MacBook fan is almost always on.

I use my MacBook Pro 16 inch 2019 6 core i7 for recording music on Logic. Even when I am not using a any plugins, and I have started my first track, the fan runs. It is sitting on a desk. What's the deal?

Posted on May 6, 2023 4:38 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 6, 2023 6:28 PM

Start with About fans and fan noise in your Apple product - Apple Support, and click the link in "Learn more about the operating temperature of Apple laptop computers."


That takes you to the useful part of the next Support document:


"If your Mac laptop gets warm even when it isn’t doing tasks that require intensive calculations, or if it has fans that run for a long time, use Activity Monitor to check CPU activity. Look for malfunctioning processes that can put a significant load on the CPU and check for unexpected fan use. If issues persist, close and open the lid on your laptop, or restart your computer. If you have an Intel-based Mac, reset the SMC."


Using View energy consumption in Activity Monitor on Mac - Apple Support, select its View menu > My Processes as a starting point. Sorting that list by %CPU in descending order will reveal the most demanding processes.


Most likely, the Logic Pro app will be at or near the top of that list, which is to be expected. Additional processes are likely to be contributing to the overall machine processing burden, some of which may be actionable.


Post a screenshot of that Activity Monitor window if you wish.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 6, 2023 6:28 PM in response to bradford247

Start with About fans and fan noise in your Apple product - Apple Support, and click the link in "Learn more about the operating temperature of Apple laptop computers."


That takes you to the useful part of the next Support document:


"If your Mac laptop gets warm even when it isn’t doing tasks that require intensive calculations, or if it has fans that run for a long time, use Activity Monitor to check CPU activity. Look for malfunctioning processes that can put a significant load on the CPU and check for unexpected fan use. If issues persist, close and open the lid on your laptop, or restart your computer. If you have an Intel-based Mac, reset the SMC."


Using View energy consumption in Activity Monitor on Mac - Apple Support, select its View menu > My Processes as a starting point. Sorting that list by %CPU in descending order will reveal the most demanding processes.


Most likely, the Logic Pro app will be at or near the top of that list, which is to be expected. Additional processes are likely to be contributing to the overall machine processing burden, some of which may be actionable.


Post a screenshot of that Activity Monitor window if you wish.

May 6, 2023 5:25 PM in response to bradford247

My 2015 15" MBP was also fan cooled, not passively cooled, and it was designed to always run with the fans running albeit at a minimum speed of around 2000 RPM. I couldn't hear them but they were always on. It was only when a load was placed on it and generating more heat would you hear the fans automatically speed up. I suspect yours is no different and wouldn't worry about it. If you want to monitor internal temps and fan speeds a free app such Macs Fan Control works well which is what I use.

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MacBook fan is almost always on.

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