How to fix high CPU “kernel_task” usage that is more than 100% on a Mac

Apple products need no introduction as to how efficient they are. Whether we talk about iPhones, iPads, or Macs, they all have a standard processing unit that is A16 Bionic (for iPhones) and M2 Chip (for iPads and Macs). In addition to that, Macs are so dominant that they feature the ability to run such software (Final Cut Pro) that no one is giving except for some expensive laptops or PCs. Mac is such a great choice that we get Apple’s ecosystem, user experience, and resale value.

However, when we analyze the CPU efficiency of Macs, we find that they are initially based on Intel processors. But later on, after 14 years, Apple introduced their chip, which is M1, found to be equivalent to Intel’s 14-Core i9. To keep things even better, last year, they introduced the M2 Chip, which offers 24 GB of RAM, and with this, Mac became more efficient. But recently, some Mac users have complained of high CPU usage. They want to come down on that thing, so here we will guide you to do that.

How to Fix High CPU Usage Activity on Mac

Since junior high school, we have all learned that the CPU is the brain of every system. The installation includes processing units, graphics cards, RAM, hard discs, and more. We have also seen that when we have an issue with the PC, we usually take the CPU to the service center. This is because the whole thing runs to support the CPU’s efficiency. They do plenty of tasks frequently and only get slow if you care about them. Especially with Mac, these things are different. As we said, they have an M2 chip, an excellent processing unit.

But In the last few weeks, Mac has shown high CPU usage that ultimately slows down the CPU processing and leads to app crashing issues, decreased processing time, and many other consequences. For that, we tried to analyze the primary reasons behind this problem. And after overhaul research, I found there are merely eight things that force your Mac CPU to have high user activity. So, before anything, look at that and ensure you are not making any of these mistakes.

• I opened multiple windows for unnecessary apps.
•  Any app or game requires high CPU usage.
•  Doing a plethora of processing at a time
•  Allow a bunch of startup programs as configured.
•  Do not restart the Mac periodically.
•  Availability of malicious files in the system memory
•  System updates are emerging and running in the background.
•  Installed unnecessary browser extensions and tabs

After getting to these reasons for high CPU activity, you may wonder how to fix this problem. See, there are two ways to check your CPU usage and close things down accordingly. Another thing is to try out some troubleshooting we will provide you here. So, let’s start with checking CPU usage activity.

Note: There are two ways to check CPU activity usage on Mac: one is through Activity Monitor, and the second is through a terminal. So, let’s look both ways.

Check the CPU usage through the Activity Monitor.

This in-built utility allows every Mac to assess and check real-time activity and cool down whenever it goes high. Even though it is an in-built thing, people still need to learn how to check CPU usage activity using Activity Monitor. So, let’s look over these instructions to do so.

Note: You can do this more quickly through Command+Space to launch Spotlight Search and Search for Activity Monitor.

• Launch Finder on your Mac.
•  Then go to Applications >> Utilities >> Activity Monitor.
•  Next, a complete view of the activity will be displayed on your screen.
•  Lastly, select the CPU tab to see all your CPU activity.

Alternatively, you have another way that provides you with more comprehensive details of CPU usage. All you can do is launch Spotlight >> open terminal>> run this top -l 2 | grep -E “^CPU” command, and on the next screen, you will see your CPU usage. After doing this, you will keep track of your Mac’s CPU usage activity. So you can reduce the usage whenever you see a spike there. But apart from that, we are sharing a few troubleshooting steps to fix the issue of high CPU activity appearing now.

Close the app using more CPU power.

This is one of the things you can do to reduce your extreme activity usage on your Mac. See, a few apps cause high activity usage, and some cause usual usage. So if any app requires high CPU power and that app is one you rarely use, then closing that app is the best option. You can track the app using high CPU power through Activity Monitor.

Check your Mac’s hardware.

There might be some issues with your Mac’s hardware, resulting in problems for you. For this, you can run the diagnosis on your Mac. This can be done on any Mac, whether Intel’s or Apple’s. But you might face difficulty with that. So, here are steps to check Mac’s hardware and find hardware-related issues.

1. Open your Mac and continue to hold the power button.
2.  Then release the power button when the startup options screen appears.
3.  Next, press cmd + D and follow up on the prompts.
4.  That’s all; you are done.

Clear cache files.

Cache files get stored on your PC and unnecessarily restrict the CPU from delivering its maximum output. For this thing, you need to flush those cache files to get the highest CPU efficiency ever. To do that, you can use the all-in-one tool “CleanMyMac X” to do it easily. For a better view, you can follow these steps.

1. Open CleanMyMac X on your Mac.
2.  Then select the maintenance module.
3.  Click on flush DNS cache, and then on run.
4.  That’s it; all such cache files will be apparent in a few minutes.

Restart your Mac.

If you remember, we have said that if you have not restarted your Mac for a long time, then the CPU gets overhauled and may malfunction. And here it seems something like that, for which you need to restart your Mac. This helps the system clean up the processing mess and start again from scratch. If you face high CPU usage activity, this seems like the best option.

Update Your MacOS

An operating system runs with full strength when it is updated to the latest version. For example, if you are facing a high CPU usage problem with your Mac, check whether your Mac has an updated OS version. It could be hard for a newbie, so we are sharing steps to review and update MacOS to the latest version below.

1. On your Mac, go to System Settings.
2.  Then go to General >> Software Update.
3.  Next, click on the check for updates button.
4.  As a result, the system will find the latest version (if any).
5.  Now follow the on-screen instructions to install that version.
6.  That’s all; you are done.

Conclusively, high CPU usage activity can be a problem with any PC, whether Apple or any brand. You must correctly take care to avoid a problem. However, we have given you some troubleshooting steps to fix it. In addition, you should restart your Mac regularly and close unused apps and similar things to avoid this high CPU usage activity. So these are things relevant to this topic; if any user has a query, ask them below.

Frequently Asked Questions