How to Force Quit on Mac (4 Ways)

Discover various methods, including shortcuts and Activity Monitor, to force quit unresponsive apps on your Mac and regain control swiftly.

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By Abhishek Chandel
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How to Force Quit on Mac

How to Force Quit on Mac

Has an app ever frozen or become unresponsive on your Mac? Force quitting allows you to forcibly close an app that is not working properly. When an app hangs, gets stuck in a loop, or uses too many resources, you may need to force quit it. In this blog post, we'll cover when and how to force quit unresponsive applications on your Mac. With simple shortcuts and steps, you can quickly regain control of your Mac by force quitting problematic apps. Read on to learn how to master this useful troubleshooting technique.

When to Force Quit an App

There are a few instances when you may need to force quit an application on your Mac:

  • Apps Freezing or Becoming Unresponsive

  • Apps Getting Stuck in Infinite Loops or Spinning Wheels

  • Apps Using Too Many System Resources Slowing Your Mac Down

4 Ways to Force Quit an App

There are a few different ways to force quit an app on your Mac:

Method 1: Using the Apple Menu

  1. Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen.

  2. Hover your mouse over "Force Quit".

  3. Select the app you want to force quit from the menu.

Method 2: Using Command-Option-Escape

  1. Press the Command-Option-Escape keyboard shortcut.

  2. This will bring up the Force Quit Applications dialog box.

  3. Select the app you want to force quit.

  4. Click the Force Quit button.

Method 3: Using Activity Monitor

  1. Open the Activity Monitor in your Utilities folder.

  2. Select the app you want to force quit.

  3. Click the "X" stop button to force quit the app.

Method 4: Using the Dock

  1. Click and hold an app's icon in the Dock.

  2. Select "Force Quit" from the shortcut menu.

Conclusion

Force quitting can help you swiftly deal with unresponsive or frozen apps on your Mac. Use it as a last resort before restarting your computer. If an app frequently needs to be force quit, try troubleshooting or reinstalling it. Overall, knowing when and how to force quit apps using the Apple menu, keyboard shortcuts, Activity Monitor, or Dock will give you more control over your Mac. With the simple force quit methods outlined, you can close non-working apps and restore optimal performance. Keep this handy technique in mind for those inevitable times when an app misbehaves or becomes unresponsive.

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