Skip to content
MappleCare Community ↗

MappleCare Community

[Solved] MacBook Air 15″ M2 encountering WindowServer High Memory Leak after update (macOS Sequoia 15.1)

Find answers from other Apple users or start a discussion about your device.

All Forum Rooms

Home › Forums › MacBook, iMac & macOS Lab › [Solved] MacBook Air 15″ M2 encountering WindowServer High Memory Leak after update (macOS Sequoia 15.1)

Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • November 14, 2026 at 10:25 pm #13443
    Eric Brown
    Community Contributor
    Diagnostic Hardware Specs: MacBook Air 15″ M2 (24GB) | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256798110

    I am running into a persistent issue on my MacBook Air 15″ M2 (24GB) running macOS Sequoia 15.1.
    Whenever the machine encounters Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces, the following diagnostic log appears in Console:

    WindowServer virtual memory: 28.0 GB private dirty surfaces in Metal shader cache

    I verified that hardware connections are intact and tested across different power sources. What is the verified diagnostic procedure to permanently eliminate this symptom?

    Mac mini M4 Pro (48GB) | Studio Display | HHKB Professional Hybrid | Boston, MA
    Computer Science & Machine Learning Student | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"
    November 14, 2026 at 10:25 pm #13444
    Naomi Jones
    Community Contributor
    Apple Recommended / Verified Community Solution
    This canonical solution was verified and marked as solved in the Apple Support Community archive.

    Disabling dynamic wallpaper video rendering loops, switching to static backgrounds, and clearing Dock expose caches.

    Here is the exact step-by-step diagnostic and remediation procedure verified by Apple Certified Support Professionals:

    1. Switch all desktop spaces to static wallpapers in System Settings > Wallpaper.
    2. Flush compositor memory: sudo purge && killall Dock.
    3. In Desktop & Dock, change ‘Click wallpaper to reveal desktop’ to Only in Stage Manager.

    Following this procedure restores full stability with zero recurring log errors.

    Mac mini M4 (24GB) | PreSonus Quantum HD 8 | Audio-Technica ATH-R70x | Perth, AU
    Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Classical Pianist & Spatial Audio Arranger
  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.