Why is my MacBook Pro fan running nonstop even with minimal activity?

Question

Level 1

5 points

Why is my MacBook Pro fan running nonstop even with minimal activity?

the fan on the right side of the laptop constantly runs, as if i have a million tabs open (i don't at this stage, and never have).

some background: my mac is from 2020, the system is up to date, it has over 200gb of storage available. i did all the restarts with smc, changed browsers (in case it was chrome doing it), looked at the my activity tab to figure out what it the cpu usage is, seen that it's background activity that's doing it (identityservicesd (?) kernel_task (?)), so i went to the genius lab and they opened it up and cleaned it. he suggested if it keeps happening, i reboot the entire system with their help and start the mac from scratch. of course, doing that is not free haha.

also, the only thing that stops the fan from going off while the laptop is turned on is when the wifi is turned off. otherwise, it is constantly whirring.

i don't really want to wipe my system because i am extremely lazy. i understand my laptop is also old which probably doesn't help. i don't do anything on here besides browse the internet and use imessage, so it really just started out of no where like four days ago.

is wiping it the only solution?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on May 5, 2025 10:50 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

144,339 points

May 6, 2025 5:57 PM in response to s577

you need to get everything related to Avast or any VPN far away from your computer as soon as possible:

Clean up:

[Waiting for authorization] Avast Smart VPN Network Extension - version 4.2.5 (AVAST Software a.s. - installed 2021-03-24)

Application: Not found!

Description: Smart VPN network tracking extension

--------

runaway user process:

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:

Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

identityservicesd 98.86 % (Apple)

AKAuthorizationRemoteViewService 71.60 % (Apple)

These two are deeply involved with Apple-ID. You need to make certain that your Apple-ID is logged in and working as expected. We do not see this with only a backlog of items to be Sync-ed. Yours appears to be messed up.

---------

these appear to be certifiable antiques:

Kernel Extensions:

/Library/Extensions

[Not Loaded] JMicronATA.kext - com.jmicron.JMicronATA (1.1.6)

[Not Loaded] RIMBBUSB.kext - com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.74)

[Not Loaded] RIMBBVSP.kext - com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.74)

(more)

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

251,329 points

May 5, 2025 10:58 PM in response to s577

Get the free etrecheck and provide us a report…

https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

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Answer 3

s577 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 10, 2025 4:00 AM in response to s577

for anyone:

I erased my laptop completely after backing it up and it works fine now

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Answer 4

May 6, 2025 7:46 AM in response to s577

if you follow the directions faithfully, the Etrecheck 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.

Then start a reply on the forums, click the "additional text" icon, and PASTE

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Answer 5

winzppo

Level 1

54 points

May 10, 2025 4:02 AM in response to s577

It sounds like there may be some underlying software issue causing the excessive fan activity on your MacBook Pro. Before resorting to a system wipe, you could try monitoring and closing background processes or seeking additional help from Apple Support to diagnose the problem more specifically.

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

251,329 points

May 6, 2025 7:06 AM in response to s577

It points to ,the problem, but the problem was left out. if you don't want to post the full treport, at least post anything i the Clean up section.

Also, Open Activity Monitor in Utilities>View>All Processes>sort on CPU%

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Answer 7

May 6, 2025 6:00 PM in response to s577

You appear to be attempting to run Monterey or later using a computer with only 8 GB of RAM, and doing a Lot of advanced things on it as well.

8 GB of RAM is not enough to run Monetary and later MacOS is a reasonably-responsive way.

You need a computer with more RAM memory to continue doing what you are doing.

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Answer 8

s577 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 6, 2025 8:26 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

i think avast is from my previous computer because i don't remember using it in the last five years. apple id seems to be working fine, but admittedly i don't really know what problem to search for. regarding the ram, i can only really fix that by getting a new computer and starting from scratch, i assume. that's probably the only way to fix the problem from what i'm gathering.

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Answer 9

May 7, 2025 6:28 AM in response to s577

battery cycle count above 1000 suggest you may need a new battery soon. That's has been about US$250 for most MacBooks.

I suggest you not do that service, but apply the money toward a new computer. ANY Apple-silicon Mac will run rings around your current computer. Apple no longer sells any MacBooks with 8 GB or less RAM memory

Also, consider making it a point to plug your computer in when AC power is available. It was never intended to work this hard on battery alone -- it is not an iPhone.

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