Uninstall Razer Synapse Mac: Step-by-Step Guide
Uninstall Razer Synapse Mac in four steps: quit the app, remove it the general macOS way, check Login Items and Razer's own instructions, then pick another way to control your lights.
Before you uninstall Razer Synapse Mac
First, decide whether you need to uninstall it at all. Synapse for Mac is Razer's official app, and it is a Preview: per Razer's Synapse for Mac FAQ, it requires an Apple Silicon Mac and macOS 15 or later. If your Mac meets that, a clean reinstall may be all you need. On an Intel Mac, or on macOS 13 or 14, the Preview is not listed as supported, so moving to another lighting app is the cleaner path.
Check what you will lose
If you set your lighting in Synapse, write down the colors and effects you use, so you can rebuild the look later. What your devices show once Synapse is gone depends on the model and the effect.
How to delete Razer Synapse Mac: general steps to uninstall Razer Synapse Mac
The steps below are how macOS removes apps in general, not a procedure written for Synapse. For the exact steps for Synapse for Mac, follow Razer's official support instructions: Razer makes the app, so it knows what the app puts on your Mac.
Quit Razer Synapse first
Quit it the way you quit any Mac app: choose Quit from its menu, or press Command-Q. If it does not respond, press Option-Command-Esc to open Force Quit, or use Activity Monitor. macOS will not move an open app to the Trash, so this step saves you an error later.
How to delete Razer Synapse Mac: uninstaller or Trash
macOS has two usual ways to remove an app. If it ships with its own uninstaller, use that, because it knows what the app installed. If not, open Finder, go to Applications, drag the app to the Trash and empty it. Check Razer's support instructions to see which one applies to Synapse for Mac.
How to delete Razer Synapse Mac: Login Items, not Library files
Apps can add items that start when you log in. In System Settings, go to General, then Login Items (Login Items & Extensions on recent macOS versions), and turn off anything that belonged to the app you removed. Some guides say to delete Library files with a brand name in them. We don't recommend it: other software can use similar names, and one wrong deletion can break another app. Then restart.
If Synapse cannot run on your Mac
If your Mac is outside the Preview's requirements, the answer is a different app, not a different cable. Our guide on whether Razer Synapse works on Mac explains the requirements, and the Synapse comparison compares the options.
Control your Razer lights with RGB Studio
RGB Studio is an independent, native Mac app that controls the lighting of 120 Razer models on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, from macOS 13 Ventura. Mice and keyboards have their own pages: Razer mouse for Mac and Razer keyboard on Mac. It needs no Synapse, account or drivers, and it is a one-time purchase of US$ 8.79. It only controls lighting, not macros, DPI or button settings, and it is in beta. OpenRGB is the free option: open source and multiplatform. Whichever you test, run one lighting app at a time.
Common uninstall questions
How to delete Razer Synapse Mac for good?
Here is how to uninstall Razer Synapse Mac the general macOS way: quit it, run its uninstaller if it ships one or move it from Applications to the Trash, empty the Trash, check Login Items and restart. For anything specific to Synapse for Mac, follow Razer's official support instructions. Skip deleting Library files by name: it is easy to remove another app's data by mistake.
How to delete Razer Synapse Mac if it won't open?
You do not need to open an app to remove it. If it is stuck, force quit it with Option-Command-Esc or from Activity Monitor, then remove it as above. If macOS still says it is in use, restart and try again. If it keeps failing, ask Razer's support.
Will my Razer keep its lighting after removal?
It depends on the model and the effect, so nobody can promise it. If your lights change, set them again in the next app. In RGB Studio, hardware effects run on the device and keep going when the app closes, on models that support them; software effects need the app running.
Do I need to remove Synapse to use RGB Studio?
No. RGB Studio does not need Synapse, an account or drivers: it talks to your Razer devices itself, so keeping Synapse is your call. Just avoid two apps controlling the same lights at once, since they can send conflicting colors: quit Synapse or any other lighting app first.