How to Fix macOS Big Sur Slow Performance

written by ShaadLife Team April 27, 2021

What You Will Learn in This Guide:

Do you want to make macOS Big Sur run faster? If that’s the case then you are at the right place. Most Mac users report that macOS Big Sur is slower, lags, or performs worse on their machines than previous versions of the macOS framework program. There could be a valid explanation for the slowness you’ve noticed after upgrading to or downloading macOS Big Sur, or it could be due to a number of other reasons. Don’t be concerned; there might be an easy alternative. In this guide, we are going to share some important tips and tricks to fix macOS Big Sur slow performance.

Meanwhile, there’s no doubt macOS Big Sur is heavier as compared to macOS Catalina or High Sierra. Each operating system upgrade introduces new functionality and takes more system resources, such as memory and disc capacity, than the previous version. They’re built for the specs of the new Mac, which means they’ll almost always run slower than the previous version on your Mac.

To fix macOS Big Sur slow performance, double-check that you understand what the macOS Big Sur update is and what it will do with your Mac or MacBook. The Big Sur upgrade is designed to improve the performance of all of your Mac’s programs while also increasing stability and privacy. Another aim of the Big Sur redesign is to make the user experience more sleek and modern. Safari, the search engine program, has received its most significant update to date, which improves security and control.

In the meantime, Maps and Messages both get a slew of new additions to make them more efficient and simple, as well as more open on where the personal data goes and is stored. The Big Sur upgrade has a more transparent privacy policy.

How to Fix macOS Big Sur Slow Performance?

What is the cause of Mac’s slowness while using Big Sur? And what are you going to do with it? Let’s take a look at some of the options and possibilities for resolving future performance problems.

Here the best 10 Tips to fix the macOS Big Sur slow performance:

Tip #1. Make Sure That Your Mac is Compatible with macOS Big Sur

The macOS Big Sur, like any other desktop operating system, has a set of minimum hardware requirements. Although some Mac computers are equipped with these features, others are not. If your Mac was released before 2012, it probably won’t be able to run the Big Sur operating system, and installing it would just slow things down.

The following is a list of Big Sur’s supported devices:

Mac Pro (late 2013)
Apple iMac Pro (2017 or later)
Apple iMac (late 2012 or later)
Mini Mac (late 2012 or later)
MacBook Pro (mid-2012 or later)
MacBook Air (mid-2012 or later)
MacBook (early 2015 or later)

Any Mac built prior to these years lacks the graphics capacity and other qualities needed to run macOS Big Sur.

Tip #2. Disable Start-Up Items to Speed Up Login Time

The second tip to fix the macOS Big Sur slow performance is to disable the start-up items. You may be waiting for applications to start automatically when you log in. Do they all have to start up every time you turn on your computer? If you autostart as few applications as possible, you won’t have to wait as long.

Go to System Preferences.
Choose Users & Groups.
On the Logins Items tab, to remove an app, click on it, then click the – (minus) button at the bottom.
Click the lock to make changes.

Disable Start-Up Items to Speed Up Login Time

Tip #3. Optimize Your Macs Storage

Meanwhile, in the third tip section in order to improve macOS Big Sur performance and speed or to fix the macOS Big Sur slow performance is to optimize your Mac storage. This is a fantastic feature that ensures that all of the files on your hard drive are sorted and that your storage is optimized. It basically clears out excess storage space to make room for new archives. This frequently aids in the organization of the files.

Go to the Apple menu and click on About this Mac.
Click on Storage and then Manage.
Here, you will see Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically and, Reduce Clutter.
To optimize your storage, click on the Optimize Storage option.

Optimize Your Macs Storage

The optimization of your storage will begin once this is turned on. It will sort the files on your hard drive into various groups and delete any files that are deleted or idle from your Mac’s disc.

These files may be obsolete, outdated applications, snapshots, and images, old documents, and text files, or something else that hasn’t been seen in a long time. The function detects whether a file or app has been recently opened or used, and then decides where it should go based on that detail.

However, By removing some garbage from your hard drive, you free up more room for the Big Sur program to operate, which will make your Mac load faster. It’s also a smart idea to clean up your hard drive every now and then since old files will easily accumulate and bog down your Mac’s operations.

Tip #4. Use the Activity Monitor to Disable Power Hungry Apps

Check Activity Monitor for processes that are causing the slowdown if your Mac feels slow or sluggish. This is a little more difficult to implement, but it’s easy enough to notice that it can be beneficial.

Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities and launch Activity Monitor or Open Activity Monitor by opening Spotlight (Command+Spacebar) and typing “Activity Monitor” and then hitting the return key.
Click at the top of the column labeled CPU to order processes according to the CPU cycles they are using.
Look at the processes at the top of the list. Are any using more than their fair share? If any process or app uses more than around 20%, it’s worth a closer look.
If you spot any processes that appear to be using a high CPU cycle level, try quitting them and see what happens. It might be all you need to do.
Select the process and Press Quit Process in the toolbar.

Of course, many applications use a lot of CPU power to complete functions, which slows down the Mac. For eg, if you’re exporting a movie project from iMovie and it’s taking a lot of CPU and your Mac is running slowly, that’s usual and planned, so let iMovie finish the job.

Third-party applications could also be consuming a lot of CPU, which can be manually quit or inspected by going to the open app and seeing what it’s doing. Updating or quitting such applications will often fix the issue.

Tip #5. Reduce Transparency and Motion

We adore Big Sur’s new look, especially the expanded use of transparency. However, some of the graphical effects in the user interface will dramatically slow down an older Mac. Disabling them will help you get work done faster. Here’s how to go about it.

Go to System Preferences.
Select Accessibility.
Choose Display from the list.
Now, check the box next to both Reduce Motion and Reduce Transparency.

Reduce Transparency and Motion

Reducing motion and transparency will put less of a load on your system.

Tip #6. Force Quit an App that Doesn’t Respond

Open the Force Quit menu if an app you’re using has started answering and you see a spinning wheel (Command+Option+Escape). Select this app and select the Force Quit button in the blue bar.

How to Fix macOS Big Sur Slow Performance in 2021 (10 Tips to Follow)

Force Quit an App that Doesn’t Respond

Tip #7. Keep your Mac Apps Updated

Updating Mac applications can also help boost results, so keep them up to date as well. Many Mac applications have updates available in the Mac App Store Updates section.

Apps that are not downloaded or updated from the Mac App Store always upgrade themselves, either through the app itself or through the app developer’s website. Google Chrome, for example, will immediately upgrade itself. For optimum results, keep Mac applications up to date.

Tip #8. Clean Up Your System Junk & Junk Apps

One of the most common causes of a machine being inefficient is the presence of much too much old device garbage. If you have a lot of outdated machine garbage in your old macOS program and you upgrade to the latest macOS Big Sur 11.0, your Mac will slow down.

Another common cause of slower speeds on macOS Big Sur is downloading a new app, which can cause an issue with App Junk that is already present in your macOS apps. If you do not fully delete an app from your old macOS version, the new app will clash with the app junk from the older app.

To remove this app junk, you would most likely need to use a third-party app like CleanMyMac X, which will remove any junk that has found its way into the dusty corners of your Mac’s hard drive. It’s the same as sweeping the corners of your home. Junk accumulates and dust accumulates, and you must finally go in there and vacuum it up.

The best feature of this form of cleanup program is its intelligence. This means that it only cleans what it can without damaging the system’s vital files. Although CleanMyMac X removes the junk from your hard drive, your Mac will continue to run normally.

Download CleanMyMac X from Play Store

Tip #9. Reset SMC and NVRAM/PRAM

If the SMC and PRAM in your Mac are compromised in some way, the boot-up speed of your Mac will be significantly slowed. When this occurs, the SMC and PRAM must be reset in order to maximize the initialization speed of your device.

The System Management Controller (SMC) is responsible for the operation of all hardware components on your laptops, such as the fan and batteries. To reset the SMC, you must first know what kind of Mac you have, as the process varies depending on the model.

How to reset the SMC, PRAM, and NVRAM on a Mac Laptop

Tip #10. Install Available macOS Updates

Apple updates every edition of macOS, including Big Sur, on a daily basis. These upgrades include security enhancements as well as bug fixes. And because bug fixes will make the Mac run more smoothly, it’s important that you use the most recent update.

Go to System Preferences.
Select Software Update.
Install any available system software updates to macOS Big Sur (like macOS Big Sur 11.1, 11.2, etc).

Install Available macOS Updates

That’s it. These were the tips and tricks to make the macOS Big Sur tun faster or to fix macOS Big Sur slow performance. The new Mac operating system, macOS Big Sur, is a fantastic upgrade. However, it isn’t flawless and can cause the Mac to run slowly on occasion. If that’s the case, use the steps above to speed up Big Sur and get your Mac back up and running.

ShaadLife Team

We are professional How-to content writers. As a tech enthusiast and geek, we love to write and share articles about different operating systems such as Android, Windows, macOS, iOS, and some other products like a smartwatch and smart TV.

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2 comments

Angry user July 4, 2021 - 3:09 PM

All recommendations are ZERO help for efficiency. Big Sur is the worst update from performance perspective ever. I own both mac and Microsoft laptops and computers. Year ago, MacBook pro was twice faster than my windows laptop. Now it 4 to 10 times slower. I would fire all the team if they would release such a poor software.

Hank January 10, 2022 - 4:43 PM

I agree with ” Angry User” since Mojave apple aa gone downhill dramatically Wirth their concern of optimizing iPhone with OS X yet barely leave you options if you do not use your cellphone on network further more I had a Mac mini 2012 I got rid of it because it was actually 10 times slower on Mac sys then windows 11 on same machine
I was a Mac man since 1985 those days are gone I now use an Imac i3 dual core running ONLY ON WINDOWS 11 and its so fast its incredible its so sad that apple cannot even make decent software for their own hardware and that its major competitor actually turbo charges the same hardware – Plus now most of the Macs before 20`17 are obsolete reason I was. given this iMac now running great and the eye candy makes even Monterey look like Mac is 10 yrs behind on Microsoft since Steve Jobs died you can say apple died also … for the MAC MAN as I was for over 2 decades