Is your Mac running slow? Why does this happen? It may be due to the age of your computer. Also, FileVault encryption might be dramatically slowing your Mac’s performance without you realizing it.
The Great Hardware Divide
Modern Macs handle encryption effortlessly while older models struggle under the computational load.
Your Mac’s age determines whether FileVault feels invisible or insufferable. On newer machines—anything with Apple’s T2 chip or Apple Silicon—encryption happens through dedicated hardware that makes the performance impact vanish like a TikTok trend. Pre-2018 Intel Macs tell a different story entirely.
These older machines lack specialized encryption hardware, forcing your CPU to decrypt every file access in real time. Combined with traditional hard drives (remember those spinning disks?), this creates a perfect storm of slowdown. Boot times stretch considerably. Apps launch slowly. System stalls become your new normal.
The culprit isn’t your aging hardware failing—it’s FileVault working overtime without proper support.
When Security Costs Speed
User reports consistently show dramatic performance improvements after disabling FileVault on legacy hardware.
Forum posts across the internet tell the same story: users report their Mac “feels new again” after turning off FileVault. Professional video editors report smooth playback returning to projects that previously stuttered. Music producers find their sample libraries loading without the painful delays that made creativity feel impossible.
Apple’s official documentation states that FileVault introduces negligible overhead on modern systems, but acknowledges a “small overhead” possible on older hardware. Third-party testing reveals what users already knew—HDDs combined with CPU-based encryption can transform a functional machine into a productivity challenge.
Even demanding workflows like 4K video editing become manageable again once the constant encryption overhead disappears.
Making the Trade-Off Decision
Disabling FileVault requires weighing security risks against usability gains.
Navigate to System Settings > Privacy & Security > FileVault, authenticate with your password, then select “Turn Off FileVault.” The decryption process runs in the background for several hours, depending on your drive size.
The security trade-off isn’t trivial, but it’s manageable if you maintain strong login passwords and physical control over your device. FileVault primarily protects against theft scenarios—if someone steals your laptop, they can’t access your data. For desktop Macs or carefully guarded laptops, this protection might not justify the performance penalty.
Testing by CleanMyMac and widespread user reports suggest the performance boost often feels transformational on affected hardware.
Your decade-old MacBook deserves better than crawling through basic tasks while newer models zip along effortlessly.
