For some reason, after updating to macOS Tahoe, my Mac Mini M4's fan doesn't spin as usual when the device starts to get hot or very hot.
My unit has never been dropped or exposed to water, and the voltage in my house is stable. Is this a bug?
Mac mini, macOS 26.0
I have the same experience as Ian's with Macs going back 20 years: the computer has to get really hot before the fan(s) spin fast enough to notice in a quiet space. I beta tested flight sims on Macs and sims really run up the temps.
Fans are nearly silent at idle. If the fans are NOT working, Apple Diagnostics should flag that.
Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support
AD is quite good at flagging fan and temperature sensor problems. Note the link at the bottom of that article to another page that translates any problem codes that AD reports. Codes starting with PFM are sensor codes; those starting with PPF are fan codes.
Or you can reset the System Management Controller (SMC), then listen for the fans. Make sure you use the instruction set for Apple Silicon Macs:
Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support
I have the same experience as Ian's with Macs going back 20 years: the computer has to get really hot before the fan(s) spin fast enough to notice in a quiet space. I beta tested flight sims on Macs and sims really run up the temps.
Fans are nearly silent at idle. If the fans are NOT working, Apple Diagnostics should flag that.
Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac - Apple Support
AD is quite good at flagging fan and temperature sensor problems. Note the link at the bottom of that article to another page that translates any problem codes that AD reports. Codes starting with PFM are sensor codes; those starting with PPF are fan codes.
Or you can reset the System Management Controller (SMC), then listen for the fans. Make sure you use the instruction set for Apple Silicon Macs:
Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support
I have had Macs for 24 years and they have never increased the fan speed until they were almost bursting into flame.
I have used the free version of Macs Fan Control for many years. A lot of other people on these forums also use it.
It monitors your temperature in the menubar and you can manually increase the speed any time you want.
You can even set it to automatically start increasing the speed when the computer gets hotter.
I have mine set to start increasing the fan speed when it reaches 125F coming in at maximum speed around 180F.
+2
I have been using MacFanControl on all of our iMac's and Mac mini's for nearly 20 years.
MacFanControl can be used Manually to set a fan speed or be setup to Automatically control the fan speed.
If you setup the Exhaust fan using the Sensor-based controls like Ian mentioned, the fan will slowly start ramping up before the Mac mini gets overheated.
You are correct. . . the M4 (and every other Mac) doesn't have any fan controls which is why you need Macs Fan Control.
Normally the fan on the M4 mini is spinning at 1,000pm and to most people will be inaudible, however if you press your ear to the top of the casing you will hear it.
Thanks for the info. I was referring to the fan unit on the Mac Mini M4. As far as I know, the Mac Mini M4 doesn't have any fan control options. I'll try the app you shared later.
mac mini m4 fan doesn't seem to be turning on