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dendavis
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Cannot Switch Between Apps on MacBook Air with OS 27.0.1

Cannot switch between apps on the desktop, have to restart to get to a different app. I have OS 27.0.1 on my MacBook Air. I find that frequently, but not always, when I go to switch apps on the screen, the computer will not respond to the command, and, control to the app I want to leave is also lost. I have been successful in switching apps if I go through the Restart process, but that is cumbersome, and, I shouldn't have to do that anyway.

Posted on Oct 30, 2026 3:13 PM

4 replies

Servant of Cats
User level: Level 9 (55,707 points)

Oct 31, 2026 5:47 AM in response to dendavis

Are you saying that apps just hang, and lock up control of the whole computer? If that's happening all of the time, it shouldn't be.


(You said that "control to the app I want to leave is also lost", suggesting the problem isn't just a matter of one application going into full-screen mode at an unexpected time.)


If we were talking about a really old Mac with a mechanical hard drive, I might suspect failure of the mechanical hard drive, but your Mac (a 15" MacBook Air with a M2, M3, M4, or M5 chip) has a SSD. Those can fail, but it seems very unlikely that yours would have failed, in a way that hobbled the computer so badly, anywhere near this soon.


Unless there is some really major bug in macOS 27.0.1 that few others have encountered, I would suspect a problem such as

  • Third-party software that is interfering with proper operation of your Mac
  • The SSD being nearly full - macOS needs some free space to operate properly
  • (Less likely) A hardware issue with your MacBook Air requiring diagnosis by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Facility
sberman
User level: Level 10 (280,982 points)

Oct 30, 2026 3:28 PM in response to dendavis

dendavis wrote:
I have OS 27.0.1 on my MacBook Air.

As of October 26, 2026, this macOS version is no longer current.

Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support


dendavis Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 31, 2026 6:41 AM in response to sberman

Okay, I appreciate the suggestion, I have updated to OS 27.2. Because the lock up issue was random, I cannot give a final assessment for a while, but, this sounds like a reasonable step forward.

sberman
User level: Level 10 (280,982 points)

Oct 31, 2026 10:59 AM in response to dendavis

I hope it works out for you.


Good luck.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256386138