How to force quit on Mac? There are two ways to quit apps on MAC. Press Option + Command + ESC keys simultaneously or go to the Apple menu located in the right upper corner of the screen and click force quit a list of apps appears scroll the app that you want to quit and click on the force quit button.
What is a Mac?
MAC is an abbreviation of medium access control, it is a hardware address or physical address known for its uniquely hexadecimal code given to each device that differentiates devices on a network. It is also called MAC address and it would be like this, D4-BE-D9-8D-46-9A.
How to identify unresponsive app on mac:
If you are a multi-tasker or your work is related to multiple apps that you use at the same time then how could you identify which app is unresponsive or which app creates trouble and slow down your work?
When we are working on laptops then it could be seen as probably that one of the app or even if you are working on a single app would not work properly, it a waste of time and also a frustrating situation. The first app is to identify the app that is not responding to freezing your screen.
- If you see a normal cursor on the screen normally that would an arrow then it means it is responsive. If you see a rainbow cursor on the screen of an app then it is not responsive.
Now you can move the further option down below to force quiet the unresponsive app.
How many ways to force quit on Mac:
How to force quit on Mac? Let’s suppose, you are working on the app on your MAC operating laptop and suddenly it stops working or freeze at some point, it’s very annoying and especially when you have not saved your work. Although it is a cranky situation, however, you can get through it in three different ways.
1. Force quit through short cut keys:
When you find any difficulty in operating an app on a MAC device or if it freezes due to any malware issue then the very quick decision you can make is to force quit that app. There is short cut key on a keyboard that you can quickly press and immediately get through this situation without any waste of time.
Press, Option + Command + ESC key simultaneously like we press Ctrl + Alt + Delete key on PC. As you press these keys, the app will shut down immediately but keep one thing in mind that it will not show any prompt message like “Do you want to save it” or any other warning message to alert you about no backup remain if you quit the app so, keep it as the last appeal.
2. Force quit through Apple menu:
Apple menu is another way to force an app if it is not working properly. Follow these steps to find out.
- Click on the upper right corner of the screen and click on the force quit option.
- A list appears that shows all the app installed on your Mac device. Scroll down or up to find out the app that you want to quit.
- After finding that app click on it and then click on the force quit option.
- Your app will be immediately shut down.
3. Force quit through activity monitor:
If you get fail to use these first two options now the next way of force quit the app on MAC is activity monitor. Just follow these options to explore it.
- Press the Command + Space button simultaneously on the keyboard or click on the spotlight option located in the right upper corner of the screen.
- Then type activity monitor in the search bar of the spotlight option.
- Once the Activity monitor is highlighted click on it.
- A list appears, scroll down the menu to find the app you want to quit.
- If found, then click on the force a process to quit button, and that’ show you can force quit an app.
4. Force quit through dock:
It is another option that will help to force quit the unresponsive app.
- The first step is to identify the app in the dock that is unresponsive.
- Right-click on the app or hit on control while clicking on the mouse or trackpad.
- Now press and hold the option key, a menu will pop out, click on the force quit option. Now your unresponsive app is shut down.
5. Force quit through terminal:
The above methods are pretty much simple and easy to force stop an app but if
Nothing working than this would be the last option under your sleeves to cope up
with.
- You can launch the terminal from the Application folder, just open the folder,
scroll down and click on utilities, here you can see the launch terminal option click on it to launch terminal. - Terminal will display the user name that is followed by a dollar sign, now type the word ”Top” and then press the Return key.
- A window appears that shows your CPU and RAM usage, alongside you, can see a table in which all the open apps are listed and the app that working in the background and contain a large amount of RAM that would not be in our notice. You can close all those apps from here.
- You can also see two columns here one is PID (process identifier) and the second is command column. The Command column shows the name of all active applications and PID located on the very left side of the screen displays track of open applications.
- Select the app that you want to force quit from the command column and copy the PID address. You can copy it by highlighting the text and press Ctrl l+ C for a copy.
- Open a new terminal window and type the command “Kill” then press the space bar, press Cmd + V to obtain the PID address that you were copied before. Now press the Return key to instruct the terminal about quit the problematic app.
Summary: how to force quit on Mac? 5 ways to force stop the app if they are not working properly. The keyboard shortcut is the instant option among all. It will definitely save your time but also keep you away from frustration. Keep one thing in mind, use force quit like the last option because it will not warn you about your non save data, all your non save data would be lost as you force quit an app.
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Reasons for freezing app:
There might be more than one reason for the unresponsive app or freezing app but here we discuss one main reason due to which you may face difficulty in operating app multiple apps at the same time.
Your laptop is a machine that helps you to operate multiple apps at the same time, RAM is the most important part as it helps to operate multiple tasks at the same time smoothly and efficiently. If the RAM is not enough as required for your tasks then you might face this problem. RAM is a space, applications need space to work smoothly. It also depends on the software density means how heavy is it and how much space does it take.
In simple words, heavy software required a large amount of RAM. now the next question is what is the solution?
The solution is very simple, try to upgrade your RAM according to your work. If your work was not that much RAM required but now your work requires a bit large RAM then go for it. It will not only save your time but also keeps you side from distraction in your work and very important away from frustration.
Other reasons for freezing app:
- App crash
- Sluggish browser
- Overworked email client
- The system needed an update
- Load with too much junk
- Hardware problem
- Malware (virus in the system)
- Too many background processing
What to do if force quit is not working?
How to force quit on Mac? As I described above in detail about various ways to force quit Mac if the app is unresponsive however if nothing works then what to do?
Shut down the MAC device:
When nothing works then the last option is to shutdown your MAC book by simply press and hold the power button, once you see the Apple icon on your screen remove your finger if you have a touch screen Mac laptop.
FAQ:
The frequently asked questions regarding the topic “How to force quit on mac?” is given below:
1. How to force quit on a Macbook Pro 2019?
The same method follows to quit Macbook Pro 2019, press and hold the command + option + ESC keys simultaneously till the force quit application window appears. Select the unresponsive app from the dialogue box and select “Force Quit”.
2. How do you restart the frozen MAC?
Just follow a simple step to restart the frozen MAC device.
- Press and hold the command + option + power button until the screen gets blank.
- If it is a touch screen then press the touch ID or Eject button until the screen gets blank after that the screen will automatically restart.
3. How to close all running apps on the MAC?
You can kill multiple apps at the same time or in fact all the apps running in the background. Just press the Command + option and ESC key a window pop out, here you can close all the running apps.
4. Do I need force quit apps on MAC?
No, you don’t need an app to force quit on MAC it contains a build-in option through which you can easily force quit an unresponsive app. But if nothing works on your device then you can go for quit apps.
5. How do I fix my MAC that won’t boot up?
Follow these steps if your MAC won’t boot up.
- Shut down your MAC device
- Unplug the power cable and then reconnect it.
- Press shift + ctrl + opt key along with power button simultaneously
- Hold the keys for few seconds till the light on the power cable flicker
- Your MacBook is restarted.
6. How do I see what programs are running in my MAC?
Follow these steps to find out what programs are running on the Mac.
- Open a Finder window and click on the application option, located on the left-hand side of the screen
- Open utility folder
- Here you can see the Activity Monitor application, click on it
- The activity monitor shows all the programs running in the MAC. See in the process name column.
7. Do I need to quit apps on MAC?
If you are working on different apps at the same time then there is no need to quit them until you are done with your work. Some features help you to work fast like Compressed Memory and App Nap, these apps create space to run multiple apps at the same time.
8. How do I empty my MAC cache?
Follow these steps to empty the Mac cache.
- Open the browser menu click on safari then preference and then advance.
- Enable the “Show to develop menu in menu bar” option.
- Close the preference window and open a browse menu.
- Click on develop and then on empty cache, now all the cache are deleted.
9. What causes Mac to freeze?
Mac is a power full device it does not easily freeze out but generally, app crashing is one of the few reasons that cause Mac to freeze.
10. How do you check RAM on Mac?
Follow these steps to check RAM on Mac.
- Click on the Apple symbol in the top left corner of the screen.
- Select About this Mac from the menu
- You can see various details in the box that appears, including the installed version of macOS, model name, and the amount of memory or RAM.
Conclusion:
How to force quit on Mac? There are five methods through which you can force quit Mac if the app is unresponsive.
- Shortcut keys: press and hold command + option + ESC key, a window appears, select the app that creates trouble and click on force quit.
- Apple menu: click on the upper right corner of the screen and select force quit, a window open select the unresponsive app, and click on force quit.
- Activity monitor: press the command and space button and write activity monitor through the keyboard, once it is highlighted click on it here you can see all the active apps, select the problematic app and click on force quit.
These are ways that are commonly used to force quit on Mac as they are easy and simple. The other two options are force quit using dock and force quit by terminal you can find them in detail in the above article.
Use force-quit as the last option because it will eliminate all your un save data and will not show any alarming message before quitting the app.
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