Stop the spinning beach ball on your Mac

Why it happens

The spinning wheel means an app is busy and can't respond to you yet. Often it's working on something big, like opening a large file, and it recovers by itself. If it stays stuck, the app may have a bug, or your Mac may be short of memory or storage.

How to fix it

1. Wait a minute or two, especially if the app was saving, opening or exporting something large.

2. Press Option-Command-Escape, or open the Apple menu and choose Force Quit.

   Apple menu›Force Quit…

3. Select the stuck app in the list and click Force Quit. Anything you hadn't saved in that app is lost.

4. Open the app again. Many apps offer to reopen the documents you had open.

5. If it happens every time, update the app. For App Store apps, open the App Store, click Updates and choose Update All.

   App Store›Updates›Update All

Still not fixed?

1. If the wheel shows up in many apps, check memory in Activity Monitor. If Memory Pressure is yellow or red, quit apps and browser tabs you don't need.

   Activity Monitor›Memory

2. Check free space in Storage settings. A nearly full Mac slows everything down, so free up some room.

   General›Storage

3. Restart your Mac to clear anything stuck in the background.

4. Test in Safe Mode. On Apple silicon, shut down, hold the power button until the startup options appear, select your disk, hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On an Intel Mac, restart and hold Shift. If the wheel goes away there, something that starts with your Mac is the cause.

5. If one app still hangs, delete it and reinstall it, or contact its maker. If the whole Mac freezes even in Safe Mode, contact Apple Support, as the storage may need checking.