New Macbook Pro 16 inch Overheating

I have exactly the same situation.

It is bad design and I don't except apple to do anything about it. Just an over hipped bad product.

1. You can lower the temperature by installing fan controlling software. It will increase the noise but at least it will extend life of your computer. (high temperature will weaken soldering over time and GPUs will start dying in couple years).
2. I bought external GPU. For additional $700 (Razer Core X mk1, and Radeon RX 5700 XT) you keep noise and temperature low. It is not perfect because you need to logout every day or the system will start slowing down and may freeze. This hopefully will be addressed by apple but I can imagine it would be last in priority. For this solution you may need $80 cable if you need to put the case further away I got mine from OWC. It was cheaper than Razer and I wouldn't want to try Chinese random stuff.

fransgl wrote:

...

Does anyone know a way to tweak the power settings for the discrete graphics card (dGPU)?

...

When using an External display, Closing the clamshell or disabling the built-in display with an nvram setting has been found to sometimes reduce the Speed of the display RAM, and cutting its power substantially (by as much 8 to 10 Watts).

Some users also found that setting the display refresh rate very high (WAY above 60Hz) sometimes resulted in the same reduced speed/power for the display RAM.

I purchased two (2) new MacBook Pro 16 inch. I immediately noticed the overheating problem. None of all my previous Apple products had anything like this before. I am a MacBook user since 2007. Thinking about changing now. The overheating problem is present on both the machines I purchased. The problem is exacerbated when transferring large amount of data via Network. I have not had time to dig deep enough on this problem yet, but I am afraid this is a serious Thermal Design issue of the machine. I mitigate the problem by physically connecting the machine to a passive thermal sink. Unless an easy software workaround can be found, a product Recall might be needed here.

It has been 6 months now since I bought this laptop for work and made a substantial investment and moved from Windows 10 to Apple (Falling for the Marketing trap of bigger fan... bigger build... more performance... Less noise). Then I bought a 27inch 1080p External Display 75hz to increase my productivity (After reading a little about heat issues with the 16inch) ... Radeon GPU goes from 0.5 to 25W and temperature jumps from 40C* idle to 65C* idle (Doing absolutely nothing).

I turn down the Hz of the external monitor to 60 on 1080p and Radeon goes from 0.5 to 20W temperature jumps from 40C* idle to 60C* idle (Doing absolutely nothing).

If I am working on those setting above temperature can go as high as 80C* (Simple Photo Editing) 90C*(Simple Video Editing) and as low as 75C* (For simple tasks like having one browser open...)

Without the external monitor it is 45C* (Simple Photo Editing) 55*(Simple Video Editing) and as low as 42* (For simple tasks like having one browser open). That's all good...

Clamshell mode helps reduce the thermals but after doing that for some time I decided there is no point doing the clamshel mode because at the end of the day you are just replacing one 16inch screen for another bigger screen... I need to actually have two full size applications open to do work and so do probably most of your guys here too...

• Also all of these tests above have been done with a Twelve South Curve Stand bought from apple and the room temp is 20C* so there is enought airflow.
• https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HLST2ZM/A/twelve-south-curve-stand-for-macbook

Apple can anyone over there hear us? Please fix your graphic switching... I really need an external monitor to work... Otherwise I would've bought a PC if I knew this was going to be a problem...

Please fix this for the 99% of MacBook Pro owners out there who use an external monitor and you will actually make our life a bit better doing work locked down at home, not having to worry about our lava laptops.

I want to be able to still work on this laptop for a few years before people start buying the new ARM based MacBooks and eventually I will have to too. Please don't just make us wait for that and say "there is no heat problem there as it's not intel its our design and engineering and its been optimised".

Really wish you can fix this before the new MacOs Big Sur so we can enjoy all the great things using an external monitor (Hopefully I can by then buy a proper 4K monitor and not worry about thermal issues).

Otherwise there's always Windows 10... (Really don't want to go back to that)

Thanks.

I am working with Apple Support right now and I would suggest you do the same. Call and document your issue. My son-in-law gave me a laser thermometer to use - i.e., you aim the laser at the machine and it tells you the temperature of the object. It has helped document the temperature - I take a pic of the temp with the screen showing the date and time. I love this laptop for so many reasons but I have to think there is a design flaw for it to be so hot I cannot use it comfortably. I would like to say or wish that I just had a lemon... but when you read about so many others having the same issue, it is hard to believe that...

Hi William,

Please share with us what monitor you are using and the connection method as well that doesn't cause the excessive heating and full speed fan noise on your 16" MBP. Also, please share your 16" MBP model and basic configuration (CPU, RAM, GPU).

Thanks.

I have a similar problem on my 2019 MBP 16" laptop.

Intermittently, the laptop temp skyrockets from average temps (55–60 C / 130–140 F on CPU Core 1 temp sensor) to absurdly high temps (75 C / 167 F) that make the laptop painful to the touch in the area near the speaker vents and especially so above the menu bar (above/around the control strip). Simultaneously, during those heat spikes, I have noticeable degradation of performance.

This seems to happen regardless of my usage habits or apps I have open. 

I noticed the heat issue when I first set up the laptop (bought brand new), but I thought it might just be some background processes with caching/cleanup or whatever other things happen in the background when setting up a new computer. So, I didn't return it. But, this remains to be an issue.

It's unpredictable. Occasionally, I've returned home to find it in the middle of a "heat flash". Other times, it will go for hours with no problem. It happens whether it's plugged in or not.

For anyone else troubleshooting, here are some details about my setup usage habits, and steps I've attempted. Nothing has worked and the problem persists.

Specs

• Overview
  • macOS Catalina version 10.15.7
  • 2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core I9
  • 64 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
  • AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8GB
  • Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536MB
• Display
  • 16-inch display (3072 x 1920)
  • AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8GB

Typical usage

• Plugged in (via CalDigit TS3 Plus) that has some accessories connected to it:
  • Some midi devices (turned off until needed)
  • 1 external hard drive, low RPM and separate power source
  • Sound mixer, also separate power source
• Note that I've tried plugging charger in directly, without connecting the CalDigit TS3, but it did not resolve the heat issue.
• Wifi enabled
• No external monitor, keyboard, or mouse
• Nothing connected via Bluetooth
• Propped up to permit airflow all around the laptop base
• Laptop keyboard, lights at lowest setting while still being on
• Display brightness typically 50–75%, leaning more toward 50%
• Display open
• Ambient temp is 18–20 C / 64–68 F
• App usage
  • During work: 
    • 3 Safari windows with maybe 3-10 tabs each, varying throughout the day. Sites are typical for my role — gmail, calendar, one or two google documents/sheets, Jira, and some miscellaneous sites for research
    • Slack
    • Zoom (main app open, occasionally have a call, and occasionally share screen/video during the call)
    • Occasionally Figma, but only when needed
    • Occasionally Spotify, but not often
  • When not working: 
    • Either: Only Ableton open, everything else closed
    • OR: 1–3 Safari windows with a few tabs each (email, some text-based news sites, articles, etc), occasionally Spotify, occasionally Discord
    • Only one user logged in at a time
  • Background apps
    • Macs fan control (in response to this issue, in particular)
    • NTFS for Mac (although closing this has no effect on the heat issue)

What I've done so far

• Checked activity monitor duding these points in time. 
  • WindowServer seems to consistently have a surprisingly high %CPU (i.e., I see it go over 100% during the heat spikes).
  • Otherwise, nothing out of the ordinary or excessive.
• Turned off automatic graphics switching.
  • No effect, symptom persists
• Turned off transparency.
  • No effect, symptom persists
• Checked contents of /Library/LaunchAgents AND ~/Library/LaunchAgents
  • Adobe Creative Cloud
  • A license service (iLOK) for audio plugins that I use on Ableton
  • Paragon software notification agent (supports NTFS for Mac)
  • Nothing suspicious
• Checked contents of ~/Library/Application Support
  • Nothing suspicious
• Checked contents of /Library/LaunchDaemons
  • Nothing suspicious
• Checked all applications, nothing out of the ordinary 
• Checked Preferences > Users > (each user) > Login Items
  • Very few items here
  • Nothing suspicious
• Cleared all caches/history/etc from Safari
  • No effect, symptom persists

I'm at a loss. The intermittent heat spikes (and corresponding performance degradation) are particularly a nuisance when creating music. Despite being the primary driver behind my purchase, I wouldn't trust this device in a live music performance setting. 

I'm disappointed, to say the least. 

At or about 100 degrees C (212 F) is a symptom of a serious Hardware problem. You should have your computer checked as soon as possible.

Your Mac is at risk of doing an uncontrolled power-down to save itself from runaway heat.

Same/similar issue here: MBP16, bought new in December 2019, only when connected to an external monitor (which is all the time in my case) it overheats. Unplug the external monitor and it cools down, plug it in and it will get uncomfortably hot and noisy. Pretty much regardless of CPU activity. And also regardless of activity on the screen; also if the device display is sleeping it will overheat. And also otherwise in the same state: same running programs, same activities, same location and ambient temperature for the device, etc.

I know that without external monitor connected, the device uses its Intel integrated graphics. In that case it stays relatively cool. When connecting an external monitor, the device gets really hot and noisy. And it will also drain the battery from 100% to 20% in a matter of 2 or 3 hours. Quite disappointing for such an expensive device.

Other info:

• From what I read elsewhere, I can disable the Radeon Pro 5300M discrete graphics card.. but then I can't drive my external monitor any more. Which is not acceptable for me. Apparently, USB-C is hardwired to this graphics card only, not to the Intel integrated graphics.
• I have a Dell monitor, resolution 2560x1440.
• Monitor is connected using a USB-C to HDMI cable. I have also tried a 'dongle' to connect USB-C to HDMI. Same thing.
• I bought a new USB-C to DisplayPort cable because someone suggested that would make it run cooler. It didn't. At least there was no noticeable difference.
• Even when the CPU is doing close to nothing and the display is 'sleeping' it will overheat. I have carefully looked at the Activity Monitor and used 'top' on the command prompt. It indicates very little activity. Obviously, I do put load on the CPU regularly (for instance when running Xcode) in which case I get more heat and more noise.
• I don't play games and I hardly ever play videos on the device. I mostly do web browsing and software development.
• To define 'overheating': I have not measured the actual temperature, but it feels uncomfortable having your hands on or close to a piece of hot metal.

@Apple or others: is there a remedy for this? Can I get the device replaced? It is not strictly 'broken', but I'm not a happy user.

I too just purchased a 2019 MacBook Pro 16" with 32GB, 8-core i9, with the AMD 5500M GPU. As soon as I plugged in a second monitor via the Apple USB-C to HDMI dongle the system started overheating. Unplugging the external monitor calmed everything down. Thank you for all the tips on this string. Now, Apple really needs to do something about this besides telling us to get an ARM-based MBP. I would really like to use a second monitor with my 2019 MBP 16" but that doesn't look possible.

Hi tripletabs,

Congratulations on the purchase of a new MacBook Pro 16"! I'll be happy to talk to you about the temperature of your Mac.

While there isn't a specific article that I can point you to for this, I can let you know that your Mac is designed to protect itself from overheating by powering off to cool down if unsafe temperatures are reached.

That being said, there is a great article that you might want to review: Keep your Mac notebook within acceptable operating temperatures

Have a great day.

There is another thread about fan noise, whichis basically the same. I ll post screenshot here aswell. Loosing faith into apple product andeven more thair customer support and sincerity.

I find this machine weird, i never had a computer like this, CPU temps are all over the place by doing nothing, CPU workload never even reached 20%. Browsing, skype, twitter, pw manager, max temps wen up to 87 with fans on 5k. I open an installer or zipping a file, it goes instantly on 80 C and fans 5k.

Curious, when you mean over heating, are you saying thermal throttling or the fans are running at full? And do you keep the laptop open, or do you keep it closed when you connect to the external monitor?

I know that these computers did have some issues right after release about the fans running on full when they did not need to. This was fixed with the last version of MacOS I think.

Hi - I bought my MacBook Pro 16" in late Feb. I contacted the sales representative before my returns period was up because I was worried about the fans, but they didn't get back to me, and we were in lockdown so I couldn't take it into a shop.

On 10th July the fan was going crazy while I was working on a video project. Then suddenly it turned itself off. Basically the logic board overheated beyond repair. All the videos I was working on that day are stuck on the SSD and because the SSD is embedded with the logic board, the whole thing will need replaced and I only have access to my data if I spend £900 - £4200 on Ontrack's data recovery (as Apple don't deal with data recovery).

I just wanted to post cause it really worries me how many people this might happen to - I worry especially for anyone who's trusting in their 8TB hard drives. I trusted the internal hard drive (2TB) and had offloaded all my camera footage. I would've done a backup that night but never got the opportunity.

If you're experiencing overheating - don't rely on your internal hard drive!

it's not normal to have 60 degrees C at "idle". That temperature 60 C is like the holding temperature for soup warmer machine and it's too hot for that aluminum body of macbook. i have the same issue, i have the old macbook 13" and never reached this temperature; when i bought new macbook 16" it's shocking after around 15 minutes only of using the Adobe photoshop software and lightroom the temperature skyrocketed! so please someone from apple expert tech team to explain why is this happening? yes, it's faster now compared to my old mac 13" but it shouldn't be like this by just using simple lightroom and photoshop software, i am not even using that adobe premiere pro video software.