Windows rearranged after a macOS update?

A macOS update restarts the Mac, often more than once, so it has the same effect as a restart and sometimes more. Apps may not reopen, windows pile onto one screen, full screen apps come back windowed, and monitors can take a while to be recognized again.

What does a macOS update reset?

Your files and settings stay, but the session usually does not. Reopen windows when logging back in is not always honored by an update restart, display arrangements can be redetected, and window positions on external monitors are often lost. See Mac windows reset after restart.

How do you prepare before updating?

• Save your tabs. Set Safari to open with all windows from last session and Chrome to Continue where you left off. See will restarting your Mac lose your tabs.
• Save your layout. Save a SnapState workspace with everything open and in place.
• Keep monitors connected. Leave external displays plugged in during the update so macOS sees them when you log in.

How do you restore your setup after the update?

SnapState is a Mac menu bar app that saves a named workspace: every window with its display, position and size, the apps to relaunch, the Space each app was on, full screen windows, and all open tabs in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc and Chromium. You restore it from the menu bar, with a Control-Command-1 to 6 shortcut, or automatically on wake, when a monitor connects or disconnects, or when a matching display layout appears.

Once you are logged in and every monitor is awake, choose the workspace from the menu bar or press its shortcut. SnapState relaunches the apps, returns them to their Spaces and displays, restores full screen and reopens browser tabs. SnapState needs macOS 15.7 or later, so check after a major update that it still has Accessibility permission. If a new macOS version changed how windows behave after sleep, see macOS 27 windows move after sleep.

After the update: one click and the desk is back. The 40 second demo shows a workspace saved from the SnapState menu bar and restored with one click: apps relaunch and windows go back to their saved displays, positions and sizes.

What are the practical details?

SnapState 2.7.2 costs $9.99 once, with a license for up to three Macs and a 14-day refund. It needs macOS 15.7 or later and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel. It needs Accessibility permission to move windows, and Automation permission if you want browser tabs reopened. Workspace data stays on your Mac. Workspaces saved in older versions need one re-save to pick up Spaces and full screen. See SnapState.

What are the honest limits?

SnapState is not a tiling or snapping tool. It does not save browser tab groups, history or form data, Firefox is not supported, and it does not change the display arrangement, main display, menu bar or Dock. It restores app windows.

Frequently asked questions