
If you started an app installation but didn’t complete it, look for any installer icon in the Dock or Desktop, and complete the installation or end it. In this case, pause the installation, wait for it to finish, or force shut down your Mac (explained at the end). It’s also possible that an app is being installed which is blocking your Mac from powering off. Is anything installing in the background? And if it is, you may have to pause or cancel the download before clicking the shut down button. Quickly check if a web browser like Safari, Chrome, or Firefox, or an app like App Store or Setapp is downloading something in the background.

To fix this, check your Mac’s top menu bar, and you should see the tiny app icon.

However, some apps or utilities running in the background may not be visible in the Dock even if they are open.ĭepending on the app, these open apps may block you from powering off your Mac. Opened apps appear in your Mac’s Dock and have a small dot below their icon, signifying that app is currently open.

Simply click it and confirm that you’re trying to leave that website. When something like this happens on your Mac, you should see that browser app icon jump in the Dock. Similarly, sites where you fill out forms, enter text and edit something may also show such behavior. And until you attend to their alert, you won’t be able to close that tab, quit that browser, or turn off your computer.įor example, if you’re listening to YouTube Music in any browser like Safari, Chrome, or Firefox and try to turn off your Mac, it will first ask for your confirmation to leave the YouTube Music website. Like the apps we mentioned above, some websites also need confirmation before they can be closed. Once this is done, you should be able to shut down or restart your Mac normally. Simply click that app icon from the Dock and save the document or confirm that you don’t want to save it. In these cases, when you try to power off your Mac, all open apps will close, but the icon of such an app that is blocking the shut down will jump in the Mac’s Dock, requesting you to give it attention.

Your Mac won’t turn off if you have unsaved documents in apps like Pages, Word, etc. 9) Force a shutdown Save your pending work
