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How to force a stuck and unresponsive app to quit

Modified on: Tue, 13 Sep 2022 7:59 AM

If an app will not respond to mouse clicks, is showing a spinning beach ball, won't close, or runs very slowly, you may need to force it to quit.

Note: this will delete any unsaved work in the app, so only use this as a last resort if you have unsaved text, photo editing, etc.

There are two ways to quit or force quit apps. Try the second if the first one isn't working.

Option 1: Press and hold the two keys Command (⌘) + Q

If this works, the app will close on your computer. You can now re-open it and try again. If you needed to quit many apps, try restarting your computer before re-opening the apps.

Option 2: Press and hold Option + Command (⌘) + ESC

On the window that appears, click on the app that you want to quit and click Force Quit


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