Dealing with MacBook fan noise, well they don’t make much noise. But at times, they can become quite loud. The Whirring sound of your Mac’s fan can quickly become annoying, especially when you’re trying to work
So, why did the Macbook fans suddenly kick into action? What is wrong with your Mac fans? In this guide, you’ll learn the probable reasons Why your MacBook making a fan noise and a few quick tips fixes to get them back to normal.
How To Fix MacBook Fan Noise Problem
Apply any of these 6 proven methods to calm down your mac fan. Just don’t ignore the mac fan noise problem it may be a sign that your MacBook is overheating and you need to fix it.
Ensure Proper Venting or Air Circulation
Poor venting or circulation is the simplest recipe to taste loud fan problems. It is also the easiest to check and resolve. The fans inside your Mac are built to cool down the system, but they have to work extra when there isn’t any normal airflow around your machine. It causes your Mac to heat up.
If you have been working with your Mac on your bed or lap, you are blocking air from circulating underneath your system and forcing the fans to work overtime to cool the component.
A short-term fix for this issue is switching off your Mac for a few minutes and leaving it. The system will cool down on its own. But if overheating is a consistent issue, consider investing in a quality laptop stand. It’ll lift your Mac for better air circulation. You can even consider buying a laptop cooling pad.
Furthermore, clean the vents to ensure there’s no dust around your laptop. Cleaning the vents can make a huge difference as nothing is blocking the air circulation.
Control the Mac Fan Speed
Mac fans play an important role in maintaining the overall health of your machine. It controls the internal temperature and prevents overheating of any of the components. When your system tries to handle multiple demanding processes simultaneously, its hard drive, chips, and video card start to heat up.
Fans help in improving the air circulation to cool down the hardware resources physically. However, when the fans are working too much, they can go out of control sometimes.
If your Mac fan is loud, it might be because it is working overtime when your system isn’t hot or spinning slowly when your Mac is scalding.
In such situations, manually controlling the Mac fan speed is the best solution. Know all about achieving complete fan speed control here.
It is important to note that the thermal settings of your Mac shouldn’t be tweaked when your Mac is functioning properly.
Check for Hidden CPU Drains
If you haven’t been using heavy apps or programs, but your fans have suddenly started acting up, there might be hidden background tasks eating up your CPU.
First, go to Spotlight to check if this is happening and type Activity Monitor. After that, navigate to the CPU tab and look for apps using large percentages of the available power. If you find any, you need to close the program right away.
Close All Heavy Apps
Running heavy applications like video editing apps, heavy creative software, or graphics-intensive games means your Mac will need to employ its fans to keep the internal electronic components cool. Also, having multiple browser tabs and apps open at the same time might send the fans into a frenzy.
It would help to cut down on multitasking by closing the applications and browser tabs when you’re done.
If you regularly run heavier programs, here are a few things you can do to reduce the fan noise –
- Run programs that you need and close the ones that are idling in the background
- Turn down processing speeds or frame rates as needed.
- Take all possible steps to optimize your Mac, like investing in a cooling pad, using the system in a temperature-controlled room, etc.
If you cannot reduce the workload, you may want to consider giving your Mac a RAM upgrade. It’ll help your Mac to keep up with your demands.
Free Up Memory
Free memory is important for your Mac so that it continues working fast and smoothly. Ensure to clean all the junk folders to give your Mac the space it needs for performing at its best. You can consider defragmenting apps for an extra deep clean and clean out all the unused duplicates and broken files.
Run Apple Diagnostics to check the cooling fan’s hardware
The physical condition of the fans might be affected by being exposed to mechanical damage or heat. If you reckon that might be the case, double-check with your Mac’s built-in Apple Diagnostics. Before running Apple Diagnostics, ensure to strip your Mac of all external devices.
How to Run Apple Diagnostics (Apple Hardware Test)
To run Apple Diagnostics on your Mac, open this instruction on any other device, and get started:
- Disconnect all external devices except keyboard, speakers, mouse, display.
- Go to the Apple menu and choose Restart.
- Press and hold the D key as your Mac reboots. Keep holding it down until you see the list of languages appear.
- Select your language. Apple Diagnostics will run automatically.
- When it’s finished, you will see the list of problems it has diagnosed.
Is your Mac still making a loud noise?
The fan noise might be a serious hardware malfunction if the issue persists despite trying out all the troubleshooting tips mentioned above. Visiting the nearest Apple service provider might be the best thing to do.
How Can I Stop my Mac’s Fans?
If your MacBook (be it Pro or Air) fans have gone haywire, then we highly recommend that you should download Macs Fan Control. It a free software, which allows you to manually control and monitor the cooling system.
Read Also: How To Manually Control and Monitor Macs Fan Speed?
With this fan control software, you can change the RPM value and fan speed of the temperature sensor so that the fans don’t kick in until your Mac is hot.
How to Check my Mac’s CPU Temperature
If the constant heat is coming out of your MacBook Pro or Air then it might be a sign of overheating. So, you need to check Mac’s temperature. There are multiple temperature monitoring software to check temp readings.
You can choose to download iStat Menus or TG Pro, they enable you to monitor the temperature inside your MacBook.
You may see that the temp values are a bit high. The temperature of Mac’s CPU at 90 degrees Celsius is quite a normal temp range.
Fix: MacBook Air Fan Won’t Stop.
Try an SMC reset, here’s how:
- Shut down the computer.
- Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
- On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
- Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
- Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.
Why is my Macbook Air fan so loud?
If your Mac air fan is loud it’s because you are running resource-intensive tasks. You can open the Activity Monitor app and it will readily identify resource-intensive processes.
Just identify the process that’s hogging your mac ram and close it. After that check your fan loud noise.
