MacBook Pro 16" too hot with CalDigit TS3 Plus Dock

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MacBook Pro 16" too hot with CalDigit TS3 Plus Dock

Earlier this year I bought a MacBook Pro 16" along with a CalDigit TS3 Plus.

After a while, I noticed my MacBook seemed to always stay hot when plugged into the TS3 even when fully charged. I took a temperature reading of the underside of the computer and at the hottest spot it's 107 degrees F measured with an infrared thermometer.

I started experimenting by unplugging all the accessories besides the TS3 and comparing the temperatures between it and the Apple charger that came with the MacBook.

Fully charged and asleep, the underside of the MacBook rest at 84 degrees F with the Apple charger. Unplug that and plug in the TS3 with nothing attached it ends up at 107 degrees F.

This seemed wrong to me so I contacted Caldigit and they ran me through the usual procedures of reseting the PRAM, etc. until swapping the unit out with a new one.

Getting the same results.

I should mention this is with the updated firmware for the TS3.

My conclusion is this device is not suitable for a 16" MacBook Pro. Which surprises me since I bought it directly off Apple's site.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? I'd like to figure it out before I have to deal with getting Apple to refund me.

2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 6-Core

32GB Ram

AMD Radeon Pro 5300M

Catalina

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on May 6, 2020 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

vondy Author

Level 1

72 points

May 26, 2020 1:13 PM in response to leroydouglas

I figured this out!

Sat there one night and did a bunch of testing by turning off various settings and came up with nothing until I discovered I had a folder being shared as a music library. Once I got rid of it the TS3 would put itself to sleep, blue light goes out, about 30 seconds after I put my Mac to sleep.

Now the Mac stays nice and cool while plugged in to the TS3.

The shared folder was being watched by my network audio device on my home stereo system. I'm guessing that was keeping something alive on the Mac and in-turn keeping the TS3 on. Didn't seem to matter if I was actually using the device or even if my shared folder which resides on an external drive was plugged into my Mac.

Hope this helps someone in the future.

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Answer 2

DPJ

Level 4

1,374 points

May 6, 2020 10:32 AM in response to vondy

Ah, sorry I misunderstood your post. I thought you were stating that you were going to try and get Apple to refund you for the MacBook Pro after several months of owning it. Well I'm not certain how Apple treats 3rd party peripherals they sell in terms of refunds. Hopefully that works out for you. The reason your friend's MacBook doesn't heat up with that TS3 is because he has a low grade dGPU. You have a high performance dGPU and obviously it activates the TS3 connected. The way to be sure of this is to go into the Menu-About this Mac. Verify if both the Intel UHD Graphics 630 and the AMD Radeon 5300M are listed.

I'm assuming you're not connected to an external drive? If you are then the Radeon 5300M is already activated and the TS3 is further heating up the dGPU. If you are connected to an external drive then disconnect it and verify if the dGPU is activated with the TS3 only.

Good luck with Apple about getting a refund on the TS3 but I have a good feeling they are going to pass the buck just as Caldigit did.

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Answer 3

DPJ

Level 4

1,374 points

May 6, 2020 11:04 AM in response to vondy

I have the 16"MBP also. I've never heard of it heating up while in sleep mode. Mine is dead cold during sleep mode. Check Activity Monitory and select the ENERGY tab to see what may be running. Sounds like a file that refuses to quit.

Another way Apple recommends to quit any files that remain active even after you quit the app is to hold down the power button. So first shut down your Mac. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds. During this time it will appear to startup. Continue holding the power button and it will shut back off. After the 10 seconds release the power button. Then press it again (or any key) to start the computer back up.

This is generally what Apple recommends in lieu of performing an SMC reset. It's been very effective for many and it's worked for me. There was a time when I just opened the MacBook to surf and I noticed my battery was draining fast and it was getting very warm. The dGPU was not activated. After I did the 10 second hold down of the power button it returned to normal right away.

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Answer 4

leroydouglas

Level 10

202,218 points

May 6, 2020 11:06 AM in response to vondy

vondy wrote:

Earlier this year I bought a MacBook Pro 16" along with a CalDigit TS3 Plus.

I have seen various complaints with issues using CalDigit TS3 Plus Dock

Apple Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback

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Answer 5

vondy Author

Level 1

72 points

May 6, 2020 1:43 PM in response to leroydouglas

I've seen complaints about several other issues but having trouble finding ones specifically talking about the Mac heating up while sleeping and fully charged.

Seems to me if a program was running in the background it would still heat up the Mac when on the Apple charger not just the TS3.

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Answer 6

vondy Author

Level 1

72 points

May 7, 2020 11:31 AM in response to vondy

Some more info.

Screenshots below of temperatures with the TS3 vs Apple charger. These were taken right after waking up from sleep with the battery at 100% and no peripherals plugged in.

You can see the higher temps on the TS3, especially on the right thunderbolt port where the chargers were plugged in.

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Answer 7

DPJ

Level 4

1,374 points

May 6, 2020 10:08 AM in response to vondy

" I'd like to figure it out before I have to deal with getting Apple to refund me."

Since you're past the return period Apple is not going to refund you, especially when it's a 3rd party peripheral that doesn't agree with your Mac's design. That's not a fault of the computer.

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Answer 8

vondy Author

Level 1

72 points

May 6, 2020 10:21 AM in response to DPJ

Caldigit says they will not refund since it was not bought from them. Apple sells third party products from their site that are supposed to be compatible with their apple products. If the TS3 is not compatible then Apple should refund me and pull the product from their site.

At least that's my argument.

I'd rather find a fix for this issue if there is one. My good friend has the same TS3 with his 15" MacBook Pro and does not have this issue.

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Answer 9

vondy Author

Level 1

72 points

May 6, 2020 10:57 AM in response to DPJ

I can certainly see why the computer would heat up when using the TS3, but if the computer is fully charged and asleep, and no peripherals are connected to the TS3, shouldn't it stay cool?

I mean 107 on the external temp seems pretty hot for it doing nothing. That's 23 degrees more than the Apple charger.

What's weird is sometimes it doesn't heat up and I can not figure out why. If I plug it into the TS3 while it's asleep it might be fine, open up the computer, do a few things and put back to sleep, we are back to 107.

Maybe it's perfectly fine sitting at that temperature all day but I feel like it's not going to be good for the life of my MacBook.

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Answer 10

vondy Author

Level 1

72 points

May 7, 2020 11:46 AM in response to DPJ

Yes I did that, as well as reset the SMC. CalDigit had me do it as well when we first started troubleshooting.

Computer has been shut down and everything reset several times. The one consistent is TS3 clearly heats up the computer even when it's been sleeping overnight.

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Answer 11

leroydouglas

Level 10

202,218 points

May 7, 2020 12:08 PM in response to vondy

vondy wrote:

Yes I did that, as well as reset the SMC. CalDigit had me do it as well when we first started troubleshooting.

Computer has been shut down and everything reset several times. The one consistent is TS3 clearly heats up the computer even when it's been sleeping overnight.

Interesting research here, choose your ports wisely—

https://blog.macsales.com/61253-power-your-macbook-pro-from-the-right-side/?utm_source=xlr8yourmac&APC=XLR8YourMac13

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363337/how-to-find-cause-of-high-kernel-task-cpu-usage?answertab=active#tab-top

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Answer 12

DPJ

Level 4

1,374 points

May 7, 2020 11:33 AM in response to vondy

Just wondering (because it looks like you ignored my post) did you try holding down the power button idea in terms of curing the high temperatures after waking from sleep?

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MacBook Pro 16" too hot with CalDigit TS3 Plus Dock

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