The first sign of your Mac overheating is loud fan noise. Although if you notice that the fans are making loud noises for a more extended time than usual or they are suspiciously loud, the cause may be elsewhere.
A loud fan noise indicates that something is causing your Mac to increase its temperature. Also, the fans are working harder than regular to deal with it and keep its heat levels in check.
To solve the problem of a loud computer, there are quite a few tips and tricks you should try. To help you out with this issue and restore Mac’s usual fan condition, today we will share six tips for troubleshooting a loud Mac fan noise.
Table of Contents
1. Make Sure the Vents Are Clear
To start with, you will need to ensure that the vents of your Mac are clear. If you own a Macbook Pro, you will find the vents on its back edge and sides. So if you have a Macbook Air, you will find the vents at its rear edge.
The vents work by drawing in cool air and removing the hot air. Therefore, these vents should always be clear and never blocked by a pillow, couch cushion, or any other item. If you have a habit of holding the Mac on your lap or any fabric material like a blanket, this may be the main cause why your Mac is overheating. So try to avoid that.
2. Clean the Inside of the Mac
When you are already sure that the reason for your Mac overheating isn’t the blocked vents, it is time to check if the Mac is clean enough. To do so, you will have to clean the dust off your Mac and open it with a screwdriver for further cleaning.
When you open your Mac’s bottom panel, make sure you clean any dust or dirt that you find inside your computer. Furthermore, when you are done cleaning the inside of your Mac, prioritize working in a clean workspace. This will help prevent the dust and dirt from gathering inside your computer so fast.
3. Cut Down on Active Apps and Tabs
Review the number of items you have open and start forming a healthy habit of closing apps and browser tabs after using them. While reviewing the apps you currently have running in the background, you might also come across some suspicious ones. These apps could have been installed by you unwillingly. If that happens, make sure you find a good Mac antivirus protection for your computer as finding new apps on your computer might be a sign of malware.
Not only can cutting down on active apps and tabs helps you reduce the loud fan noise, but it also makes your Mac perform faster.
4. Reset the System Management Controller
If you have checked everything and concluded that your Mac is dust-free both inside and outside. Also, if you don’t have a habit of keeping a large number of apps open at the same time, the issue might be in the System Management Controller.
The System Management Controller might help reduce the loud fan noise. What you need to do is reset it. The SMC is responsible for controlling the cooling fan, so the loud fan noise may disappear after restarting the SMC.
5. Run a Fan Test
Another reason why your computer fans are working so loud is that the fans are malfunctioning. To learn if that’s the case, remove all external devices from your Mac and restart it. After your computer restarts, press on the D key to start the Apple Diagnostics program.
The testing of Mac’s fans will only take a minute or two. Just follow the instructions that you see on your computer’s screen. If you see a code on the screen after the test, visit the Apple Support website to see what it means and if the loud fan noise is related to a specific problem.
6. Declutter Your Mac
Having free hard drive space can help you solve loud fan noise because free space is a must for your Mac’s processor. If the hard drive is close to being full, the processor works harder than usual to deal with it, which causes the cooling process to start. And the fuller your hard drive is, the louder your Mac’s fans will work.
To check how much free disk space you have, click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner. Choose the option “About This Mac”, click on the Storage tab, and you will be able to see how much disk space is occupied and how much storage is left free. Always strive to have at least 15% of free disk space if you want your Mac to function properly.