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M1 Mac Air performance degrades until restart

My MacBook Air M1 (11.4, 16 GB) slowly loses performance over the course of 3-4 days on a regular cycle. By the end of the 3rd or 4th day, saving and opening files takes considerably longer, websites refuse to load, applications will crash on opening or just refuse to open, and emails (mail.app) won't load properly.


A quick restart fixes everything immediately.


I've run system checks and virus scans and found nothing so far.

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on Jun 15, 2021 5:59 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 15, 2021 6:35 AM

One of the only Adware / Malware trusted for macOS is from a Trusted Developer and Respected ASC Contributor the application Malwarebytes for Mac. It is free or paid for added features. Run the Application and it should remove the malware / adware. Once done, restart computer and test.


There are no known Viruses in the wild that self replicate and affect macOS. There are Malware and Adware that does affect macOS and are often times downloaded as part of an Application from Third Party UnTrusted Site and get installed along with the Application.


Are there any AntiVirus, Disk Cleaner, Optimizers, Defrag, VPNs etc installed which should be removed as per Developers Instructions. They are useless, unneeded, cause havoc and interfere with the normal operation of the OS and may even Corrupt the OS requiring a Reinstallation. The Built-in Security of Big Sur is all that is required.


Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS, alter, modify, remove or delete or attempt to do so is an invitation for disaster and may require a Reinstallation of the OS.

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 15, 2021 6:35 AM in response to Jay Nungesser

One of the only Adware / Malware trusted for macOS is from a Trusted Developer and Respected ASC Contributor the application Malwarebytes for Mac. It is free or paid for added features. Run the Application and it should remove the malware / adware. Once done, restart computer and test.


There are no known Viruses in the wild that self replicate and affect macOS. There are Malware and Adware that does affect macOS and are often times downloaded as part of an Application from Third Party UnTrusted Site and get installed along with the Application.


Are there any AntiVirus, Disk Cleaner, Optimizers, Defrag, VPNs etc installed which should be removed as per Developers Instructions. They are useless, unneeded, cause havoc and interfere with the normal operation of the OS and may even Corrupt the OS requiring a Reinstallation. The Built-in Security of Big Sur is all that is required.


Any Third Party Applications that will interfere with the normal operation of the OS, alter, modify, remove or delete or attempt to do so is an invitation for disaster and may require a Reinstallation of the OS.

Jun 15, 2021 8:16 AM in response to Jay Nungesser

Suggest downloading the Application Etrecheck directly from a Trusted Developer and well Respected ASC Contributor. The application is free or paid from added features. Run the application with Full Disc Access ( Security & Privacy - Full Disc Access ). It will take a Snap Shot -  both the hardware and software. The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last )


We can have a look at the report for possible issues and may have possible suggestions to resolve the issues.

Jun 18, 2021 10:56 AM in response to Jay Nungesser

This is one Very Heavily Configured MBA M1 with Several attached External Drives and many Modifications to the System. It, computer, might not perform as well as a more Robust MBP M1.Only suggestion is restart the computer more often to fee up Memory and Processes running all the time of for extended periods of time. That and Close unneeded Application when not in usage.


As per EtreCheck Report see below


Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. Apple has said that unsigned software will not run by default in a future version of the operating system.

Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.

Jun 18, 2021 11:00 AM in response to PRP_53

Thank you, I do have several attached external drives (a Time Machine drive, a drive for daily backups, and two drives of archived backup data) and my MBA does have the maximum performance configuration Apple will build.


Having two backup drives and Apple-installed RAM should improve my performance, not slow it.


I can remove my orphan files but I don't understand why having the maximum RAM available would make my computer slower and require frequent restarts.

M1 Mac Air performance degrades until restart

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