Top 7 Ways to Fix WhatsApp Not Launching on Mac
WhatsApp’s transition from mobile to office has not been smooth. The service requires a constant and active internet connection from your current phone and it seems slow compared to competitors like Telegram. Sometimes WhatsApp desktop won’t open on PC and Mac. If you are having the same thing on Mac, read on to learn how to fix WhatsApp not launching issue on Mac.
1. Restart Mac
Many users barely turn off their Macs, even some members of the GT team. We use the Sleep function to wake up the Mac instantly. Having said that, you need to shut down and restart the Mac often to cool things down.
You can click on the little Apple icon in the menu bar and select Restart. Restart your Mac, enter your password, and try to open WhatsApp again.
2. Completely close WhatsApp
Does WhatsApp keep running in the background on startup? This way, you might have difficulty launching the application on the Mac. You need to completely close WhatsApp using Activity Monitor on Mac. Here’s how.
Step 1: Press command + space and open Spotlight Search.
2nd step: Type Activity Monitor and open the app.
Step 3: Find WhatsApp in the list and click on it.
Step 4: Click the x mark at the top and close the app completely.
Close Activity Monitor and try to access WhatsApp on Mac again.
3. Make sure your mobile and WhatsApp are on the same Wi-Fi
Unlike Telegram, WhatsApp doesn’t offer true cloud backup. You must operate the phone with an active internet connection and not the same Wi-Fi as your Mac.
If your phone is connected to another Wi-Fi network, you will continue to receive connection errors when opening the app.
Make sure the connected phone has an active internet connection, then try to use WhatsApp on Mac. On the first try, it will ask you to scan the QR code for a successful connection.
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4. Check the RAM
This method applies to those who are trying to launch WhatsApp on Mac devices with 8 GB of RAM. With Google Chrome, Slack, and a few other apps running in the background, it’s pretty easy to run out of virtual memory on the Mac.
In this case, WhatsApp will take longer to launch and in some cases it won’t even open on the Mac. You can use a third-party application called ClearMyMac and check the available memory in the menu bar.
It also displays other details like Mac temperature, CPU usage, network speeds, etc. If you are dealing with free double-digit RAM, you should close other apps and services running in the background. You can close them manually or take a helping hand from the activity monitor.
Close other apps, free up RAM, and open WhatsApp on Mac.
5. Update WhatsApp
WhatsApp is readily available from the App Store for download. If you downloaded the app from the App Store, you can easily update it to the latest version.
Open the App Store on Mac and go to the Updates menu. Update WhatsApp to the latest version from the following menu.
6. Activate the multi-device beta
WhatsApp is testing multiple device support for the service. With this, you can enjoy WhatsApp on up to 4 devices without keeping your phone online.
It has some limitations, but the overall advantages completely outweigh the disadvantages. If you are eligible for the multi-device beta version of WhatsApp, it will appear in the WhatsApp Android / iPhone app. Here’s how to activate it.
Step 1: Open WhatsApp on iPhone or Android.
2nd step: Go to the Settings menu.
Step 3: Select Multi-Device Beta.
Step 4: Join the program.
Open WhatsApp on Mac, scan the QR code again, and now you won’t need your phone connected to Mac all the time. This way, you will likely encounter less failures when opening the app on Mac in the future.
7. Try WhatsApp Web
Even after following all the above steps, WhatsApp still won’t launch on Mac; you need to access WhatsApp from the web.
Visit WhatsApp on the web and scan the QR code to set up WhatsApp in your favorite browser.
Start using WhatsApp on Mac
If you use WhatsApp on a daily basis, there is no real alternative for you. You can’t expect your friends and family to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram or Signal just because you are having trouble opening the app on the Mac. The above steps should help you resolve the issue.
Last updated on October 21, 2021
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