Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Using High CPU: What You Need to Know

If you’ve ever noticed your computer running slower than usual or the CPU usage suddenly spiking for no apparent reason, you might have come across a process called Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry. This process is often flagged by users who experience high CPU usage, leading to concerns about system performance and privacy. In this post, we are going to talk about what Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is, why it causes high CPU usage, and how you can manage or disable it.

What is Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry?

Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is a Windows service used to collect data on system performance, device health, and application compatibility and sends it to Microsoft. The company then uses this information to improve future versions of Windows and troubleshoot problems with certain hardware or software configurations.

Telemetry data typically includes:

• System Information: Data about the hardware, such as processor type, RAM size, etc., and device configuration.
• Application Data: Information on installed software, application crashes, or errors.
• Performance Metrics: Information related to system performance like CPU, memory usage, and disk I/O.
• Error Reports: Reports on crashes, application hangs, or other errors that could help Microsoft improve the OS.

While this information can serve to enhance Windows’ reliability and enhance the user experience, it’s plausible that the process itself involves high system resources and triggers high CPU usage.

Why Does Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Use Such High CPU?

A few reasons may be responsible for the excessively high consumption of your CPU by the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry process. The following are some of the common reasons:

1. Large Volume of Data Collection

This telemetry service tends to collect a lot of data, especially soon after major system updates or changes in hardware. With the volume of data to process, CPU usage spikes when this service is hard at work, collecting and preparing this information for transmission.

2. System or Application Errors

That could mean that Windows’ telemetry service is trying harder in cases of errors and crashes, recording these events and sending them to Microsoft. Such error reports add to the CPU usage and can slow it down, especially when repetitive.

3. Background Task Overload

Sometimes, other system tasks conflict with the telemetry process. For instance, running a huge Windows update in the background also runs several other background tasks by the OS, including this telemetry process, which results in high CPU usage.

4. Drivers that Are Unstable or Too Old

The incompatibility of the system with obsolete or corrupted drivers results in the inefficient running of the system, and it may affect the telemetry process in reporting all relevant information. This struggle can increase the uptick in resource consumption.

5. Telemetry Settings

Windows provides the following telemetry data collection levels:

• Basic: It collects only essential data.
• Enhanced: More data than Basic for the improvement of reliability and performance.
• Full: It provides complete system and usage data and contains app and device interaction data.

The higher the level of telemetry data collection, the more resources the system will use to gather and send that information.

How to Fix Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Using High CPU

If you’ve identified that the Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry process is consuming too much CPU, here are some ways to address the issue:

1. Check for System Updates

The first thing you always do is make sure that your OS is up to date. Sometimes, bugs or anything that causes high CPU usage get fixed in patches from Microsoft. You check for updates by:

• Opening the Settings menu.
• Navigating to Update & Security > Windows Update.
• Click Check for updates.

2. Adjust Telemetry Settings

By changing your telemetry settings, you can restrict the amount of data Windows collects. It won’t necessarily stop the Compatibility Telemetry process from running, but it will reduce its resource usage.

To change telemetry settings:

• Open Settings.
• Go to Privacy > Diagnostics & data.
• Under Data collection, select the level of data collection you want, such as Basic instead of Full.

3. Disable Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry (Not Recommended for Everyone)

Although you can disable telemetry altogether, it isn’t very much recommended because doing this means Windows wouldn’t get a chance to collect essential data to work on by itself on improving its system and troubleshooting performances. That said, you could disable telemetry if you still wanted to—thereby through the Group Policy Editor or by using the Registry—in Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Education only.

Use Group Policy:

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor by searching for gpedit.msc in the Start menu search bar and pressing Enter.
2. Now, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds.
3. Double-click Allow Telemetry and set it to Disabled. Click Apply, then OK.

Using Registry Editor:

1. Press Enter after typing regedit in the Start menu search bar to open Registry Editor.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection.
3. Right-click, point to New, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name it AllowTelemetry and set its value to 0.
5. Restart your computer for changes to take effect.

Note: Disabling telemetry entirely may interfere with Windows Update and support services.

4. Update or Reinstall Drivers

If unstable or outdated drivers are contributing to high CPU usage, make sure to update all your device drivers:

• Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
• Expand the relevant categories (like Display Adapters or Network Adapters).
• Right-click the device and select Update driver. Choose to search automatically for updated driver software. You may be required to sometimes uninstall and reinstall problematic drivers manually.

5. Run a Malware Scan

While Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is a valid Windows process, malware or other types of unwanted software can masquerade as the telemetry process to get by your detection. If you suspect that your system is infected, run a deep antivirus scan or use Windows Defender to check for any malicious activity.

6. Use Task Manager to Temporarily End High CPU Tasks

If you want a temporary fix and cannot take care of it right then and there, you can kill the process manually with Task Manager. Here’s how:

• Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
• Under the Processes tab, find Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry.
• Right-click on it and choose End Task.

This will kill the process for now, but it will likely restart on the next reboot or when the system has been idle for some time.

7. Stop Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser Using Task Scheduler

The other effective way of minimizing CPU usage by Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is through disabling the scheduled task, which runs it. You can do that using the Task Scheduler by following these steps:

Open Task Scheduler:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type in taskschd.msc and press Enter to open Task Scheduler.

Go to the Task:

1. In the Task Scheduler window, at the left side, extend Task Scheduler Library. Then, click on Microsoft → Windows → Application Experience.

Telemetry Task:

1. Find the task labeled as “Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser.” It is actually this that executes the telemetry.

Disable the Task:

1. Right-click on Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser and click on Disable. This will prevent it from running and, consequently, prevent telemetry from running in the background and taking your CPU.

2. Close Task Scheduler.

Once disabled, Task Scheduler can be closed. This is a rather unobtrusive process and does not require messing with system settings. This will prevent telemetry-related tasks from running automatically. Note, however, that some system updates may re-enable this task, meaning you may need to perform this process after each major update.

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Conclusion

Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry is a very essential process to help improve the entire user experience by gathering data about the system’s performance and issues. However, this may get really overwhelming when it consumes too many resources, especially CPU-related. It is vital to understand why it happens and how to adjust or manage telemetry settings in order to minimize its impact on your system.

In case of performance problems caused by telemetry, it is always worth checking for updates, then reviewing some data collection options and driver or system issues. It’s effective at stopping telemetry CPU usage—though not actually disabling telemetry—through Task Scheduler by disabling the Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser task, leaving more control over your system’s background tasks to you.

If you have more questions or have found a unique way to deal with high CPU usage from Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry, share your experience in the comments section below!