Items saved to desktop on iMac seem to delay showing since IOS 26 upgrade

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Items saved to desktop on iMac seem to delay showing since IOS 26 upgrade

This is an odd one, and once again, Google isn't helping. It's more of an annoyance than it is a problem.

I have a one year old M4 iMac with 24 GB memory. Running IOS 26.0.1.

If I take a simple screenshot of anything, they are directed to my desktop by default. In IOS 15 the screenshot would appear there instantly. With IOS 26 there seems to be a delay. I can minimize the window I just took the screenshot of, but the screenshot is not on the desktop. I can wait 20 seconds, I can click on the open desktop, still not there. But if I point over to Stage Manager and bring forward any of the items off to the left side of the screen, then the screenshot pops up on the desktop. Of course I have to minimize whatever I just brought forward to be able to access the screenshot.

It's not just screenshots. I can be scanning images on my scanner - same thing happens, but it never used to with IOS 15. Same thing when something is in my downloads file, and I send it to the desktop. This even happens with small text files, so it has nothing to do with large bulky files. It also does not matter if I have 10 programs open, or simply my Notes app open and nothing else. Same delay sending a small text file from the downloads folder to the desktop.

The desktop is set up using Stage Manager... but the problem (annoyance) happens regardless if I turn Stage Manager off or back on. Problem persists after a shutdown and restart. Problem persists if I stand on one foot, and hold my left hand behind my back.

And the weird thing... sometimes they instantly appear on the desktop. For example I can be scanning 100 35mm negatives (one at a time of course) and over the course of an hour that I am doing this, maybe the first 15 have the delay, then the next 5 do not, then the next 10 do, and so on.

So like I said, it's more of an annoyance than a problem, but it sure has been annoying for the past 6 weeks that I have had IOS 26.

Any suggestions (besides throwing the computer in the trash) would be appreciated.

iMac 24″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Nov 3, 2025 8:49 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

leroydouglas

Community+ 2025

Level 10

198,960 points

Nov 3, 2025 10:52 AM in response to gsyrba

re: macOS 26.0.1

I can add— have you shut down and restarted more than once since you upgraded to macOS 26 or the update 26.0.1(?) >Shut down

To trouble shoot further you can:

unplug all non-essential peripherals when testing

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS

—A SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Certain system caches get rebuilt automatically.

This test will tell you if third party interference; most extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account Change Users & Groups settings on Mac - Apple Support

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account.

***wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries— connect the charging cable, this will make the wired keyboard successful Safe Boot your Mac.

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Answer 2

Nov 3, 2025 10:36 AM in response to gsyrba

@leroydouglas addressed the screenshot issue, that's not new with Tahoe but it's possible you had Show Floating Thumbnail off before and the upgrade turned it on.

Regarding your scanned files, that might be due to a general system slowdown. It is possible there are processes running in the background that are using significant resources. Check Activity Monitor, CPU tab, sort by % CPU to see what's running hard.

Activity Monitor User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Nov 3, 2025 9:40 AM in response to gsyrba

gsyrba wrote:

This is an odd one, and once again, Google isn't helping. It's more of an annoyance than it is a problem.

I have a one year old M4 iMac with 24 GB memory. Running IOS 26.0.1.

If I take a simple screenshot of anything, they are directed to my desktop by default. In IOS 15 the screenshot would appear there instantly. With IOS 26 there seems to be a delay.

Turn off the floating thumbnail.

Shift Command 5 >Options

make changes to suit your needs

Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac - Apple Support

once you have your settings you can use the

Shift Command 3

Shift Command 4

as before Take a screenshot on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Nov 4, 2025 9:33 AM in response to gsyrba

gsyrba wrote:

I've always had that on for the 5 seconds option, even with the previous IOS. I did play around with that 6 weeks ago (turning it off, testing, then turning it on), wondering if that was the problem. It isn't because even with it off, I have to wait, and wait... So I turned it back on because I do find it helpful at times when I do a screenshot and have a few windows open simply because I have caught the wrong shot a couple of times in the past.

Look further at your Settings— get back to terra firma and turn off Stage Manger etc if that is part of your issue... and compare your results

verify your software is up to date—

The current stable release of Tahoe including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 26.1

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

To be proactive you can file a bug report / submit your Apple Feedback here: Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 5

gsyrba Author

Level 2

402 points

Nov 4, 2025 8:05 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thank you for the detailed info, Leroy. Yes, I guess I didn't mention everything I did on the original post, did I?

The shut down and restart was pounded into all of our brains by our Lead Technician at the company I worked at for 17 years. Yes, I did this more than once... and actually I do this once per week out of habit. Not a restart... but a shutdown, go grab a cup of coffee, then come back and power on again. Same with unplugging peripherals, which was only a backup SSD, and a card reader.

I tried the safe boot this morning as per your suggestions - no luck in fixing the issue. I don't have a guest account set up on this machine. I have too many personal medical and financial things on this one to trust anyone else on it.

This may be one of those things I just have to live with. At least it isn't a problem, but just something annoying.

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Answer 6

gsyrba Author

Level 2

402 points

Nov 4, 2025 8:19 AM in response to neuroanatomist

I've had Show Floating Thumbnail on with the previous IOS as well, but that only shows for a few seconds. Often the delay for the actual file to appear on the desktop is 20 seconds (on average) and this morning I moved a small text file from the downloads folder to the desktop (drag and drop), went to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, came back a minute later, still not showing. I had to click back and forth with the Finder window, and back to the desktop, 5 times before it appeared.

Activity monitor - I've been checking this on and off the first week this was happening. I just did it again right now after quickly scanning an image, dragging it to the desktop, and waiting for it to turn up. Of course the percentages fluctuate quite a bit, so I waited a couple of seconds to see where they averaged out - and it's pretty much the same as it was 6 weeks ago when this first started happening. So obviously nothing is running too hard in the list that was above this screenshot. By the way, the scanned image was still not showing up until roughly 15 seconds after I snagged this screenshot... and this screenshot maybe 10 seconds after that (so 25ish seconds for this screenshot to show up).

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Answer 7

gsyrba Author

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402 points

Nov 4, 2025 8:24 AM in response to leroydouglas

I've always had that on for the 5 seconds option, even with the previous IOS. I did play around with that 6 weeks ago (turning it off, testing, then turning it on), wondering if that was the problem. It isn't because even with it off, I have to wait, and wait... So I turned it back on because I do find it helpful at times when I do a screenshot and have a few windows open simply because I have caught the wrong shot a couple of times in the past.

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Answer 8

gsyrba Author

Level 2

402 points

Nov 4, 2025 2:57 PM in response to leroydouglas

I did the Stage Manager on and off thing the first week this was going on - testing things out both ways - shutting down and waiting before restarting every time I made a change. That was one of the things I ruled out as having zero effect.

IOS 26.1? When did that happen? I check for updates on all of my devices every Wednesday & Saturday morning like clockwork (don't ask - we all have our nerdy quirks). I didn't see it on Saturday.

Ok, I just checked, and it's there now. I'll update shortly. I don't know how I missed that on Saturday.

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