User profile for user: andy js
andy js Author
User level: Level 1
22 points

Finder in macOS 26 slows to a crawl after I cleaned-up iCloud storage

Last week I was surprised to know that my iCloud storage was near its 200GB limit, just a shy inch away at 199.5GB, so I decided to get rid of the big files which I don't need anymore & backed-up most of the videos in the Photos app including videos in my iPhone's internal storage.


Surprisingly I shaved a lot of free space, now it only takes-up 110.7GB used space in the iCloud storage and I have 89.3GB of free space to use.


But now all of a sudden all of the apps on my MacBook Air M1 are taking a long time whenever the apps need to open a file, some of the apps also start much slower too.

For examples:

  1. Acorn app takes a long time to start, before it instantly opened up, and not only when it starts the first time but also when Acorn app try to open a new file with a Finder pop-up window. It is so slow...
  2. Light Notepad app takes a very long time to start, previously it starts right away, saving a text file also take a very long time to finish.
  3. Safari web browser also have the same issue; it takes a very long time whenever I tried to attach a file on Gmail website, just opening a Finder window always turn the mouse cursor into a spinning rainbow ball and I have to wait more than 25 seconds.


Although nothing change when I open up Finder and try to browse my iCloud Drive directories.


What happened??

What can I do to remedy the problem?


I'm running macOS 26.0.1 on my MacBook Air M1.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Nov 4, 2025 10:55 AM

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User profile for user: neuroanatomist
neuroanatomist
User level: Level 9
55,893 points

Posted on Nov 4, 2025 11:00 AM

Check the free space on your internal storage. Behavior you're describing often occurs when you're running out of space.


The absolute minimum is ~20-25 GB free space, and as a rule of thumb you should aim to have 15-20% of your total internal storage as free space. Terminology is important here – free space is not the same thing as available space. The one that matters is Free space, but what macOS shows in most places is Available space. Available space includes both free space and ‘purgeable’ space, the latter comprises system caches, snapshots and other data that macOS can delete if it decides more free space is needed. However, there is no way the user can force those data to be purged.


The place to check how much Free space you have is in Disk Utility (in Applications > Utilities), by selecting the main container disk below the drive itself (you may need to select View menu > Show all devices to see it). For example, on my M4 MacBook Pro, the Storage settings pane and Get Info on the internal drive show 1.24 TB of Available space, whereas Disk Utility shows there is 1.15 TB of actual Free space, 90 GB less than ‘available’. 



Note that you can also see the Free space in the System Report (System Settings > General > About > System Report button, at the bottom > Storage). 

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User profile for user: neuroanatomist
neuroanatomist
User level: Level 9
55,893 points

Nov 4, 2025 11:00 AM in response to andy js

Check the free space on your internal storage. Behavior you're describing often occurs when you're running out of space.


The absolute minimum is ~20-25 GB free space, and as a rule of thumb you should aim to have 15-20% of your total internal storage as free space. Terminology is important here – free space is not the same thing as available space. The one that matters is Free space, but what macOS shows in most places is Available space. Available space includes both free space and ‘purgeable’ space, the latter comprises system caches, snapshots and other data that macOS can delete if it decides more free space is needed. However, there is no way the user can force those data to be purged.


The place to check how much Free space you have is in Disk Utility (in Applications > Utilities), by selecting the main container disk below the drive itself (you may need to select View menu > Show all devices to see it). For example, on my M4 MacBook Pro, the Storage settings pane and Get Info on the internal drive show 1.24 TB of Available space, whereas Disk Utility shows there is 1.15 TB of actual Free space, 90 GB less than ‘available’. 



Note that you can also see the Free space in the System Report (System Settings > General > About > System Report button, at the bottom > Storage). 

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User profile for user: andy js
andy js Author
User level: Level 1
22 points

Nov 8, 2025 6:35 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Thanks for trying to help, but I've figured it out myself.


Apparently iCloud sync was the one slowing down the whole macOS 26 Tahoe system, the iCloud should sync behind the scene automatically, but it didn't even though it has been several days after I cleaned up the iCloud storage.


The culprit was macOS 26 Tahoe's requirement that the MacBook Air must be charged / plugged-in so the iCloud can starts syncing with Apple's server.


First I noticed that the iCloud drive sync notification on Finder app (which look like a little thin sliced apple pie on a big empty plate) didn't make progress at all even though I let the MacBook Air sat on the desk without the lid closed for hours, and of course I've made sure the internet connection was fine (by downloading plenty of NSFW contents before I let the MacBook Air sat by itself).

And then I remembered that previously I also experienced almost the same thing with macOS 26 Tahoe's decryption process on external SSD drive; it requires the MacBook Air to be charged / plugged-in so it can continue with the decryption process, when I uncharged / unplugged the MacBook Air then the decryption process stops.

So I applied the same principal and charged the MacBook Air and then let it sat for a full night, the next morning everything works normal again, every apps now open up quickly like before. I take a look at the iCloud Drive on the Finder app, now it shows a checked mark next to it.



I hope this will help anyone else who experienced the same problem like me with iCloud storage slowing down their macOS' system, and quickly apply the solution to continue using their MacBooks without a hitch like I did.


Cheers.

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Finder in macOS 26 slows to a crawl after I cleaned-up iCloud storage

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