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satoruyk
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

MacBook Pro (M4 Pro) Performance Cores Seem Parked/Locked



my MacBook Pro (M4 Pro) purchased two years ago, has been running very slow recently.

After lots of benchmarking and diagnosis , I found out that the performance clusters are always at 0 MHz, they are never engaged, the entire system is running on 4 efficiency cores.

I have no idea why and how this happened, I have reset the system , still no change. Apple diagnostic doesn't report any issue either. Currently I am on MacOs 27.2


Also,


sysctl kern.sched_recommended_cores reports -> kern.sched_recommended_cores: 15 ( which is unusual? )


And,


sudo powermetrics --samplers cpu_power,thermal -i 2000 -n 5 | grep -E "Cluster HW active frequency|CPU [0-9]+ frequency|Thermal pressure|CPU Power|Combined Power"

Password:

E-Cluster HW active frequency: 1380 MHz

CPU 0 frequency: 1550 MHz

CPU 1 frequency: 1520 MHz

CPU 2 frequency: 1593 MHz

CPU 3 frequency: 1573 MHz

P0-Cluster HW active frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 4 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 5 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 6 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 7 frequency: 0 MHz

P1-Cluster HW active frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 8 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 9 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 10 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU 11 frequency: 0 MHz

CPU Power: 76 mW

Combined Power (CPU + GPU + ANE): 93 mW




Please help me out with this, I have no idea what to do anymore.


[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Nov 3, 2026 8:43 AM

6 replies

Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10 (148,617 points)

Nov 4, 2026 9:20 AM in response to satoruyk

satoruyk wrote:
No ofcourse not.


Sure LOOKS like low power mode.

is the Power adapter actively connected and the battery charged above 50 percent?


Did you check the actual status by clicking on the battery icon in the menubar?



etresoft
User level: Level 9 (60,836 points)

Nov 3, 2026 9:27 AM in response to satoruyk

Do you have low power mode enabled?

John Galt
User level: Level 10 (162,806 points)

Nov 4, 2026 12:13 PM in response to satoruyk

After lots of benchmarking and diagnosis ,


Which benchmarking utilities did you use?


Deprive the Mac of any excuse not to use every core to its maximum extent. Connect it to power, etc.


Apple diagnostic doesn't report any issue either.


Good idea but AD does little other than confirm the presence of operable hardware. Consider it inconclusive unless it identifies a specific fault condition.


Regardless, if you have reason to believe your Mac is not performing as well as it should, consider using EtreCheck and posting its report in a reply to this Discussion.


Instructions: How to run the Etrecheck Diagnostic Tool - Apple Community

TheLittles
User level: Level 10 (211,627 points)

Nov 3, 2026 9:49 PM in response to satoruyk

"MacBook Pro (M4 Pro) Performance Cores Seem Parked/Locked[...]I have no idea why and how this happened, I have reset the system , still no change. Apple diagnostic doesn't report any issue either. Currently I am on MacOs 27.2[...]"

-------


Troubleshooting a Lagging Mac:

Seems this is running lots of items/processes and/or is low on storage.


Activity Monitor:

Go into Activity Monitor and click the following...

  • CPU
  • Memory?

Does anything seem to be eating up lots of your CPU?


Disk Utility:

Go into Disk Utility and see if you are low on storage. If so, then that will make it lag.

So, just how much of this is System Data? Erase it using finder. See my User Tip: How to Use Finder to Clear “System Data" on a Mac - User Tip


RESTORE from a Time Machine Backup:

Did you ever create a Time Machine Backup of this Mac some time way back when? If so, restore to it. Back up your Mac before doing so, so that you can restore from it from afterwards.

satoruyk Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Nov 4, 2026 7:28 AM in response to TheLittles

It’s a fresh install so no issues from any process.


and no I already stress tested my disk and benchmarked it. Disk is doing just fine.


you probably didn’t get it. My problem is the cpu performance cores are never getting used. They sit at 0% load always.

satoruyk Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Nov 3, 2026 8:53 PM in response to etresoft

No ofcourse not.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256388241