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Summary: A macOS application can sometimes stop responding due to some technical glitch. This app freeze won’t let you do any task on it and won’t quit. Don’t worry! Learn how to force quit an unresponsive app on Mac. In case you lose your data due to force quitting, recover it using Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac.
When an application stops responding, you can try quitting it using the Command + Q hotkey or navigating to the App menu and choosing the Quit App menu option. But, sometimes, the app doesn’t quit (close) this way. In such a situation, you need to force quit the app on your Mac.
Force quitting is necessary when normal quitting doesn’t work. But this method comes with a caveat; you’ll lose data that is not saved on the application. So, wait till the application unfreezes itself after some time. If it doesn’t, use the methods presented next to force quit a freezed application on Mac.
Also Read: How to Recover Unsaved Office Files on Mac |
Here, replace $AppName with the name of the app that you want to force quit.
When you lose your data due to force quitting an application, you can try the application’s built-in auto-recovery feature, e.g., as available in Microsoft Office for Mac. If the app doesn’t have any auto-recovery, autosave, or file recovery options, the chances of retrieving the unsaved file are thin, but you can still look for the unsaved file in Trash or Time Machine backup.
In case of data loss due to deletion, formatting, or otherwise, get free software to scan the Mac drive and recover data. The steps are as follows:
Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac is suitable for free drive scanning, free file previewing, and free recovery of up to 1 GB of files. To recover more files, you’ll need to upgrade the software—either to Professional or Premium edition. |
We hope now you know how to force quit an unresponsive or freezing app on Mac. Remember, you should Force quit an application only when there is no choice. In case of data loss due to force quitting an app, file deletion, formatting, or drive corruption, try Stellar Data Recovery Free Edition for Mac to recover the lost or deleted file. The free mac data recovery software works harmoniously with macOS Big Sur 11 and earlier.
Santosh is a technical writer with 10-year experience in writing. He writes troubleshooting blogs, articles, and other web content on a variety of topics, including data recovery, data security, and data backup. His hobbies include solving puzzles, gardening & painting.