On September 15, 2025 Apple unveiled its new operating system, macOS 26 Tahoe. It brought cool new design elements with liquid glass UI, AI-enabled tools, refined performance, and enhanced security features. While most users are enjoying the benefits, some are running into frustrating issues with the upgrade: booting problems, memory leaks, Bluetooth, and frequent Wi-Fi disconnection to name a few. The purpose of this guide is to help you fix some common macOS Tahoe issues ranging from installation errors to slowdowns and crashing apps.
Reported Bugs in macOS 26 Tahoe
While macOS 26 Tahoe is packed with new features, it does have several bugs that are causing trouble for everyday users. These include:
- Mac frequently losing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
- System updates freezing in preparation and failing to progress.
- Mac running slow or getting overheated
- Some applications, like Adobe suite, Safari, OBS Studio, etc. failing to open
- Faster battery drain
- External drive not showing up after upgrade
- Files going missing after the update
How to Fix macOS 26 Tahoe Issues?
We’ll go through these issues one by one, covering quick, user-friendly solutions like resetting preferences and freeing up storage, as well as deeper fixes, such as reinstalling system components or restoring from backups.
1. Wi-Fi or Bluetooth Won’t Connect
Many users report that their Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting or Bluetooth devices suddenly refuse to pair after upgrading to macOS 26 Tahoe.
- Forget your Wi-Fi network and reconnect it: Go to System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi and select your network. Click the three-dots icon and choose Forget This Network. Then reconnect by entering your password again.
- Reset network settings. Go to Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/
- Delete the following files:
- com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
- NetworkInterfaces.plist
- preferences.plist
- Unpair and reconnect Bluetooth device: Go to System Settings > Bluetooth and select your device. Click the three-dots icon and choose Forget This Device. Then pair it again.
- If the problem still persists, reboot your Mac to clear out temporary caches and refresh your wireless subsystems.
2. macOS 26 Tahoe Update Gets Stuck or Crashes
Many users reported that while installing the update it would get stuck on “preparing” or “verifying.” Some noticed that the update would crash right before the installer shows “less than one-minute remaining” from completion and their Macs would restart. This happens when system resources run low, the installation file becomes corrupted, or Apple’s update servers are under load.
- Install the update in Safe Mode. This disables third-party startup items and helps prevent app-level interferences during the update.
- macOS 26 Tahoe drops support for some Intel-based models, so make sure your system is eligible for it.
- Check Apple System status. Visit Apple servers page to confirm if macOS update servers are experiencing downtime.
- Keep enough free storage (Apple recommends at least 20GB) and a stable internet connection.
- Disconnect extra peripheral devices because they sometimes cause conflict with the update process.
3. Mac Runs Slow After the Update or Gets Overheated
An update may cause your Mac to slow down as it takes some time to re-index Spotlight, optimize storage, and rebuild caches. In macOS Tahoe, memory is restructured to prioritize new system animations, AI-driven processes, and tighter app sandboxing in a way that can exhaust available resources real fast.
Also, the update may not be compatible with every hardware configuration or make some software outdated or incompatible. All this may cause conflict and make your machine overheated or sluggish.
(Source: macOS Tahoe 26.1 freezes)
- Use built-in tools like storage management to clear out cache, temporary & junk files.
- Restart your Mac to clear memory leaks and refresh system processes.
- Check Activity Monitor to find out apps using excessive RAM and force close or uninstall them.
- Spotlight re-indexing can slow your system after a fresh update. Let it finish and restart your system.
- Close unwanted apps to reduce CPU load.
4. Apps Compatibility Issues
After updating to macOS 26 Tahoe, some users noticed that their apps either crash on launch or behave unpredictably. This is largely due to the new resource management framework in Tahoe, which assigns system memory dynamically to AI and security tasks. Older apps not optimized for this model may struggle to load correctly and conflict with new system APIs.
(Source: macOS 26 bug leads to performance issues in many apps)
How to fix app compatibility issues on macOS Tahoe?
- Clear app cache and preferences. This helps remove residual data from older macOS versions that might be conflicting with Tahoe’s libraries.
- Uninstall problematic apps and reinstall them. A clean reinstallation ensures it gets new permissions and dependencies.
- Update your apps to the latest version. Many developers have released “Tahoe-ready” builds, so check the App Store or the developer’s website.
- To use Intel-only apps on Apple Silicon, install Rosetta.
- Check and grant app permissions. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and make sure the app has access to necessary files, cameras, or microphones.
5. Battery Drains Faster
When you install a new macOS, it gets taxing for your battery initially as the Mac performs many background tasks like spotlight re-indexing, iCloud sync, AI model training, and app optimizations. These consume power for a few days before stabilizing.
(Source: Tahoe 26 is melting my battery)
How to avoid faster battery drain on macOS Tahoe:
- Use Activity Monitor to single out battery-sucking apps.
- Lower display brightness and disable background refresh to save power.
- Manage battery health. Go to System Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Turn on Optimized Battery Charging.
- Disable login items: System Settings > General > Login Items
6. Sluggish Animation
The transparency and liquid glass visual effects on macOS Tahoe consume more GPU resources than older versions. On systems with limited graphic capability, these effects may make the animations laggy and slow down transitions.
(Source: Low frame rate in Quick Look and UI animations)
How to fix sluggish animations on macOS Tahoe?
- Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display.
- Toggle on Reduce transparency.
- Return to the main Accessibility menu.
- Toggle on Reduce motion.
7. External Drive Not Detected
Several users have reported about their external drive not showing up after macOS 26 Tahoe update. This could be due to several reasons: compatibility bugs in macOS Tahoe, a faulty connection, incompatible file system, or incorrect Finder settings.
(Source: Tahoe not recognizing external hard drive)
How to fix drive detection issues in macOS Tahoe?
- Check your connection, replace worn out cables, and see if the USB ports are working fine.
- Go to Finder > Settings (or Finder > Preferences). Make sure the External disks are checked under Show these items on the desktop.
- Temporarily disable antivirus on your Mac.
8. Files Missing after Update
Some users report missing files after updating to macOS Tahoe. This could happen because of a number of reasons: iCould sync issues, disk errors, a software conflict or bug that moved the file elsewhere or deleted them.
(Source: Lost files when updating to Tahoe)
- Look for the missing files in Trash.
- Your files could be hidden after the update. To unhide them, open Terminal. Type defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE and killall Finder
- If you had backed up your files via Time Machine before the upgrade, restore them from there.
If you don’t have a backup of your files and the above methods fail to retrieve them, try using a professional Mac data recovery software
Bottom Line
The latest macOS Tahoe is frequently running into issues like installation failure, performance hiccups, crashing apps, and more. If none of the above fixes work, it would be best to downgrade from macOS Tahoe. Lastly, do not forget to back up your data well before the upgrade to prepare for unexpected data loss
Rishabh is a senior content specialist at Stellar Information Technology, where he writes about comprehensive data care solutions.
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