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kernel_task

kernel_task and summer heat

Open Activity Monitor. If kernel_task is the top of the CPU % list and hogging its cores, what should you do? Can Energy Modes help?

July 22, 2025 Macs, Technology

Why is kernel_task taking so much CPU?

Why you shouldn’t try killing kernel_task, but take action to help cool your Mac and reduce the heat it’s producing.

July 11, 2024 Macs, Technology

Keeping cool: control

Signs of thermal strain in a Mac, including what kernel_task is doing, how to encourage heat dissipation and reduce it production.

March 29, 2024 Macs, Technology

Last Week on My Mac: Solo or CoreDuet?

How do the SMC and CoreDuet manage the systems in your Mac, and should you fiddle with them?

March 17, 2024 Macs, Technology

What to do when a process uses too much CPU

T T Read More

The spinning beachball, a juddery interface, and fans running full pelt: what’s CPU doing in Activity Monitor, and what should you do about it?

June 15, 2023 Macs, Technology

What to do when a process is using excessive CPU

T T Read More

Your Mac has slowed to a crawl, with spinning beachballs and a juddery interface. You open Activity Monitor and read this.

June 10, 2020 Macs, Technology

Why is kernel_task eating my CPU?

Your Mac goes all sluggish, you open Activity Monitor, and there at the top of the CPU list is kernel_task, taking 100% or more. Why?

April 25, 2020 Macs, Technology

Playing with fire: dealing with slow hot Macs

What should you do with a Mac whose fans keeping coming on full blast, with high CPU loads from kernel_task, and sluggish performance?

February 25, 2019 Macs, Technology

Why is kernel_task slowing my Mac down so much?

It’s hot, you’re hot, and your Mac has slowed right down. Activity Monitor tells you that it’s kernel_task which is to blame. Is macOS playing up, or what?

February 20, 2019 Macs, Technology
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