MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

I have had the same problem when I first received my top spec MacBook Pro 16", so I called Apple Support and they suggested that it be fixed through the reset of the SMC through the suggested process here: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201295. It worked and now my MacBook has been working perfectly, silently and extremely quickly.

Just shut down the laptop, then hold the power/TouchID button for 10 seconds, the logo will appear after about seven, then disappear with a "woosh" sound. Wait another 10 seconds then start up the MacBook like normal, all should be fixed.

I hope this helped, also my spec is:

2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9

64 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

Or you could read the Terms of Use for Apple Support Communities and comply by them; posts are only removed if they violate them:

Apple Support Communities Use Agreement - Apple Community

If you're really spending that much on Apple Hardware, surely you know how to use official channels to contact Apple about your concerns:

Contact - Official Apple Support

Rather than complain on a forum featuring other Apple users that is not a direct conduit to either Apple Support or Engineering.

Your definitions of "very little" may be different from others'; even using any external monitor is different from the average MBP owner, but I am neither defending nor accusing Apple on that point, just pointing out that often laptops from various manufacturers have capabilities that realistically will cause thermal issues if exercised to their fullest or even really at all. I recall Asus Ferrari 3400 laptops which without CPU throttling would fire up their fans at full after less than three minutes of use giving a battery life of about 30 minutes at most.

Apple Engineers in general don't respond to queries except on their own time and as it involves a technical issue they may not even be allowed to respond given company NDAs to which they must comply.

If my posts violate the Terms of Use they too will be subject to moderation; in this case all I am "ruining" is expectations of how Apple would react in response to an engineering issue, and on a discussion board that is for Apple users to help other users with Apple issues with no direct participation by Apple.

From the very first Mac released, Apple has always stated one thing:

The earliest supported version of macOS is the version the machine originally shipped with.

This is because there are hardware drivers for new hardware that are not supported in past versions of the operating system.

It has always been that way, so this isn't some new surprise Apple has sprung on people purchasing the MBP 16".

Use the Mac operating system that came with your Mac, or a compatible newer version - Apple Support

I suspect a lot of these issues are the GPU working overtime when driving an external monitor; I have a 2.4 GHz i9 with 32 GB of RAM and the Radeon Pro 5500M with 8 GB and 2 TB SSD but only use the laptop screen and have only heard the fans engage when I was doing a Lightroom export of 100 2048 px wide images, resizing on the fly from native during export.

The fans on my cheese grater MacPro 5,1 kick in when I do that same operation on it.

So far I tried three different MBP 16" with the configurations:

Processor: 8-cores 2.4GH i9, 64GB Ram, AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB, 2TB SSD. All have fan noise issue when connected to external screen (and sometime even without external screen); on all of the three machines:

• Tried to keep them charging over night while turned off
• Tried re-installing the OS from internet recovery
• Tried resetting SMC and P/VRam or whatever they call it now
• Tried true tone on/off
• Tried HDMI vs USB-C to Display port

With all of that the issue remained; and it seems to be more complicated than just blaming the CPU or the GPU. The fans goes up and down unreasonably. I attached two screenshots where the device were dead silent while under heavy load, and pretty noisy under relatively way less load.

Yesterday I was welling to try out another machine with lower graphic card, but while watching a documentary on youtube (and nothing else was running) the device went jet-engine mode of over 4000rpm at which point I felt I had enough time wasted with this.

I transferred the same exact settings to my quad core i7 - two years old MBP 15"; and things are dead silent since then.

And I believe I will be happier living with this machine for a bit more till Apple put things right or I figure out ways to sort out my stuff without the need of Apple machine; whatever happens first.

I've got bashed in another thread about this (Dec 14, 2019 5:54 PM in response to Mattias Sandstrom) discussing my problems with a LG monitor - the Blackmagic eGPU only sports 85W of power over USB-C but the MBP 16" should have 94W. Not saying it will be a problems, but was does Blackmagic say about this?

Ahmed Ali Awad wrote:

And yes, btw, I used the return policy to return 3 different machines. Yet, that is not the solution. If you didn’t see it, people here are ranting because they DO want to get things right

Then either wait until a software fix is released, if one ever is, or buy a Mac Pro.

As I'm sure you've guessed, ranting here accomplishes precisely zero (ranting to Apple Support on the other hand, is the recommended course of action.)

Contact - Official Apple Support

kurtzenter wrote:

It would be great to hear from Apple. I can wait for a software fix. But I will get back to my old MacBook before I can't return this one.

1) Apple doesn't reply here in terms of official statements; we're all just fellow users here aside from some Apple employees who pop in to assure adherence to the Apple Support Communities Terms of Use.

2) Apple in general doesn't comment on issues until they have a fix. A "we're investigating reports of…" statement is not at all Apple's style and they are very, very rare.

iTech23 wrote:

We decided to use the machine without an external monitor until they fix the problem because we think this will definitely affect the life of the machine, the fans are not supposed to be running ALL the time at that speed just for browsing the web, and the machine and power adaptor is not supposed to get that hot just for browsing the web.

There is a lot of "we think" in there; since you don't have the design specs, you don't know what is or isn't "supposed" to be correct behavior.

Regardless, make sure to contact Apple Support directly, as the more complaints of the issue they get, the more important it becomes to management.

Contact - Official Apple Support

No other MacBook Pro this GPU and chip set.

You can't compare the weak GPUs of old MBPs to this one.

Have you actually had your MBP 16 go into thermal shutdown? If so, take it in for service as it may be a defective unit, but most here are just complaining the fans are too loud when connected to third party monitors.

As for driving a high resolution external monitor while on battery, I don't know why you would expect any laptop to do that for long.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

e_b_c:

In response to reported problems, Apple has been doing some internal research on the 13-in model, and has issued these update guidelines based on their research. It would make sense that if you are having any battery related issues, you try these solutions as well. It can't hurt.

If your MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) keeps shutting down - Apple Support

The movie version: leave it sleeping or off and connected the power adapter for at least 8 hours, under the conditions mentioned.

iTech23 wrote:

I already mentioned like 10 times THAT I DON'T HAVE A 4K OR 5K MONITOR

Oh and by the way the TDP on the Radeon Pro Vega 20 is 100w and the Radeon Pro 5500 is 50.

One more time your comments don't make sense and are not helpful AT ALL.

If you are not experiencing any problem with your computer I don't understand why you keep posting here.

Because complaints like "it's too loud" or "it's too warm" are completely subjective issues that have nothing to do with what the machine was specified as capable of.

For example, to use a quote from Apple's description, if "layering dozens of tracks and effects, rendering 3D models, or compiling and testing code, you’ll be doing it in no time flat (MacBook Pro 16-inch - Apple)" caused the machine to go into thermal shutdown, that would be a definite problem of it not meeting the capabilities it was advertised as having.

If it does it but runs the fans at maximum while doing so - that's not an issue as Apple didn't state the MBP 16 would run without audible fans while doing so.

Even the statement:

More advanced thermal architecture enables faster processing. The thermal architecture in MacBook Pro has been completely redesigned, featuring larger impellers with improved fan blades for optimal airflow and more heat-dispersing fins for more effective cooling. The resulting gain in cooling capacity allows MacBook Pro to deliver up to 12 watts more maximum sustained power.

does not state that it will do so silently, it simply states it will be possible.

That distinction is why I post here.

I get some are disappointed with their purchase, and I urge those disappointed to take advantage of the 14 day return policy if possible and purchase something else if need be.

There are others like myself who wouldn't trade the power and performance of the MBP 16 even if the fans ran at full speed whenever the machine was booted; believe me I know what that would be like, I had an Acer Ferrari 3400 that did exactly that and the processor drew so much power it had a battery life of well under two hours.

I also have issues with my MacBook Pro 16" (i9 2,4 GHz, 32 GB RAB, 2TB, R5500M). When working without external monitor it seems to be fine, but after plugging external monitor (not event 4K, it's just a 2K Samsung) by hub temperature is rising from about 40 Celsius to 60 Celsius in idle. When I play some video on youtube temperature goes to 75-80 Celsius depends on video resolution.

I spoke with Polish Apple Support and they personally didn't heard about this issue, but I told them that here is a thread about it.

They told me to reset SMC, reinstall system but it didn't help, so yesterday I went to Authorized Apple Support and I gave for warranty for service.

Now I'm waiting. I will let you know what they said, but I asked them if they heard about the issue, and they also said - no.

Polish Apple Support also suggested me sending a feedback by this form https://www.apple.com/feedback/ because if there will be much negative feedback on this issue Apple will notice it faster and do something faster.

Apple will remain silent until the last moment. I've been calling tech support about this problem since December and they keep telling me that they've never heard of this problem. This is a normal situation for a large company like Apple. Until they confirm this problem themselves, there will be no confirmation from them. The only thing we can do is leave your feedback https://www.apple.com/feedback/ and register your request by calling technical support. Let's hope that they are already dealing with this problem.

hatemal wrote:

I've had mine delivered mid-December, for the first couple of days I had noticed some fan noise.

It was some adobe related problem, I fixed that, and it all went well.

Mine is connected to two monitors both 27", full hd.

My stats are around this while browsing having 6 tabs + one tab with a youtube video playing:

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/91352a0d-b78d-41db-8731-51ff17055187

Note: my lid is always closed as I prefer to have it standing on a stand to save some spaces on my desk.

**** why don't I have stats like that :(

What app are you using to display that window?