MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

It's not surprising nothing has changed, as it's not listed in the release notes for 10.15.5 as a "fixed" item.

Apple is quiet, but they do announce when they've fixed something:

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements:

• Fixes an issue that may prevent Reminders from sending notifications for recurring reminders

• Addresses an issue that may prevent password entry on the login screen

• Fixes an issue where System Preferences would continue to show a notification badge even after installing an update

• Resolves an issue where the built-in camera may not be detected when trying to use it after using a video conferencing app

• Addresses an issue for Mac computers with the Apple T2 Security Chip where internal speakers may not appear as a sound output device in Sound preferences

• Fixes a stability issue with uploading and downloading media files from iCloud Photo Library while your Mac is asleep

• Resolves a stability issue when transferring large amounts of data to RAID volumes

• Fixes an issue where the Reduced Motion Accessibility preference did not reduce the speed of animations in a Group FaceTime call

Enterprise content:

• Improves performance on certain Mac models when enabling hardware acceleration in GPU-intensive apps such as those used for video conferencing

• Addresses an issue where Microsoft Exchange accounts were unable to sign in during account setup when using Conditional Access

• Apple Push Notification Service traffic now uses a web proxy when specified in a PAC file via the Proxies payload

• Resolves an issue that prevented some displays connected to MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) from waking from sleep when the Mac wakes

• Major new releases of macOS are no longer hidden when using the softwareupdate(8) command with the --ignore flag

What's new in the updates for macOS Catalina - Apple Support

That is very interesting on your results. I watched a YouTube reviewer video showing that it was even louder than the 16" when connected to an external display and ramped up much quicker on fan speeds. (my 16" does not have that problem as it runs about 50-60c when connected to 2 external 4k screens)

William, if you check the definition of overheating is not exactly what you think it is, this is the definition: "to (cause to) become hotter than necessary or wanted"

If a machine is overheating, it doesn't necessarily means it will reach termal shutdown, on previous computers we know there was a throttling issue but the machine never reached a thermal shutdown, after a while they agreed that they did that because of an overheating issue.

[Link Edited by Moderator]

iTech23 wrote:

William, if you check the definition of overheating is not exactly what you think it is, this is the definition: "to (cause to) become hotter than necessary or wanted"

When a car proceeds up a long mountain road, the engine works harder, and it will produce more heat.

If you have a temperature gauge in your vehicle and notice the gauge rises ever so slightly going up the hill, then take it to your mechanic and tell them your engine is "overheating," they won't ever find anything wrong - because it is working as designed.

The key is that "necessary or wanted" is a function not of the user, but of the specs to which the device was designed, and you and I don't have access to those.

Throttling does not mean a device is overheating, but rather the processor is slowed to reduce the rate at which heat is being produced, but the device slows itself as part of its thermal design.

As far as the power usage compared to Windows, I'd like to see some test results showing that the GPU is running just as fast under Windows as it is under macOS but it uses more power for some reason under macOS.

I suspect you'd find there is some functional reason - GPU speed, memory speed - that power usage is higher under macOS.

Now if your purchasing parameters require your laptop be silent, or nearly silent, I suspect you're shopping for the wrong device and you should be looking at MacBook Airs.

MacBook Pros have always been designed to deliver the maximum possible performance and speed, and the GPUs used in the 16" MBP were selected for just that reason.

If it's a matter of fans becoming audible vs. higher graphics performance, I'd rather have the fans on full blast with the GPU drawing its full TGP of 50w from the moment you hit the power button if graphics performance increased as a result.

I understand for others, the calculation is different, and as such different purchasing decisions might be made.

Yet others repeat their complaints about how much power the GPU is using now and that their fans are on.

The bottom line is I am happy to not post as long as people don't use terms with defined technical definitions like "overheating" or "defective."

Are the fans louder than you might prefer? Yes.

Does the GPU draw more power than you thought it would? Perhaps.

My point is only that if absolutely silent operation is your major purchasing criterion, you may want to purchase a different machine that has that as a specific design factor.

A professional machine/laptop that produces a loud annoying noise whenever a professional work is attempted to be made is not a professional device (costing fortune), but rather amateurish attempt. As you can see even in this thread itself, so many people are unhappy with it. To attempt a creative work with loud fans next to your ears is just a a stressing, not a professional environment. To cover a noise with louder noise (music) is not very clever way to solve the problem.

Regarding the microphones - the directional characteristics of course does not matter: if there is a noise in the room, it will be recorded ...

A professional laptop in this price range should be 100% silent. Using processors that overheat or using them in too small laptop body/space is not in relation with a "professional" use.

Been using this Macbook for a little more than 2 weeks now and just now found this topic. I’m really disappointed in Apple. I’ve been working with a 2013 MBP up until now, and it actually still did it’s job quite well, just lacked a little on speed. So I thought buying a maxed out MBP 16 inch would have me settled for the next 6-7 years or so.

Then I noticed the high fan speed quite instantly when connected to my 4K display. I saw the 8GB memory just kept using up more every minute so thought maybe something there was the issue. I tried 2 1080p monitors instead for couple of days now but experiencing similar issues. I’ve exceeded the 14 return period, but I wonder if there’s still a way I can return it and buy an older 2018 model or so.

savita88 wrote:

A professional machine/laptop that produces a loud annoying noise whenever a professional work is attempted to be made is not a professional device (costing fortune), but rather amateurish attempt. As you can see even in this thread itself, so many people are unhappy with it. To attempt a creative work with loud fans next to your ears is just a a stressing, not a professional environment. To cover a noise with louder noise (music) is not very clever way to solve the problem.

Regarding the microphones - the directional characteristics of course does not matter: if there is a noise in the room, it will be recorded ...

A professional laptop in this price range should be 100% silent. Using processors that overheat or using them in too small laptop body/space is not in relation with a "professional" use.

Incorrect on microphones:

I would assume someone doing professional sound work would be using something like a Shure SM58 to provide a cardoid pattern pickup in association with a good preamp like a Focusrite Scarlett Solo, or even a USB Mic like the Blue Microphones Yeti which provides a cardoid pickup setting.

That's also a huge assumption for your part on the latter; good luck finding a computer that complies, as PC laptops have fans, too, as you will find out if your purchase one with a GPU as powerful as the Radeon Pro 5000m series in it.

Can't confirm.

I have a brand new 16 inch, connected to two monitors 1080 and when i'm barely using the machine (two tabs on Chrome + Spotify) the machine heats up like crazy and fans goes through the roof.

I bought mine a few days ago and already hate it.

[Edited by Moderator]

That's bad too hear :( I've had mine for half a year now and it's a love–hate relationship. Love it when I travel or work from my studio, hate it when I try to work at home with monitor and peripherals connected.

I know you did and some of your answers have been helpful to me.

I really appreciate it.

In my personal case using a DisplayPort cable and changing the refresh rate to 144 hertz has helped but only on 10.15.4. 10.15.5 is not good at all.

hi all. I also have it problem. my 16' macbook trying fly if i connect external display (1440p) i test it with various connectors type(displayport, hdmi), various display model(dell, benq), diff boot mode(normal,clear user, safe mode, clear macos) and result everytime same. various only time as fast fan start to spin 3k+rpm - from some tens second to some minutes.

worth notes i not change load (not ran new programs or windows, not run video or somethig else) between connect and disconnect display.

all tests i do i discused with apple support chat. and in end they say me send my notebook to authorized service center.

now i find this topic and i see what many people have the problem.

has someone already sent the device to the service center? what is the diagnosis?

All the Apple apologists claiming this is not an issue or this is normal behavior obviously do not own this computer and are just speculating at best. This is absolutely not normal behavior AT ALL. There is something seriously wrong with either the GPU or CPU in these machines that is causing these issues. My 2018 MBP did not have any of these problems when using an external display.

173+ pages of people all reporting the same issue