macOS Monterey has a serious memory leak problem, and the cause has been found

3 years ago 536

If you're utilizing thing but the default macOS cursor successful Monterey, you've astir apt noticed immoderate superior problems. This bug tin clang a Mac, but luckily avoiding it is simple.

The origin of a representation leak successful Apple's recently-released macOS Monterey that has been plaguing users since it's aboriginal November merchandise has been found, and portion its effects tin beryllium devastating avoiding the bug volition beryllium elemental for astir users.

Users who installed macOS Monterey erstwhile it became mostly disposable successful precocious October started noticing immoderate serious issues astir instantly retired of the gate. Apps similar Firefox, Control Center, Safari and others were eating up monolithic amounts of RAM (one idiosyncratic reported 20GB of RAM successful usage by Firefox connected his 64GB M1X Mac).

SEE: Feature comparison: Time tracking bundle and systems (TechRepublic Premium)

Other users reported aggregate instances of strategy alerts informing them that their machine had tally retired of memory, oregon informing that a peculiar app was consuming ample amounts of memory. The origin was unknown, but the occupation was clear: Something successful macOS Monterey is wrong.

Luckily, developers astatine Mozilla recovered a communal denominator betwixt each of the reports of representation leaks successful Monterey: Every azygous idiosyncratic was utilizing a non-standard rodent pointer.

"On macOS 12 Monterey, utilizing a non-standard cursor size oregon colors causes a ample representation leak successful Firefox. Firefox mentation 94 includes a hole that reduces the representation leak, but the occupation tin inactive occur. The occupation has been reported to Apple and a hole is expected successful a aboriginal update to macOS 12," said Mozilla poster williamyoung.

As 1 Apple blogger pointed out, it's much than conscionable a occupation with Mozilla, unfortunately: The leak happens immoderate clip a non-standard rodent pointer changes shape. That means mousing implicit a substance field, hovering implicit a button, oregon utilizing immoderate app that creates a customized rodent pointer volition origin the leak to happen, provided it's changing from a cursor that is antithetic from the macOS standard.

All of that info boils down to 1 remediation step: You request to alteration your macOS rodent cursor backmost to the modular one. There hasn't been connection from Apple arsenic to erstwhile a spot volition beryllium released, but successful the meantime Mac users who trust connected customized pointers for accessibility reasons volition beryllium near struggling oregon surviving with changeless reboots.

How to reset your rodent pointer successful macOS Monterey

Resetting the quality of your pointer successful macOS is simply a beauteous cut-and-dry process that should lone instrumentality you a minute, and prevention you a batch of headaches successful the coming weeks.

SEE: Windows 11: Tips connected installation, information and much (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Start by opening the Settings exertion (Figure A). There you'll spot Accessibility. Click connected that.

On the surface that opens you'll spot respective antithetic accessibility categories to take from. You're looking for Display, which should beryllium the 3rd enactment down nether the Vision category. On the Vision surface determination should beryllium 3 categories to take from: Display, Pointer and Color Filters. Select Pointer and you'll spot the surface shown successful Figure B.

The settings successful Figure B are precisely arsenic they should beryllium for a default rodent pointer. If you request to alteration yours, conscionable bash 2 things: Drag the pointer size selector each the mode to the left, and click Reset connected the pointer colour options.