Macbook Air M1 almost always REALLY hot

I recently bought a Macbook Air M1, and I have noticed that it is getting really laggy when doing anything more than the most basic of workloads.

For example, right now I have the Macbook on a wooden table and the room is at ~72F (22C). I'm doing nothing except using Chrome with 7 tabs open, yet the computer is at 85-94 degrees Celsius, with beachballs every minute or so. Kernal_task is using 140% CPU, Window Server is using 40% CPU.

This behavior is *FAR* more common when I use Safari, but even when I use Chrome, it happens way too often.

Any tips? Is this just bad engineering?

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on May 12, 2022 01:32 PM

Top-ranking reply

John Galt

Level 10

153,574 points

Posted on May 12, 2022 04:23 PM

That shouldn't happen. The M1 MacBook Air models run fast and cool. Do not use cases or "skins" and never cover the keyboard with anything. That just goes without saying. Keep your Mac notebook within acceptable operating temperatures - Apple Support

First, please determine if the same problems occur in "Safe Mode": How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support. Using a Mac in that mode is not particularly pleasant, but it should not perform excessively slowly.

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Macbook Air M1 almost always REALLY hot

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