Documentation reviewed October 5, 2026. Menu labels can vary with your macOS version.
If one app stops responding, force quit that app before considering a restart of the whole Mac. Force quitting can lose unsaved changes, so first try a normal quit and save work in other applications.
Try a normal quit first
Bring the affected app forward and press Command–Q, or choose Quit from its application menu. Normal quitting lets the app perform its usual closing and saving steps. If it is busy exporting or saving, consider whether waiting is appropriate before interrupting it.
Open Force Quit Applications
Press Option–Command–Esc, or choose Apple menu → Force Quit. Select the unresponsive app and click Force Quit. Check the app name carefully so you do not stop another application that still has unsaved work.
Reopen the app afterwards. If it offers a recovered document, inspect the result and save a separate copy before replacing your previous file. Recovery is app-dependent; force quitting does not guarantee that the latest changes can be restored.
If Finder is the app that stopped responding
Choose Finder in the Force Quit window and click Relaunch. This restarts Finder. It is different from restarting the Mac, although interrupting an active Finder operation can affect that operation.
Use Activity Monitor for a more detailed check
If you need to inspect which process is using resources, open Activity Monitor. Select the app’s process and use the stop control. A normal Quit request and Force Quit are different levels of interruption.
Do not start force quitting unfamiliar system processes because they have high CPU usage. For a slower Mac, follow our Activity Monitor troubleshooting guide to separate CPU use, memory pressure and storage-related symptoms.
When to restart the Mac
If force quitting does not work, try Apple menu → Restart. Save work in other responsive apps first. If the Mac cannot restart normally, Apple’s final fallback is holding the power button for up to ten seconds until it switches off, then starting it again.
A forced power-off interrupts the whole system. Reserve it for a Mac that cannot respond to the ordinary restart process, rather than using it as the first response to one frozen app.
Investigate an app that freezes repeatedly
Record what triggers the problem: opening one document, connecting an accessory, exporting, or leaving the app idle. Check for an app update and confirm the developer supports your macOS version.
Try a copy of the document when a specific file triggers the freeze. If several apps fail during the same task, broaden the investigation instead of reinstalling each app immediately. Our macOS upgrade checklist is useful before making a major system change to solve an application problem.
