Macbook Pro Overheating

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Level 1

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Macbook Pro Overheating

Macbook Pro (13", Mid 2012) 2.9Ghz, 16G RAM. Recently it has been shutting off for no reason, and won't immediately turn back on. I have Temp Gauge and am monitoring the CPU usage through Activity Monitor. There doesn't seem to be any program running in the background or foreground that is using an abnormal amount of CPU. I have three programs open right now and the temp is still rising. I have not once, since owning this MBP, have I heard the fan come on. Can I manually control the fan?

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Nov 23, 2015 3:14 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 23, 2015 5:58 PM in response to CabraLoca

The fans are controlled in a feedback loop based on measured temperatures. If it gets too hot, you will get sudden, uncontrolled power-down.

If you have never heard the fans, they are not working, and you need to get that computer serviced right away.

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Answer 2

my ginger

Level 5

4,904 points

Nov 23, 2015 7:37 PM in response to CabraLoca

Hi You can try an SMC reset. But if that does not solve the problem you should definitely have it looked at.https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

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Answer 3

kaz-k

Level 8

49,068 points

Nov 23, 2015 7:40 PM in response to CabraLoca

You can control fan manually with smcFanControl, though resetting SMC could solve the problem.

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol

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Answer 4

CabraLoca Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 25, 2015 11:18 AM in response to CabraLoca

Thanks for the replies. I have reset the SMC, but that does not seem to have made any difference as the fans have yet to kick in. The highest temp I have seen is 92 degrees C on a CPU core. I think I will take the advice of getting it looked at by a pro. Limiting my use on this MBP just to avoid a heat up/shut down is pointless and really does not help me when I need it at its maximum potential. I readily decided messing with my fans manually might do more harm than good.

Thanks again guys, much appreciated.

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Answer 5

Nov 25, 2015 12:48 PM in response to CabraLoca

You can't hear the fans at the lower speeds, unless you place the hinge near your ear and you are in a quiet room. I'm not sure when they should speed up, at 2000 rpm you can barely hear them and my 2012 MBP fans speed up to 3400 rpm (just barely audible at 2 feet away) at just under 100 C - I don't consider that acceptable when the fans can speed up to at least 6200 rpm. But I don't know if that is considered a defect by Apple or not.

92 C is high if your computer is idle but not unusual under heavy load, but all this info is hearsay.

Temp Gauge doesn't tell you fan speed? iStat will tell you both, and lets you crudely control fan speed. smcFanControl supposedly allows you to increase fan speed but won't allow a lower speed than apple default. there's a good reason that app exists.

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