What’s normal
- Demanding tasks: video editing, gaming, exporting or a video call will push the temperature up and make the fan spin faster.
- Hot room: Apple recommends using a Mac laptop at between 10 and 35 °C. Don’t leave it in a car in the sun.
- Soft surfaces: on a bed, a pillow or under a blanket, air can no longer circulate properly.
Apps that display component temperatures won’t tell you whether your Mac is faulty: Apple advises against using them to judge a hardware problem. Look out for the signs instead: a Mac that’s very hot when idle, a fan that never stops or a Mac that slows down.
Checks to do first
If kernel_task is using a lot of CPU in Activity Monitor, it isn’t the cause of the problem but a symptom: macOS uses it to throttle the processor when it gets too hot. That’s why an overheating Mac becomes slow.
When the heat comes from the hardware
If your Mac gets hot even when idle, or as soon as you open a few tabs, one of these three components is probably no longer doing its job:
- Dust: it builds up in the fan and the heatsink fins, and stops hot air from escaping.
- Dried-out thermal paste: applied between the processor and the heatsink, it dries out over the years and heat is then poorly transferred to the heatsink.
- Worn fan: it’s noisy, no longer spins or runs flat out all the time. See also our article on a MacBook fan running at full speed.
Cooling your Mac: what to do, and in what order
- Cleaning the inside: remove the bottom case, disconnect the battery, then clear the dust from the fan and the heatsink, dry and without any liquid. Our MacBook cleaning kit and our MacBook screwdriver kit contain everything you need.
- Replacing the thermal paste: remove the heatsink, clean the old paste off the processor, apply the new paste, then screw the heatsink back on. We offer thermal paste for MacBook in a 3 g syringe.
- Fan: if it’s noisy or seized, it will need replacing. You can easily find the right fan for your model.
- Heatsink: if it’s bent or poorly fitted, it no longer cools the processor properly. Here are all the heatsinks available.
Find the part for my Mac
Not sure which model you have? Quickly identify the parts you need for this repair without making a mistake.
Need help with the repair? We offer tutorials to guide you step by step through replacing the part. Our team of technicians is also on hand if you need advice.
Has your Mac also become slow? Read our article Slow MacBook: causes and solutions.
Frequently asked questions
When is a Mac getting too hot?
Apple doesn’t give a maximum temperature for components. The sign that matters is a Mac that’s very hot when idle, with the fan running hard without any demanding task. In that case, there’s probably a problem to track down.
My MacBook Air gets hot but makes no noise. Is that normal?
Yes, if it’s a MacBook Air with Apple silicon: it has no fan and dissipates heat through its casing. Under a heavy, sustained load, it may slow down to stay at a safe temperature.
Can overheating slow down my Mac?
Yes. When the processor gets too hot, macOS throttles it (kernel_task process). Once the cause has been fixed, your Mac will usually get its speed back.
How can I tell if the thermal paste needs replacing?
You can only see it by removing the heatsink. If your Mac still gets hot after a clean even though the fan is working, the thermal paste is probably to blame. We recommend applying fresh paste every time the heatsink is removed.
