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Google Drive CPU usage is high after upgrading to Sequoia

After upgrading my M1 iMac to Sequoia yesterday, I've been noticing that the CPU usage for Google Drive is constantly high (25 to 45%). Since none of the Google Drive folders are downloaded, this CPU usage in the past has always been very low--so low as to be almost unnoticeable.


There are a few posts on Reddit about this same issue.



iMac 24″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 21, 2024 8:55 AM

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Posted on Oct 17, 2024 12:23 AM

I noticed the same thing on a 13'' M2 MBP running Sequoia. Whenever I connect my external monitor the CPU usage of Google Drive goes up to 40-50%. It drops to almost 0% when I disconnect the drive. This happens consistently and must be at least part of the problem. Maybe Google Drive thinks the monitor is an external disk that it tries to scan?

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Oct 17, 2024 12:23 AM in response to minnesota_mark

I noticed the same thing on a 13'' M2 MBP running Sequoia. Whenever I connect my external monitor the CPU usage of Google Drive goes up to 40-50%. It drops to almost 0% when I disconnect the drive. This happens consistently and must be at least part of the problem. Maybe Google Drive thinks the monitor is an external disk that it tries to scan?

Oct 26, 2024 6:34 AM in response to JustForComment

I have stumbled upon the same issue. The difference is, I'm running macOS Sequoia on a bit ancient Mac Book Air 2020 with Intel Dual-Core i3 processor.

So, I could confirm that this does not affect just Apple Silicon, but Intel-based Macs as well.

The symptoms are the same, as described by other users:

  1. When my Mac is on battery only and no external display is connected, the Google Drive App does not consume any visible CPU cycles.
  2. Once connected to my external monitor via a PD USB-C hub, immediately the Google Drive App starts consuming a lot of the processor time, without any obvious reason.
  3. I've already sent a feedback to Google via the Options menu where I've included diagnostics information as well. Hopefully they'll be able to fix this soon.


For anyone interested. I'm running Intel-based (Dual-Core i3) Mac Book Air with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. So far the upgrade experience from Sonoma was very pleasant. The two hitches I've discovered:

  1. The current issue with Google Drive Desktop App
  2. I have issues with my USB Digital Signature - I'll have to address them with the Signature's Provider.


All in all the experience is similarly good as the upgrade from Ventura to Sonoma.

Oct 17, 2024 11:47 AM in response to cpharvey65

cpharvey65 wrote:


HRT3039 wrote:

I noticed the same thing on a 13'' M2 MBP running Sequoia. Whenever I connect my external monitor the CPU usage of Google Drive goes up to 40-50%. It drops to almost 0% when I disconnect the drive. This happens consistently and must be at least part of the problem. Maybe Google Drive thinks the monitor is an external disk that it tries to scan?
Confirmed here too! As soon as I unplugged my monitors the CPU drop to almost nothing.
Definitely more research needed here!


Further research. My m2 mac is using the built-in HDMI port for one monitor and a USB-C port (converted to HDMI via a dongle) for my second monitor.


I discovered that having the HDMI monitor connected has the cpu use at around 60%, where as having the USB-C monitor connected drops it to 20%. Having both, puts it back to 60% (or thereabouts).


So external monitors are clearly the issue, but HDMI being the worst.

Nov 2, 2024 11:25 PM in response to wealthandnecessity

Same here.

MacOS 15.1

Macbook air M2


Using external hdmi with monitor gets gdrive to 40-50%.


Interesting is that GOOGLE MEETS goes crazy too... system seems to get overloaded and then Google Meets get connection delays, making impossible to continue it use.

I turn off google drive and things get better, but still with connection delays.


I tested using the same network with google meets in other two devices, an android phone and a windows laptop, and both works fine.

Using other apps, as Zoom or Teams and all goes well.


Not sure what is happening, but there are some imcompatibilities within MacOS15.1 and google apps.

Sep 23, 2024 11:34 AM in response to JustForComment

I contacted Google Drive support; they said they've made no changes and it must be an issue with the upgrade to Sequoia. (Well, yes, it did start when I upgraded to Sequoia.)


I also contacted Apple Support. They said it must be a case where the Apple operating system and the Google Drive application are "optimizing".


On my M1 iMac, the Google Drive process continues to be at the top of CPU usage on the Activity Monitor; it's currently at 35%. The next process is at 2 to 5%.

Oct 12, 2024 8:48 AM in response to JustForComment

I have a 14" M1 MBP, same issue after upgrading to Sequoi. I often run with an external monitor, and I have noticed that when I do not run with 2 monitors (either closing the lid on the MPB, or unplugging the external monitor), google drive drops to just about zero. It seems odd that use of second monitor can impact the cpu utilization of Drive.


Oct 17, 2024 7:07 AM in response to HRT3039

HRT3039 wrote:

I noticed the same thing on a 13'' M2 MBP running Sequoia. Whenever I connect my external monitor the CPU usage of Google Drive goes up to 40-50%. It drops to almost 0% when I disconnect the drive. This happens consistently and must be at least part of the problem. Maybe Google Drive thinks the monitor is an external disk that it tries to scan?

Confirmed here too! As soon as I unplugged my monitors the CPU drop to almost nothing.

Definitely more research needed here!

Oct 21, 2024 2:46 PM in response to HRT3039

Veerrrry interesting observation regarding external displays!


I have a CalDigit TS4 that has two 4k displays attached to it, one via the DP1.4 port on the dock, and one through USB-C (both are Dell monitors with USB-C input, as well as a standard DP input).


I don't even have to physically disconnect the displays to see a change in CPU usage - simply powering them off makes a difference.


Thankfully, when I'm unplugged from the dock, I have no external displays, so CPU usage goes down and I'm not killing battery life... but it's really annoying having the GDrive app eating CPU needlessly when plugged in. 🤦‍♂️

Google Drive CPU usage is high after upgrading to Sequoia

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