How to Access Your Mac When an Application Isn’t Responding
Reading Time: 2 minutes Although it rarely happens, your Mac may become unresponsive due to a problem with an app you are using. This usually causes your Mac to freeze and your keyboard and trackpad or mouse to stop responding as well. Fortunately, as we have written before, there are several ways to regain control of your Mac and get things running smoothly again. For example, you can force-quit the app or force your Mac to restart.
Unresponsive apps can be a serious problem. For example, if the unresponsive app is Word, you may lose the unsaved portion of the document. Thus, it is better to gain control as soon as possible.
This article describes another neat way to access your Mac when it is not responding. If an application becomes unresponsive while you’re using it, hold down the Command key and keep pressing Tab until you select Finder (the face icon). Once you get to Finder, release the keys, and you will return to the Desktop. Command+Tab lets you switch between open apps.
Your unresponsive app may still be unresponsive. You may want to wait some time. An app might become unresponsive temporarily due to high CPU or memory usage. Wait a few seconds to see if it starts responding again.
If an app continuously becomes unresponsive, you should do the following:
- Make sure both the app and your device’s operating system are up to date. Outdated versions can cause compatibility issues.
- Delete and reinstall the app.
- Turn on Safe Mode and test the app in Safe Mode. Exit Safe Mode and test again.
- If none of these steps resolves the issue, consider contacting the app’s developer for help.
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