Hi,
Since upgrading to macOS Tahoe I've noticed the download screen (the window that comes up when choosing where to save a file) is unusably slow and laggy.
I'm trying to work out wether this is an issue with a setting on my device (2023 M2 Pro MBP) or with Tahoe itself, and how to fix.
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 26.1
kmilk wrote:
Hi,
Since upgrading to macOS Tahoe I've noticed the download screen (the window that comes up when choosing where to save a file) is unusably slow and laggy.
I'm trying to work out wether this is an issue with a setting on my device (2023 M2 Pro MBP) or with Tahoe itself, and how to fix.
Have you shut down and restarted more than once
Have you tried another browser and compared your results
A SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies
Login and test. Reboot as normal and test.
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
kmilk wrote:
Hi,
Since upgrading to macOS Tahoe I've noticed the download screen (the window that comes up when choosing where to save a file) is unusably slow and laggy.
I'm trying to work out wether this is an issue with a setting on my device (2023 M2 Pro MBP) or with Tahoe itself, and how to fix.
Have you shut down and restarted more than once
Have you tried another browser and compared your results
A SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies
Login and test. Reboot as normal and test.
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
I have some files stored in iCloud drive but that shouldn't be causing the issue.
Maybe it is. There is a known bug causing a lag in the open/save dialog, resulting from having folders/files at the root level of your iCloud Drive (see this thread on the Dev Forums).
Install EtreCheck and post the report.
Use the Additional Text icon to paste in the report.
Have a look - I've tested the file picker in other apps and notice the same issue in other apps (Whatsapp, Word, inDesign etc)
I suspect it's an issue with Finder and os26 rather than with something I've installed as I don't have many system extension - type apps running.
I suspect it's an issue with Finder and os26 rather than with something I've installed as I don't have many system extension - type apps running.
The EtreCheck report begs to differ:
System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.
Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.
Yes - of course. Tried using safari (usually use Chrome)
I don't! I have some files stored in iCloud drive but that shouldn't be causing the issue.
Have a look at the (hopefully censored enough lol) screen recording here - https://streamable.com/3n5sor
You can see the crux of the issue when I click on the downloads folder, where there's a large delay. It's better than it was before I restarted (when even scrolling through the ui was difficult) but still...
Weirdly the same issue doesn't occur within finder windows itself.
I have to run but I'm sure someone will take a look.
I see from the report you don’t have any drives attached, so the rest of this is irrelevant unless you disconnected the drive for the report.
I've tested the file picker in other apps and notice the same issue in other apps (Whatsapp, Word, inDesign etc)
Do you have an external Hard Disk Drive attached? If it is allowed to sleep, it will have to spin up and scanned prior to being able to do anything in a file open/save sheet. If the drive is only connecting at USB2 speeds it could take a while.
macOS Tahoe File chooser / Download window unusable
