why widdeadvi running slow

What Is widdeadvi?

First things first—widdeadvi isn’t malware. It’s a background macOS process connected to display rendering, possibly tied to widgets or WindowServer behavior. Apple doesn’t document it openly, which adds to the confusion. But if you’re seeing lag, beachballs, or fan blowouts, the process could be acting up and dragging the whole system.

Symptoms You Might Notice

If why widdeadvi running slow is something you’ve searched recently, odds are you’re experiencing one or more of the following:

Mac takes forever to wake up Finder lags when opening folders Spinning beachball (system wait cursor) Typing delays in apps like Notes or Safari Delayed visual response when switching windows

These might seem unrelated, but they have a common thread: your system is overloaded managing UI elements tied to widdeadvi.

Check Activity Monitor

The quick way to confirm if this process is misbehaving:

1. Open Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities).
2. Type widdeadvi into the search bar.
3. Check the % CPU and memory usage.

If widdeadvi is sitting at the top of the CPU list or gulping down gigabytes of memory, it’s part of the problem.

Causes of the Slowdown

So why widdeadvi running slow in the first place? Here’s a quick list of possible triggers:

1. Display Bugs After Update

Recent macOS updates sometimes introduce minor displayrelated bugs that affect composite rendering. If you updated recently and noticed the change, it’s a likely connection.

2. Monitor or Display Extension Issues

If you’re running multiple screens or using display extensions (like Duet Display or AirDisplay), widdeadvi may struggle to keep up, which triggers a slowdown.

3. Overloaded Background Processes

Combine widdeadvi with 10+ background apps, cloud syncs, video calls, multiple browsers—your system will start to choke.

4. Transparency & Visual Effects

MacOS is pretty, but those fancy shadows, glass effects, and fades come at a cost. All of that goes through the display rendering pipeline, stressing widdeadvi.

Fixes That Work

Here’s where it gets practical. You don’t need to nuke your Mac or reinstall anything. Try these first.

Turn Off Transparency and Motion

Visual effects love resources. Turn off what you can:

Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display Toggle off Reduce transparency and Reduce motion

This will free up workload from the UI elements that widdeadvi processes.

Restart Your Mac

Simple but effective. A full restart clears RAM and spins down misbehaving processes. Make it a weekly ritual if you never shut down.

Reset SMC and NVRAM

These small resets can resolve lowlevel performance and display oddities:

Shut down your Mac. For most Intel models: Hold Shift + Control + Option and the power button for 10 seconds. Release all keys, then press power to boot.

For Apple Silicon, just shut down, wait 30 seconds, and reboot.

To reset NVRAM: Reboot and hold Command + Option + P + R on startup for about 20 seconds (Intel Macs only).

Kill the Process Manually

It’s safe to forcequit widdeadvi to check if performance improves.

Find it in Activity Monitor Click the process Hit the X in the top bar to quit

macOS should relaunch it automatically with a fresh state—hopefully lighter.

Free Up System Resources

Close unused browser tabs Quit memory hog apps like Slack, Chrome, or Photoshop when not in use Turn off autosync folders in cloud apps Use tools like CleanMyMac or DaisyDisk for quick optimization

Check Console Logs

If you’re technically inclined, use the Console app to look for messages connected to widdeadvi. Filter by that name and skim for repeating errors. It might reveal more context like a corrupted plist or mismatch issue from a thirdparty app.

When It Might Be Time For Support

If the issue keeps coming back after everything above, get in touch with Apple Support. There may be:

Corruption in system frameworks tied to display rendering GPU issues or heat throttling causing widdeadvi to stall A known bug in a recent macOS build—the support team has internal notes on these

You can also replicate the issue at an Apple Store if necessary—it gives them something to work with.

WrapUp

Dealing with strange background processes is an unfortunate part of modern computing. Still, now that you understand why widdeadvi running slow, you’ve got a playbook to work through. Keep system clutter to a minimum, reduce visual fluff, and restart regularly. If all else fails, don’t hesitate to escalate it to the pros—your Mac shouldn’t feel like a 10yearold machine.