Macbook Pro M2 (12in, 2022) - Excessive Thermal Throttling, Fan does not turn on.

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Macbook Pro M2 (12in, 2022) - Excessive Thermal Throttling, Fan does not turn on.

Since purchasing this Macbook back in 2022 I've noticed kernel_task activating constantly.

As I understand this is thermal throttling to prevent damage to the chip.

When I purchased the MBP M2 I was told in the Apple store that this laptop has a fan, and that meant it could handle more intense tasks without the slow down. This alone convinced me to buy this model, instead of the Macbook Air. My wife got the Air, and she has WAY less thermal throttling issues than I do. If I work on her laptop in the same way as mine, slow down is barely noticeable. On mine its a repeated daily issue.

However, I've never once heard the fan turn on in 2 years using the laptop daily. So, what is the point in the MBP M2 Fan??

A few details of the issue:

I'm not doing gaming or video editing etc. I'm essentially just using a lot of browser windows in Chrome and Opera.
I figured maybe the fan was broken. I went into diagnostics mode and did the fan test, it blasted off like a rocket! Loud. Very clearly works. This is the first and only time I ever heard the fan work, in the forced test.
There are not other massive processes running in background, Activity monitor is basically all kernel_task and chrome only. So the issue is clear.

So, How do I get the fan to always automatically activate to cool the chipset, instead of the MBP seemingly throttling with kernel_task?

Mac OS 14.5, but this issue has existed on all OS for 2 years.

MacBook Pro 15″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Sep 23, 2024 1:12 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

140,771 points

Sep 30, 2024 6:58 AM in response to bailtree

.

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Answer 2

bailtree

Level 1

20 points

Sep 30, 2024 4:26 AM in response to tjw101

    Physical RAM: 8 GB
    Free RAM: 62 MB
    Used RAM: 7.27 GB
    Cached files: 687 MB
    Available RAM: 750 MB
    Swap Used: 9.30 GB

I see that there's high disk I/O which seems to be because swap is being utilised, this could be the reason why kernel task was using high CPU (I saw it using 25% CPU in that report).

I'm not convinced that what you're experiencing is thermal throttling if the CPU temp is only 70 degrees celcius. Apple seems to prefer initiating fans only when absolutely necessary, by design.

In conclusion, I'd say that having only 8GB of RAM is what's causing the slowdown in this situation.

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Answer 3

bailtree

Level 1

20 points

Sep 24, 2024 6:22 AM in response to tjw101

Have you tried using https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control (Macs Fan Control) to check the activity of the fans, set fan speed or check temperatures? I have used it personally and it's been helpful.

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Answer 4

Sep 24, 2024 6:24 AM in response to tjw101

Etrecheck:

Consider downloading and running this little "discovery" utility, Etrecheck. It changes NOTHING. Etrecheck was developed by senior contributor here, and uses system calls to collect often-needed information.

it contains little tests for speeds of devices, CPU utilization, memory usage, energy usage and a digest of recent problems, in one easy to use package. it does not even need to be Installed. Because less can be learned when your Mac is running great, best time to run is when your problems are actually occurring, if possible.

if you follow the directions faithfully, its report (pre-laundered of all personally-identifiable information) can be "Shared" to the System ClipBoard, then Pasted into an ‘Additional Text’ window in a reply on the forums.

Use Etrecheck Pro for free:

http://Etrecheck.com

...

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Answer 5

tjw101 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 30, 2024 2:41 AM in response to bailtree

I installed this (Macs Fan Control) and testing.

With it set to auto (which I assume allows the Mac to do everything itself and make it's own decisions) the fan speed is 0, it never turns on even if the chip is getting to 70c and instead Kernel_task is blasting in at 110% or more, slowing the computer down.

With it set to custom so the fan turns on at 60c, the fan starts up, low speed ~2100rpm. Kernel task still activates. Maybe not quite as high cpu throtltling, hough, but the fan never really gets anywhere close to the top RPM of 7199 RPM. Which maybe is fine.

Anyway, what this is showing me is that without this app to force the fan to turn on, as suspected, the Mac by itself in default mode does not use the fan, even when the CPU gets hot, and is using throttling instead, which is very annoying, what is the point of having the fan?

At what point should the fan turn on? Is there a information guide about how Macbook operates the fan and when as standard?

Thanks.

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Answer 6

Sep 30, 2024 6:59 AM in response to tjw101

<< bail tree wrote:

In conclusion, I'd say that having only 8GB of RAM is what's causing the slowdown in this situation.>>

Readers have discovered that having only 8GB real RAM is enough for MacOS ONLY, and running anything more complex than MAIL causes unacceptable slowdowns.

[in my opinion] 8GB models are usable as students computers, ONLY. They probably should never have been sold to consumers as if they were 'real' computers.

You can't run adobe creative suite or Chrome and expect anything but terrible responsiveness and overheating.

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Answer 7

Sep 23, 2024 7:08 AM in response to tjw101

Run the user diagnostic.

Mac fans have an internal RPM sensor, and a fan that is not appropriately responsive will throw an error.

Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support

.

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Answer 8

tjw101 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 24, 2024 4:56 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for the response.

Code returned is ADP000 ; No issues found.

So no information to go on here.

Is there a way to set sensitivity a bit higher for when the fan kicks in? Or to check how this is currently set and if there is a software issue of some sort?

This issue of slow down has been constant. I thought it was normal (even from a premium laptop) until I used my wife's and realised she doesn't get spinny wheel of death (or system/text typing freezing for 10+ seconds) just by trying to compose an email in gmail after switching back and forth to a google document (for example).

Thanks for your help.

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Answer 9

Sep 24, 2024 6:20 AM in response to tjw101

<< Code returned is ADP000 ; No issues found.

So no information to go on here. >>

There IS information there -- the fans have not failed, or that would have been reported. They are physically operating correctly, and should kick in when temperatures get too high. Also, you should have heard them run during the test.

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Answer 10

tjw101 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 24, 2024 6:19 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks again for the response.

Yes the fans work, I'd mentioned this in the original post that when I last went into diagnostic mode the fans made noise as well.

What I'm saying is that the diagnostic test is the only time in the history of using this laptop that I have ever heard the fan operate.

So, why does Kernel_task take 200%+ cpu, grind my computer to a halt, but the fan never operates if the fan is functioning just fine in diagnostic mode? I want the fan to cool the chipset, not to have thermal throttling for no reason kill performance, that is why the Apple store convinced me to buy this laptop instead of the Air. And the function does not work.

So what is the next thing to do to solve this? Thanks.

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Answer 11

tjw101 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 30, 2024 1:54 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I ran the test. I did this at a time where there was noticeable slowdown, and I continued using chrome and switching tabs during the test so that the slowdown was noticeable for almost the whole time.

However the CPU info below is suggesting very little CPU usage? Mainly showing that ram is all used up. If RAM was causing the slow down though, why would thermal throttling be activated? And it does not seem to be listing the kernel_task stuff in the report I don't think?

Any ideas on anything here that would lead to throttling? Thanks. Report attached.

Etre analysis report

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Answer 12

tjw101 Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 1, 2024 5:37 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for the response.

Apple didn't used to try and scam customers in the past, not happy that is their latest plan. Not ideal if 8GB is not enough to run things like photoshop (as I told the shop assistant specifically this and chrome and lightroom were my main uses and they said Get MBP2 as it had a fan and could do heavier processes). I'd have spent more for a 16GB model, they would have made more money and I would have been happy. Instead just feel like they sold me a dud laptop with my wife's Air (also 8GB) performing better than my MBP2.

What is confusing here is that even if the RAM is causing the slow down, why is Kernel_Task drawing 100 to 200% CPU, even when the chip is only at about 60 celsius?? What is it throttling if the RAM is the issue? And still does not answer why the fan does not operate at all?

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Answer 13

Oct 1, 2024 6:36 AM in response to tjw101

When it starts to get hot, the Mac uses an Idle loop inside kernel task to do less intensive instructions, effectively reducing the processor heat generated. That's why a comparable MacBook Air still works and does not overheat and shut down when it starts to get hot. But a MacBook Air running the same tasks will throttle itself more.

If yours got just a little hotter, the fans would come on loud enough for you to hear them.

Nobody scammed you. the type of computer you chose CAN do the tasks you want to do.

But because you decided to by the cheaper one, it can't do this task quickly, and without some throttling.

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Answer 14

tjw101 Author

Level 1

6 points

Sep 23, 2024 2:02 AM in response to tjw101

This is Macbook Pro M2 (13in, 2022)

And the post tagged my old laptop as the model and seems to be no way to edit that of the post or title.

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Macbook Pro M2 (12in, 2022) - Excessive Thermal Throttling, Fan does not turn on.

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