Is your MacBook overheating? Reasons why it might be happening

The Apple MacBook series of laptops are among the best in the world, reputed for the combination of excellent hardware, software, build quality, and battery life. However, just about any laptop will tend to run hot under certain circumstances, and the MacBook range is no exception.

If you are facing issues with your MacBook running too hot, you might want to look into ways to solve the issue; excessive overheating can damage your laptop, including harming the battery or other components such as the display and processor.

Modern MacBook devices – particularly those running on the Apple M silicon – are a lot more effective at handling heat issues, but older MacBook laptops running on Intel processors are particularly susceptible to overheating. Regardless of which MacBook you have, if you’re facing overheating issues, read on to figure out the reasons for this and how to fix the issue.

Reasons for your MacBook overheating

– The CPU is working too hard

– Warm ambient temperature

– The cooling vents or fans are blocked

– Outdated software

The CPU is working too hard

This is the most common reason for your MacBook overheating, and tends to affect just about any Mac device – old or new. Older MacBooks with Intel processors are particularly susceptible to this. Your CPU might be under considerable stress from having too many apps running, or even some particularly resource-heavy apps functioning continuously. 

Apps such as Google Chrome and various photo and video editing tools tend to demand a lot of CPU power, which can get the CPU running at close to its maximum capacity. In these situations, the CPU will heat up, thereby causing the MacBook to heat up as well.

You can solve this by closing a few apps, or even closing some unused tabs on your browser. Similarly, restarting your MacBook regularly could help in getting the CPU running optimally.

Warm ambient temperature

Although MacBook laptops are designed to work well in varying conditions, sometimes very warm ambient temperatures could cause the laptop to heat up. This is especially the case on modern MacBook devices which have a metal chassis, which tends to absorb heat.

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Avoid using your laptop in direct sunlight; try to stay indoors with your MacBook as much as possible, or at least get under some kind of shade if you like working outdoors. You’ll also find that heating issues reduce if you use the MacBook in an air-conditioned room.

The cooling vents or fans are blocked

Most laptops, including MacBooks, rely on cooling fans and heat-dissipating vents to avoid overheating. Excessive dust buildup could prevent these fans from working, and even on laptops such as the MacBook Air which use passive cooling such as heat sinks and vents, dust buildup could block the heat from effectively getting out. Sometimes, placing a laptop on a soft surface such as a bed or sofa could also block off the vents and cause overheating.

Periodic cleaning of the vents, including dusting and brushing, could help avoid heating due to this. Additionally, try to keep your MacBook on a hard, flat surface or on an angled laptop stand, which will allow any fan cooling or passive ventilation systems to work optimally.

Outdated software

Sometimes, all your MacBook needs to avoid overheating is a software update. If your MacBook is running on outdated software, this could cause the CPU or specific apps to overburden the system, causing heat build up. Fix this by updating to the latest version of macOS.

Follow the above steps to keep your MacBook cool.