MacOS Big Sur Lagging

What did you expect when you DOWNGRADED from OS X to OS II ?

My system is now unresponsive for several minutes at a time!

I'm going to Tommy's. His Dad uses Linux!

Has Apple even acknowledged or mentioned knowing about this issue? I'm a software developer, so I definitely understand that even after testings, weird things can happen once something ships, but what infuriates me is its been months and I don't think Apple has even responded to this. We should've had a fix by now, but if nothing else, acknowledgment that this would be fixed at some point would be great, versus pretending everything is good and just hoping no one fusses or it.

It is just crazy. Made a clean install of Big Sur 11.1 and it worked "ok" I would say. Had a startup on my iMac 2017 of about 5-6 minutes. Way worse then Catalina but ok.

Now automatic updates that I do not have cancelled put 11.2 over it, and again 15min startup. Nice one apple really nice one. AND the biggest let down is that time machine backups from Big Sur are not compatible with Catalina. So Catalina setup requires completley manually copying of all files really nice apple.... I am done with Mac OS next one will be windows again...

the cursor stuttering bug is still not fixed for MacBook 16 inch BIG SUR 11.2 - Apple doesn't seem to care about us - it hasn't been able to fix the bug since the macbook pro 16 inch was released

*** Apple.... Why would you release such a crapy OS on us... It's not the first time, but the first time I'm thinking of not buying apple anymore after almost 16years of loyalty....

Video editing is slow as my previous Macbook 13" i had before this Mascbook Pro 15" 2018 with 32GB of RAM... Everything has slown down to a crawl....

Reset SMC solved the problem! I followed the advice in this thread and powered down, then pressed the power button for 10 seconds and released, then pressed the power button the normal way to start up. This procedure worked for my MacBook Pro 13" late 2013. Thank you!

The problems I have had since many weeks (!) in BigSur on my beefy MacBook Pro 15 was:

Extremely lagging UI just everywhere, in Safari, in Finder, Word, Chrome, Mail etc. It sometimes took 10 seconds until the UI responded to a click or a key stroke. For example when writing in Mail it took many seconds until the letters show up. Also in video conferences there were stutters, also reported by other people who joined the sessions (I have Fiber 1Gbit/s connection).

I tried:

• detaching dock

• detaching external screen

• restarting the system (sometimes it solved the problem for some hours)

• closed all safari tabs (it was helping a bit)

• moved thunderbolt cables to other side of laptop

• checked with Intel Power Gadget the performance

• checked activity log, top etc (no evidence)

• installed temp monitoring, nothing special

• cleaned all caches with OnyX

• reset SMC

• reset NVRAM or PRAM

There was zero clue what what going on when the system was so unresponsive.

What solved the problem immediately, close my 10+ Finder windows!! And then the system went back to normal. (Maybe there is a problem with the preview option in Finder??)

For your reference, I have installed BigSur 11.2 (20D64) and using a 2018 MacBook Pro:

• MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)

• 2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7

• 32 GB 2400 MHz DDR4

• Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB

Attached is a CalDigit UBC-C Pro Dock (Logitech Mouse via USB transmitter, USB headset etc) and via another Thunderbolt 3 port my Acer Nitro 4K Display.

I hope this helps.

I tried several tips to fix the problem, none had any effect.

I returned my iMac (2017) and Macbook Air (2015) to the Catalina macOS version, with completely recovery from zero. Everything is working fine (back) now.

What's going on with Big Sur, makes me imagine that Apple did it on purpose, to make Intel-based machines obsolete. Just like they do on iPhones.

PS.: I have another MacBook Air (with M1 chip) and Big Sur is so fast on that machine.

I experienced a lot of the same problems as others: Very very slow, 400% CPU utilization (all cores saturated). I have a 2018 15-in 6-core i7 with 32GB RAM. I went straight to OS 11.2

Two things resolved it:

• I unplugged a Lenovo Thunderbolt dock I had been using. This finally dropped off utilization which was being eaten by a kernel process.

• I finally did a hard reset (held power button down until Mac just shut off) - rebooted.

Finally kernel utilization is gone, and performance is back. Actually, I think its a touch faster than it originally was. And the dock now works again fine.

That all being said, I am gonna hold off upgrading my Mac Pro until another point release. Seems there are some issues still needing resolution. But - all and all now, I am quite happy on the MBP

I solved my issues by doing a few things. (iMac 5k Late 2014 going from High Sierra to Big Sur 11.2)

1. I manually removed as many old / unused and incompatible / 32bit apps and audio drivers etc etc as I could find that might be somehow conflicting with the Big Sur architecture.

2. I downloaded Litte Snitch and blocked ocsp.apple.com from within the trusted folder

3. I removed all USB peripherals such as USB audio interfaces etc / printer / USB drives and performed a SRAM reset on my main internal SSD.

4. I also have a secondary internal SSD so booted from that and performed another SRAM reset on it, too.

I'm no wizard, so I don't know exactly what fixed everything ––but doing this combo of things solved all my horrible Big Sur issues.

Thought I'd share in case anyone wants to give these things a go :)

I have tested MacBook Pro 16 inch on Big Sur 11.2 - only the release date is 2020 november (my laptop 2019 december) - and it has no Slow UI, input, cursor stuttering lags - . Apple must replace such notebooks - but instead - the authorized service center said that everything is fine all the tests pass

Same here Macbook Pro 2017 15", painfully slow after update to big sur.

Same problem with my mbp 2019

Same here, battery drains faster as well. Is this resolved?

Hello,

I followed your raised question and here are some fixes for your Mac but first of all, I would have to tell you to not downgrade to Catalina because Catalina's support is ended and apple is fully concentrated on Mac Big Sur, to keep in touch with apple's movement and latest features, I highly suggest you stay with Mac Big Sur.

Here are some fixes that worked with my 2017 iMac which came with Mac Catalina when I first got it, now I have Big Sur and it's as smooth as butter.

• Enable reduce motion through accessibility (This will help reduce or perhaps fully stop your map from lagging. If you still face slowing/lagging/glitching issues, you can also reduce transparency which will help for sure but won't look as good).

• Make sure to get CleanMyMac and run all of its free programs (You can also get paid version if you want)

• If you just recently updated to macOS Big Sur and you feel the Mac is slower than usual, the best course of action is to keep the Mac awake, plugged in (if it’s a laptop), and let it sit for a while (perhaps overnight or for a nights) – basically, hurry up and wait. I know that sounds like weird advice, but here’s the logic behind it: after a major macOS system software update, the Mac performs various maintenance routines behind the scenes, it reindexes the drive for Spotlight and Siri and apps like Photos may reindex too. So basically, let the Mac sit turned on overnight, perhaps for a few nights in a row, and allow those indexing and optimization processes to complete. When they’re finished, the performance of the Mac should be significantly better, if not entirely back to normal. This is often the number one reasons Mac users think a new operating system is slower than a prior version, so don’t disregard this simple advice!

• You should also get firefox instead of using chrome (if you do) because chrome can slow your mac very much and plays key part, especially on Mac Big Sur. Firefox is one of the Top 3 browsers and it's very smooth.

Taking these steps has helped me significantly to reduce total lag and other slowing issues. In-fact, my iMac now runs better with Mac Big Sur compared to Catalina.

Same problem here - 2015 MBP with i7, 16GB, dual graphics card.

I was about to downgrade back to an earlier OS as was becoming unusable - 90-100% CPU within minutes of booting.
I've tried all the suggestions (SMC, updates, disable any 32-bit apps etc) but nothing worked.

Just as I've moved my machine to the side whilst it backs up before a downgrade, I've disconnected the external monitor (an ultra widescreen 34" Samsung).

I come back to it after a few minutes and CPU is almost zero - system nice and fast and responsive and looks to be just fine. Arrgh!!

Too early to tell whether the complete fix but I would be interested to know whether people see a similar result once they disconnect any external monitors.

I'm thinking in this case whether bigsur is having trouble constantly switch between the two graphics cards rather than can't support the larger monitor (2gb graphics card)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
2,9 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
6 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Radeon Pro 560 4 GB
Intel HD Graphics 630 1536 MB

same problem, very slow opening :(

I bought the new MacBook Air m1 less than 2 weeks ago and it's running Big Sur. I have been using a digitizer for e-class and sometimes it freezes, which isn't what I expected from a 1200 euro laptop. If it is unable to handle something like that, then it's just a big waste of money. I am not going to start using apps for cleaning apps working in the background, which is hopeless for such an expensive piece of equipment. Also the function key which switches languages stops working after a few times to the point I had to switch it to caps lock. Skype's share screen function just stopped working without me changing anything, to the point that I had to switch back to my old windows laptop for work. I bought a MacBook over a windows laptop with the hope that I get a better working environment and it turns out that it's worse than my 10yo laptop. I hope the OS gets fixed soon because I don't want to see such an expensive investment, in our times, to be used just for browsing and watching movies. All in all Im very disappointed from the first 2 weeks of use.

Same problem here - 2015 MBP with i7, 16GB, dual graphics card. - but for now solved.

I posted a couple of days ago about how i was about to downgrade my machine - on unplugging the external monitor everything looked to improve.

Well, i've been able to go further and two things were definetly affecting the machine.

1. I've changed from using the internal HDMI port to a mini-display adapter - i can now get my external monitor reconnected and it's isn't taking 100% of the CPU

2. I've reverted back to allowing the os to control the fans rather than 3rd part app - and after a short burst from the fans to drop the temp down from about a 65degrees to 50, its' gone back to running fine.

I would be worth checking you are not having thermal issues (high temps) forcing OSX to increase it's reliance on push up kernel_task CPU usages which looks to block user doing much with the computer until it's reduce the temperature back down.

MBP 18 13” lags a lot!!

Hello,

I've been having typing lag problems when using intel gpu and it seems that gpu is running with too low speed when there is no load for it, because lag goes away if I watch video at same time I type (still using intel gpu). So I was just wondering how to change the minimum running speed of Intel gpu to fix this.

I have Macbook pro 16" 2019.

I've been having typing lag problems when using intel gpu and it seems that gpu is running with too low speed when there is no load for it, because lag goes away if I watch video at same time I type (still using intel gpu). So I was just wondering how to change the minimum running speed of Intel gpu to fix this.

You really are onto something with this. I also noticed that my MBP 16 stops lagging as hell and starts being a proper expensive productivity laptop when I have Youtube in the background while keeping on the Intel gpu.
As soon as I let Intel gpu "go idle" and start typing, the lag is back...

So it must be the graphics and/or drivers because, like others, I don't have problems when I force usage of Radeon gpu. Which I don't want to do all the time because the battery life is significantly shorter and the laptop is way much hotter.

You really are onto something with this. I also noticed that my MBP 16 stops lagging as hell and starts being a proper expensive productivity laptop when I have Youtube in the background while keeping on the Intel gpu.
As soon as I let Intel gpu "go idle" and start typing, the lag is back...

In a similar boat here.. MBP 16, tried all the resettings and etc. Even erased the disk and reinstalled the OS, none seemed to work, obviously Apple Support didn't really help either, they suggested erasing the disk without restoring from a backup, not really sure if that's gonna be entirely worthwhile because I do get the feeling that this has got something to do with the graphic card.. Has anyone tried their luck at an Apple Store?

I recently updated to latest version of Bigsur (11.2.2) from Catalina and I can feel the lag from login. Please suggest how can I tune up my Mac. I recently moved from Windows and this is not the experience I’m looking from Apple.

Macbook Pro 13” earlier 2015.

ANy news on lagging slow BIG SUR?
I have the 11.2.2 update and still lagging ... embarrassing no?

It happens often when looking at a menu in an application ... such as >open recent ... then when waking up and other situations. Annoying!

MacBook Pro
 Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i7
 Processor Speed: 3.1 GHz
 Number of Processors: 1
 Total Number of Cores: 4
 L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
 L3 Cache: 8 MB
 Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled
 Memory: 16 GB