging. Before making any changes in the memory or storage space, make sure that you take the backup of all the essential data, files, photos, videos, etc. The ideal option for doing that would be to use an external drive and run Apple’s in-built Time Machine tool. Time Machine will take backups from the past 24 hours, along with some weekly and monthly backups. And, it will automatically delete the oldest backups when the storage space reaches its limit.

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Source: How to Fix a Slow MacBook Pro and Air?