I give up solving the problem of overheating and the kernel_task process on the Intel-based MacBook Pro
A ridiculous solution to Intel-based MacBook overheating stupid problem
In this story, I will tell you about the overheating problem with my Intel MacBook Pro, the solutions that I tried, and a funny final solution that made me satisfied me to some extent.
∘ Apple announced the M1 CPU ∘ Microsoft Teams wasn’t the culprit ∘ Why is the kernel_task eating my CPU? ∘ What was the root of the problem? ∘ What solutions did I try? · How did I finally solve the problem? · Final Word · Update
Apple announced the M1 CPU
I was unlucky because shortly after I bought my powerful and expensive MacBook Pro (2019) Space Gray Core i9 64GB 1024GB SSD 16", Apple introduced the M1 processor, and then Apple decided to migrate to the M series CPU family for all Mac computer product lines.
At the beginning of this migration announcement, My only concern was about the upcoming macOS updates for Intel-based Macbooks because I am sure in the near future, Apple first won’t implement some cool feature in the newer macOS versions for Intel-based MacBooks and then will announce that we will not support the Intel-based MacBook at all! I have a solution for that. I will migrate back to Linux and will keep my powerful laptop.
But after a while, A more critical problem happened to me: Overheating
Microsoft Teams wasn’t the culprit
The first time I encountered this problem was when I was in a meeting using Microsoft Teams and wanted to share my screen, suddenly, My MacBook’s fan started to fly, and the screen got almost frozen. A couple of months later, I had this problem when I was in a similar situation in a meeting with Zoom. After some investigation, I found that Teams or Zoom are not culprits, and the problem is related to a process called kernel_task.
Why is the kernel_task eating my CPU?
It seems overheating has been a significant problem for MacBooks for years, at least for Intel versions. Apple’s ultimate software solution to this problem is to spawn a hungry process called kernel_task and make your MacBook frozen and unusable until it cools down. Read Apple’s official support page on kernel_task:
One of the functions of kernel_task is to help manage CPU temperature by making the CPU less available to processes that are using it intensely. In other words, kernel_task responds to conditions that cause your CPU to become too hot, even if your Mac doesn’t feel hot to you. It does not itself cause those conditions. When the CPU temperature decreases, kernel_task automatically reduces its activity.
What was the root of the problem?
To be honest, I still don’t know the root cause of the problem, but I have a few main guesses. The first candidate is to blame the external monitor because I’ve never had the issue of overheating when not connected to the external monitor (always connected to the external monitor for heavy work!). The second culprit can be doing heavy tasks simultaneously, such as video calling, screen sharing, and running Docker and Kubernetes, IDE, and browser simultaneously. But whatever the reason is, for me, they are considered daily use, and I should use the external monitor or run all these software at once while working and developing. This is the reason why I bought a laptop with this high specification.
What solutions did I try?
My main source to try different solutions was this video:
This video offer a lot of solution like:
- changing the USB C cable
- using HDMI instead of USB C
- putting USB C cable on other side of the MacBook
- Using dongle
- and more
I almost applied all of them, but neither solution worked for me, and at the end of the day, the problem remained.
How did I finally solve the problem?
I bought two different models of Cooling Pads, but neither of them could not make my MacBook cool after overheating. Unfortunately, none of them was not powerful enough to make it cool.
Strangely, this little fan on the right of the photo fixed my problem instead.
I don’t need to keep this fan on all the time, but when I’m doing heavy work (which I mentioned before) and the Mac starts to freeze, I turn on the fan at the angle you see in the photo towards the top of the keyboard and within one minute the problem will be solved.
Final Word
For now, I don’t have any plan to migrate to a MacBook with an Apple silicon CPU, and on the other hand, I believe this is a ridiculous solution, but it’s the only way to solve my headache of overheating my MacBook, so far. You can share your experience solving this problem in the comments.
Update:
I am so happy because, after several months, I found a good solution for my Intel-based Macbook overheating problem. Read this story:
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