MacBook Air 2020 - horrible fan noise

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Level 1

6 points

MacBook Air 2020 - horrible fan noise

I've just taken delivery of the basic model new MacBook Air. I was going to give my old 12 inch MacBook to my wife and I'd use the new one but the fan noise is terrible and makes it almost unusable. So I've kept the silent 12 inch and my wife has the new one. I'll get rid of it as soon as Apple produce a new silent one.

In the meantime is there any way to turn off the fan permanently? I've read various things saying the performance but we only use it for Microsoft Office, Safari and the odd You Tube video so we don't need high power etc.

MacBook Air

Posted on Jun 8, 2020 5:48 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

John Galt

Level 10

146,174 points

Jun 8, 2020 7:05 AM in response to Mwe99

Please read See how apps affect Mac performance, battery runtime, temperature, and fan activity.

Buried in the links within it is this recommendation should the above reveal no obvious cause for an otherwise inexplicably loud fan:

"If the fans in your Mac run fast even when it isn't experiencing heavy usage and is properly ventilated, you might need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac."

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Answer 2

Mwe99 Author

Level 1

6 points

Jun 8, 2020 7:42 AM in response to John Galt

Thank you. I will have a look but it’s a brand new MB Air, 3 days old with a brand new installation. We only added Microsoft Office. We routinely have just Outlook and Safari open - nothing else and the fan goes up to 6-7,00p rpm and is very noisy. we don’t need the processing power/turbo whatsit that might challenge the processor which is why we bought the basic model.

I’m not used to Apple products making so much noise. My old 2009 iMac, 12 inch MBs, iPad and iPhones are all silent. I don’t get why they’d design a product that makes so much noise.

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

146,174 points

Jun 8, 2020 7:48 AM in response to Mwe99

It's not normal. At your option you can return your MBA for a full cash refund, but it seems to me that's overkill for what might be fixed in less than a minute with the SMC Reset.

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MacBook Air 2020 - horrible fan noise

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