How to force restart a Mac, and when you should

Before force restarting, check what is frozen

A spinning wheel in one app doesn't always mean the entire Mac is unresponsive. Try moving the pointer, switching to another app and opening the Apple menu. If other apps work, save their documents before doing anything forceful.

The order here applies to macOS 15 Sequoia, macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate on Apple silicon laptops and desktops. Apple's standard procedure is a forced shutdown followed by a normal power-on; there is no separate M1, M2, M3, M4 or M5 reset sequence.

Pause if a macOS installation is in progress. An Apple logo and progress bar that pauses during an update can be normal, and Apple recommends allowing overnight when needed. Don't turn that into a timed “restart every few minutes” routine. The update guide explains installation failures separately.

1. Try a normal restart

If the menu works, choose Apple menu › Restart. Respond to any request to save a document. A normal restart gives apps the opportunity to finish and save, which is why it comes before the power button.

Don't repeatedly click Restart if the Mac is waiting for an app's save dialog. Look for a prompt behind the front window or an app that refuses to quit. If you can still interact with it, save or cancel the operation deliberately.

In the restart dialog, clear Reopen windows when logging back in if you want a cleaner troubleshooting session. That setting controls restored windows; it doesn't uninstall anything or disable every login item.

If the Mac now restarts and behaves normally, you don't need a forced restart too. Go to the checks after startup below if this was part of a recurring problem.

2. Force quit an unresponsive app

When a single app is stuck, press Option-Command-Esc, or choose Apple menu › Force Quit. Select the app that isn't responding and click Force Quit. If Finder is the problem, the same window offers Relaunch for Finder.

Save what you can first. Force quitting can lose the selected app's unsaved changes. It generally disturbs less work than forcing the entire computer off, but it is still an abrupt stop for that app.

Try to reopen the app or restart the Mac normally afterwards. If an app keeps hanging on the same file, record the file type and the operation that triggers it, then check for an app update. See the full Force Quit guide for Activity Monitor and other app-level options.

If the Force Quit window won't open, or force quitting doesn't allow a normal restart, proceed to the power button. A mouse that stops responding by itself can also be a peripheral issue, so try the built-in keyboard or trackpad if the Mac has one.

3. How to force restart a Mac with the power button

This can lose unsaved work in every open app. A file being written or copied may be incomplete. Use this when the Mac won't restart normally, not as a daily maintenance shortcut.

Find the Mac's power button. On a MacBook with Touch ID, use the Touch ID button on the built-in keyboard. On a desktop, use the button on the Mac itself rather than the display's power button.
Press and keep holding. Apple says to hold it for up to 10 seconds, until the Mac turns off. A short Touch ID press may lock the screen instead; keep holding for the shutdown.
Release after it turns off. This ends the forced-shutdown stage.
Press and release normally to start. Don't keep holding during this second stage unless you intend to open startup options.
Let startup finish. Log in and check the document or task that was interrupted before reopening everything else.

This is Apple's documented fallback when a Mac can't restart. Apple does not give a different hold duration for each Apple silicon MacBook or desktop model in that guidance. If a desktop's display remains on but the Mac is off, don't use the screen's own power light as the only sign.

Don't pull out a desktop's power cable as the first way to restart it, and don't disconnect a drive in the middle of writing merely to make the computer react. Use the documented power-button method when normal controls have failed.

Why the keyboard shortcut advice can be wrong

Some older instructions recommend Control-Command-Power. Apple's keyboard-shortcuts page limits that forced-restart shortcut to built-in keyboards without Touch ID. It isn't a universal instruction for current MacBooks or a Touch ID Magic Keyboard.

The same distinction explains why tapping Touch ID or combining it with an old shortcut doesn't do what a copied guide promises. For Apple silicon, the physical power-button shutdown-and-start method above is the straightforward fallback.

You also don't need an Intel SMC or NVRAM key ritual as part of restarting an Apple silicon Mac. A persistent hardware or power fault deserves its own diagnostic path, rather than more combinations of keys.

After the restart, check the interrupted work

Open the affected document and check the last saved version. If an app offers recovery, read the choices before overwriting a good copy. Verify important copied files from both ends if a transfer was interrupted. A successful login only tells you that startup completed.

If windows come back, that can be the session restore option discussed above. If an app opens at every login even after you clear that option, inspect System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions on macOS 15, 26 or 27. Our login-items guide covers the difference between reopening a window and an app configured to start automatically.

Reopen the required work gradually. If the same app triggers the freeze again, save the app and macOS versions and the steps that reproduce it. If the entire Mac freezes with different apps, disconnect optional accessories for a test and consider safe mode and Apple Diagnostics.

When to stop repeating forced restarts

A forced restart is a recovery action, not a diagnosis. If every startup ends at an Apple logo, Recovery may be needed. If the Mac shows nothing at all, check power and Apple's no-power guidance. If it reports that it restarted because of a problem, use the unexpected-restart guide.

Contact Apple Support if the Mac repeatedly fails to start, turns off immediately, or cannot run Diagnostics. If files aren't backed up, say that before agreeing to any erase or restore. Repeating the same forced shutdown doesn't make the next attempt more likely to preserve an unfinished write.

Where Tend fits

Once macOS is running again, Tend's free Energy over time view shows saved per-app totals for the last 24 hours; Pro adds 7- and 30-day views. It can give context about which of your apps was busy, but it isn't a CPU trace or a crash log, and the final activity before an abrupt shutdown may not have been saved.

Questions

How do I force restart a frozen MacBook Air or Pro?

Hold the built-in power or Touch ID button for up to 10 seconds until it turns off, release it, then press and release it to start again. Try a normal restart or Force Quit first.

Will a force restart delete my files?

It does not deliberately erase stored files, but unsaved changes can be lost and an interrupted write or copy can be incomplete. Check the affected work after restarting.

Why does holding Touch ID show startup options?

Holding the power button while starting an Apple silicon Mac opens startup options. To restart normally after forcing it off, press and release the button instead of continuing to hold it.

Why do my apps reopen after restarting?

The restart dialog can reopen the previous session. Clear Reopen windows when logging back in for a troubleshooting restart, and check Login Items & Extensions for apps configured to open automatically.

For the next step, see a startup that stops at the Apple logo.