Extreme heat waves have already crossed the United States, Europe and other parts of the world so far this summer. Although people are most exposed to high temperatures, your Mac can be even more fragile. (People can be water-cooled, and no current Macs offer this option, although some have tried.) An iPhone or iPad will notify you when it senses it’s too hot before shutting down, while a Mac can simply shut down suddenly. If it doesn’t turn off, you may be using it near capacity and putting a lot of extra wear and tear in the process on components that may fail later in other seasons. .
Knowing the temperature is one thing. The other is heat should are your internal components working? Apple says you should only use a Mac when the ambient temperature – the temperature around you – is between 10 and 35°C (50°F and 95°F) and a humidity of 95% or less.
Internal components produce much more heat than room temperature, with around 100°F or 40°C often the minimum at which they operate under normal indoor conditions. CPUs, GPUs, ports, and other items should not exceed approximately 192°F (89°C) for extended periods of time. At 100°C (212°F), the boiling temperature of water at sea level, you either have to figure out which power consumers are making your computer work so hard, or shut down the system for a while. time. (Hint: This is almost always a browser.) You can use the Activity Monitor app in Apps > Utilities look Energy impact in the Energy column for details.
Mac temperature check
Modern Macs have an inordinate number of power sensors to detect problems and manage fan speeds in models that contain them – I count 34 using a single tool on an M1 Mac mini. These sensors can be monitored with the appropriate knowledge or software. (Also read: Why is my Mac’s fan so loud).
On some Intel Macs, you can use Terminal or a free utility for basic temperature monitoring. In Terminal, type the following command and press Enter:
sudo powermetrics --samplers smc |grep -i "CPU die temperature"
(Note that these quotes are straight quotes.) Enter your administrator password when prompted. This will provide a continuous CPU temperature reading. Press Control-C to stop monitoring.
You can also install the free Fanny app (not the most perfect name for UK and other commonwealth Mac owners), which offers a simple set of drop-down information in the menu bar or as a widget notifications. Details include average CPU and GPU temperature as well as current fan speeds.
For any Intel Mac and M1-based Mac, the TG Pro utility ($20 but often on sale for $10) provides detailed fan monitoring and control. You can see the temperature recorded by each sensor on your Mac and for hard drives and SSDs that support industry-standard SMART diagnostics. Information and commands are available both in a standard application window and in a drop-down menu bar. This bar shows the highest port and CPU temperature and the current fan rotation.
You can also monitor internal fan speeds and override Apple settings. This includes creating rules to determine when fans run and how fast fans run. The app comes with a predefined rule that spins the blades up to their maximum spin if the highest temperature of any CPU setting is at least 158°F (70°C). Just note that your MacBook Air does not have a fan.
Ask for Mac 911
We’ve compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions, along with answers and column links: read our awesome FAQ to see if your question is covered. Otherwise, we are always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to [email protected], including screenshots if available and if you want your full name used. Not all questions will be answered, we don’t respond to emails, and we can’t provide direct troubleshooting advice.
