why is fan on laptop on but laptop is cold?

esasosa wrote:

I posted this while fans were still on. I restarted it about 4 times.

i dont see any updates going on... i turned it off, using my phone to reply.

That is not much of a test..

I would let it run to test further otherwise there is nothing to go on—

If the fans are screaming non stop at 6000RPM

you can simply try  resetting the  SMC  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

esasosa wrote:

I tried that already and fans were still running. I always thought fans only run for a while to cool down the laptop. But the laptop is cold so i dont understand why it would be running

The fans are always on and running, they idle at ~2000rpm. If under a load the can ramp up to ~6000rpm.

Uninstall any and all third party Antivirus, Cleaners, Optimizers, speeder uppers....

 To trouble shoot further you can:

 —Try a SafeBoot https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

  Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5-15 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache,  etc. 

   Login and test. Reboot  as normal and test as caches get rebuilt.

note: In Safe mode third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled, it removes malware, etc hampering smooth operation, however a  reboot will put it back to normal mode.

This test will tell you if third party interference; extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode. 

 —Test issue in another user (or guest user) account  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204443

  This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account. 

About fans and fan noise in your Apple product - Apple Support

Keep your Mac notebook within acceptable operating temperatures - Apple Support

esasosa wrote:

I opened my laptop after about a month of not using it and it restarted automatically. Went to the home page and the fan turned on. The laptop is cold so I don't understand why it would be on? Is it probably because I had tabs and apps open when I closed it last and a month later here I am trying to get back on it? does anybody else have this problem, PLEASE HELP.

?

Are the fans still on or you are posting in the moment...(?)

There are many reason for the fan to come on if there is a demand—

for example if you have automatic updates checked it could be downloading from the Apple servers in the back ground or security updates in the background with no notice to the user.

Spotlight could be indexing for a second example...

Why do you think it is a problem? The fans run; it is normal for them to run.

You could try a SMC reset: How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support