Category: 10.15 Catalina

Catalina 10.15.7 Update is causing problems with the accountsd process. The issue only seems to happen if you use iCloud Drive, Mail, Calendar or Internet Accounts.

Something is wrong with the iCloud sync process. Users are saying that after they installed the 10.15.7 update, the accountsd process runs up to 400%+ in Activity Monitor. When the issue starts, it slows the Mac down to a crawl. This causes the Mac to quickly drain the battery, heat up and kick the CPU fans into high gear. Another process that could be acting up is suggestd.

UPDATE 9/29 10:00AM – I’ve added 2 new fixes in the workarounds section below. One kills the cm.apple.iCloudHelper process and recreates the .sqlite database. The other was to remove Find My Mac then re enable it.

This comes after I reported major problems with the macOS Mojave 2020-005 Security Update that came out on the same day. Apple has pulled both the Safari 14.0 and Mojave 2020-005 Security Updates.

mrmacintosh.com/mojave-2020-005-security-update-causing-major-problems-updated/

This article will include will be continually updated with the latest information on this issue.

I have some workarounds and fixes that could help you if you already installed the macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update.

Table of Contents

• 1. macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update Problems
• 2. Affected macOS Build Versions
• 3. What is the accountsd process?
• 4. Affected Mac Hardware
• 5. User Reports
• 6. I’m trying to replicate this issue now.
• 7. Workarounds / Fixes
• 8. If you are seeing this issue, please let Apple know.
• 9. Catalina 10.15.7 Update accountd issue links
• 10. Hat Tip/Credits

1. macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update Problems

What are the reported problems with this update?

The macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update was released on September 24th, 2020.

mrmacintosh.com/whats-new-in-the-macos-catalina-10-15-7-update-19h2/

If you use iCloud – Drive, Mail & Calander and you have installed the 10.15.7 update, you might have problems. Finder will be sluggish and general system speed is slow. If you open up Activity Monitor and then select the CPU tab, you might see accountsd taking up a huge amount of CPU. It might be running at over 400%, you can see what that looks like in the screenshot below.

2. Affected macOS Build Versions

This issue affects the following macOS Build Versions.

• macOS Catalina 10.15.7 Update (19H2) – Released on September 24th, 2020
• macOS Catalina 10.15.6 and below, as I noticed a few reports from 10.15.6 around the 25th. For 10.15.6 users, sometimes just updating to 10.15.7 fixes the issue for them.
• No reports so far of this happening on macOS Mojave 10.14 or High Sierra 10.13.

Looks like a variant of this issue goes all the way back to the Catalina 10.15.1 Update. But most reports disappeared until it came back after installing 10.15.7.

3. Affected Mac Hardware

Past problems would only happen with certain hardware models. Not this time, if you installed the Catalina 10.15.7 Update on a compatible Mac you might have problems. As I noted in the Affected macOS Build Versions above, the issue could be affecting 10.15.6 and below users.

4. What is the accountsd process?

From Apple

Help users access and manage their external accounts from within your app, without requiring them to enter login credentials. The Accounts framework provides access to user accounts stored in the Accounts database, which is managed by the system. An account stores the login credentials of a particular service, such as Twitter, and you use those credentials to authenticate with the service. When you integrate the Accounts framework into your app, you don’t need to store account logins yourself. Instead, the user grants your app access to use their account login credentials, bypassing the need to type their username and password. If no account for a particular service exists in the user’s Accounts database, you can let them create and save an account from within your app.

Developer Documentation

developer.apple.com/documentation/accounts#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40011024

5. User Reports

The first reports came in on Friday, one day after Apple released the Catalina 10.17.5 Update.

accountsd process is eating 500% cpu and making macbook pro 15,1 useless after Catalina 10.15.7 update. Even if you force this process to quit it comes back at ~500% CPU and make lots os apps to hang.

Apple Discussion Forum User fpmalard2017

More reports started to roll in on the Apple Discussion Forums.

Same here, upgraded to 10.15.7 and CPU usage spikes. Seems that the processes ‘accountds’/ ‘commerce’ are responsible for this and killing the process ‘commerce’ is a only a temp ‘solution’ for minutes and then same problem appears again. Tried also SMC reset without success!!!

Apple Discussions Forum User doobieb

I just updated to Catalina last month. Everything was running smooth and fine under 10.15.6. I did the 10.15.7 update yesterday first through the normal way –> system preferences – Software update and then the trouble with the accountsd-process has also begun.

Apple Discussions Forum User Oevie

Additionally, boot time is slower, logging in is slower and when doing so I’m met with a blank desktop which needs 7-8 seconds before icons finally appear. Everything feels sluggish, and applications also take more than twice as long to start up.

MacRumors Forum User Minipudding

After reading multiple reports I felt that it was time me to take a closer look.

6. I’m trying to replicate this issue now.

When issues like this have come up in the past, I might not be able to reproduce them. I have to go purely on user reports, which at times can be tough. I want to make sure the reporting is very accurate.

The test Mac was setup with the exact settings that most of the users have reported.

• 1. Install 10.15.6
• 2. Set Up iCloud Drive, Mail and Cal
• 3. Install 10.15.6 Update > 10.15.7
• 4. Test settings.
  

I’ve been unable to reproduce this issue. I had the article ready for this weekend but did not have enough solid reports of the issue. Now enough reports have come in to solidify the issue as a problem for users.

7. Workarounds / Fixes

This list of workarounds will start from the very simple to more advanced.

You do NOT have to follow the list until the end, just stop when one of the solutions fixes the issue for you (starting from #1).

1. Reboot! Yes multiple users have mentioned that a simple reboot fixes the issue.

2. Cycle Wifi off then back on. (I said we were starting out simple.. )

3. Sign out of iCloud then reboot.

4. Sign back into iCloud – For some users they are able to sign back in and not have any issues. If you sign back in and are still having issues keep going down the list.

4. Boot into safe mode one time (this automatically runs a disk check) support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/start-up-your-mac-in-safe-mode-mh21245/mac – once in safe mode, reboot your Mac.

5. Are you on 10.15.6 with this issue? Install the 10.15.7 Update.

6. Disable iCloud Drive Options > Internet Accounts > iCloud > Options Button > unselect all options – Restart

6. Disable iCloud options – Internet Accounts > iCloud Uncheck all – Photos, Mail Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Safari, Find My Mac, Notes & Keychain – Reboot – If you get any popup messages asking if you want to keep the items on your Mac. Make sure you select “Keep on This Mac” if you need to save your keychain passwords for example. After this if the problem goes away you can attempt to re enable them.

7. Sign out of all System Preferences > Internet Accounts > added email addresses. This includes any IMAP, POP, Gmail, Yahoo. Office365 o365 or Exchange accounts. Reboot – Then see if the issue comes back. If not then attempt to re add the email accounts.

Below are medium skill level fixes

7. Delete local Mail store & preferences – Disable iCloud Mail Sync – then delete /Users/yourhomefolderhere/Library/mail & /Users/yourhomefolderhere/Library/containers/com.apple.mail – Enable iCloud Mail Sync.

8. Delete Local Items Keychain folder (BACKUP ANY PASSWORDS FIRST) – Users/yourhomefolderhere/Library/Keychains – It will be the blue folder with the UUID looking numbers. Delete this folder and immediately reboot.

9. Reset iCloud settings when you can’t sign out.

If you run this command it will do the following.

• 1. Kill the com.appleiCloudHelper process
• 2. Move your iCloud .sqlite database to a new backup folder
• 3. kill accountsd process
• 4. reboot

Open the terminal.app, then cut and paste the command below.

sudo -v ; killall -9 accountsd com.apple.iCloudHelper ; defaults delete MobileMeAccounts ; 
mkdir ~/Library/Accounts/Backup; mv ~/Library/Accounts/*.sqlite* ~/Library/Accounts/Backup/ ; 
killall -9 accountsd com.apple.iCloudHelper ; sudo reboot

Below are more advanced level fixes that hope you don’t have to do.

9. Do you have time machine backups? Restore from your last good backup.

10. Reinstall (Not Erase) macOS Catalina 10.15.7 – This workaround will reinstall macOS Catalina 10.15.7 and you will be able to keep all your files and applications. All you need to do is download the Catalina Full installer from the App Store and reinstall. You can also do this by booting to recovery. Restart your mac and hold down Command R. This will boot you to recovery, just select Install macOS Catalina.

If you need any help with any of the above workarounds let me know in the comments.

Update Automatic Snapshots

Automatic Update Snapshots was introduced as a feature in macOS High Sierra. You can read about them below. This was one of the best features that Apple has ever added to macOS. Sadly this will not help you in this situation as they only work for 10.13 and 10.14 Security Updates. Apple disabled this option in 10.15 Catalina Combo Updates.

mrmacintosh.com/10-15-3-combo-security-updates-are-not-creating-backup-snapshots/

Links

Download Catalina Full Installer – mrmacintosh.com/how-to-download-macos-catalina-mojave-or-high-sierra-full-installers/

8. If you are seeing this issue, please let Apple know.

The only way to let Apple know that this is a big issue is to file a FeedBack Report. AppleCare Call or an Apple Enterprise Support Ticket.

This will help Apple Prioritize the issue and get it resolved ASAP!

9. macOS Catalina 10.15.7 & 10.15.6 accountsd process issue links

This is a list of all the reports of issues with the Catalina 10.15.7 update accountsd process.

MacRumors.com

• forums.macrumors.com/threads/accountsd-mail-process-and-cpu-usage.2212236/page-3
• forums.macrumors.com/threads/10-15-7-macbook-pro-13-random-freezing-and-fans-spinning-with-safari.2257148/

Apple Discussion Forums

• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251846520
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251845554
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251857147
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251847235
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251858702
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250776299?page=26

Reddit.com

• reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/j05c3h/reports_show_that_macos_10157_clogs_up_the_cpu_by/
• reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/j0ukfs/accountsd_is_hogging_cpu_energy_memory_i_need_help/
• reddit.com/r/macbook/comments/j0603e/accountsd_process_killing_my_mac/

Tech Blogs

Accountsd and secd high CPU usage on Catalina –waal70blog.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/accountsd-and-secd-high-cpu-usage-on-catalina/

Accountsd using 400% CPU on MacOS Catalina 10.15.7 (19H2) –gist.github.com/l3nz/9fe151c0d398055b000d59b644f13c65

Hacker News – news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24619716

Twitter.com

catalina 10.15.7 update accountsd