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E
edipoos
January 18, 2026
Question

Unusual Battery Drain Caused by Adobe Illustrator Running in Background (Mac M4)

  • January 18, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 85 views

Dear Adobe Support,

 

I hope you’re well.

 

I’m reaching out regarding a concerning issue I’ve encountered with Adobe Illustrator 2026 on my MacBook Pro (M4, 14-inch, 2024, 32GB RAM).

 

Over the weekend, I noticed an unusual and significant battery drain while using my MacBook on battery power — even though I wasn’t actively using any heavy applications. Upon checking Activity Monitor > Energy, I found that Adobe Illustrator had one of the highest energy usage values, despite the app not being open or used at the time.

 

I’ve attached the following screenshots for your reference:

 

  • Activity Monitor – Energy tab showing Illustrator’s high energy impact

  • Battery usage history (last 24 hours)

  • Battery health status

  • Login items and background processes

 

 

It seems like Illustrator may continue running certain processes in the background even when it’s not visibly active, which leads to a drastic drop in battery life.

 

I would appreciate any insight or guidance on:

 

  1. Why this might be happening

  2. Whether there is a fix or setting I can change to prevent Illustrator from running in the background unnecessarily

  3. If this behavior is expected

 

 

Thank you for your time and support.

Looking forward to hearing from you.Screenshot 2026-01-18 at 10.29.34.jpgScreenshot 2026-01-18 at 10.26.58.jpgScreenshot 2026-01-18 at 10.30.31.jpg

2 replies

H
Henry Wai Kon28016877hr99
January 21, 2026

I second this. My M1 MBP has been draining its battery especially quick, lasting no more than 2 hours. Even though the max capacity of my battery was still at 85% and not time to replace yet, I went ahead and replaced the battery. And it's still draining completely within 3 hours, the culprit being Illustrator showing very high energy usage even while sitting idle.

I've already removed the CEPHtmlEngine files as suggested in another article which helped a bit (but now I don't have access to my cloud library), but Illustrator itself is still running using a lot of energy.

 

MacOS 26.2, Illustrator v30.1

Anubhav M
Community Manager
Anubhav MCommunity Manager
Community Manager
January 22, 2026

Hello @Henry Wai Kon28016877hr99,

Thanks for the confirmation. Kindly try the suggestions shared in these help articles (https://adobe.ly/49ShUxN) (https://adobe.ly/3LIy70q) and let us know how it goes.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

Anubhav M
Community Manager
Anubhav MCommunity Manager
Community Manager
January 20, 2026

Hello @edipoos,

Thanks for reaching out. Could you share more details, such as the exact versions of the OS/Illustrator installed, and whether this happens when you have files open in Illustrator, so we can better assist you?

Also, try replicating this under a different administrator account (Windows / macOS) and share your observations.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

E
edipoosAuthor
January 27, 2026

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Below are the requested details, along with an additional observation related to CPU usage.

System details

  • macOS: macOS Sonoma 15.x (latest public release)

  • Hardware: MacBook Pro 14-inch (2024), Apple M4, 32GB RAM

  • Battery condition: Normal, maximum capacity 98%

Illustrator details

  • Adobe Illustrator: Illustrator 2026 (latest version available via Creative Cloud)

Usage scenario

  • The issue occurs even when no files are open in Illustrator.

  • In the attached screenshot, Illustrator is open but completely idle - no documents, previews, exports, or background tasks initiated by the user.

CPU and battery behavior

  • While idle, Adobe Illustrator 2026 consistently consumes ~100% CPU (approximately one full core).

  • Activity Monitor shows a very high accumulated CPU Time (nearly 24 hours) and a large number of threads (~166), despite no active work being performed.

  • This behavior persists while running on battery power and appears to continue in the background.

  • Given the sustained CPU usage and frequent wake-ups, this likely explains the significant battery drain previously observed.

I’ve attached a screenshot from Activity Monitor (CPU tab) showing this behavior.

Please let me know if you would like me to test this under a separate administrator account or collect any specific logs or diagnostics to assist further.

 

Thanks for your help,

Eduard

 

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