Did an app decide to give up on you? On MacOS, are you getting the spinning beachball of death? Or do you think things are moving too slowly? Then, you’ll need to know how to force quit on a Mac so you can exit programmes that won’t work.
When you want to force quit a Mac, Apple gives you a few different choices. Most of them only take a few seconds to carry out. Remember that forcing an app to close can be dangerous because it won’t ask you to save your files or progress. That means you’ll want to be sure you can close the programme without losing any work that has yet to be saved.
Here’s everything you need to know about Mac’s force quit tool once you’re sure you won’t be deleting anything important. Keep in mind that these steps will work on most MacOS versions, including MacOS Sonoma and MacOS Big Sur.
Use the Finder
Here are some of the things Apple says you should do when an app stops being useful.
Step 1: Select the Apple icon located in the top left corner of your screen. Select “Force Quit” from the resulting menu.
Step 2: This should open the Force Quit Applications window, which shows you all of your open apps.
Step 3: Pick the one that’s giving you trouble and click the “Force Quit” button at the bottom.
Keyboard shortcuts
Entering keys quickly is the next step if something else is needed.
Step 1: Press Opt + Cmd + Esc on your keyboard, which is the same as pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on Windows 11. On some Mac computers, Opt is called Alt.
Step 2: This will bring up the Force Quit Applications box, just like the other ways.
Step 3: Pick out the app that’s giving you trouble and click “Force Quit.” Also, check out our helpful guide for even more keyboard tools that will speed up your MacOS work.
Try the Option key
This programme is only sometimes reliable, and it can cause problems that are tough to fix. You’ll be able to handle problems better if you go in and choose which apps you want to close.
Step 1: Right-click or Ctrl-click on the app that is acting up in the Dock.
Step 2: Then, keep the Option key pressed down. The option to “Force Quit” will replace “Quit” in the menu.
Step 3: If this doesn’t successfully close the app, don’t worry—there are other ways to fix the problem. It’s time to think outside the box.
Launch Activity Monitor
Step 1: To access the Spotlight, navigate to the top right corner of your screen and click on the magnifying glass symbol. When prompted, enter “Activity Monitor” into the box that pops up. The next step is to select the app.
Step 2: Open the task manager, which shows you all the programmes that are currently running on your computer. 3. Find the app that is acting up, pick it, and click the button that looks like a stop sign in the upper left corner.
Step 3: Save all the work you have open and restart your iMac or MacBook. This should fix the issue. Even if you can’t restart your device, there is one more thing you can try.
Use Terminal
Even though this method is complicated for tech-savvy people, it’s the last thing we can try in case something else is needed.
Step 1: Start by going to your Applications folder and scrolling down to Utilities. Then, open Terminal.
Step 2: Wait a moment, and Terminal will show your login, followed by a dollar sign. Type “Top” into your computer and press the “Return” key.
Step 3: The Terminal shows you information about how much CPU and RAM you are using, along with a list of all the open programmes. This includes apps that run in the background and use a lot of RAM while we’re not using them. The names of all open programmes are shown in the Command column. The process identifier (PID) for each programme is shown in the column on the very left. It is the PID that tells your computer which programs are running at any given time.
Step 4: Find the command field and copy the PID of the app you want to close. To copy something, you can select it and press the Cmd + C computer shortcut. Get rid of this Terminal window.
Step 5: Finally, open a new Terminal window and type “Kill.” To paste the PID you copied, press the space bar once and type Cmd + V. It will say something like “Kill 93142.” Press the “Return” key to tell Terminal to close the app that is giving you trouble.
Hi, I’m Amelia John — a Canadian writer with a background in English and Professional Writing. For the past four years, I’ve helped brands craft content that connects, from blog posts to web copy.
