Every Mac user at some point has experienced the uncomfortable feeling of having an overheating computer. At first, you may think about ignoring it, but then the fan noise usually just seems to get louder and louder until you can no longer pretend it isn’t there. This is because once it reaches this stage, you risk the rise in temperature interfering with your hardware components which would inevitably force your Mac to perform a force shut down on its own. This makes it risky, more-so if you were busy working on something important that you haven’t yet saved. Moreover this could cause big damage to your Mac’s hard drive, which results in far worse consequences down the road.
What Is The Cause Of The Overheating?
It can be tough to give a simple reason as to why your Mac is overheating. It varies from Mac to Mac and also from situation to situation.
If the overheating issue is a new problem that you are not used to having, then you are probably overworking your Mac. This means having too many running applications at once; or being connected to too many external devices using a usb-c hub, for example; or perhaps your system memory/storage space is just running too low. In such cases, you are probably running too many heavy programs that are taking too much processing power and space. This often leads to a slow-performing MacBook and often one that starts to overheat.
However, the good news is that you can resolve these issues at home, without the need of a professional technician. But do realise that Macs tend to come in compact designs. This means that there isn’t much space for the extra heat to go to, if you don’t address the problem quickly.
How To Stop The Overheating Issue
The first thing you need to do is figure out what the cause of the problem is. You can usually figure out the cause by simply downloading a system monitoring application like iStat Menus or CleanMyMac X. This is because these utility tools will essentially give you a thorough report on the condition of your MacBook. They will also let you know which applications are consuming the most processing power, storage space, etc. They will also let you know what the status of your Mac’s fans are and also allow you to control the speed at which the run. However, you should not do this unless you are confident of what you are fine, as lessening the fans speed in an attempt to reduce the noise could be cutting your Mac’s hardware in danger of overheating. Meanwhile, increasing the speed could end up damaging them by putting too much stress on them. However, if you do notice a problem with the fans, you can always perform an SMC reset to fix the issue. Once you have pinpointed the culprit behind the overheating problem, you can resume your workflow as planned. However, if the problem persists, don’t worry, because there are other solutions you can try out.
Clear Your Mac’s Storage Space.
One of the main things you can do is to remove all the excess files and documents in your Mac. This normally involves deleting old or unused applications, clearing cache files, deleted over-sized movie or audio files etc. An overly cluttered desktop will often be the main culprit for overheating in most Macs. To help you do this, you can always install a third-party cleanup app like CleanMyMacX. It’s easy to use interface and through algorithm should help you quickly clear out any unnecessary baggage that your Mac may be hoarding. You can also think about moving some of those important but heavy files onto a cloud storage service like; iCloud or Dropbox. Other ways to solve the problem could be to update your macOS system or use an app like CleanMyMac X to fix any pending system problems that may be unnecessarily consuming excessive storage space.
Other Reasons For OverHeating
If clearing your Mac’s storage wasn’t solving the problem, then you can always opt to try one of these solutions:
- Move Your Mac onto a flat surface instead of using it on your bed or other unstable surfaces that do not provide enough space for proper ventilation.
- Avoid using your Mac in the sun or having it outside without any protection. You can always purchase yourself a macbook leather sleeve to help with this.
- Keep your MacBook away from excessively dusty environments, because if the dust starts to gather into the Mac, that is bound to result in serious overheating issues.
Conclusion
If you have tried out all these solutions and your Mac is still experiencing problems then your next best bet, is to take it to a Mac App store for diagnosis. It’s kissable that your Mac is too old and needs a fan replacement, battery replacement or just a complete replacement. However, in most cases, Apple or any certified Mac technician should be able to offer you a working solution.
